March 9, 1948 – So serious is the water situation in the Corporate Area, that in certain areas, especially Kingston Gardens, there is no water in sewer tanks. Some homes are entirely without water. An official of the National Water Commission says the situation that arose was not due to the fact that water had been locked off. It meant that although the drought is at its height, the daily consumption had risen from about 16 or 16 1/2 million gallons a day to more than 18 million, with the result that for the first time in 15 years, there was not enough water to go around.
[It's an ironic news item from the Gleaner's archives, given the current drought conditions facing Kingston and the rest of Jamaica.]
September 25, 1967 – Jamaica is one of 25 countries listed by World Bank president, George B. Woods, as having an economic growth of between 5 and 10 percent during 1966.
July 8, 1943 – The newly formed Jamaica Labour Party is launched at the Ward Theatre in Kingston. The founding president is Alexander Bustamante. At the launch, the members formally accept the provisional constitution for the government of the party and its aims and objectives. A resolution pledging to work unceasingly for the progress, growth, expansion and successful accomplishment of the ideals and principles which the party sets out to achieve is unanimously passed.
July 8, 1957 – York Pharmacy opens in Half-Way-Tree by Commodity Services Ltd., a company that’s owned and operated by the Matalon family. In addition to prescription drugs, it also offers toiletries, perfumery, newspapers, magazines and cigarettes.
July 8, 1964 – Late Reggae Boy, Durrant ‘Tatty’ Brown, is born. He died in a motor vehicle accident in 2001.
July 2, 1946 – Jamaican Herb McKenley, running for the University of Illinois in a special Amateur Athletic Union track meet, sets a new world record for the 300-yard run, clocking 29 and eight-tenths seconds to beat the old record of 30 and two-tenths seconds which had been set in April 1921 by Charles Paddock.
July 2, 1968 – The youth organization of the People’s National Party (PNP) is founded by Senator P.J. Patterson, a vice-president of the party and also its Shadow minister of youth, sports and community development. The objective of the PNP youth arm is to heighten the political and social awareness of the youth of Jamaica.
May 26, 1969 – Jamaica is decimalising its currency; the Bank of Jamaica releases the new 20-cent coin. It is the same size and weight of the previous two-shilling coin and can be used to purchase the same amount of goods and services as this previous coin. C-Day or Conversion Day, when the decimal system becomes fully operational, is September 8, 1969.
May 11, 1967 – Prime Minister Hugh Shearer calls on Jamaicans to exercise “self-respect, alertness, courage and self-discipline to tackle the problems and challenges of the nation.” Shearer says that as Prime Minister, there are three alternatives facing the country. The first is to stop and stagnate, the second is to go on bended knees to a foreign country and beg, and the third is to face the challenges and tackle our problems with discipline.
“I do not propose to resort to the first; I cannot be and will not be Prime Minister under these circumstances. I also do not intend to go hat in hand with the problems of my Jamaican people to some other country to beg grants and handouts for Jamaica. I will never be Prime Minister under these circumstances. Somebody else, not me. I will instead succeed or fail on the third, which is to rely on the self-respect, the alertness, the courage, and the self-discipline of my own people to tackle the problems and the challenges of our nation.”
Source: Gleaner Newspaper Archives
