February 12

A boatyard in Marathon after Hurricane Donna in September 1960.

1826 – William Pinckney, Collector of Customs at Key West, announced that the lighthouses at Cape Florida and at Whitehead’s Point in Key West would both be lit on March 10, with their fixed lights visible between 15 and 20 miles.

1929 – Frank Reshore, 606 Grinnell Street, introduced the African Tulip Tree (spathodea bignoniaceae) to Key West with seeds he obtained in Coral Gables.

1936 – Randolph Walker and Ethel Kelly of Key West were being held in the Monroe County Jail for having provided “wood alcohol” liquor to Josephine Saunders, which blinded her after she drank it.

1961 – A documentary film about Hurricane Donna and its aftermath was presented at the Marathon Theater. The screening was presented by the Marathon Chamber of Commerce, with ticket sales to benefit their advertising campaigns.

1962 – Mary Hemingway, widow of the late Ernest Hemingway, was in Key West inventorying materials in a storeroom behind Sloppy Joe’s Bar, where the famous writer had left papers and other items in the care of friend Joe Russell and family.

1976 – Former Key West Fire Chief Joseph “Bum” Farto was found guilty on three drug-related charges and faced a maximum of 31 years in prison.

1998 – The Key West City Commission agreed to exempt the Key Lime Square complex at 508 Southard Street from an impact study if the owners would make the seven-unit complex affordable housing.

2016 – The Dion Oil Company, the Keys-based parent company of the chain of Dion’s Quik Marts, sold the business to Uphoff Ventures of Virginia, after 68 years of operation by the Dion family. The Quik Mart gas stations and convenience stores were especially popular for their freshly made fried chicken.

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

Image: A boatyard in Marathon after Hurricane Donna in September 1960. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.