1953 – Miss Etta Patterson’s coconut cake recipe, long a Key West favorite, was published across the nation in “This Week Magazine” in a feature written by food editor Clementine Paddleford.

1936 – The Monroe County Commission moved to negotiate with the Florida East Coast Railway Company towards acquiring the railroad’s right-of-way through the Florida Keys. If successful, the County would then use the railroad’s right-of-way and bridges for the Overseas Highway.

1956 – The American Salvage Co. of New York was bringing up twisted steel remains and a cargo of ore from the freighter SS Edward Luckenbach, sunk just north of Key West. The 456-foot Luckenbach sank in 1942, when it inadvertently steamed into a WWII minefield.

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.

1920 – The Consolidated Cigar Company’s factory at the corner of Catherine and Grinnell streets in Key West was reopened after undergoing repairs for damage suffered during the 1919 hurricane.

1926 – Detroit golf professional Harry Hampton and his assistant Ed Valentine arrived at Key West, where Hampton would serve as the course inspector for the season. The men were planning to host a series of golf tournaments on the island over the coming months.

1935 – The Cortez Cigar Co. building on Ann Street in Key West was destroyed by fire. The first alarm sounded at 10 a.m. and all the city’s firefighters arrived to battle the blaze, but the flames spread too quickly to be contained. Chief Harry Baker thought the fire was set intentionally.

1937 – The former United States Biological Station at the eastern end of Key West was sold to Julian Marks, who renamed the property Casa Roma.

1935 – The Commandant’s residence on the Naval Station in Key West was being refurbished and refurnished in readiness for occupancy by visitors from Washington. Among those anticipated to be staying in the residence was Marvin McIntyre, secretary to President Roosevelt.

1925 – Thomas Pinder was appointed caretaker of the Monroe County Courthouse grounds at Jackson Square in Key West. Pinder was to tend to the hundreds of recently planted shrubs and trees and stop attacks on them by boys who frequented the grounds.

1985 – The Monroe County Commission named the public library branch at Islamorada in honor of the branch’s librarian, Helen Wadley.

1960 – Dredge and fill operations at Sigsbee Park (aka Dredgers Key) were completed, and the construction of 300 new housing units there would begin shortly.

1994 – Former Key West Mayor Richard Heyman died at age 59, after a long struggle with AIDS. Heyman, who served two terms from 1983- 85 and 1987-89, was the nation’s first openly gay mayor.

1963 – Long Key residents voted to incorporate a portion of the island as a municipality, approved naming the new city “Layton,” and selected Del Layton to serve as mayor.

1954 – The Florida Keys were undergoing a building boom: The permit for a two-bedroom $5,800 CBS home at Marathon was the 800th issued by Monroe County for new construction in unincorporated areas in two years.

1905 – Three hundred men were working on Key Largo to build the railroad bed for the Florida East Coast’s Overseas Railway, and five miles had been graded on the island to that date. Another crew was making soundings and drilling bore holes at Knights Key to determine the best foundation to cross it.

1945 – Blas Zarate of the White Inn on Division Street (now Truman Avenue) in Key West was arrested for selling beer on a Sunday, and customer Harvey Stirrup was charged with consuming beer on Sunday. The men were given bonds of $250 and $25, respectively.

1940 – Mabel McKinney sold her Key Largo property fronting the highway and known as “Mabel’s Place” for $1500 to A.K. Gray of Miami.

1937 – The Public Works Administration announced that it had 600 men working on the new Overseas Highway, and the road would be open to the public by the start of the new year.

2010 – The Key West City Commission voted 5-2 to include a referendum on the November ballot asking voters whether the city should acquire the Glynn Archer school building for use as a City Hall.