November 28

1904 – Herbie “Dutchy” Melbourne was convicted of the murder of Key West police officer Clarence Till and sentenced to be hanged.

1925 – Monroe County Commissioners were considering a survey of the three large water gaps along the route of the planned Overseas Highway. The surveys would be necessary if bridges were to be built across the gaps.

1947 – A brief violent storm with winds to 86 mph at Boca Chica struck the Lower Keys. The storm left most of the city without electricity and telephone service.

1949 – President Harry Truman arrived for a three-week vacation at the Little White house. Wife Bess and daughter Margaret accompanied the President.

1987 – Jimmy Buffett held a benefit concert for the Salt Ponds and Reef Relief at Key West’s Wickers Field before a sell-out crowd.

1995 – Bicycling magazine named Key West the most dangerous city in the U.S. for bicyclists. Florida DOT Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Dan Burden noted, “It’s 19 times more dangerous to ride in Key West than anywhere else in the nation.”

2000 – After two years of consultation and planning, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary released its “Tortugas 2000” plan, a conservation effort that restricted fishing and recreation in an area adjacent to Dry Tortugas National Park known as the Tortugas Ecological Reserve.

---

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

Image: Brady's Bicycle Shop at 1214 White Street in the 1960s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.