1853 – The English barque Colony, sailing from New Orleans to London, ran aground at Coffins Patch Reef with 600 tons of oil cake. The vessel was a total loss, and wreckers had no expectation of saving any of the cargo.
1858 – Wreckers recovered 2,773 barrels of good flour, 3,122 barrels of damaged flour, and 392 casks of good lard from the wreck of the British ship Agamemnon and brought them from the reef to Key West.
1954 – T.W. Stalnaker was building a concrete-block house on Big Pine Key under the supervision of Clarence Key. Blasting had been going on for two days as trees were being cleared from the lot.
1963 – David Carey, a 1955 graduate of Key West Douglass High School and an Army veteran, signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Carey was a catcher-outfielder.
1970 – Guy Lombardo and his orchestra was the featured entertainment at the dedication of the new Indies Inn Convention Hall on Duck Key.
1975 – Key West-based Air Sunshine announced that despite rising fuel costs, they would not raise fares. A one-way flight from Key West or Marathon to Miami would remain at $24, and round-trip fares would continue to be $42.
1999 – Students at Key West’s Horace O’Bryant Middle School were coming to terms with a new uniform dress code. Those who did not comply were given detention during the lunch hour.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Air Sunshine plane "City of Key West," 1984. Photo by Wendy Tucker. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.