September 22

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Kennedy/Johnson campaign office at 532 Duval Street in Key West, 1960.

1899 – Forty-seven new cases of yellow fever were reported at Key West in the past 24 hours, with two new deaths. Residents of other Keys were instituting a “shotgun quarantine” against all Key Westers, by patrolling and placing signs on the water’s edge to warn sponge boats and other Key West vessels not to land.

1954 – Movie producer Hal Wallis announced that after searching through Europe, California, and the southern U.S., he had chosen Key West as the location for filming the adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “The Rose Tattoo.”

1960 – The Monroe County Democrats opened a “Kennedy for President” headquarters at 532 Duval Street in Key West. The office would be staffed daily to provide information about presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and other Democratic contenders.

1968 – Formal ceremonies consecrating the ground on United Street where the new B’nai Zion Synagogue was located were held by Rabbi Nathan Zwitman.

1970 – For the first time in 20 years, a cruise ship docked at Key West when the M/V Sunward tied up at Mallory Square. Approximately 300 residents with comparsa dancers, a Navy band, and the world’s largest key lime pie were there to greet the passengers.

1994 – Key West’s “Good Will Ambassador” William “Bill” Kroll died at the age 89. Kroll started the Conch Tour Train, which began operating on January 18, 1958, and he sold it to Wometco Enterprises in 1972.

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

Image: A ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Kennedy/Johnson campaign office at 532 Duval Street in Key West, 1960. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.