October 29
1823 – Navy surgeons wrote of Key West’s mosquitoes and flies: “So insupportable became these troublesome insects that the men were frequently obliged to retire to the beach, where they walked the greater part of the night.” Other men rowed offshore to find relief from the biting bugs.
1922 – Monroe County Commissioners Wm. R. Porter, Otto Kirchheiner, Braxton Warren, Hilton Curry, and County Engineer Joseph Watkins left for Miami to meet with their Dade County counterparts to discuss plans for a road proposed to be built from Key Largo to Miami.
1924 – Motion picture films of festivities for the opening of the San Carlos two weeks earlier were shown at the Monroe Theater in Key West. The movies featured highlights of the large, celebratory parade.
1930 – The Coast Guard, while chasing a rum running boat near Key West, opened fire to stop it, and three men were arrested. The men claimed that Willie “Twisteye” Demerritt had been shot and fell overboard. A search failed to find his body. Local authorities tried to charge the Coast Guard crew with murder, but they left town and charges were dropped. Demerritt was never seen again.
1966 – The Southern Bell telephone company was starting to move its Monroe County cables underground. The project started with the phone lines for new developments at Key Haven, Riviera Shores, Ser Deb, and Lincoln Gardens.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Kappa Phi float for the San Carlos Parade, Key West, 1924. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
