Today in Keys History – April 15, 2024
1829 – It was proposed to establish a Temperance Society at Key West.
1950 – Rough seas from a cold front forced all 250 boats of the Key West shrimp fleet to stay in port. The temperature reached 55.8 degrees, the second lowest on record since 1891’s 54 degrees.
1953 – The Havana Cubans and Fort Lauderdale Lions of the Florida International Baseball League opened their season at Key West with a two-game stand. Cubans President Joe Cambria promised his team would play 24 more games on the island if the support of fans warranted it.
1961 – A Cuban Air Force plane, one of three that had bombed and strafed Cuban military installations earlier in the day, landed at Boca Chica Naval Air Station. The dissident pilot immediately asked for political asylum in the U.S.
1970 – Key West High School’s Bill Butler was named the No. 2 basketball player in the state by the Miami News.
1974 – The Florida Department of Transportation announced that due to the poor condition of many Overseas Highway bridges, weight limits would be sharply restricted for trucks traveling through the Florida Keys. Weighing stations would be established at Plantation Key and possible Key West.
1975 – In a 5-2 vote Florida Governor Reubin Askew and the State Cabinet declared 70,000 acres of Monroe County, primarily in the Keys, an “area of critical state concern.” This gave the state the authority to control land use and development in ecologically sensitive areas of the county. Many Monroe residents and officials were angered by the decision.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The shrimp boats Chippewa, Ramos, Seabee, Three Sisters, Miss Sue and Louise, Lucky Lady and others in Key West Bight ca. 1950. Jeff Broadhed Collection. Monroe County Library Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.