April 14
- Florida Keys History Center
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
1865 – To celebrate of the recent fall of the Confederate capital of Richmond, the ships of the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron at Key West were decorated with flags; at noon a cannon salute was fired, and at night the town was illuminated.
1926 – Key West society came out for the opening of the new Key West Country Club. The building was decorated with flags and flowers; draperies and chandeliers adorned the interior. Irene Reynolds and Miss R.T. Vertuen sang, and dancer Little Miss Hansen performed some “unusual steps.”
1932 – Captain Robert T. Menner, Commandant of the Seventh Naval District, died after an illness of two weeks. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
1941 – Karl Tanzler a.k.a. Von Cosel, the man who had kept the remains of Elena Hoyos Mesa for seven years until discovered in October of 1940, left Key West for Zephyrhills. Hours after he left town the tomb he had built for Hoyos in the Key West Cemetery was destroyed by a violent explosion.
1984 – The pilot and passenger were killed when a single engine plane crashed into a Seminary Street home shortly after taking off from Key West International Airport. The house was damaged by the impact and resulting fire, but no one inside was injured.
1989 – Willie Ward retired after working for the Key West Citizen for 42 years.
2011 – A six-month investigation by federal and local law enforcement officials resulted in the arrests of 95 Lower Keys residents on various drug trafficking charges. Large quantities of LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs were netted in the sting operations.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Key West Country Club on Stock Island, ca. 1930. The building is now home to the American Legion. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
