British Pathé Reviews the Year 1961
The source for the information contained in this chapter was the newspaper La Voz de Galicia archived by the local library. The newspaper devoted a page and a half to Ferrolian news in 1961. This increase was due to advertising, to interviews and to greater coverage of county news.
Some annual events are omitted because they have been covered previously and the details varied little from year to year.
The extracted image of the "Point Lacre" (February) was tinted sepia to improve definition.
An outstanding item of local news for the year 1960 was the start of the construction of the working-class suburb of Caranza.
The following table shows the volume and type of inbound traffic registered at the entrance to the city on Monday August 14, 1961. Curiously the newspaper printed an erroneous total of 7,550 vehicles (a typo probably in the number of bicycles). The sample spanned seventeen hours. Bearing in mind that Ferrol had 75,000 inhabitants (December 7) the numbers put forth the underdeveloped status of Spain.
| (From 7:00 AM to 12:00 midnight on Monday August 14, 1961) | ||
|
Buses Trucks Cars Motorcycles Bicycles Animal-traction vehicles Total |
330 471 2,036 2,234 2,302 87 7,550 |
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| 1. | The wall of a house collapses and narrowly misses crushing an 8-year-old girl. |
| 3. |
Public drive to collect cigarettes and packets for the tenants of the Destitute Seniors Home. Editorial frets that sewers are often clogged. |
| 5. | A sailor of the cruiser Almirante Cervera attempts suicide by jumping off a rampart to the pavement below. He sustained "very serious injuries." |
| 7. | Editorial repines over the "terrible state of the roads leading into the city." |
| 26. | Bazan Chairman goes on a tour American and Canadian shipyards, he returned February 16. |
| 31. | Hyman Benjamin Cantor the president of Sea Coach Transatlantic Lines came to Spain to explore the possibility of Bazan building two superliner passenger vessels designed by Vladimir Yourkevitch. Each vessel would displace 90,000 metric tons, measure 1,152 feet in length, 134 feet in beam and carry 6,000 passengers plus 1,350 crew. Cantor estimated a building time of two years and the creation of 22,000 jobs. Refused U.S. Government financing, Sea Coach Transatlantic Lines turned to Deutsche Werft Shipyards of Hamburg, Germany, and Bazan of Ferrol. The sticking point was the requirement of 85% mortgage financing by a national government. Although the shipyard expressed a willingness to do the job, the central government in Madrid turned down the offer. The two superliners were never built, they were to have been christened, "Peace" and "Good Will." |
"Andros Fortune" in Corcubión |
"Point Lacre" in Ferrol |
| 7. | Minor chimney fire. |
| 19. | Power shutdown scheduled between 8:30 and 9:30 [AM presumably]. |
| 23. | Inauguration and blessing of the "best cafeteria in town." A glass of Spanish wine was served. |
| 24. | Registration of goldfinches at the stadium for a birdsong contest next spring. |
| 27. | Liberian oil tanker "Point Lacre" (above right) rammed the stern section of Canadian oil tanker "Andros Fortune" (above left) off Cape Finisterre. The collision was "very violent...in a lot of fog and very rough seas." Five "Andros Fortune" crew died or went missing, twenty-two others were taken to Ferrol by the destroyer Ariete: 12 Greeks, 8 Canadians, 1 Briton and 1 unspecified nationality. The Canadian vessel was towed to the Firth of Corcubión for emergency repairs and salvage of its cargo of 25,000 tonnes of fuel oil. The Liberian tanker limped into Ferrol under its own steam. Note: I remember seeing its rusty, mangled bow (End of Note). |
| 1. | Ornamental cypresses have been planted on the waterfront gardens. |
| 4. |
Town Hall assures the citizenry that the water supply problem will be resolved by the summer of 1963. Town Hall counts 13 kilometers of unpaved city streets. |
| 5. | Damaged Liberian oil tanker "Point Lacre" departs for Holland |
| 8. | "Andros Fortune" crew depart Ferrol by road to start their return trip to Canada. |
| 9. |
Rear Admiral André Jubelin of France (above) arrived at 12:00 noon on an official visit. The usual formalities were observed (e.g. July 26, 1954). Damaged Canadian oil tanker "Andros Fortune" is towed away to Hamburg, Germany. |
| 11. | Gleeful editorial announces that a lot of road improvement work is in the offing. |
| 15. | Brief news item deplores the lingering use of steel-rim wheels on animal-traction vehicles. |
| 17. |
Town Hall has made the installation of artificial lighting on the waterfront a top priority. Construction of a conveyor belt for iron ore will begin "soon" in the harbour. |
| 18. | Around 15,000 Ferrolians watched the traditional Rondallas a las Pepitas contest on Town Hall square (see March 18, 1959). This photograph of the event comes from Bazan, 18, page 31. |
| 19. |
"Thousands of Ferrolians" visited the Destitute Seniors Home. Today is that institution's patron saint day, St. Joseph. Local businesses donated many small gifts and Bazan apprentices donated tobacco and candy. An extraordinary mid-day meal was served,
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| 30. |
80-year-old man dies after being gored by a bull outside the city limits. Thirty bedside tables were donated to the Destitute Seniors Home. |
| 31. | The minutes of the last Town Hall council meeting suggest that the trams will be replaced with buses shortly. |
| 2. | Today Sunday is St. Francis of Paola the patron saint of draftsmen. Accordingly there was a solemn Mass at 12:00 noon in the co-cathedral. | |
| 9. | Portuguese frigate "Pero Escobar" (above) arrived for a visit at 11:00 AM. The usual formalities were observed. "The presence of the Pero Escobar crew in our streets was received with shows of affection and affinity." The frigate departed on the 11th at 11:00 PM. | |
| 15. |
Launch of the oil tanker "Bilbao" at 4:06 PM. This photograph of the event comes from Bazan, 19, page 10.
Bazan, 21, informs that the contractual sea trials were performed on January 6, 1962, and the official ones on January 30. The ship was delivered to Naviera Vizcaína at noon, January 31, and departed Ferrol during the afternoon of February 6. As an interesting tidbit of data these were Bilbao's deadweight contributions upon its departure from the port of Ras Tanura (Saudi Arabia) on a voyage to Cartagena (Spain). The units below are tonnes,
Official Spanish Newsreel NO-DO 955 B Voice-Over Translated: In the Ferrolian shipyards of Empresa Nacional Bazán the oil tanker "Bilbao," the biggest boat built by said factory, is ready to be launched, destined for the Biscayan shipping line. It has a total displacement of 43,000 tonnes, a length overall of 202 meters 70 cm and a beam of 26 meters 53 cm. The Captain-General of the Maritime Department and other authorities and echelons come to the blessing and launching ceremony. The bottle of Spanish wine slams against Bilbao's bow, and the ship glides majestically down the slipway. The tanker's maximum loading capacity is 40,000 cubic meters and it can reach a speed of more than 16 knots. The oil tanker, which will have a crew of 64 men, composes a feat in modern shipbuilding. |
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| 21. | Ohio Oil Company technicians scout the bay for the possible emplacement of an oil refinery. | |
| 22. | Local police give their statistical briefing for the first three months of the year: 829 traffic offences, 88 breaches of municipal law, 56 confirmed cases of milk adulteration or of unclean milk containers, 39 instances of disorderly conduct including drunkenness, 25 traffic accidents, 17 cases of panhandling, 12 assaults, 6 minor fires, 6 dog-related incidents, 1 theft (cf. July 7, 1954). | |
| 28. | Newspaper reminds its readers that the first Ferrolian town hall convened on this date in the year 1788. |
| 1. | "Big crowd" watched a comic game of soccer at the stadium between a team of "Fat Ones" and a team of "Skinny Ones." Donated gross of 2,641 Pesetas went to the Destitute Seniors Home. Final score: Fat Ones 5, Skinny Ones 4. Note: I remember that half times were shortened considerably, the goalkeeper of the Fat Ones climbed to the crossbar and sat there awhile and near the end somebody dressed in a gorilla costume ran out onto the pitch from our side of the stands (End of Note). |
| 2. | Bazan soccer club wins the national tournament of Educación y Descanso for the second consecutive year. |
| 4. | French minesweeper Aries arrived at 10:00 AM on an unofficial visit. Still "several military and civilian representatives went aboard." The vessel departed on the 6th. |
| 10. | Major improvement work continues on the municipal park. Birdhouse installed, fountain and pond refurbished, multi-purpose court expanded and covered with terraces. |
| 14. | Birdsong contest at 10:00 AM in the stadium (February 24). First prize in the goldfinch category went to five-year-old native "Harmonious." |
| 15. | Captain general of the maritime department travels to Brest with his family on the invitation of André Jubelin (March 9). |
| 17. |
Seminar entitled "Exposition and critique of Marxism" at 7:45 PM in the high school. New cranes for the harbour. |
| 23. | Port of call for gasoline tanker USS Mattabesset (above) on its return leg from Italy to the United States. |
| 1. |
Summertime charity raffle stand in the downtown gardens was inaugurated and blessed by the bishop at 12:00 noon (cf. July 15, 1959). The number of raffle tickets printed is 600,000 and they sell for 1 Peseta each. There will be a draw of super prizes every three days. There are 1,260 surprise prizes on hold which include bicycles, stoves, two hundred cans of olive oil, blankets, radios, etc. The total number of prizes on offer is forty-two thousand. "If all the raffle tickets were sold, Cáritas would collect some 185,000 Pesetas for its Christian work." The raffle stand will open each day from 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM and from 7:00 to 10:00 PM. Latest census figures: 71,259 duly registered and 4,312 unregistered inhabitants for a total Ferrolian population of 75,571. There were 17,998 dwellings and twenty-nine tourist lodgings. |
| 2. | Several high school students volunteer to repair the shack of a sick senior. |
| 7. | Official visit of U.S. Rear Admiral [Clifford Steele] Cooper to the Naval Fuel Storage Annex of A Graña. |
| 18. | Young man had his watch and clothes stolen while he went swimming in Copacabana Beach. |
| 20. | Showers are installed and working in Copacabana. |
| 21. | High school entrance examination at 8:30 AM for the pupils of "Sagrado Corazón" elementary school. Note: I passed the exam (End of Note). |
| 22. | Local hunters carry out an authorized cull of crows in the municipal park during the afternoon; the birds frequent the grove of eucalyptus there. |
| 24. | "Thousands of Ferrolians" watched the lighting of a mammoth bonfire beyond these "grassy boulevards" just after midnight. A second bonfire was lit five days later. |
| 25. |
Ghanaian freighter "Bensu-River" is in harbour for repairs. The same dog bites three people on the right leg in separate incidents. "Several thousand Ferrolians" went to Valdoviño on buses run by that town hall, the passengers were delighted with the service. |
| 27. |
Editorial censures the free run that dogs have of the city. A 39-year-old man suffers serious injuries after falling off a fig tree (cf. September 3, 1954). |
| 28. | Two municipal transport buses have arrived and two more are expected on Saturday. Buses will replace the trams on Monday July 3. |
| 29. | Gran Compañía del Teatro Eslava de Madrid will stage the play "Yerma" by Federico García Lorca (above) at Renacimiento Theatre. Two performances at 8:00 and 11:00 PM. One day only (flyer). |
| 30. | Editorial labels the dogs' free rein in the city "a canine plague" and urges Town Hall to adopt coercive measures. |
| 2. | Last day of tram service. |
| 4. | Three new garbage trucks will start operating soon. |
| 8. |
First T.V. aerial installed. Construction of the Navy condominium begins. |
| 12. | The cull in the park has killed "more than one hundred crows" (June 22). |
| 15. | Newspaper's drive and readers' donations have funded the purchase of a wheelchair for a 14-year-old crippled boy. |
| 16. |
Summertime charity raffle stand closed at 8:00 PM after all 600,000 tickets were sold (June 1). Editorial urges municipal workers to stop experimenting with the luminous fountain in Plaza de España. |
| 22. |
Three teams from Instituto Ibys of Madrid undertake a rat extermination project in the city. Households and businesses that wish to co-operate should register with the health bureau in Town Hall.
On Sunday August 6 the newspaper reported that official institutions had joined the pest control drive. These included Bazan and the coastal artillery garrison. The operation lasted until August 13. Ibys technicians estimated that "more than 50,000 rodents" were killed. |
| 23. | Transfer of American command at the Naval Fuel Storage Annex of A Graña. Capt. Harrison G. Packard defers to Capt. Robert J. Davilbies. Note: It was rumoured that the hill had been hollowed out to make room for gigantic fuel storage tanks, huge warehouses, vast arms depots and "who knows what else" (End of Note). |
| 3. | Water main shutoff between 4:00 and 8:00 PM everyday until further notice. |
| 5. |
Solemn inauguration of the Second National Fair of the Sea at 12:00 noon. The exhibition welcomed more than 70,000 visitors in the first two opening days and ran until Saturday September 9 when it was officially closed by Franco. Note: The First National Fair of the Sea had been held in 1957 on the dockside of San Sebastián in the Basque country (End of Note).
Bazan, 20, devoted thirty-two pages to the Second National Exhibition of the Sea. The fairgrounds was not a dockside but a vacant lot bordering the bay (above, left) and conveniently located downslope from the outlying Ferrolian neighbourhood of Canido (above, right). The exhibition covered 70,000 square meters and had 552 stands, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a ballroom and sporting facilities. The visitor got an impression of amplitude and focus. 
The two most important pavilions of the fair were allocated to the National Institute of Industry (above, left) and to the Navy (above, right). The stand of Empresa Nacional Bazán was housed in the National Institute of Industry pavilion. Center stage belonged to the huge gears that reduced the very fast rotation speed of the thrust shaft connected to a ship's main engine and delivered it to the propeller shaft. The gears were also featured on the cover of Bazan, 3 (Chapter 1, "The Shipyard"). The Navy pavilion had many historical documents: rare books and maps, paintings and watercolors, old flags, swords, a facsimile of the famous nautical chart of Gabriel de Vallseca (1439) and the projected layout of Ferrol hatched in the year 1751. Bazan, 20, states that Ferrol was the first city outside of Russia to be constructed in the Russian style. |
| 7. | Equestrian meet at the stadium. One show jumping event was labelled "Pepsi-Cola." Note: Placing bets was part of the fun (End of Note). |
| 8. |
22-year-old mother drowns herself and her two babies, a 2-year-old boy and an 8-month girl. The news "caused great consternation in the city." 50-year-old man is seriously injured after falling out of a bus (cf. January 16 and May 26, 1959). |
| 11. | Another 22-year-old married woman attempted suicide in the harbour, but was restrained twice. |
| 18. | Drivers complain that gasoline is hard to find. |
| 24. | Outdoor theatre in the park this evening. Gran Compañía del Teatro Eslava de Madrid presents Un tranvía llamado Deseo by Tennessee Williams. 8:30 PM. |
| 25. | More open-air theatre at 8:30 PM. |
| 27. | Tap water will run only from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM everyday until further notice. |
| 28. | Today's maximum temperature was 35°C (cf. July 8, 1959). |
| 30. | Rival shipyard Astano will build an oil tanker for Argentina and three freighters for Norway. |
| 2. | Editorial note urges more dumping of sand on Copacabana (February 3, 1959). |
| 7. | Several cafeterias begin installing television sets. |
| 8. | Brawl lands three men in the emergency clinic, their ages 28, 33 and 56 (cf. August 15, 1954). |
| 9. |
General Franco closes officially the Second National Exhibition of the Sea. This fair welcomed more than 70,000 visitors in its first two days.
Official Spanish Newsreel NO-DO 976 B Voice-Over Translated: In his visit to the Ferrolian Exhibition of the Sea, His Excellency the Head of State salutes the flag of the infantry regiment that renders him honours, and is complimented by ministers and other authorities. Franco tours with his wife the various pavilions installed in the place called Punta de Arnela. The fair is the second of this type held in Spain and the Generalissimo evinces keen interest in everything exhibited in the installations of the Navy, the National Institute of Industry and other organizations. The meet has served to demonstrate precisely in the departamental city the potential of the Spanish naval industry and the level obtained by the secondary industries as well as the effort and achievements logged by the coastal provinces that were also represented. |
| 20. | The state will invest 400,000,000 Pesetas in the urbanization of Caranza, a working-class suburb. |
| 21. | The quorum for holding night classes in the high school has been met. A Bazan electrician said in an interview that his workday ends normally at 6:15 PM, that night classes start at 6:45 PM and run to ten o'clock. Workers pay a registration fee of 175 Pesetas per academic year, half the normal amount. He poured praise on the principal (above) and on the teaching staff for "their dedication and evident zeal to protect disadvantaged students...they have made our cause theirs." |
| 23. |
"The generosity of Ferrolians...and the protection afforded by the mayor" have brought about the reconstruction of an old house felled by a storm in the winter of 1959 (see November 30, 1959). Two destitute sisters, one of whom was bedridden, were left homeless. The new house under construction is comfortable and has two floors. "Hundreds of old magazines are being donated daily" to the Destitute Seniors Home. |
| 25. | First day of preparatory grade classes. |
| 1. | Half-page advertisement commemorates the inauguration of the six-storey Simeón building (above). The deputy mayor, civilian and military dignitaries and representatives of banking, the press and radio attended the opening ceremony and the bishop's blessing. A glass of Spanish wine was served. A clothing retail store occupies the first two floors. |
| 7. | Solemn morning Mass in the co-cathedral of San Julián to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the National Institute of Industry. According to Bazan, 21, page 62, the top management attended along with plentiful representations of all the Departments and the apprentices of the Factory. Bazan's chorale and orchestra performed under the baton of Reverend Manuel Perez Fanego. The Company brushed aside further celebration and chose instead to make "an important donation to the sick, the retirees, widows, orphans and other needy people of the Factory." |
| 8. | Power shutdown scheduled from 7:00 to 9:00 AM to carry out repairs in the grid. |
| 16. | High school classes start. |
| 28. | Italian corvette Aquila arrived this morning and departed on Monday. Though the visit was unofficial the usual formalities were observed and there was a "festival in the municipal park" at 11:00 PM to fete the Italians. |
| 31. |
Water losses abound in "numerous points of the city, doubtlessly caused by ruptured pipes." Credit union celebrates "Universal Savings Day" by holding a draw among its customers. The first prize, a Vespa scooter, went to ticket number #92394. Second prize: dining room set. Third prize: sewing machine. There were thirty-nine other prizes. Three simultaneous art exhibits in the city: Group of Seven, Luis Calvo and Antolín López Porta. Porta donated one of his paintings to the Destitute Seniors Home. The patrons of Toxos E Froles toasted Porta on Sunday November 19 for "his resounding success." |
| 1. |
5-year-old boy is killed after falling off a tractor-pulled trailer and being struck by the drawbar. More than 1,400 cars made the short trip to Catabois Cemetery to deposit flowers on relatives' tombs, an All Hallows' Day tradition. The number of visitors totalled 23,000 approximately. Third Division soccer: Ferrol 10, Santiago 0. |
| 6. | Transatlantic "Marqués de Comillas" (above) burst into flames at the Astano shipyard. The fire was detected at 3:00 AM. The damage was estimated to be 100,000,000 Pesetas. |
| 7. | Fleet oiler USS Waccamaw lays anchor at the naval station of A Graña until the 11th. |
| 8. | Police arrest the author of "numerous robberies committed in the city during the months of September and October." |
| 19. | Many streets have "perfect" artificial lighting (example) but others do not, making nighttime transit almost impossible. |
| 21. | Street procession of the "Little Princess" religious icon of Daughters of Mary School. Approximately seven hundred schoolgirls with white collar and white veil walked in two rows, the smallest children in the middle. The current pupils were followed by rows of "many" former pupils. The naval infantry band brought up the rear (cf. November 21, 1955). |
| 23. | Editorial questions the need for shutting off the water main at night. |
| 25. | A band of minstrels from the University of Santiago de Compostela arrived at 5:30 PM, paraded downtown and was officially welcomed by Town Hall. The band gave a recital in Renacimiento Theatre at 12:00 noon the next day. |
| 26. |
17-year-old Bazan apprentice falls from an oil tanker in dry dock and is seriously injured.
Inauguration with the bishop's blessing of a Parish School for Girls in Caranza. According to Bazan, 21, page 63, the school will be run by nuns from the Company of Mary. |
| 28. | Hans von Benda conducts the Berlin Chamber Orchestra tonight at 8:00 PM in Teatro Jofre. |
| 29. |
The number of television sets in the city has risen to nearly two hundred (July 8). "Deficient" washrooms in the meat section of the Central Market. |
| 2. | Sold-out shows of Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing at Capitol movie house. The Spanish title accorded the film was "La Colina del Adiós" (Good-Bye Hill). |
| 3. | Thirteen high school students volunteer to sell raffle tickets during the Christmas campaign for the needy. |
| 4. | "Very strong gale." A fishing sailboat out in the bay capsized, the crew was rescued. |
| 7. | Official census puts the population of Ferrol at 74,799 (cf. June 1). The population of nearby municipalities follows in brackets: Fene (9,291) Mugardos (6,976) Valdoviño (8,154). |
| 8. | Great expectation surrounds this afternoon's soccer match between Arsenal and Ferrol. "Ferrol needs desperately to win if it wishes to keep alive its chances of promoting to Second Division." Game time is 3:45 PM. There was a big crowd on hand and Ferrol scored two minutes before time to win 2-1. |
| 12. | Two hooligans were fined 100 Pesetas for misbehaving at Madrid-París movie house. |
| 14. | Inauguration of a supermarket for the exclusive use of Navy personnel and their families. |
| 17. | The yearly levy in benefit of fascist organizations Frente de Juventudes (Youth Front) and Auxilio Social comes due today (cf. September 10, 1955; October 25, 1959). |
| 20. | Official Christmas tree (above) has been put up at Town Hall square. |
| Ferrol's New England Theater (1906-1914) |
