May 6
- Florida Keys History Center
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
1856 – No rain had fallen at Key West for two months, and cistern water was rapidly diminishing. The dry weather was promising for a good salt crop, though, and if it continued it was thought the salt works might produce upwards of 100,000 bushels.
1934 – Fishermen from Thompson Fish Company, while skinning a shark, found human foot bones and a slipper in the shark’s stomach. No identification was ever made of the remains.
1936 – The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the State Plant Board had authority to declare quarantine zones and conduct insect control work in Key West. The case arose after multiple island residents refused board workers access to their properties to control black flies infecting citrus trees.
1952 – Bernie C. Papy won his 10th consecutive term as state representative for Monroe County. Other winners were John Spottswood, sheriff; Lancelot Lester, state attorney; Raymond Lord, county judge; Claude Gandolfo, tax assessor; Howard Wilson, tax collector; Harry Dongo, clerk of criminal court; Joe Allen, county commissioner; Clarence Higgs, county commissioner; Harry Harris, county commissioner; and Gerald Adams, school board.
1955 – Work on the stands for the Key West High School Stadium was well underway, and the job was expected to be completed within the week. When done, the stands would seat 3,076 people.
1986 – The Key West Port and Transit Authority agreed to lease Mallory Dock to the Cultural Preservation Society for four hours daily at sunset. The CPS would hire an on-site manager to supervise the sunset celebration, and they had the right to appeal to the City Commission if PATA acted unfairly.
1995 – The Coast Guard sent 13 Cuban refugees who landed in the Keys back to Cuba. This was the first group returned in 35 years based on a new policy requiring refugees to land on U.S. soil before they could stay.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West High School Stadium stands being built on May 6, 1955. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
