The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-03-11

1
week when the sun again showed
itself, we were able to battle in
| the shallow water near the Fort,
| explore the other keys known as
Hospital and Bird. Keys, and to
fish to our great satisfaction for
srouper, mackerel, barracuda,
yellowtail and jack. We were
furnished with an experienced
| guide and comfortable boats, and
we're taken both trolling and still
fishing to all of the best spots.
BY evening we were always SO
tired and sleepy that we went to
bed early and slept like babies.
The beds were comfortable and
clean, and there was room on the
yacht for Is guests at one time.
On the fifth day of our stay we
were planning to leave and had
even put our luggage aboard
when my husband asked me if I
would like to stay until the next
trip out. / didn't need a second
invitation and called to the deck
hand, who had just slowed my
bags and hoped back to the dock
just as they were about to draw
in the gangplank. .sn. -f
Visit Lighthouse Keeper
That afternoon we were invit-
ed by the owners of the boat to
go with them to visit the people
! at the lighthouse, nearby. It is
known as Loggerhead Light, was
built in 1926 and rebuilt in 1867.
, had been very curious about the
island and accepted the invita-
ton at once. We were greeted
with fine hospitality by the three
people who occupied the island
for two months at stretch.
| They are not as isolated as at
one time, however, we were told
by the lighthouse keeper, who
had been there for many years.
, He said that at one time they
had been for as long as 10 to 10
weeks without having boat stop
or without having fresh supplies.
and that sometimes their food
became spoiled and unfit to eat;
that they had great difficulty
! raising anything for food and
that the children sometimes cried
for bread. Of course, that was
long before the advent of radio
and the discovery of electricity.
At that time the light was OPP
! Grated by oil and had to be tend
ed carefully. Now they have a
Diesel-run plant that operates
automatically and produces all
the electricity they need. The
light is a million and a half can
dlepower, flashes every 20 sec
ondS and can be seen on a clear
night for a distance of 81 miles. A
radio beacon is sent out from the
island at regular intervals and
messages are sent and received
for both the lighthouse and for
the Fort from Key West. We
climbed tc the top of the light,
203 steps, and got birds eye
view of the beautiful tropical is
land and the bright blue waters
of the Gulf of Mexico and the
deeper blue of the channels.
Tropical Life
Tropical birds sang sweetly in
the palms and the beautiful
flowers with their riot of color
bloomed everywhere. We walk
ed around the island and saw the
cottages occupied in the summer
by scientists of the Carnegie IN
stitution, where all sorts of ex-
periments are carried on for the
benefit of the medical profession
and mankind in general. We
saw shells and coral in abund-
ance and learned more about life
in the tropics than we ever could
have from a school book. We ate
fresh cocoanut right from the
trees and the Lighthouse keepers
assistant made us ash-trays from
the shells.
All this time we lost track of
news from the outside world.
There was radio but news
didn't seem to matter and one
day was like another, pleasant
and carefree, and it made us
happy to be alive to enjoy this
wonderful climate and the sin
cere hospitality of the genial
people who We're our hosts and
hostess.
Snow. AT Home
| What amused me most of all
was. that while our hometown
heishbors up in New England
were probably shoveiling snow,
we were being treated on a trop-
ical island to a boiled New Eng
land dinner and homemade ice
cream. We went fishing from the
lighthouse island on one day and
had a splendid catch, then re-
turned to our quarters on the
boat at the Fort to spend an
other night, meeting new COM