October 26
- Florida Keys History Center
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
1925 – Messrs. Torano and Albury were nearing completion on their new filling station at the corner of Eaton and William streets in Key West. They expected to have it fully equipped and ready for service within days.
1926 – Indigent “snowbirds” were beginning to arrive at Key West. Local authorities were seeking ways to find them employment, forward them to Cuba, or send them “back over the road,” before they became public charges.
1955 – With nearly 200 infected residents, Monroe County had the highest tuberculosis rate in Florida. Because of this, the state mobile X-ray unit was being sent to the Keys to help discover carriers of the highly infectious disease.
1960 – Two groups of Cubans fleeing the Castro regime arrived in Marathon: Nine people arrived on a small boat, and four people landed at the airport in a two-seater agricultural plane. All sought political asylum.
1968 – Congressman Dante Fascell dedicated the new Post Office on Summerland Key.
1994 – Buddy Owen’s famous B.O.’s Fish Wagon on Duval Street was moving to a new home on Key West Bight at the corner of Caroline and William streets.
1999 – Key West Police planned to crack down on nudity during the weekend’s Fantasy Fest celebrations, noting that “even opaque body paint is not a substitute for clothing.” They planned to use a “firm tolerance” technique and ask nude revelers to cover up before arresting them.
2000 – Key West police arrested more than 20 people for nudity during Fantasy Fest celebrations.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A float in the Fantasy Fest parade, 1988. Photo by Raymond L. Blazevic. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
