August 2

Alison Fahrer at the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, photo published in the Miami Herald on March 20, 1994.

1845 – The Marine Hospital opened in Key West for the treatment of merchant marine sailors.

1923 – Key West was deluged by 1.58 inches of rain that fell in twenty-two minutes, flooding streets and sidewalks.

1923 – The home of the Lumley family at 1214 Virginia Street in Key West was struck by lightning. The ridge board of the building and rear of the house were torn away, and nearly every pane of glass was broken.

1947 – Four Key Westers were arrested and arraigned in Municipal Court for being delinquent on their garbage collection fees. Warrants were sworn out against another twenty who had not paid, and they would soon be served.

1960 – Monroe County Commission Chairman Gerald Saunders proposed that an extension of South Roosevelt Boulevard from Bertha to White Street be included in the State Road Department’s 1961-62 budget. Saunders said the extension would provide a much-needed traffic facility and would preserve Rest Beach.

1973 – The Navy announced that Reconnaissance Attack Wing One would move to Key West.  The wing had five squadrons and 2,250 people. They flew the sophistic RA5C Vigilantes.

1983 – Monroe County Commissioner Alison Fahrer’s one-vote election victory on November 2, 1982, challenged by losing contender Henry L. Rosenthal Jr., was affirmed by Chief Circuit Judge M. Ignatius Lester.

1984 – Bill Butler, founder and “King” of the Key West Junkanoos, island entertainers since the 1950’s, died at age 71.

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

Image: Alison Fahrer at the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, photo published in the Miami Herald on March 20, 1994. Photo by Nancy Klingener. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.