June 18

Square Dancers at the Mallory Square Convention Center, Key West, ca. 1960.

1934 – The Federal Emergency Relief Administration announced that part of its mission in Key West was razing old buildings “in any or all parts of the city.” Salvageable lumber would be used in the renovation of other structures.

1958 – Five shrimp boats from the A&B Dock’s “Campeche fleet” left Key West for newly opened shrimping grounds off Nicaragua, 750 miles away.

1962 – Square dancers from all 50 states converged on Key West to begin two days of dancing at the island’s convention center. Their “End of U.S. 1 Jamboree” was a follow-up to a just-completed national convention in Miami Beach.

1967 – Baseball great Ted Williams won the five-day Islamorada Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament and was named grand champion.

1979 – Dr. William Seeker was named president of the Florida Keys Community College.

1991 – The Key West City Commission passed a resolution urging the Navy to permanently cease underwater ordnance testing off the Florida Keys. Commissioners questioned the logic of exploding bombs in a marine sanctuary.

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

Image: Square Dancers at the Mallory Square Convention Center, Key West, ca. 1960. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.