Mario Sanchez
1823 – Lt. Charles Skinner of USS Wild Cat left a contingent of Marines and artillery at Key Vaca (Marathon) on the order of Commodore David Porter. Porter wanted a military post there to prevent “certain malpractices in that quarter.”
1892 – Jose Marti arrived in Key West for his second visit to the Cuban community of the Island.
1898 – Three hundred twenty-five soldiers wounded at the Battle of Santiago in Cuba were being treated at the Marine and convent hospitals in Key West, as well as in an unused cigar factory that had been converted to an infirmary.
1929 – The first issue of the Key West Sunday Star was published by Monroe County Printing Company. The subscription was $2 per year.
1933 – Canned tomatoes were being distributed to employees of the Emergency Relief Council, with the allotment for each based on how many dependents they had. There were 12,000 cans available for Monroe County.
1934 – Two Cuban men who, three days earlier, had landed near No Name Key on an 18-foot boat were sent back to Cuba by U.S. immigration authorities.
1942 – The merchant vessel Umtata was sunk near Fowey Rocks Lighthouse by the German submarine U-571.
1946 – A report released by the Florida State Comptroller showed that during the past fiscal year every man, woman, and child of Monroe County paid an average of $8.64 for the operation of the county government.
1953 – The Key West City Commission passed an ordinance granting a franchise for television cable operation to John M. Spottswood.
1962 – Four painted woodcarvings by Key West artist Mario Sanchez were featured in the movie “That Touch of Mink.” The four carvings were bought by actor Cary Grant when he was in Key West filming “Operation Petticoat.”
1978 – Long time Upper Keys political leader Harry Harris died in Miami at age 74. He served on the Monroe County Commission from 1942 to 1976.
2011 – The F.E.B. Corporation was seeking a “mixed use commercial” designation for Wisteria Island, to allow for 35 homes, 35 vacation-rental units, a restaurant, shops, a marina and mooring field, and five affordable housing units.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Mario Sanchez holding one of his wood carvings circa 1970s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.