The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1947-07-02

P' heN WcSt iS, perfOrcc, an
iavor of SMALL cities,
During the war Key West was
Ni'ai To our national defense. The
Navy moved in and took over
thousands of sailor-boys were
packed into the island like sar-
dines. but now that the shooting
is over thu little place has regain
cd its ancient and favorne i'm
perturbability. accompanied by a
TRANQUILITY casual tempo of living
Like the Hindu. the native Key
Wcster has come To realize that
there's mo pcrceptible end to the
h0ad. So wisely, he takes time
oil TO enjoy the profuslon of trop-
zeal beauty along the way) The
island has never IN It's history seen
frost or snow
Key West is American To its
roots. A matter of quiet pride To-
many Of the natives Is the fact
that they sill sleep in the idcn-
teal beds IN which they were
born. Much of the islands his
tory n passed on IN local story
and gossip. A Grapevine news
worthy al the Associated Press,
keeps tab ON the entire commun-
ity. Unusual harmony seems To
prevail between the large colorcd
colony and the white folks. Crime,
both minor and major. appears
well below average. (This may
be generally true of islands,. Ma
tIvcs here dominate local affairs
with good humorD
Many New England families
settled IN Key West over hun
bred years ago. With them they
brought inherent memories of
their New England Architecture
AN influence which is still
strongly m evidence even now.
Some actually brought their hous
Is with them. board by board.
and rcaSsembled them here. just
like the c-fabricated buildings
al today! What homes they built
They've withStood termites and
hurricanes and are still going
strong Nesting beneath great
trees and hcmncd in with lush
tropical plants and flowers the,
create much of the islands charm.
A favoritc local pastime is simply
sitting around absorbing the
beauty Of the place. Serenity is
traditional in the Key West Pat
tCrn. And. as a result. nervous
breakdowns are as scarce as biz
yards, Yet the several back
grounds have formed here in this
tropical dream-Spot a more alert
and even cosmopolitan viewpoint
than is sometimes found Down
South. OF course. this may seem
emphasized because of the fact
that Key West has always felt
the influence of international
shipping from pirates to pleas
ure cruises.
Cuba Is just good splash
away from Key West a brief
half-hour by plane. five .or six
hours by ferry Often in the hush
Of the fragrant tropical night il
seems that the rumble of the
rumbl can be- heard drifting
across the romantic waters! Cuba
has contributed othcg influences
also. The tobacco industry
brought with IL various Latin Gus.
toms the Siesta, Spiced foods
Cuban music. and spoken Span
ish. Some time ago the tobacco
industry rashly moved from Key
West Ia Tampa. But certain fam
lilies loved Key West too much /
seems ever Ia go away. To-day
i'm their own homes. they make
and ship 10 all parts of the coun
try those special cigars for which
they are famous. Their trans
planting from Cuba To Key Yves
wasn't a severe strain on the Gu
bans. For Key West is very near
~ as tropical as Cuba itself. Boil
are ncighborS of Yucatan al
three ore within shouting distance
Of each other.
Key West used Ia bc a wonder
ful place for Pirates, Captain
Kidd and his reckless crew coul'
have wished for nothing furthe
(unlcss il could have been technl
color 40 record lhclr exploits
But all dogs even old sea
dogs have their day, To
day piracy is confined 10 the mu
raj designs in the fairly numerou
local bars and cafes. Yet ship
wrecks. until recently. were re
garaed by Key Westers them
selves as legitimate booty
catch as -catch-can basis frs
CONG first-served. sort O
polite piracy.
Indeed. the title. Key West.
said To derive from the SPANS
"Cavo Hueso." meaning key o
bones" (Which were once strew
so rrofusely over the island). 5
il is quite possible that Kidd an
his men played their share IN scat
terine around the broken bone
81 enemies and thus giving tn
place us name.