1946 – In a special meeting, Key West city commissioners authorized the purchase of the Sweeny beachfront property at the south end of Duval Street for $37,000. The property was to be used as a bathing beach and to provide recreational facilities for the city.

1864 – A soldier stationed at Fort Jefferson wrote of the burial of his comrade Henry Wilson: “His body was put on a skiff at the wharf then a salute of eight guns at once, three times. I then by request was permitted to attend the body with those who went to inter it. It is on an island about 2 miles north of this fort & is called Sand Key.”

1945 – After being briefly halted with the ending of WWII, a contract was renewed for Fred Howland, Inc. to go ahead and complete the construction of 155 low-cost Navy housing units at White Street and Atlantic Boulevard.

1900 – Several thousand Key Westers watched a quarter-mile race at Barracks Beach between the horses Laconda and Levin. Laconda won by a length. The bet was $1000 per side, and much money passed hands outside of the official stakes.

1978 – David Wolkowsky bought the Kress Building at 500 Duval Street in Key West from Norman Artman for $210,000.

1964 – Bernie C. Papy, 62-year-old Key West political leader, died. He had served 14 consecutive terms in the state legislature before at last being defeated in 1962. Papy was a powerful and influential Monroe County politician, and at the height of his career was called “King of the Keys.”

1926 – Boy Scout Troop No.1 of Key West was encamped at Pigeon Key. “There is some of the best fishing and swimming in the world to be had two hundred feet from camp. The boys say that this is the best time they have ever had,” wrote scoutmaster Charles Sands.

1952 – Charles Cremata, a member of the Key West Fire Department for 15 years, was named fire chief. He replaced Leroy Torres, who had died two weeks before.

1995 – Fire destroyed the Copa nightclub and adjoining buildings in the 600 block of Duval Street. It was the worst fire in Key West in 72 years.

1951 – The Key West Police Department announced the start of a drive to rid bars of underage customers. The task was made difficult because over 2,000 Navy men in the area were under 21, but police said the crackdown would affect all minors, whether they were in uniform or not.

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 – Due to Navy budget restrictions and a decrease in workload, Naval Station Key West’s submarine base announced its civilian workforce would be reduced by 30 percent, or 400 workers. The news was not a surprise as post-war cutbacks had been expected.

1976 – Key Westers Thurlow and Auwina Weed were bringing national attention to the island art of conch shell horn blowing. The duo had just returned from performing at “Ocean Festival ‘76” in New York, and Thurlow had recently appeared on the popular television program “To Tell the Truth.”

1966 – A man driving a green panel truck and claiming to be from the Humane Society was stealing stray dogs from Key West streets. Mrs. Janice White, president of the local Humane Society, said the man had no association with the group and that he was likely selling the dogs to medical laboratories.

1924 – The Barnes Sound Bridge at Key Largo was completed. As soon as a small stretch of road was finished near Florida City, this would allow motorists to travel between Dade and Monroe counties.

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.

1981 – U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles dedicated the reconditioned cutters Ute and Lipan in ceremonies at the Coast Guard Station in Key West.

1905 – An appropriation of nearly $500,000 was authorized for improvements at the Key West Naval Station, including new buildings, an extension of the coal sheds, and the construction of a quay wall from the sheds to Fort Taylor.

1926 – After serving 29 years at the Convent of Mary Immaculate, Sister Louis Gabriel left Key West for a new assignment. Sister Louis was a much-beloved teacher, and she had taken care of injured soldiers in the Spanish-American War and established a grotto on church grounds to protect Key West from hurricanes. She said she hoped to return to the island, but the decision would be up to Mother Superior.

1976 – The General Services Administration announced it was declaring 40.47 waterfront acres of the “Harry Truman Annex” at the former Key West Naval Base as surplus property. The Little White House was exempted and was being withheld for later disposition because of its historic value.