October 9
1926 – The Cuban gunboat cruiser Cuba arrived at Key West with multiple government representatives and prominent Havana citizens for a four-day celebration of “El Grito de Yara,” the holiday marking the beginning of independence from Spain. Local government and military officials greeted the vessel.
1934 – Maria Gutsens, matron of Mercedes Hospital for 23 years, was notified that she had been awarded the Cross of the Order of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, an honor given by the Cuban Government for “outstanding services rendered to Cuba and humanity.”
1966 – J.B. Sawyer and Melvin Hanks, newspaper carriers for the Key West Citizen, were chosen to attend the “Newspaperboy of the Year” awards banquet in Silver Spring, MD, where the nation’s top paperboys would be recognized.
1975 – The new exceptional child education facility at May Sands School on United Street in Key West was dedicated.
1994 – Key West’s wastewater treatment plant on Fleming Key was rededicated and named after former Key West Mayor Richard A. Heyman.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Two paperboys leaving the Key West Citizen newspaper office at Greene and Ann Streets, ca. 1960. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
