Johnson Sea-Link submarine, circa 1973
1909 – A large fire in Key West destroyed several businesses, and the Jefferson Hotel and Elks Club were damaged. Arthur Fulford, son of the fire chief, was badly injured when horses hitched to a fire engine ran away and crashed into the chief’s buggy.
1914 – The Panama Hotel, Manager C.R. Pierce, was located at the corner of Eaton and Elizabeth streets. The hotel had running water in every room and the rates were $1, $1.50 and $2.
1924 – The Miller Bonding Company announced that they would award a $100 prize to the person who suggested the best name for the new hotel being built at the corner of Duval and Fleming streets. Spanish names were preferred. The contest was open to all Key Westers, but they had to submit their ideas to the Key West Citizen within three days.
1927 – Two girls, ages 14 and 15, were confined in jail at Key West charged with drunkenness, disorderly conduct, obscene language, and staying out all night. Their parents consented to the confinement as they had tried to control the girls, but to no effect.
1955 – The Key West High School baseball team defeated Jackson High of Jacksonville 3 to 2 in 12 innings to win the Class AA State High School Baseball Championship.
1968 – Ground was broken for the $2 million project for the construction of a road and toll bridge at Card Sound.
1973 – The four-man 21-foot Johnson Sea-Link research submarine became entrapped in the wreckage of a scuttled destroyer on which they were diving. In a massive two-day effort, the Navy freed the submarine but only after two of the four-man crew had died.
1980 – A study ordered by Governor Bob Graham concluded that the policy of sheltering the population in a major hurricane was “clearly insufficient” and recommended that the Keys be completely evacuated when storms approached.
1984 – Chet Alexander died of a heart attack while sinking a barge for an artificial reef. He was the last known Key Wester to be a federal licensed salvage master.
2003 – Tensions were rising between residents of Ocean Reef and federal wildlife officials because of the maintenance of a feral cat population by some members of the community. Biologists were concerned the nearly 500 cats were preying on the endangered Key Largo wood rat and Key Largo cotton mouse.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Johnson Sea-Link Submarine circa 1973. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.