The mission of Monroe County is to provide outstanding public service responsive to the needs of our citizens, our unique community, and our environment.
A collection of Florida Keys oral histories is available for listening at milemarkers.fiu.edu. Over 40 storytellers offer compelling descriptions of everyday
life in the Keys. What was the Conch remedy for a cut finger? How was turtle soup made? Where was the best ice cream parlor? What games did children play late into the evening?
According to Monroe County Public Library Administrator Anne Layton Rice, these oral histories were recorded in the 1970s by the Key West Women’s Club for a Bicentennial project and by Dr. Virginia Irving for the Monroe County School Board. “Their efforts provide us with an extraordinary gift—authentic voices carrying forward the rich cultural heritage of the Keys” says Rice
The original tape recordings are preserved at the Monroe County Public Library’s Florida History Department in Key West. Florida International University Digital Collections Center has digitized, transcribed, and mounted the web exhibit through a grant from the State Library of Florida. Comments and questions can be sent to rice-anne@monroecounty-fl.gov
