May 10

Sloppy Joes Bar at 201 Duval Street, Key West, and the Owl Taxi Company stand across the street.

1823 – There had been no rain at Key Vaca (Marathon) for many weeks and vegetation there was in a “perishing state.”

1925 – William Randolph Hearst was in Key West on his yacht Oneida. His two sons William Jr. and Jack and a group of friends were on board.

1954 – Taxi drivers from two cab companies petitioned the Key West City Commission for exclusive rights to their traditional stand on Duval Street near Greene. They said outside drivers were moving in, which was creating crowding and a traffic hazard.

1982 – A study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform reported that the 1980 Mariel boatlift cost American taxpayers more than $1 billion and demonstrated the need for stringent immigration laws.

1990 – U.S. Marshals raided 16 Key West T-shirt shops, searching for counterfeit decals that were copyrighted elsewhere. Thousands of the bootleg decals were confiscated, as well as apparel bearing the designs. Shop owners claimed they did not know the decals were unauthorized.

1995 – Marathon’s Economic Development Council began a campaign to rename the island community “Marathon Key,” in hope that the change would better evoke “images of palm trees and tropics.” 

1999 – Key West author and songwriter Shel Silverstein died of a heart attack at his home on William Street. He was 68 years old.

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

Image: Sloppy Joes Bar at 201 Duval Street, Key West, and the Owl Taxi Company stand across the street. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection in the Otto Hirzel Scrapbook. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.