Dolores Rogers, left, Sandy Urband and Helen Drzyzga, right, share a laugh at Sloppy Joe's in Key West, Florida.. (MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
Key West, Henry Flagler's Paradise, Attracts Michiganians, 2 Million a Year
Conchs Declared Independence From U.S. in 1982, Still Celebrate Annually
March 7, 2010
By: Dave Rogers
Henry Flagler, who made big money then went bust in Saginaw salt, struck gold in Key West, Florida.
Two million visitors a year, including scads of Michiganians, confirm the value of his find.
Flagler's railroad spanning the Straits of Florida opened the island chain to the world in 1912 -- long after his stint in Saginaw, that ended in 1866.
Flagler's railroad lasted only until 1935 when it was wiped out by a hurricane; but the U.S. government made its base into one of the nation's most famous highways, U.S. 1, running far north to Canada.
Tour guide Eduardo aboard the Conch Train describes the highs and lows of Key West.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
Today you can drive to Key West on U.S. 1 for six or seven hours or take an interminably long ferry ride that is only four hours but seems like a hundred.
With another couple hours on a ferry ($145 a ticket) you can explore another bit of Saginaw-connected history at the Dry Tortugas National Park. That's where Dr. Samuel Mudd was imprisoned after allegedly setting the broken leg of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth as the Civil War closed in 1865 with the proverbial bang.
Bay Cityans making the trip to Key West last week included this MyBayCity.com correspondent and wife Dolores, Grant and Sandy Urband and Paul and Helen Drzyzga.
The visit included the obligatory stop at Sloppy Joe's, Ernest Hemingway's favorite watering hole where the famed writer -- who was also partial to Michigan -- held forth with a quirky crew of free spirits, many of whom appeared to still inhabit the place.
Music blares around the clock at Sloppy Joe's, and at many places on the island that reminds visitors of New Orleans on crack.
Tour guide Eduardo on the Conch Train (everything is called Conch after the Bahamians who immigrated here) declared himself a "Freshwater Conch" since he has resided there more than seven years.
Tennessee Williams did some of his writing at the seven-story Conch Hotel and famous names who have visited Key West abound: FDR, Truman, Ike, Kennedy, Carter. Perhaps most famed in the animal world are the descendants of Hemingway's six toed cats that still roam his former abode, now a tourist attraction.
Bands at Hemingway's old hangout play 24 hours a day for rollicking crowds of fun-seekers.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)
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