1908 – Monroe County Sheriff Frank Knight took a steamer to Tampa with prisoner “Hobo Joe” under his charge. Joe had been sentenced to the state penitentiary after he attacked and injured another vagrant man at Sweeney’s Dock.
1909 – The Rev. Claude Duke of Tampa arrived at Key West to begin a series of illustrated lectures on Palestine. The first was held on this date at the Baptist Church.
1976 – Governor Reuben Askew named Ervin Higgs Monroe County Property Appraiser after Joe Allen was elected state representative and resigned effective September 30. Higgs was unopposed in the Democratic primary for the office.
1994 – Key West’s “Good Will Ambassador” William “Bill” Kroll died at the age 89. Kroll started the Conch Tour Train, which began operating on January 18, 1958, and he sold it to Wometco Enterprises in 1972.
1994 – Monroe County Commissioners voted against a proposal by American Eagle airlines to upgrade to bigger planes for use at the Marathon Airport. Many area residents were pleased by the rejection, because the larger planes were twice as loud as any that had been previously permitted.
2004 – Marathon maintenance worker Noel “Tiburon” Cordova, who lived with his beloved dog in a pickup truck camper, won a $1.2 million lottery jackpot. Everyone in the community was happy for him, and the general feeling was that no one deserved it more.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Aerial view of Marathon neighborhoods surrounding the airport. Photo taken by the federal government on October 7, 1987. From the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.