The odd-even parking system gets a start, 59 years ago

The habit of alternate side parking was adopted by La Crosse in 1959…during the summer. And it lasted year-round. In the first month, city police gave out an average of 200 warnings a night, to let drivers know about the new system. When it actually took effect, only 69 tickets were handed out for the entire first month. Now, alternate-side parking is winter only, and confined to a four-month period between November and March.

President Eisenhower was touring the other side of the world in December of 1959…meeting at the Vatican with Pope John the 23rd, and being greeted by huge crowds in Turkey and Pakistan.

Eighteen years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the man who was Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. in 1941 called the attack a “risky enterprise,” and a blunder. Former ambassador Nomura said Japan could have lost much of its own fleet, if America had learned about the attack plans ahead of time.

And the Green Bay Packers had their first winning season in 12 years…a 7-and-5 record under first-year coach Vince Lombardi, in 1959, yesterday in La Crosse.