March 14

Postcard of a scene on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway, with fishermen on the Channel No. 5 Bridge.

1838 – Tomas Sachetti was elected Mayor of Key West. He was the candidate favored by a group of merchants who opposed the occupational licenses that former Mayor William Whitehead had passed to help pay the city’s expenses.

1934 – Lou Gehrig, the famed New York Yankees first baseman, arrived at the Long Key Fishing Camp to spend a few days fishing with his wife Eleanor.

1948 – The Monroe County Home was opened on Stock Island, and the 18 occupants of the old Home on Poorhouse Lane in Key West were moved to the new facility.

1950 – Igor Sikorsky, famed aviator and plane manufacturer, arrived at the La Concha Hotel for a short vacation.

1956 – State Representative Bernie C. Papy announced that a contract had been let for the construction of catwalks along eight bridges on the Overseas Highway. The catwalks would get fishermen off the roadway and outside of the guard rails, eliminating a dangerous situation.

1976 – The river boat African Queen, made famous in the movie of the same name, was on display for five days at Key West’s Searstown Shopping Center before embarking on a national tour.

1993 – The 147-foot freighter Miss Beholding was aground on Western Sambo Reef. The captain, fearing the ship was sinking during the winter storm of March 13, had purposefully run it onto the reef.

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

Image: Postcard of a scene on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway, with fishermen on the Channel No. 5 Bridge. Published by L. L. Cook Co. Milwaukee. The Scott DeWolfe Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.