June 14
- Florida Keys History Center
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
1906 – Work commenced on the new Triumph Coffee Mill building on a lot behind the Pohalski Cigar Factory. The corrugated iron structure was expected to take three weeks to complete.
1923 – A whale shark estimated at 45,000 pounds was brought to Key West from Long Key where it had been captured. The New York Aquarium removed the hide for mounting.
1926 – After receiving a tip about an illegal liquor drop, the Coast Guard intercepted a rum-running vessel with 200 packages of booze at the entrance to Boca Chica Channel. Shots were fired to stop the vessel, and two Key West men were arrested. One later jumped overboard and escaped, but it was expected he would be quickly found.
1948 – Joseph F. Beaver of the Society of Jesus, formerly of Key West, was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood by the Most Rev. Joseph E. Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis. Father Beaver was the first Key Wester ordained to the priesthood.
1950 – The first of eight jet trainers landed at Naval Air Station Key West. The planes assigned to FAWTULANT were the first jets to be based at Key West.
1985 – Bird watchers from across the country made their way to Lower Matecumbe Key to get a glimpse of a male shiny cowbird that had settled in the yard of Ann Carians. It was the first known instance of the species being in North America.
1990 – Governor Bob Martinez appointed Richard Roth Sheriff of Monroe County to succeed Allison DeFoor, who resigned to run for lieutenant governor.
2011 – The team of U.S. 1 Radio’s “Evening Edition,” broadcasting from Big Pine Key, received the prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association for their July 30, 2010 show, which focused on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and lobster mini-season.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Coffee Mill Dance Center (formerly the Triumph Coffee Mill) at 916 Pohalski Street, Key West, photographed for the Miami Herald December 15, 1986. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
