Wiregrass Seniors Magazine July 2018 JULY ISSUE | Page 6

Page 6
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In 1961 relations with Cuba were suspended and
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the Florida Emergency Relief Administration. Eco- Key West suffered yet another economic blow. The
nomic experts were imported to evaluate the future revolution in Cuba created an influx of Cubans to
Key West in their desire to escape Communism.
of Key West. Their answer was “tourism”.
In 1935, a Labor Day hurricane wiped out the Florida
East Coast Railway and killed 500 people in Upper
Matacombe, north of Key West.
Key West was a sleepy town through the 70’s. The
military came and went and came back. The great
shrimping industry began to decline and sought other
coastal areas to base their operations. Writers, paint-
ers and a number of artists were imported to stimu-
late the tourist trade again. Many famous authors and
writers did make Key West home or at least a “sec-
ond home”. Ernest Hemingway. Robert Frost, Eliza-
beth Bishop, Ralph Ellison, Philip Burton, James
Herlihy, Phil Caputo and Tennessee Williams, were
among the more well known.
Henry Flagler’s dream came to an end. In 1937 work-
ers began to construct a highway over the railway
bed. It opened to traffic in 1938. 1942 saw the
completion of the Overseas Highway.
In 1939 the government established a submarine
base in Key West and in 1940 the first Naval Air Sta-
tion opened.
In the 1940’s President Harry S. Truman enjoyed his
stays in Key West where he had established his “Little
White House.”
1940 and 1950 the population doubled in Key West.
Monroe County Beach was opened and in 1952 the
passenger-auto ferry from Havana to Key West was
established.
In 1982, the Conch Republic was established. This
creative republic drew attention to the serious eco-
nomic problems the Keys and Key West were once
again experiencing. In 1982, the Federal Customs
Agents set up a barricade at the top of the Florida
Keys, in search of aliens, drug dealers and drugs
being brought in from waters around the Keys. The
agents identified themselves as a “Border Patrol” and
held up traffic for hours searching vehicles and seek-
ing identification of passengers. The mayor of Key
West and various political leaders protested to the
U.S. Government and seceded from the United
States in order to draw attention to the economic plight
created by the situation.
Thus the Conch Republic was born! A Prime Minis-
ter, Ministers of Justice, Education, Tourism and an
Admiral of the Fleet were appointed and to this day
April 23 is celebrated as Conch Republic Day.
Key West was the mouse that roared.