20 Years ago

[Serious News]

A terrible maritime disaster

Sep 28, 1994:

On this day in 1994, 852 people die in one of the worst maritime disasters of the century when the Estonia, a large car-and-passenger ferry, sinks in the Baltic Sea.

The German-built ship was traveling on an overnight cruise from Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden, when it sank off the coast of Finland. Estonia, a former Soviet republic that gained its independence in 1991 (the last Russian troops left in 1994), was a popular and affordable travel destination for Swedes. The Estonia was a type of ferry known as a "ro-ro," which featured a smorgasbord, live music, dancing and drinking and allowed people to drive vehicles onto one end of the ship and drive off on the other end.

After hitting stormy weather, with waves reaching an estimated 15 to 20 feet, the Estonia went down in the middle of the night. Many passengers were trapped inside the ship, while others, even some who managed to make it into lifeboats, later drowned in the frigid water or died from hypothermia. Helicopters were used to rescue most of the 137 survivors.

[Bobcat]

An old 60's pic.

[Ratickle]

1960 was the year travel was first restricted for US citizens to Cuba. I want to know if that picture was before or after the October 19, 1960 embargo imposition.....

[Bobcat]

The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier and Pound families. The Oldest House at 322 Duval Street in the 1930s. From a collection of photographs taken or collected during the 1930s by the WPA workers in Key West



50 YEARS AGO:

Hurricane Isabel caused minor damage but no injuries in the Keys. The weather bureau recorded winds of 70 mph during the peak of the storm. A casualty of the storm was the oldest tree next to the Oldest House. The tree crashed across Duval Street.

Key West police arrested two of the city's bolita sellers just minutes before the "nightly throw" at the Caroline Pool Room at 834 Caroline St.

[Bobcat]

50 YEARS AGO:

Tides Inn, with Zane R. Gedmin as manager, was located at 1924 Flagler Ave. (Palm Ave crossroad, both of these buildings were recently renovated)

Navy jets scrambled to intercept a plane detected on radar which turned out to be a friendly that had misfiled its flight plan.

Key West police arrested an Army man who was the suspect in being the cat burglar who had been working the motels on Simonton Street for several months.

[Bobcat]

Safe Harbor Marina Bar C 1965. Photo by Don Pinder.

[Bobcat]

The Cave Inn Bar was at 724 Duval Street and the Two Brothers Cafe at 722 Duval Street in the 1960's.
Thursday, October 23, 2014



50 YEARS AGO:

The Tomato Patch Bar, 724 Duval St., was placed off limits to all military personnel because it was allegedly a gathering place for women who had infected naval personnel with venereal disease.

[Bobcat]

50 years ago.

A 23-year-old refugee was the lone survivor of five men on a mission to Cuba when the boat was destroyed by a Cuban gunboat. The survivor held on to part of the boat until he was rescued.

[Bobcat]

The Cuban refugee who had claimed that his boat was destroyed by a Cuban gunboats changed his story and the sinking appeared to have been an accident.

[Bobcat]

50 YEARS AGO:

Key West Police arrested two juvenile girls who admitted transmitting venereal diseases to military personnel. The girls were working out of the Monroe Sandwich Shop.

[Bobcat]

50 years ago

The Key West Police continued their investigation of teenage girls spreading venereal disease to the military. The State Hotel and Restaurant Commission was also inspecting the Monroe Sandwich Shop on Duval Street which the girls used as their headquarters.

[Bobcat]

50 YEARS AGO:

Miami boat dealer Jack Manson was the winner of the grueling Miami to Key West Ocean Powerboat Race. Driving his 36-foot diesel powered Kamikaze he completed the 160 mile course in 3 hours 19 minutes and 26 seconds despite the fact he lost 12 minutes for the Coast Guard to remove an injured crewman. The crewman was injured when his seat belt broke and he was thrown against the side of the craft. But his injuries were not serious

[Bobcat]

50 YEARS AGO:

Juvenile Court Judge Eva Warner Gibson ordered the arrest of the Monroe Sandwich Shop owner for contributing to the delinquency of a minor in the case of two Miami girls that were suspected of spreading venereal disease to military men.

[Ratickle]

So the prostitution was okay? It was the VD that did them in......

[Bobcat]

A 16-year-old runaway from Omaha, Neb. was being held in the county jail after he attempted to murder the three persons who had befriended him by turning on the gas stove.

[Bobcat]

50 YEARS AGO:

The seventh annual Key Colony Beach Sailfish Tournament was launched with a spectacular 49-boat parade.

The much-troubled Monroe Sandwich shop at 625 Duval St. was advertising that it would sell beer at all hours to all ages.

[Bobcat]

50 YEARS AGO:

Key West launched its own investigation of the Monroe Sandwich Shop that been under fire for being an unhealthy influence on scores of teenagers who frequent the place.

The Navy lifted the "Off Limits" from the Oldest Bar at 428 Greene St. when the new owner Captain Tony Tarracino took over the bar and renamed it Captain Tony's Saloon.

[Bobcat]

50 Years Ago.A high-speed police chase ended violently when the stolen car sailed off the end of South Roosevelt Boulevard near Bertha Street and ended in the ocean 180 feet from the beach. The sailor driving the car was found sitting in the water near the car and after fighting the police was handcuffed and taken to the Naval Hospital.

Barbil, the sea lioness who wandered away from a movie set on Key Largo, was found off Key Largo and was very hungry. The shrimp boat operator that found her was given a $100 reward.

Six persons were arrested when a team of sheriff's deputies swept through the city to raid eight suspected gambling establishments.

[Ratickle]

50 Years Ago.A high-speed police chase ended violently when the stolen car sailed off the end of South Roosevelt Boulevard near Bertha Street and ended in the ocean 180 feet from the beach. The sailor driving the car was found sitting in the water near the car and after fighting the police was handcuffed and taken to the Naval Hospital.

Wouldn't it be easier to get 180 feet out if you were driving down Bertha? That's a long way out in the ocean, tough to believe a car would go that far.....

[Bobcat]

With today's technology I should be able to double that distance