1924 – The price of Key Largo land was on the rise, with oceanfront lots sometimes exceeding $200 an acre. Many landowners, though, were holding on to their property, expecting values to increase even further.
1925 – There was anticipation that the new Overseas Highway would turn the Florida Keys into a fisherman’s paradise, as anglers would soon be able to drive to their preferred destination and board a boat from there.
1927 – W.H. Malone of Key West took office as president pro tem of the Florida senate.
1929 – The Key West Chamber of Commerce sent a resolution to the city council urging a franchise for the distillation and distribution of freshwater made from seawater be given to J.S. Merrill and associates.
1932 – The Secretary of the Navy announced that the activities of the Seventh Naval District were to be combined with the Sixth Naval District and transferred to Charleston. The Naval Station was to be closed to a bare maintenance status as soon as practicable and not later than June 30, 1932.
1934 – The Florida Emergency Relief Administration had issued rations to 896 Monroe County recipients over the previous week, a new high. The distributions for the poor consisted of butter, canned beef, lard, milk, Wheat-O, pork, and cheese.
1935 – A film crew from Pathè News was in Key West to film interesting aspects of the island. On this date, they documented Raul’s Aquarium on Roosevelt Boulevard.
1951 – The Weather Bureau reported that hail up to 3/4 inch fell in the afternoon during a thunderstorm. The previous official date hail was recorded was July 15, 1926.
1953 – Mom’s Tea Room, for 11 years the Stock Island bordello, closed. County law enforcement authorities never officially admitted that Mom’s existed and the reason for the closing was never confirmed but rumored to be pressure from the Navy.
1960 – Southern Bell Telephone Company installed the first dial telephone line on the Lower Keys. State Representative Bernie C. Papy signaled the opening of the new system by making a call from his home on Sugarloaf, the first time he could do so without using an operator.
1984 – The Monroe County Tourist Development held its first meeting at the Holiday Inn Key West. This was formerly the Key West Tourist Development Council until a referendum included the rest of the county.
1996 – Key West Fire Chief Richard Wardlow and his wife Nina Jo were killed in a car crash in Miami.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A business card for Raul’s Club. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection in the Otto Hirzel Scrapbook. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.