Trip to the keys shows Red Crosser the impact of 135 Labor Day Hurricane

In remembrance of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, I revised and reposted this entry from October 2009.

It was a beautiful Friday morning and I was getting ready to go to the Keys for a Red Cross event slated for that night.

GPS, check
Flips flops, check
Cool coffee drink, check
Red Cross “Scavenger Hunt” list, check

Got the hubby and we were out the door.

Now you might be asking yourself, what’s with the Red Cross “Scavenger Hunt” list? In preparation for this trip, the American Red Cross Keys Chapter Advancement Officer  sent me an email asking me to stop by a couple historical places on my way down to Key West. (Someone must have told her of my lack of aptitude in Keys history.) Scavenger Hunt! Sounds like fun!

Monument to the
1935 Labor Day Hurricane

First stop: Hurricane Monument in Islamorada.
Degree of difficulty of finding the location: 2.5    
1 - being “super easy”  5 - being “I can’t find it therefore, it doesn’t exist.”

Thank goodness for the little sign on the side of the road because the mile marker on my list was wrong.

Got there, took a picture and started to look around for a plaque(s) or something that explains why this place is important.

Found the plaques and read its heartbreaking story. What happened in September 1935 was a recipe for disaster. Imagine going about your day, and next thing you know weather conditions deteriorate and you find yourself smacked by a Cat 5 hurricane and its 20-foot walls of water. Lack of radar technology, slow modes of communication, bridges under construction and a slow transportation system only made the situation worse and number of causalities higher. Hundreds of visitors, residents and WWI vets working on the bridges and roadways were killed. It is not known how many people lost their lives, but one family lost over 40 members.

Interesting fact: under the tiled mosaic found at the base of the Hurricane Monument lay the cremated remains of over 300 people who died in that ferocious storm - the worst in Florida history.

After the storm many of the buildings were utterly destroyed and few remained, including the Rustic Inn, the next stop on my list. The Rustic Inn served as a refuge for survivors desperately seeking news of their loved ones.

Second stop: the Green Turtle Inn formerly known as the Rustic Inn
Degree of difficulty of finding the location: 1

The Green Turtle Inn

Many years ago I went to the Green Turtle Inn for dinner. At the time it was known for its soup and magic show – I kid you not. (I have to admit the show was entertaining.)  I drove up to the establishment and noticed it had undergone some major renovations. The Green Turtle Inn is now flanked by a sports good store and Wyland art gallery. The place looks very trendy and new, but the plaque at the entrance of the restaurant serves as a sober reminder of the location’s history.

Formerly known as the Rustic Inn, it’s hard to believe that it was a place of reunions, heartbreak and sorrow. The place where people now go for happy hours was once a place where people learned the fate of their missing loved ones. Strange juxtaposition if you ask me.

It was at this time that the Red Cross provided solace and assistance to the hurricane survivors.

Third stop: Red Cross Houses
Degree of difficulty of finding the location:  4.25 

One of the remaining
Red Cross Houses

GPS was useless. These homes were hard to find, but once you do, you’re in luck because they are several close in proximity. What helped me was a plaque on the front yard of a Red Cross house. Thank goodness there are plaques and signs for everything in the Keys. They’re very helpful.

Here’s the history: In an effort to help the residents get back on their feet, the Work Projects Administration, Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Red Cross constructed specially-designed hurricane proof homes. These Red Cross homes have a very distinct look about them and once you see one, the others are easy to point out. The walls were 18" thick and were built with concrete and iron bars.  The roofs were all concrete as well.  The ground floor was 12' above ground and the downstairs had built in cisterns designed to hold a year's worth of water. The floors, door and storm shutters were built with Dade County Pine. Twenty-nine homes were built in the late 1930s and several of them still exist today.

Scavenger Hunt completed.

Obtained a better understanding of Keys history, check
Understand the local community’s bond to the Red Cross, check
Gained a stronger sense of the Red Cross mission, check.

- Cynthia Gutierrez-White
Regional Director, Communications & Marketing
American Red Cross South Florida Region