August 23
- Florida Keys History Center
- 7 minutes ago
- 1 min read
1904 – Robert Gabriel was elected president of the Roosevelt and Fairbanks Republican Club in Key West.
1933 – Emergency Relief Council workers’ pay was increased from 18 cents an hour to a new rate of 30 cents per hour.
1946 – A petition was being circulated proposing the merger of the City of Key West and Monroe County governments. Advocates of the proposal expected to get the signatures of most registered voters in the Keys. If so, the proposal would go to state representative Bernie Papy for legislative action.
1955 – Key West City Manager Victor Lang proposed sand-collecting groins be built into the water to aid the new beach project along South Roosevelt Boulevard. “Once we have located the proper positions for these groins, we hope to be able to turn the sand job over to nature,” he said.
1961 – The City of Key West ended its fiscal year with a $434 surplus. City Manager Bazel Crowe said to those who thought it could not be done: “This bears out my answer to the deficit story – that we could end the year in the black, contrary to all other rumors.”
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A color postcard of South Roosevelt Boulevard, the Bridle Path, and the future Smathers Beach, Key West, ca. 1950. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
