1926 – Samuel J. Wilde of Boston purchased Crawl Key near Marathon from Mary Porter Harris, wife of the late Judge W. Hunt Harris of Key West. Wilde was surveying the island to divide it into lots, and he also planned to build a yacht club and fishing camp there.
1928 – Joe Roberts of Key West, who had escaped from the Monroe County jail 10 years earlier, was rearrested after being involved in a brawl.
1929 – The annual convention of the Florida Sheriff’s Association opened at the La Concha Hotel. Sheriff Cleveland Niles presented a key to the city to President Bob Baker.
1931 – Pauline Hemingway saved a visitor from Chicago from drowning. Mrs. W.P. Sidley became exhausted and sank beneath the water while swimming across the Bayview Park bathing pool. Mrs. Hemingway pulled Sidley from the water, and she was taken to the Marine Hospital and resuscitated.
1935 – The Key West Hospitality Band left for Lower Matecumbe, where they were to present several concerts over the weekend for the veterans constructing bridges for the Overseas Highway.
1953 – A plan for the protection of the Florida Key Deer was agreed upon in Washington by Congressman Bill Lantaff, officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and representatives of the Wildlife Federation.
1972 – The American Sportsmen’s Inn Motel at 3820 North Roosevelt Blvd. opened for business.
1987 – The waste-to-energy plant, built by Montenay for Key West, was dedicated. The plant designed to burn garbage to make electricity was unsuccessful and later closed.
1994 – A Chalks Airline seaplane taking off from Key West Harbor crashed, killing the two pilots, the only people on the plane,
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Sportsmen’s Inn Motel 3820 North Roosevelt Blvd. circa 1970s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.