← Tales From South Florida: History of the People and Places That Shaped South Florida
Tales From South Florida: History of the People and Places That Shaped South Florida
The Day Key West Seceded from the United States
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It's time to take another talk down memory lane. Join us as we explore the people, places and events that made and make this area an exciting and vibrant place to live. Now with this week's tale from South Florida, here's your host, Bill Monte.
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Florida is a wild place to live today, but nothing like it was growing up here in the 20th century, where sometimes it meant we were all at the forefront of national news. And no matter who was reporting it, they were using characteristics that made fun of us and made us, well, you know, Florida, hello, hanging chad. Today, there are many stories that want to plant an image of weird people who may or may not be the brightest bulbs in the chandelier and paint us all with that same brush. This is a Florida person. Or more specifically, Florida man. You've seen the headlines of the stories online. Florida man runs Naked on i95. Florida man wrestles alligator to Retrieve his Dentures Florida man. Florida man. Florida Man. But the original Florida man just may have been someone named Dennis Wardlow, who back in the day was the mayor of Key West. You might have heard of the Conch Republic. By definition, it's a micro nation declared as a sarcastic secession of of the city of Key west from the United states back on April 23, 1982. And while it has been a huge tourism booster for the city, the term Conch Republic has moved out of Key west to encompass all of the Florida Keys. But how did all this happen? Well, the protests that sparked the creation of the Conch Republic have been described by some as tongue in cheek and they were motivated by frustrations over genuine concerns by actions taken by the United States government. You see, way back in 1982, the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock and inspection point on US 1. It was set up right where Monroe county and Miami Dade county met. As you might have imagined, it impacted tourism and travel to and from Homestead in Florida City into the Keys. You would wait hours sometimes to try to get to where you were going. And sometimes people decided they just didn't have to go. So why was this set up? The roadblock was partially in response to the out of control immigration issue that had begun about two years prior with the Cuban Marriott boat lift. And partly it was due to the incredible amounts of illegal drugs coming into the Keys at the time and making their way into the United States. Now, the Key West City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience for travelers to and from Key west, claiming rightfully so it was hurting the tourism industry in the Keys. When the City Council's complaints went unanswered by the US Federal government and attempts to get an injunction against the roadblock failed in court. Our aforementioned original Florida man, Mayor Dennis Wardlow, and the Council declared Key West's independence on April 23, 1982. In the eyes of the council, since the US federal government had set up the equivalent of a border station as if they were a foreign nation, they might as well become one. Many of the local citizens back then were referred to as Conchs. So the micronation took on the name of the Conch Republic and history was made. As part of the protests, Mayor Wardlow was proclaimed Prime Minister of the Republic, which immediately declared war against the United States. This was done symbolically of course, by breaking a loaf of stale Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a US Naval uniform. Then the new nation quickly surrendered after one minute to the aforementioned man in uniform and applied for $1 billion in foreign aid. I'm surprised they didn't get it. You might think that all of this was a bit silly, but it really was a reaction to what was going on. And in typical Florida style, we just didn't let it go. Conk Republic officials were actually invited to the Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994, and conch representatives were officially invited to the Florida Jubilee back in 1995. The foe secession and the events surrounding it generated great publicity for the Keys. The roadblock and inspection station were removed soon afterward. It also resulted in the creation of a new avenue of tourism. But lest you think this ended the secessionist activities of the loyal Cox, well, hang on to your hats kids, because they always have something up their sleeves. On September 20, 1985, the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion of the United States Army Reserve was going to conduct a training exercise which simulated an invasion of a foreign island. They were going to land on Key west and conduct affairs as if the islanders were foreign. And in some ways they were. However, the problem with this whole plan was nobody newbody from the 478th notified Conch officials of this exercise. Seeing another chance at making headlines, Mayor Wardlow and the forces behind the 1982 Conch Republic Secession mobilized the island for a full scale war, sending the schooner Western Union out to attack an incoming Coast Guard cutter with water balloons, Conch fritters and stale Cuban bread. The US Coast Guard in return, not quite getting the joke, they responded with fire hoses and the battle quickly ended. These actions were protested to the Department of Defense for arranging this exercise without consulting the city Officials. And get this, the leaders of the 478th issued an apology the next day, saying they in no way meant to challenge or impugn the sovereignty of of the Conch Republic and submitted to a surrender ceremony on September 22nd. So that ended that, right? No. During the US federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996, as a protest, the Republic sent a flotilla of the Conch Navy. There was a Conch Navy civilians and fire department boats to Fort Jefferson, which is located in Dry Tortugas national park, to reopen it because it was closed because of the federal government shutdown. You know, that shutdown we constantly hear about these days. The action was dubbed a full scale invasion by the Conch Republic, inspired by the efforts of the Smithsonian Institution to keep its museums open. By private donations, local residents had raised money to keep the park running since if it was closed again, damaging tourism. When they attempted to enter the monument, they were cited. When the citation was contested in court the following year, the resultant case, the United States of America versus Peter Anderson, was quickly dropped. Who is Peter Anderson? You're asking? Peter Anderson was the Secretary General who was elected on that one brief moment of the secession back on April 23, 1982. So that had to put an end to all this silliness, right? Sit back, folks. On January 13, 2006, the aforementioned Peter Anderson, former Secretary General of the concept and the defendant in the Dry Tortugas case, purported to annex the abandoned span of the Seven Mile Bridge, which had been replaced by a parallel span in 1982. This move was in response to a recent event regarding Cuban refugees. On the previous January 4, Cuban refugees had reached the bridge, but were returned to Cuba by the U.S. border Patrol because the government had declared the bridge a wet feet location. Under the wet feet dry feet policy rationale was that since the two sections of the span had been removed, it was no longer connected to land. It was not part of US Territory subject to the dry feet rule, and thus the refugees could not stay. Anderson, seizing upon the U.S. s apparent disavowal of the abandoned Spanish, claimed it for the Conch Republic. He expressed hope to use the bridge for affordable ecologically friendly housing. In response, a spokesman for Florida Governor Jeb Bush declared, with all due respect to the Conch Republic, the bridge belongs to all the people of Florida and we're not currently in negotiations to sell it. The refugee decision was later overturned, but only after the refugees had been returned to Cuba. Will be right back with the finale of the tale of the Key west secession after this message. Hi, this is Bill Monte and I am inviting you to join me on babyboomer.org babyboomer.org it's for baby Boomers and a little bit younger and maybe a little bit older. The One Stop Shop website that gives you everything Baby Boomer. If you're looking for books to read, interviews, podcasts like this one, and Bill Monte's Guide for getting older, just about anything you want to do online you can do@babyboomer.org babyboomer.org Come join me over there. I'll be looking for you. You know, I'm really glad that I enjoyed the Keys when I did. My time in the Florida keys was between 1977 and 1982, so right before they declared their independence from the United States of America. But back then it still had that kind of Jimmy Buffett pirate outcast vibe. You know, you can walk around the streets, find yourself a little dark corner, you'd find a group of people maybe smoking a joint or just sharing a joke. The Mallory Square show at Sunset wasn't quite the circus that it is now. You certainly didn't have huge cruise ships coming in and out. It was a great time back then. I'm not saying it's not a great time now, but back then it was affordable and it wasn't so disneyfied. But listen, you can still enjoy some of those old days from Key west through their website. The Republic issues passports as souvenirs so you can go get your Conch Republic passport. It's not real, but some people have evidently bought them in the mistaken belief that they were legitimate travel and identity documents. One story I read online said Shortly after the September 11 attacks, FBI investigators thought that one of the hijackers had possibly purchased a Conch Republic passport from the website. The International Vehicle Registration Code stickers can also be purchased from vendors in Key west with the initials KW and cr. Unfortunately, those are also the country codes for Kuwait and Costa Rica respectively. If you'd like to celebrate the independence and secession of Key west, the Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day every April 23rd as part of a week long festival of activities involving numerous businesses in Key West. The sponsoring organization, a sovereign state of mind seeking only to bring more humor, warmth and respect to a world in sore need of all three, is a key tourism booster for the area. Maybe I'll head down there, be a part of it. If you see some guy walking around in a tailsome South Florida T shirt, come over and say hi, that's me. And reminder, please, wherever you're listening to this podcast, please hit either that follow or subscription button. It's free and it helps to grow the show and will keep you informed of when the next podcast episode drops. This is Bill Monti thanking you for listening to this tale from South Florida. And remember, be kind whenever possible, because it's always possible. Sam.