Our Man In Arlington 4-16-2026

This month’s history column takes us back to April 1961. A review of the stories from the local newspapers supports an ongoing theme in my mind: that we are always “living in interesting times” (a phrase that has been used to reflect a time of danger and uncertainty). The danger and uncertainty are reflected in stories about the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba on April 17, 1961. At that time, the news reports referred to a “failed rebellion by Cuban exiles.” Eventually the involvement of the CIA, and the authorization of the invasion by President Kennedy, came to light. 

The fear of the Soviet Union, and of communism in general, can be seen in international news and local news. On April 16 the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, and the first to orbit Earth, a scientific advancement that would be matched a year later by Arlington resident John Glenn (who lived on North Harrison Street from 1958 until 1963). Locally, concerns about communism are evident in the “Religion News” section of the Northern Virginia Sun, which included notices of upcoming services. Walker Chapel had a notice headlined by the phrase “Communists and the World Revolution.” The title for their Sunday service was “Karl Marx’s Challenge to Christianity.” St. George’s Episcopal Church advertised an upcoming talk by Dr. Charles Lowry, the author of the book, “Communism and Christ.” 

There was a National Civil War Centennial Celebration Commission in 1961, with representatives of many states participating in a meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, the 100th anniversary of the firing upon Fort Sumter. The New Jersey delegation created a stir by objecting to segregated seating at the meeting (South Carolina still had segregated seating laws). A second Civil War was averted when the group moved its meeting to a naval base. The Northern Virginia Sun had a number of Civil War articles published that April, including a long summary of the “anguish” of Robert E. Lee in resigning his commission from the U.S. Army on April 20, 1861. 

The Washington Afro-American provided plenty of coverage about the slow pace of desegregation in the Arlington public schools. But the story that got my attention involved a vote held by the Arlington Education Association, which represented 982 Arlington schoolteachers. This was a whites-only group. A separate group, the Arlington Teachers Association, with 84 Black teachers as members, had asked for a merger of the groups. The request was approved by the Arlington Education Association, by a vote of 519 to 463. I am kind of shocked that 463 teachers wanted to retain its whites-only status. Meanwhile, in other school news, the combined 5th and 6th grade class at Fairlington Elementary School was praised for presenting a play about the United Nations entitled “A Better World.” Hope was in the air for some of our youngsters! 

If you think switching our clocks twice a year is a confusing mess, in 1961 there was “extreme confusion” year-round in Virginia. Governor Almond was considering a special session of the General Assembly, as 25 Virginia communities had switched to Daylight Saving Time, while the rest of the state remained on Eastern Standard Time. If you lived in Richmond and crossed into Hanover County, you would be in a different time zone. And I learned that for years there had been a one-hour time difference with the District of Columbia, which must have been a challenge for those commuting from Arlington. 

On the lighter side, there was an editorial in the Northern Virginia Sun expressing joy and hope in the upcoming baseball season for the new expansion team, the Washington Senators (not to be confused with the Washington Senators who left town to play in Minnesota). Unfortunately, the team finished tied for the worst record in the American League. The final game at historic Griffith Stadium in September 1961 was played with 1,498 loyal fans in attendance. This second iteration of the Washington Senators also left town to go to Texas in 1971. Fortunately, in 2005, Major League Baseball agreed to move the bankrupt Montreal Expos to Washington. Hopefully the Nationals are here to stay!