Today in Keys History – July 18, 2024
1909 – O.O. Poppleton, “the bee king of the East Coast,” reported that he had harvested 14 tons of honey from his 200-hive apiary on Key Largo.
1924 – An effort by health officers to ensure Key West cisterns were screened against mosquitoes was meeting mixed results. Many property owners were cooperative, but others made no effort. “More forceful measures are to be adopted at once to place all cisterns…in the condition needed,” wrote an observer.
1943 – The U.S. Naval Air Ship (Blimp) K-74 was shot down by the German submarine U-134 near the Elbow Cay on the Cay Sal Banks about 50 miles southeast of Marathon. Navy ships from Key West rescued the crew except one man who was lost.
1954 – Fifteen teams from across Florida participated in the state spearfishing championships, which took place in the waters between Key West and American Shoal. The Miami Beach Tritons were declared the winners.
1961 – Ground was broken for the Monroe County Cerebral Palsy and Crippled Association therapy center on Stock Island.
1993 – Author John Updike was given the Conch Prize for Literature.
1993 – The Full Moon Saloon on Simonton Street closed its doors after 12 years, a victim of changing times and increasing rent.
1994 – Two Navy F-14 fighter jets buzzed as low as 150 feet along Key West’s Truman Avenue, breaking windows, setting off alarms, and angering many residents. The fly-by was part of a Navy band concert at Bayview Park and had been approved by the City Commission.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A Key West cistern in use ca. 1980. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.