Chapter 06

The Pig on the Tower 1979 and Anchor 1963?

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I remember driving down Florida Blvd, just west of Penman Road, in 1979, and seeing all the cars, police, and fire trucks there and looking up to see the pig on the tower. It had been borrowed from Roland's Red Barn restaurant at Atlantic Boulevard and 3rd Street, and somehow hoisted to the top of the water tower. It weighed in the neighborhood of 500#. I was impressed. There are people who purport to know who was responsible, but nobody I know is talking. The spirit of adventure still lived. It took a helicopter to get it down.


Anybody remember Pete Benson, Henry Bostwick, and I want to say, Bob Solomon hanging an anchor (large) (swiped from someone's yard) over the doorway of a classroom in Fletcher. Frazier Long made them dress in sailor uniforms with white shorts and sailor hats, and sing Row,Row, Row Your Boat and Anchors Aweigh to an assembly of the senior class and then to an assembly of the junior class. I was told he took them to some classrooms too. He stood next to them with a paddle to ensure they didn't laugh. I was a sophomore, I believe, and just happened to have a hall pass so I was able to witness a few minutes of the spectacle.

This was a Facebook post to the "I grew up in Jacksonville Beach" site early in 2010.

 

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