Items from the time capsule buried by May Sands Elementary School students in 1976 and recently unearthed are on display at the Key West Library and posted online.

1946 – The Key West General Hospital invited eight physicians to be on its consulting staff: Drs. Thomas O. Otto, surgeon; E. Clay Shaw, urologist; Sterling E. Nichols, cardiologist; Michael Price DeBoe, ENT; Ralph Jack, obstetrician; Wiley M. Sams, dermatologist; and Francis W. Glenn, orthopedist.

1976 – The Monroe County Courthouse in Key West was being renovated for the upcoming national Bicentennial celebration. Among the improvements were new flooring and new interior paint. A 20-by-8-foot mural depicting the history of the Keys was also being rendered by artist Paul Stevens.

1986 – An 18½-foot, five-ton steel sculpture of a conch shell was installed at the entrance to Key West High School. The massive artwork was created by the school’s welding teacher George Carey and his 36 students. Dubbed the “largest conch shell in the world,” it took eight months to complete.

A time capsule buried by Key West students in 1976 was unearthed 50 years later, following directions in a letter held at the Florida Keys History Center.

1943 – The USO Club at 303 Duval Street in Key West was dedicated. The Club, located in the old Caroline Lowe House, was operated by the Women’s Division of the National Catholic Community.

1935 – While restoring the Key West Art Center located in the Caroline Lowe house at 303 Duval Street, carpenters discovered a hollowed-out rail on the widow’s walk. During the Civil War, Lowe often flew a Confederate flag from the walk, but whenever Union forces tried to seize the banner, they could never find it. It was thought this hollow was the hiding place.

1975 – The “Doomsday Atlas” prepared by the U.S. Defense Civil Preparedness Agency showed that the area from Sugarloaf Key to Key West would be devastated in a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union due to an attack on the Naval Air Station at Boca Chica.

1994 – More than 17,000 Cuban refugees had crossed the Florida Straits during the month. It was the largest Cuban exodus since the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

1930 – The Key West Pilot Commission voted to cut pilotage charges in half on all ships calling for fuel, supplies, repairs, or other needs. The move was made to encourage more shipping at the port of Key West.