It’s always fun to look back and amaze ourselves as what we remember and what we have forgotten. Take a look back to 1971. Doesn’t feel that long ago for many. Just two days into the 1971 New Year, a nationwide banning of cigarette ads on radio and television was implemented.
NASDAQ was established Feb. 4, making it the second largest stock exchange. On February 9th a 12 second earthquake occurred around 6 a.m. in San Fernando, California. The 6.5 quake left more than 60 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Evel Knievel, daredevil extraordinaire, jumped 19 cars in February. Then on March 8, the “fight of the century” at Madison Square Garden took place. Muhammad Ali’s winning streak came to an end when “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier came out on top and was declared the unanimous winner after 15 rounds.
Starbucks’ big birthday. The company turns 50. The business opened its first store March 31, 1971, in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and the rest, they say, is history. By Aug. 1, NASCAR driver Richard Petty became the first driver to take in a million dollars.
Walt Disney World officially opened on October 1st 1971 near Orlando, Florida. However Roy O. Disney died in December of 1971, only a few months after the park opened. The complex consisted of just the Magic Kingdom Park and the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Fort Wilderness resorts. The original price for an adult ticket in 1971 was $3.50 and did not include the cost of tickets for rides which were separate at the time.
The nationally known magazine, “Look,” published its last edition in 1971. The voting age in the United States was lowered to 18 when the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.
So how much did things cost in 1971? The Yearly Inflation Rate was 4.3% and the average price of new house was $25,250.00, but the average income per year was $10,600.00. Rent averaged $150.00 a month, gas was 40 cents a gallon and a United States postage Stamp was 8 cents. A Datsun 1200 Sports Coupe cost $1,866.00 while a Dodge Charger cost $3,579. You could stop by the movies for $1.50 a ticket or entertain yourself on an Etch-A-Sketch for $2.83. Malibu Barbie was $1.94. Fresh Strawberries were priced at 29 cents a pound while Idaho Potatoes cost 98 cents for 10 pounds. Jiffy Peanut Butter was 59 cents a jar to go in that Side By Side Fridge that cost $704.95. The good old days of listening to a tape Cassette Recorder that cost $29.88 while you could relax in front of an Electrical Heater Fireplace with a price tag of $59.88.
We can’t forget the ever important Toys from 1971: Malibu Barbie, Tumblestone Maker, Rocking Horse, Etch A Sketch, game of Operation, a Phonograph/Record Player, a Scooter, NFL Hockey Game, Hot Wheels, Battleship, and Rebound.
1971 could well be the year that marked the start of the digital age when the Microprocessor was invented. Texas Instruments released the first pocket calculator and the first Internet Chat rooms appeared. The First Cat Scanner was produced by EMI.
NASA’s Apollo 14 mission to the Moon was launched Jan 31, 1971 – Feb 9, 1971; was the 8th crewed mission in the U. S. Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the “H missions”, with landings at specific sites of scientific interest on the Moon for two-day stays with two lunar extravehicular activities. As the third manned mission to the Moon, the crew consisted of Commander Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa (Command Module Pilot), and Edgar Mitchell (Lunar Module Pilot). There were some issues with docking the modules, but they were overcome after several attempts. Once they arrived on the Moon, Shepard became the fifth person to walk on the Moon and the first to try golfing when he attached a golf club head onto a lunar tool. The crew made it safely back to Earth on February 9th after nine days and brought back over 90 pounds of lunar rocks and samples to be examined.
Apollo 15 was launched on July 26, 1971 – Aug 7, 1971. It was the ninth crewed mission in the United States’ Apollo program and the fourth to land on the Moon. It was the first J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greater focus on science than earlier landings. Apollo 15 had the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
The Soviet Union launched the first space station, Salyut 1, into low Earth orbit on April 19th. Salyut 1 weighed about 20 metric tons and was a 48 foot long cylinder. The first crew arrived a few days after its launch but they were unable to dock and had to abandon the mission. It was not until June that the Soyuz 11 became the first crew to board the space station and spend a record-breaking 23 days there. Unfortunately, the Soyuz 11’s capsule depressurized after their achievement and all three crew members perished. The Salyut 1 space station orbited for a total of 175 days before it was purposefully de-orbited and disintegrated above the Pacific.
The Mariner 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to enter the orbit of another planet on November 14th 1971. Mariner 9 had been launched on May 30th. It was successful in its missions; which were to become the first artificial satellite to orbit Mars, map the surface of Mars, gather atmospheric data, and take highly detailed images of the surface. The Mariner 9 craft was launched by NASA over a week after the USSR launched their Soviet Mars 2 spacecraft but made it to the planet much faster than the Soviet satellite. The Mariner 9 spacecraft stopped its communications in October of 1972.
“Ping Pong Diplomacy” came to the forefront when the US table tennis team visited to the People’s Republic of China on April 10th. Federal Express was started by Fred Smith. In an attempt to control inflation, President Richard M. Nixon implemented a 90 day freeze on wages and prices and removed the gold/silver backing from the US Dollar.
Popular films of the year were: ‘The Last Picture Show’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, ‘The French Connection’, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, ‘Summer of ’42’, ‘Dirty Harry’, and ‘Shaft’. Just days before Christmas ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ hit the silver screen. The movie was praised and criticized for its excessive violence. While ‘All My Children’, ‘Mary Tyler Moore’, ‘McCloud’, ‘The Odd Couple’, and ‘The Partridge Family’ entertained us as the top TV Programs.
We had many popular musicians and songs come into our homes. A few were Bob Dylan, Tony Orlando and Dawn with ” Knock Three Times “, Janis Joplin with ” Me and Bobby Mcgee “, The Who, John Lennon, The Jackson 5, Ike and Tina Turner, Rod Stewart with ” Maggie Mae “, The Osmonds, Michael Jackson , and we can’t forget The Rolling Stones with ” Brown Sugar “. The Beatles had disbanded, but that didn’t stop the music. Former Beatle George Harrison released a new single in 1971, “My Sweet Lord,” and fans loved it.
The first Soft Contact Lens became available commercially in the US in 1971 while Kevlar also came into being. Kevlar was discovered by Stephanie Kwolek while working as a chemist for Du Pont.
By April 1971, Hollywood came to Butte to shoot scenes for the film “Evel Knievel.” The film starred George Hamilton as the Butte daredevil and Sue Lyon as his wife Linda.
On May 11, 1971 two freight trains collided north of Great Falls killing four railroaders and seriously injuring two. The northbound train was supposed to stop at Portage, 10 miles to the north, and wait for the southbound train to pass. The trains didn’t get any message. The train coming from Havre was a 64-car, 250-ton train, and from Great Falls, 100-ton, 20-car northbound train. When they hit head-on one Burlington Northern diesel engine was completely turned around and another was ripped off its frame and running gear. The damage, in 1971 dollars, was $722,000. Oddly, trains were only labeled as going east and west, even going north and south between Great Falls and Havre.
The Budd Car, a small passenger train, made its last run on April 30, 1971, just before the wreck. The car ran on a regular schedule, which everyone knew, but freight trains were “extra trains,” which ran when there were enough cars, engines and a crew available. It is speculated that without the Budd Cars, perhaps people did not pay as much attention.
The U.S. Air Force Lewistown Air Force Station General Surveillance Radar station was inactivated on 30 June 1971 due to budget reductions. It was located 7.0 miles east-southeast of Hilger, Montana. The 694th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to Lewistown AFS on 1 September 1958. The squadron began manual radar operations in February 1960 and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron’s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit’s radar scopes. After the facility’s closure, the housing/cantonment area was used for a time as the campus of the now-defunct Big Sky Bible College.
Just before Independence Day, the new drinking age was lowered from 21 to 19.
It was announced July 13 that Montana Tech would be adding a new degree to the upcoming fall semester. The Board of Regents gave the okay to begin a liberal arts program.
August 1971 started off with a bang literally, as three small bombs went off in Butte. Two detonated on people’s cars and the other was placed on a resident’s storm window in the 2800 block of St. Ann’s Street.
From the ‘Great Falls Tribune’ 21 Nov 1971: “The new Cascade Krafty Korner in Cascade is what might be called the result of the recycling of an old drug store. Cascade women have made an arts and crafts center of the old Cascade Drug Store for sale of handywork and ceramics made by local people. This season, sale items include Christmas gift and decoration materials. Heading the operation are Mrs. Don Creveling, Mrs. Maurice Lemieux and Mrs. Duane Pettapiece.”
Many won’t remember; some will smile with nostalgia; but all the little tidbits of history is a bit interesting.