Monroe County Sheriff Rick Roth at the old jail in downtown Key West
1906 – Work commenced on the new Triumph Coffee Mill building on a lot behind the Pohalski Cigar Factory. The corrugated iron structure was expected to take three weeks to complete.
1923 – A whale shark estimated at 45,000 pounds was brought to the city from Long Key where it was captured. The New York Aquarium removed the hide for mounting.
1934 – Key West was experiencing an epidemic of bicycle thefts, with many reports over the previous week of bikes being taken from yards, stands, and sidewalks.
1934 – Between 50 and 75 Keys men were to be employed for 60 days in the removal of 800 to 1,000 tons of scrap steel and iron from the Dry Tortugas. The workers would be housed at a camp on the remote islands. The metal, from old military works, would be sold in the U.S. and Europe.
1950 – The first of eight jet trainers landed at the Naval Air Station, Key West. The planes assigned to FAWTULANT were the first jets to be based at Key West.
1960 – A team from the Gulfport, Miss., “Marinearium” trailered a 7,000-gallon tank to Key West and chartered Capt. Tony Tarracino’s Greyhound II to catch tropical fish in Keys waters for their displays.
1985 – Bird watchers from across the country made their way to Lower Matecumbe Key to get a glimpse of a male shiny cowbird that had settled in the yard of Ann Carians. It was the first known instance of the species being in North America.
1990 – Governor Bob Martinez appointed Richard Roth Sheriff of Monroe County to succeed Allison DeFoor, who resigned to run for lieutenant governor.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Monroe County Sheriff Rick Roth in the jail at Whitehead and Fleming streets in Key West. Published in the Miami Herald on March 1, 1991. Photo by Nancy Klingener. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.