1956 – A fisheries report for September 1955 was released that showed Monroe County landed the largest shrimp catch in Florida, with 844,320 pounds brought into Keys ports during the month.

1926 – Police Chief Cleveland Niles began a policy of ringing the fire bell at nine o’clock in the evening to remind Key West juveniles 16 years and younger that there was a curfew and it was time for them to go home.

1976 – Keys government and military leaders were in shock after the Pentagon announced that it planned to downsize and redesignate the Naval Air Station at Boca Chica. It was possible that of the 3,227 Navy personnel based there, only 650 would remain.

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.

1976 – Huddle Pontiac Buick of Key West became an authorized dealer of the electric Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar. The two-passenger vehicle had a 38-mph cruising speed and a maximum range of 50 miles, with a base price of $2,738.

1963 – Rear Admiral Rhodam Y. McElroy, Commander of Key West Forces, was presented the Legion of Merit for his meritorious performance of duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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.

1906 – Stock Island was connected to Key West with the completion of a narrow roadway on which the Florida East Coast Railroad would run. Filling to connect Boca Chica with Stock Island had also commenced.

1872 – A correspondent wrote of Key West, “At the wharves you see the ugly hulls of wrecked vessels, which were formerly the main objects of trade in Key West. But this gloomy business is falling off every day. The few years of ocean steam navigation is curtailing that of sailing vessels, and the wreckers complain of dull times.”

1956 – The Civil Aeronautics Authority offered Monroe County $182,500 for the construction of a new airport terminal building at Key West International Airport. The County was also seeking bids for a new taxiway and runway and lights for night operations.

1956 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower, accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law, enjoyed a two-hour drive up the Keys along U.S.1. The group departed from Key West’s Little White House for the journey.

1930 - The Key West Woman’s Club, the Salvation Army, and the U.S. Army distributed 291 Christmas dinners to the poor of the city.

2000 – After a two-year overhaul, the WWII-era patrol torpedo boat PT-728 was launched at Stock Island. The historic vessel would be berthed in Key West Bight and available for passenger tours.

1955 – Filming of the movie “Carib Gold” began in Key West. The film, which told the tale of shrimpers discovering a sunken treasure, featured a largely Black cast, including actors Ethel Waters, Coley Wallace, and Cicely Tyson.

1994 – Key Wester Frank Baing (aka the “Conch Salad Man”) died at the age of 93. Baing ran a Petronia Street a produce market, and in the 1950’s he began to sell food at Mallory Square. Baing was an icon of the early Key West sunset celebration.

1960 – After the accidental shooting of a Miami man on No Name Key, Monroe County Sheriff’s officials denied reports the island was being used as an amphibious invasion training ground by Cuban refugees. Instead, they said, it was a group of unemployed drifters who had decided to “live off the land” of the remote key.

1924 – The cornerstone of the new St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Center Street in Key West was laid by the Reverend Cameron Mann, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Florida.

2008 – Due to the year-long economic down-turn, Florida Keys marinas were struggling to fill slips. Many were on the verge of bankruptcy.

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.