People dressed up as plants on a parade float.
1852 – Key Wester James C. Clapp opened a hotel called The Ocean House at the corner of Caroline and Whitehead streets. It was described as a stone building with fine, airy rooms and ideal for “invalids who are anxious to screen themselves from the North during the severe winter.”
1899 – Miss Carrie Watson returned to Matecumbe Key to take charge of the school there for her third term at the school.
1908 – Dr J.B. Maloney opened the Louise Maloney Hospital on Fleming Street next to the Key West Drug Company. This was the first civilian hospital on the island.
1908 – Charles W. Richards, machinist helper at Naval Station Key West, was approved to receive benefits after having been injured on the job. A liability act for the relief of laborers hurt in government employ had recently passed at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt, and Richards was the law’s first beneficiary.
1962 – The “Today” TV program showed that Key Westers were calm, despite the large military buildup and threat from the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1981 – Debate ensued about the appropriateness of the now-annual Fantasy Fest parade, as the previous two festivals had seen much nudity amongst the revelers. Some urged its cancelation: “We consider Fantasy Fest nothing more than a revival of demonism,” said a local minister. But a parade organizer said, “It’s just marvelous publicity. Everyone will want to see a parade that has been banned.”
2004 – The Key West Art & Historical Society held its first “Blame it on Robert” party at the East Martello Tower, highlighting the doll in their collection that many believed could act maliciously.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Fantasy Fest 1985 “Birds of Paradise.” Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.