200 YEARS OF ISLAND LIVING

HERE’S TO THE SOUTHERNMOST CITY, THE EARLY SETTLERS & THE SIPPING OF A KEYS COCKTAIL

The year 2023 marks Monroe County’s 200th anniversary, and the celebrations are underway.

is an author, speaker, Florida Keys historian and Honorary Conch. His latest book, “Florida Keys History with Brad Bertelli, Volume 1,” shares fascinating glimpses into the rich and sometimes surprising histories of the Florida Keys.

Unsurprisingly, the Southernmost City has absorbed much of the attention. It stands to reason, as Key West has always been Monroe’s heart, soul and county seat. Indeed, it has been its historical anchor, and there is much about Key West, the Florida Keys and Monroe County to celebrate.

The wrecking industry that transformed Key West into the country’s wealthiest city per capita is a significant nugget of local history. Sponges, cigars, turtles, writers, artists and pineapples have all contributed to the Monroe County story. The arrival of Henry Flagler’s train and the Overseas Highway went a long way to civilizing the Florida Keys by delivering conveniences like mail, food and household staples, which brought a greater sense of daily security — and not just to Key West but to all the communities developing up and down the island chain.

Settling in an outpost community like Key West, the county seat, was one thing. Carving out a life on one of the islands not named Key West was an altogether different experience. Those brave souls who struck out on their own, cleared paths, homesteads and farmland are often overlooked when stories about Key West and the Florida Keys are told, and those brave pioneers should most definitely be celebrated.

Their ancestral blood is the true conduit that links one island to another and joins the Florida Keys together. Let’s take a moment to recognize (among others, for which I will apologize in advance for not identifying) the Pents, Currys, Pinders, Alburys, Lowes, Saunders, Johnsons, Parkers, Thompsons, Bakers, Russells, Sands, Sweetings and so many others for their contributions to Monroe County history. In the spirit of the county’s 200th anniversary, let’s raise a toast to those good people.

It should be noted that the county looked very different than it does today, and not just because of development. Its modern boundaries incorporate 3,737 square miles, of which about 73 percent is water. When the county was established on July 2, 1823, it was a significantly larger piece of real estate.

The county became the territory’s sixth and was named after the then-sitting fifth President of the United States, James Monroe. In those days, the county lines extended north from Key West to the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee and west to the Gulf of Mexico. As Florida grew in population, Monroe County shrank in size.

On Feb. 4, 1836, the newly formed Dade County carved out a chunk of Monroe County that included some of the Keys. Dade County incorporated all the islands north (or east) of Bahia Honda. However, when the county lines were redrawn on Dec. 8, 1866, most of the Keys were returned to Monroe. At that point, Broad Creek, flowing north of Key Largo and between Broad Key and Swan Key, became the new and permanent county line. The handful of islands north of the creek remained in Dade County – though the spirit of Monroe County hopefully remains with them.

Southwest of Broad Creek, Manatee Creek flows under the first bridge encountered along the 18-Mile Stretch that links Key Largo to the mainland

(Jewfish Creek Bridge is the second). At Manatee Creek, around Mile Marker 115, on one side of the bridge is Dade County and the South Dixie Highway and, on the other, Monroe County and the Overseas Highway. To the west, up on the mainland, Monroe County borders Collier County, which means that the modern county is largely made up of islands and Everglades.

So, let’s celebrate the 200th anniversary of the county by risking a little case of brain freeze. Let’s make a toast with what should be considered the official drink of the Florida Keys, an ice-cold rumrunner. The sub-tropical libation was first concocted at a tiki bar on Windley Key in the Islamorada area back in the 1970s. The bartender who invented the drink was officially named John Egert but was locally known as Tiki John.

The impetus behind the drink was overstocked bottles, and Tiki John’s manager challenged him to create a drink in order to use up some excess inventory. Tiki John started experimenting, and the winning drink was a combination of rum, lime juice, sugar, banana, and blackberry liqueurs mixed in a blender with a scoop of ice and served frozen.

The original rumrunner did not have the reddish-pink hue it has today. The drink’s famous color came about after Tiki John ran out of sugar while at the tiki bar one day and had to improvise, which he did by substituting grenadine for the sugar. Grenadine, by the way, is made from pomegranate. Ever since his bar ran out of sugar, the rumrunner has been served frozen, red and frequently with a floater of dark rum or 151 – sure, you can have it on the rocks, but that is not how this classic Florida Keys cocktail was first imagined.

I think every one of them should have a little floater spilled on top for this special occasion. Cheers, Monroe County, and happy anniversary.

By: Tracy and Sean McDonald

The Scoreboard

This Week In Keys Sports

Freshman, Marathon Track

&

Field

After dominating the Keys and most of the state of Florida in weightlifting, Marathon’s Justice Lee didn’t take too long to settle into her new sport and make her mark there as well. On March 4, Lee broke the MHS school record in javelin with a throw of 89.9 feet at the Pinecrest Relays. A week later, she traveled to the Miami Elite Invitational held at Monsignor Pace High School as Marathon’s solo entry, managing to earn enough points in three events to capture second place as a team of one.

Justice Lee

Just a freshman, Justice Lee is already putting the school on notice with her performance in field events.

Key West Back on Top

On March 7, Coral Shores traveled to Marathon to play the only matchup between two Keys teams scheduled this season. The result was a win for the Hurricanes and the first blemish on Marathon’s season record.

Coral Shores racked up 12 hits in the game. Leadoff hitter Andrew Putetti went 4-5, including two doubles. Campbell Lavoie and Zeke Myers each had a pair of hits and Riley O’Berry, Dylan Bloom, Donovan Thiery and Steel Mientkiewicz each had a hit in their offensive onslaught. Three ’Canes combined on the mound for the win, including Grayden Ross, who went five innings, and MacIntyre and Tate Brumbalow, who covered one inning each. Marathon managed six hits in the game, led by Ryan Yablon with two, Dylan Ziels with a double and base hits from Dylan Globe, Mason Thornton and Gabe Leal.

Coral Shores evened up their record on March 10 following a 6-1 loss to True North Classical Academy. The ’Canes managed three base hits in the game off the bats of Mientkiewicz, Myers and O’Berry, scoring one run in the non-district matchup. The 3-3 Hurricanes are winning when it counts the most, though, remaining undefeated in district play.

Following their tough loss to district and Keys rival Coral Shores, Marathon hoped to salvage their week with a win against conference rival Palmer Trinity. It wasn’t in the cards for the Fins, though, as Palmer bested Marathon 8-0 on March 10. The Dolphins tallied three base hits, one each from Ryan Yablon, Tommy Norris and Dylan Ziels.

Pitching duties for the Fins were split between Ziels, who went for 5-1/3 innings against the Falcons, and Bryan Broche. The pair faced a team that averages nearly 10 hits per game, with its first six batters all carrying batting averages over .400. Marathon will face the Falcons again in April for a chance to balance the series.