Dear Citizens of Key West:
After the establishment of the checkpoint by the Border Patrol and the loss in federal court, the decision was made for Key West to secede from the United States.
“If they are going to treat us like a foreign country, we will become a foreign country.”
Over the years, Key West has fought to overcome losses.
In the early 1900s, the booming cigar industry, Ruy Lopez, owned by John Wardlow, was lost to Tampa after fires and hurricanes destroyed the factories. The sponging industry was lost to Tarpon Springs because Conchs harvested the sponges environmentally safely from boats with hooks while spongers from Tarpon Springs walked on the bottom wearing diving suits with heavy boots that killed juvenile sponges. The shrimping industry, “pink gold,” largely moved to Texas because of the cost of fuel and transportation.
The Navy was a big presence in Key West until they withdrew in the 1970s because of political pressures, leaving us a ghost town. You could shoot a cannon down Duval Street and not hit anything. Buildings were boarded up and business closed.
To overcome all this, we established the Key West Tourist Development Committee to promote tourism to bring people to the Florida Keys and Key West. One of the things we did was meet with and “beg” the cruise ships to come here.
They did, and were a positive influence to our tourism. I was then invited by Monroe County to help establish the Florida Keys Tourism Development Council, of which I was a founding member. Our efforts to encourage tourism as a new industry were threatened in 1980 when the Mariel boatlift started from Cuba and again in 1982 by the Border Patrol roadblock.
The founding of the Conch Republic shone a new light on the uniqueness of Key West, Duval Street and the welcoming “live and let live” attitude of the Conchs.
Key West has attracted artists, songwriters, singers, authors, movie producers and people from all walks who come here for our quaint and unique way of life.
We need to ensure that we do not lose the things that bring people here. Our uniqueness cannot and should not be changed, especially Duval Street.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Wardlow
Mayor emeritus, Key West
Prime Minister of the Conch Republic
