Once, when I was digging through some old books in my Dad’s garage, I came across a yearbook for the events of 1966. Two of them captured my attention because of how horrible they were.
In July, a man named Richard Speck took hostage a group of nurses in a townhouse in Chicago. One by one, he isolated them in different rooms in the house and murdered all but one. The one survivor hid under a bed and he apparently lost count. Fortunately, she was able to tell the horrific tale, and her testimony led to his capture and ultimate conviction.
Just a couple of weeks later, on August 1, a man named Charles Whitman took over the bell tower at the University of Texas and began a murderous rampage, sniping dozens of people on the ground. By the time police were able to take him out, Whitman had killed 14 people and wounded 31 others.
It many seem odd to lead with these stories (which overshadowed the carnage going on in Vietnam at the time), but I come from the world of news where, “if it bleeds, it leads.” And these two stories are still discussed 58 years later.
Fortunately, there were other, brighter reasons to remember 1966. Three of my all-time favorite TV shows debuted that year. In January, “Batman” started its three-season run on ABC. In September, two other shows changed the TV landscape just four days apart on NBC – “Star Trek” on September 8 and “The Monkees” on September 12. Almost 60 years later, people still tune in to watch these shows. (In fact, I’m going to watch “The Monkees” Christmas special later today.)
A major advancement also happened in 1966 – the vaccine for rubella (or German measles) was licensed, which paved the way for its broad use in 1969. And one other very bright spot happened that year. Although my birth year just missed out on maybe the greatest Christmas TV show of all time – “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which premiered in December 1965 – its follow-up, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” debuted on my birth date, October 27. That’s certainly something worth celebrating!
