April 18

Tennis courts at Bayview Park, Key West, ca. 1960.

1889 – The Spanish newspaper El Yara started publishing daily. The paper was established in 1878 and was the official organ of the island’s Cuban revolutionary clubs. J.D. Poyo was editor and proprietor, and F. Ibern was business manager. The office was at 210 Duval Street and subscription was $10 per year.

1951 – A new concrete tennis court was opened at Key West’s Bayview Park, complementing two existing asphalt courts. “With this additional court, the locals are enabled to produce full scale championship competition,” wrote the newspaper.

1970 – Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies stopped a planned motorcycle gang rumble at Grassy Key after learning the Key West-based “Spirits” and Ft. Lauderdale “Brethren” crews intended to battle on the island. Seven Spirits members were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Guns, ammunition, and drugs were confiscated. 

1982 – The U.S. Border Patrol established a roadblock at Florida City and began checking everyone leaving the Florida Keys for citizenship, causing 15-mile-long traffic jam. The Border Patrol had received

information that illegal aliens were entering the country from the Keys.

1988 – Ernest Hemingway was posthumously inducted into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame by Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith in a ceremony at the Monroe County Library in Key West.

Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: Tennis courts at Bayview Park, Key West, ca. 1960. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.