1953 – The Monroe County Health Unit reported the 54th polio case of the year with five deaths.
1957 – Admiral Francis D. McCorkle reported that the Navy had a total of 11,776 military and civilian workers on the payroll in Key West, plus an additional 8,243 dependents living in the area.
1960 – Noted artist and children’s book author Morgan Dennis died in New York. Dennis’ winter home in Key West was the houseboat Sea Dog, the first boat moored on what became known as Houseboat Row along South Roosevelt Boulevard.
1962 – President Kennedy, in a speech to the nation, ordered a quarantine of Cuba because of the Russian missiles on the island. The local military was in the highest state of readiness as more troops arrived to support the quarantine.
1972 – Karl Thompson died at age 85. He had served as sheriff of Monroe County from 1933 to 1941. In 1959, he donated the land on Fleming Street in Key West for the Monroe County Public Library.
1974 – The E.K. Corporation began filming “Ninety-two in the Shade,” based on Thomas McGuane’s novel. The movie, set in Key West, starred Peter Fonda.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: Peter Fonda on Eaton Street in Key West during the filming of 92 in the Shade in November 1974. Photo by Cory McDonald. Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/3657157187/