August 5
- Florida Keys History Center
- 7 days ago
- 1 min read
1904 – Commander George P. Colvocoresses relieved Captain G.A. Bicknell as the Commanding Officer of Naval Station Key West.
1934 – Thousands of Key Westers gathered at the railroad station to welcome the Florida National Guard when they arrived for their annual two-week encampment at Fort Taylor.
1952 – Charles Cremata, a member of the Key West Fire Department for 15 years, was named fire chief. He replaced Leroy Torres, who had died two weeks before.
1966 – Key West Police Chief Armando Perez, Jr. announced the formation of a nine-member “Chief’s Staff,” an internal group that would listen to issues facing officers and create better relations throughout the department.
1967 – The Florida State Racing Commission approved a new dog track for Key West.
1976 – President Gerald Ford named Sidney Aronovitz, a Key West native, as United States District Court Judge for the Southern Florida District.
1984 – The freighter Wellwood ran aground just south of Molasses Reef, inside the boundaries of the Key Largo Coral Reef National Marine Sanctuary.
2001 – Thania Diaz, a 17-year-old Key West High School senior, was crowned “Miss Cuban American Heritage Festival” in the first such pageant, which was held at the Casa Marina Resort.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Tony Trujillo, Charles Cremata, and Jack Carey in front of the 12th Street Fire Station, Key West, ca. 1950. Jeff Brodhead Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
