The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-05-03

D ototC0 titS LlIott(A Va
and also 'southernmost-" in the
sense of financial restitution {
few short years ago, is slowly but
surely staging comeback. Gaunt
hollow eyed and starving wher
it's cigar factories moved to Tam.
pa and a hurricane wrecked thai
magic railroad which connected
the isle with mainland Florida
the quaint little city received 6
| life saving TRANSMISSION of BLOOD
thru F.E.R.A. and WP.A. prof
ectS.
Then, before the effects of thi:
infusion wore away, a lifeline te
the north was established thru
which rich arterial golden brooc
has begun to flow and will con-
;inue to flow in an ever increas-
ing stream as soon as America
more fully appreciates the beauty
of the seagoing highway that
stretches across emerald islets anc
great stretches of irridescent wa
tiers to the unique little city whose
foreign atmosphere creates the il
fusion among travellers that they
are in a foreign land.
Not all has been done that will
be done to make the highway the
perfect pathway to this flower
bedecked city. The northern ap-
proach from Florida City to. Key
Largo must be improved, as well
rs other stretches. But this is
planned for the near future, as
well as the construction of con-
crete bridges over the railroad
right-of-way to take the place OF
wooden structures near the Key
West end.
AS one sweeps along from islet
to islet, thru trees, lime groves,
oaks and serpent-like thickets OF
mangrove. with cocoanut trees.
plumed knights of the tropics,
swaying with stately grace in the
trade wind, thrill pervades
even the most blase soul. And
intermittenly thru the trees and
later from the unobstructed
heights of the bridges the waters
of the Atlantic are seen on one
side and the placid surface of the
Gulf of Mexico on the other.
The day is cloudless and wind
less and the waters CLEAN with a
vividness of color, a beauty that,
one is tempted to write, never
shone on land nor sea-sunlit
cleaning waters glowing with in
describably beautiful shades of
peacock blues and greens,
amethysts, turquoise pastels,
aquamarine tints, viridian, heav-
emily blues that make northern
artists gasp, "It isn't possible;
there can't be any such combina-
ton of colors". Alternate streaks
of blues and green's of varying
shades and tints adjoin one an
other, their edges as sharply de-
fined as tho they had been paint
ed upon canvas. Then wisp of
cloud sends speeding shadow
across the irridiscent surface, a
tiny breath of wind ripples the
pattern of color and the. scene
changes in magic moment and
nature displays other vivid colors
upon her canvas.
Reminders Of Hurricane
Mother Nature is lavish in her
display of beauty today. From
every one of the numerous bridg-
es we cross, especially the seven
mile stretch southwark from Mara
thon, new delights meet the eye,
Yet there is another side of the
picture. Along some of the island
stretches, especially Lower Mate
cumbe, skeletons soff trees that
met violent death, stretch their
gaunt limbs in fantastic shapes
They are grim reminders of the
terrific hurricane of Sept. 2, 1885
that swept the key, in which
nearly 1000 workers met their
deaths.
But man still continues to defy
nature. Buildings are springing
up all along the way, business
places and private fishing camps
of the wealthy. But man is more
cautious now. He is building
most of his structures of concrete
blocks or poured concrete upon
steel frames, tight against the
ground and sometimes anchored
in bedrock. No more are his roofs
to be sent skithering into man
grove thickets and bedSpringS
furniture and other household
possessions strung upon trees like
Christmas ornaments. At least
that is his hope. But when winds
of 200 miles an hour tear across
Mother Earth, who can tell what
will happen?
Upon Matecumbe, in the heart
of the district where so many
lives were lost, an imposing
monument has been erected IN
memory of the storm victims. Il
is a shaft of native coral rock
upon a platform of rock. On il
in has relief is a strikingly simple
picture of wind-swept palms
their tortured trunks and shred.