September 25
1955 – Gardner Cowles, president of Look Magazine, and his associate, David Salzman, bought a 182-acre tract of land on Cudjoe Key for $83,000.
1961 – Florida Congressman James Haley was advocating for a saltwater conversion plant to be built in the Florida Keys. He noted that a second source of fresh water was vital to the islands since either storms or military action could destroy the existing aqueduct.
1983 – “Lucky,” a loggerhead sea turtle, was to receive the first-ever artificial flippers. The 350-pound turtle had lost its front flippers in a shark attack off Islamorada. After rescue by the Coast Guard, it was taken to the Theater of the Sea to recover. An orthopedic surgeon in Hialeah heard of Lucky’s plight and offered to devise rubber prosthetics.
1991 – The Florida Supreme Court allowed Key West guesthouse owner Dr. Patricia Major to temporarily reclaim her home pending a further hearing. The house at 529 Caroline St had been seized by Key West police in a drug raid 19 months earlier. Major was found not guilty of the drug charges, but the city still hoped to keep the property.
1998 – Hurricane Georges, a category three hurricane, swept across Key West and the lower Florida Keys causing considerable damage. Key West’s iconic Houseboat Row was devastated by the storm.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Houseboat Row on South Roosevelt Boulevard after Hurricane Georges, September 1998. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
