June 11

Florida Governor Leroy Collins with Key West High School baseball team, 1959.

1911 – Miss Lovie Turner resigned as principal of the Russell Hall public school, located at the corner of Division (now Truman Avenue) and White streets. She had been a teacher and principal in the Monroe County School system for 31 years.

1937 – The Florida Keys Aqueduct Commission was created by the Florida State Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Frederick P. Cone. The members of the Board of Commissioners were William Daughtry, William M. Arnold, and Earl R. Adams.

1951 – Capt. C.C. Ardell, commanding officer of Naval Station Key West, announced that a water shortage in Key West and the Lower Keys was due to excessive usage by Keys residents northward of Boca Chica, where 11% of the county’s population was consuming 20% of the water.

1955 – Key West Police fatally wounded a shrimp fisherman in a gun battle at a pool hall at the corner of Whitehead and Petronia streets. Officers Henry Roberts and Howard Harris were wounded in the shootout.

1957 – Key West City Commissioners decided to stop the city bicycle licensing program, saying the ordinance requiring the $1-a-year tags was too difficult to enforce. Roughly 250 licenses were sold in the previous year, though there were thousands of bicycles on the island.

1959 – The Key West High School baseball team won the Class A State High School championship with a 3-to-2 victory over Milton High.

1982 – Harris School on Southard Street closed after 74 years as a public school.

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

Image: Florida Governor Leroy Collins with Key West High School baseball team, 1959. George Mira second from left; Boog Powell fourth from the right. Photo by Don Pinder from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.