Uncle Sam said “I want you” to men and women, 55 years ago

At the start of 1964, the Army Recruiting station in La Crosse reported that 176 persons had enlisted at the office during the previous year. According to a newspaper headline, seven of the new recruits were “gals.”   

Both of Minnesota’s U.S. Senators … Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy…were being mentioned as possible running mates for President Lyndon Johnson in the fall election. The job of vice president was left vacant when LBJ became president after the Kennedy assassination.  Humphrey became the new veep.  

The surgeon-general started a firestorm over smoking that January.  Luther Terry released a report on “Smoking and Health,” which concluded that the use of cigarettes could lead to lung cancer and other illnesses. Later that year, Washington ordered cigarette makers to put health warnings on cigarette packages.   

And on this night in 1964, a new musical opened on Broadway. “Hello, Dolly” was a star-making show for Broadway veteran Carol Channing. The title song also gave Louis Armstrong a chart-topping record. That fall, Armstrong would perform at La Crosse’s Oktoberfest…in 1964, yesterday in La Crosse.