S. S. Fehr's Letters to Mom

May 1961 - December 1961:

• 4 May 1961 - Biracial groups begin Freedom Rides heading south on interstate bus trips to challenge racial segregation of public facilities such as restrooms and separate drinking fountains in bus stations. The objective is to entice the Federal government to enforce the laws and U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
• 5 May 1961 - American Alan Shepard rides Freedom 7 spacecraft into an arc in space (a suborbital flight) for 15 minutes, but the U.S. is still behind in the space race.
• May 1961 - The FCC Chairman declares that TV broadcasting is a "vast wasteland."
• 14 May 1961 - The first Freedom Riders bus is attacked and burned by a mob near Anniston, Alabama.
• 28 May 1961 - Amnesty International is founded.
• 13 August 1961 - East German border guards begin building the "anti-fascist protective barrier" to keep Westerners out. Elsewhere it is known as the Berlin Wall and stretches for 28 miles.
• 1 October 1961 - Roger Maris hits home run 61 surpassing Babe Ruth's record.
• October 1961 - Nuclear testing is resumed by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
• 1 November 1961 - The Interstate Commerce Commission's regulations against segregation of public accommodations go into effect with the backing of President Kennedy.
• November 1961 - Mass demonstrations erupt when black students are arrested for attempting to purchase bus tickets at a "whites only" counter at the Trailways bus station in Albany, Georgia.
• 11 December 1961 - The first two Army helicopter units land in Vietnam.

• In 1961:
  
• West Side Story wins the Academy Award, Catch-22 is published by Joseph Heller, and the Twist and Hully-Gully are the rages in music.
• Moon River ran with Runaround Sue (Dion) pursuing Ricky Nelson's Travelin Man. The Marcels loved Blue Moon and Del Shannon duffed Hats Off To Larry.
• Sedate Neil Sedaka loved a Calendar Girl and Ray Charles demanded Hit The Road Jack.
• Momma Said (Shirelles) I Fall To Pieces (Patsy Cline) while Roy Orbison was Cryin' because Mother-In-Law (Ernie K-Doe) was doing the Bristol Stomp (Dovells).
• Lonnie Donegan had the no redeeming value tune of the year in Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on my bedpost overnight.
• Even Lawrence "Bubbles" Welk had a hit (Calcutta) to go with comedian Jimmy, the Shnazola, Durante's Make Someone Happy. And that aint even half the great sounds of 1961!