1926 – The new issue of the Lighthouse Service Bulletin explained how drinking water was obtained for the light stations along the Florida Reef: Rainwater that fell on the painted lighthouse structures was caught and carried by gutters and pipes to 8,000-gallon storage tanks, a method that had been practiced for nearly 75 years.

1946 – A conceptual plan to use the airfield at Boca Chica for both Navy and civilian purposes was announced by Charles B. Donaldson, Civil Aeronautics Administration Director of Airports. A meeting of interested parties was scheduled for the end of the month to formalize an agreement.

1945 – A plaque of polished brass was presented by the Florida State Chamber of Commerce to Key West’s William Curry’s Sons Company, recognizing the business for being in operation more than 100 years.

1926 – The Key West trolleys and tracks, along with their accompanying electric lines, began to be removed from city streets. The cars, because they were not of a standard gauge and were of an obsolete “open” style, would be sold for scrap.

1954 – Famed dancer Sally Rand was in trouble with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which ordered her two Key West properties to be sold to pay back taxes.

1907 – The Key West Chamber of Commerce voted to employ counsel to prosecute firms using “Key West” on boxes of cigars not made in the city.

1971 – Florida Secretary of State Richard Stone announced that Fort Taylor and the Key West Armory had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1947 – Jack Dietz announced that a contract for $62,900 had been let to build the 28-room Blue Marlin Motel on Simonton Street in Key West.

1942 – Four city blocks were condemned for expansion of the Key West Naval Station: One bounded by Whitehead, Fleming, Thomas and Eaton streets; others from Eaton to Angela between Thomas and Emma. The owners of the many homes in those blocks were paid a total of $165,702 for their properties.

2006 – Islamorada’s Holiday Isle Resort was purchased by the Ceebraid Signal Corp. of West Palm Beach for $98.25 million. The popular 151-room resort had a 57-slip marina, six bars, three restaurants, and a suite of shops. The new owners promised there would be no changes for several months.

1892 – The Key West Library Association was organized in the Masonic Temple located over the First National Bank on Simonton Street. Judge James W. Locke was president, Mary A. Taylor, secretary, and J. Fogarty, treasurer. The Association had a public library of 1,200 volumes and a free reading room supported by dues and fees of members and patrons. Mrs. William Delacy was the Librarian.

1982 – Suwa, a male dolphin owned by Little Torch Key resident Betty Brothers and kept on her property, attacked a man after he entered the private lagoon to swim with the creature. Suwa rammed the man six times, causing severe liver lacerations and the rupture of a “major” vein in his stomach.

1926 – The Brethren meeting at the Gospel Chapel at 720 Southard Street in Key West began a three-day conference that would run until the close of Sunday evening services.

1946 – The Walter R. Mickens Post No. 6021 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, under commander Alphonso Dean, received its charter.

1956 – Burglars struck four Key Largo establishments: Harry’s Restaurant at Tavernier; Henry Bogaard’s Restaurant, also at Tavernier; Stan & Mary’s Restaurant at Rock Harbor, and Chum’s Dairy Freeze. Cash registers, vending machines, and charity containers were all plundered.

1986 – Monroe County Commissioners approved the construction of a new 150-seat restaurant at the site of the existing Driftwood Luncheonette on Higgs Beach in Key West. Local architects were asked to submit plans for the new eatery.

1979 – Acclaimed playwright and Key West resident Tennessee Williams and his friend Datson Rader were assaulted on Duval Street. Both men were punched but neither needed medical attention. Williams said of the attackers, “Maybe they weren't punks at all, but instead New York drama critics.”

1925 – A group of Key Westers traveled by boat to Munson Island to give a surprise party for Mr. and Mrs. Newton Munson. The day was spent fishing and in other activities. Music was furnished by the Variety Seven Orchestra.

1925 – A train with six water cars derailed overnight at Spanish Harbor near Big Pine Key. A wrecking train was dispatched immediately to clear the tracks, and traffic was restored by dawn.

1974 – Filming for “92 in the Shade” began at the Cow Key Marina on Stock Island, with actors Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and Margot Kidder. The film, based on author Thomas McGuane’s novel of the same name, told a tale of rival Keys charter fishermen.