1886 – Still reeling from the devastating March 30 fire, the Relief Committee of Key West issued a plea to the nation, saying, “A large portion of our city having been swept away by the flames, our industrial occupations entirely ruined, and thousands of our people left in utter destitution and distress, we find ourselves compelled to appeal to the benevolence of our country…”
1927 – Founder of the Rotary Club International Paul P. Harris was welcomed to Key West at reception at the home of Key West Rotary President Andrew R. Miller.
1938 – Gene Tunney, heavyweight boxing champion, visited the city from his winter home at Hobe Sound.
1939 – The Key West sponge wharf was empty with sponge fishermen reporting a mysterious blight had attacked the sponges, which caused them to disintegrate when touched by the hook. Bahamas spongers reported a similar situation.
1941 – Eight female students at Key West High School formed a carpentry class – the first of their sex to do so in Florida. They were building cabinets at the Army barracks and expected to complete construction of a house before the end of their coursework.
1951 – Key West City Commissioner Louis Carbonell proposed a bill to State Representative Bernie C. Papy that all of Stock Island be incorporated into the City of Key West, after the City Commission had unanimously approved the idea. It was not known if Papy would move such a bill forward.
1961 – The Cable Schooner Western Union arrived in port after being stopped in international waters by two armed Cuban Gunboats.
1964 – The Flagler Avenue Branch Post Office was dedicated. Congressman Dante B. Fascell was the main speaker.
1980 – The Cuban Government removed the guards from the Peruvian Embassy in Havana and allowed anyone seeking asylum to enter the compound. This was the first event that led to the Mariel Boatlift.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Flagler Station Post Office, 3224 Flagler Ave., in the 1960s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.