June 22

An abandoned car and dumped appliances in the water at Stock Island, 1991.

1914 – The Post Office was located in the Custom House on Front Street. The employees of the department were: Marcy B. Darnall, postmaster; Ira B. Michael, assistant postmaster; Miss M.L. Cappick, money order division; Arthur Pastorini, registry division; Claude Albury, stamps, parcel post, and inquiry division; Miss Hazel A. De Leon, general delivery; Charles M. Watson, mailing division; Miss Olive L. Albury, mailing division; Miss Myra L. Curry, mailing division; Hollon R. Bervaldi, auxiliary clerk; and carriers B.D. Jenks, W.H. Kuckhahn, Victor G.R. Tynes, Eli Albury, and Frank Walker with auxiliary carriers Earl Hathaway and J.J. Kirschenbaum.

1924 – A party of Key Westers, returning from Dog Rocks at the Cay Sal Bank in the Bahamas, released four dozen whelks they had brought in near Sand Key. They hoped the whelks would thrive, as many Keys residents considered the whelk tastier than the conch.

1938 – Miss Bernice Brantley was acclaimed Miss Key West and Queen of the Overseas Highway Celebration, July 2-4, at the Cabaret Dance at the Habana Madrid.

1946 – A 10-man unit of volunteers was serving as the de facto police force in the Poinciana section of Key West. They were under the charge of Key West Police Department Captain B.H. White.

1965 – The Garrison Bight causeway bridge was officially opened by Monroe County Mayor Gerald Saunders, Key West Mayor Kermit Lewin, and Rear Admiral Thomas A. Christopher.

1978 – Key West Mayor Charles “Sonny” McCoy water skied from Key West to Havana.

1991 – Monroe County staff and nearly 100 volunteers collected more than 100 tons of garbage during the “Great Stock Island Clean-up.” The island had long been plagued by illegal dumping.

2001 – The City of Key West began removing the island’s feral chickens to St. Petersburg, where the fowl would be given to farmers and other residents of rural areas. The first shipment of 55 birds was made at midnight, so they could stay cool in an overnight drive.

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

Image: An abandoned car and dumped appliances in the water at Stock Island, 1991. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.