1914 – J.G. Grossenbacher of the U.S. Department of Agriculture was in Key West to check on the status of “lady beetles” that had been placed in the city cemetery to destroy an insect that was killing the island’s plants. The lady beetles appeared to be working as intended.
1915 – With the construction of a new 465-foot Galveston steamer, steamship service between Key West and Galveston was threatened. The new ship was 100 feet longer than those used previously, and it would be unable to avoid the sandbar in Key West Harbor as it turned. A remedy was urged.
1949 – Monroe County Commissioner Joe Allen announced that anyone consuming alcohol at County (Higgs) Beach would be arrested. The decree came after a drinking party left the beach littered with dozens of beer containers and liquor bottles, along with other garbage.
1969 – Gerald Adams died at the age of 69. For more than a quarter of a century he was connected with his father in the operation of Adams Dairy, the last dairy to produce milk in Key West. He served on the Monroe County School Board from 1948 to 1961, and the Gerald Adams School was named for him.
1972 – Key West native Pete Nebo died at age 62. In the late 1920s Nebo was of the best flyweight, and later lightweight, fighters in the country.
1999 – National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle concluded a week of exploration at the Dry Tortugas using a submersible vehicle, and she was alarmed by the absence of sizable fish in the area. “There are no big fish,” she said. Overfishing was suspected to be the reason.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: County Beach looking west from top of West Martello ca. 1940s. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.