April 2

518 Virginia Street and the former Gato cigar factory building in 1949.

1903 – Jose G. Piodella established the Key West Coca-Cola bottling plant.

1930 – The majority of the Monroe County Commission voted to replace Carl Bervaldi as chairman with Commissioner Norberg Thompson.

1946 – Records of the Key West Housing Authority showed that between August 17, 1942, and Sept. 30, 1945, one million sandwiches and three-quarters of a million meals were prepared by the KWHA in the Gato Cafeteria on Simonton Street. A total of 6,000 war workers were housed in the dormitory there during the period.

1956 – The First Baptist Church on Eaton Street at the corner of Bahama Street in Key West was destroyed by fire. The fire burned out of control for two hours before the Fire Department was able to bring it under control. The Trade Winds Hotel across the street was also severely damaged.

1976 – Divorce was on the increase in Monroe County: In the first three months of the year, 140 couples filed for the dissolution of their marriages. This was an increase over the previous year, which had already set a record high.

1983 – Charles “Comey” Lunn, a Key West native, died in Miami at age 77. He was a retired Pan American Airlines navigator. During World War II he conducted classes in navigation for the military at the University of Miami where he trained more than 4,500 cadets.

1986 – The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget released a report showing Monroe County had the highest cost-of-living rate in Florida. It was the second year in a row that the Keys were distinguished as the state’s priciest area.

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

Image: 518 Virginia Street and the former Gato cigar factory building in 1949. From the Louise White Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.