September 17
1902 – A shark measuring 15 feet was caught from Curry’s Wharf near the harbor end of Simonton Street in Key West.
1931 – Mary Dunn retired from teaching at Key West’s public schools after a career spanning 52 years. Dunn started at the Sears School in 1879 and moved to the Harris School when it opened in 1909. In all those years, Dunn was never late and missed only three days of work. “Sitting among those children every day has kept me young,” she said.
1947 – Key West’s Strand Theater signed a $25,000 contract to install a 60-ton air-conditioning system.
1991 – An archaeological team from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum completed a week-long expedition at the wreck of the English slave ship Henrietta Marie, sunk at New Ground Reef in 1700. During the project, two iron cannons, iron shackles, and other assorted artifacts were recovered.
1993 – A defecting Cuban Air Force pilot landed his MIG-21 fighter plane at the Naval Air Station. The plane was detected on radar about four minutes before it landed.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West's Sears School with teachers, ca. 1900. Teachers' names, from top left, clockwise: Jennie Ryan, Professor Nicklas, Mary Dunn, Louisa Lowe, Mrs. Givens(?), Mrs. Gould, Ellie R or K, Bessie Roberts, Louise Sweeting, Lettie Melbourne, Laura Grillon, and Mrs. Lee. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
