1883 – E.G. Chesley wrote from Key West that pineapple farming was “rapidly extending throughout Monroe County.” He noted that 300 acres were under cultivation in the Upper Keys, with 75,000 dozen pineapples shipped from there for the year.
1924 – Residents of Tavernier were preparing to lay concrete sidewalks in their community, the first time such an improvement had been installed on Key Largo.
1934 – Baseball great Jerome “Dizzy” Dean visited Key West as he traveled to Havana.
1940 – Author Thelma Strabel moved into her new house by the Southernmost Point. Stroebel wrote novel “Reap The Wild Wind,” a story about Key West wreckers that was later made into a movie.
1942 – The Key West City Council and Monroe County Medical Society gave permission for two doctors from Havana, Edward Gonzales and J.R. Portela, to practice in Key West and to help alleviate a doctor shortage on the island.
1951 – The Parent Teacher Association at Key West’s Harris School had 366 members.
1955 – Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro spoke to a group of about 300 in a parking lot on Stock Island. He had attempted to speak in Key West but was blocked from doing so.
1969 – Sea Farms, Inc. announced an expansion of their Key West Bight business complex into shrimp processing and packaging, whereby the seafood would be unloaded, prepared, then flash frozen for packaging and delivery. A retail complex for tourists would also be built at the end of Margaret Street.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Fidel Castro (black suit, standing) in Key West, December 1955. In the wheelchair, Dr. Julio dePoo. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center