True Secrets of Key West Revealed!

True Secrets of Key West Revealed!
What's in the book?

Key West is a small, two by four island populated by innovators and eccentrics. It is the end of the road and the beginning of adventure. Millions of people visit but actually know very little about this wonderful place. So we at Eden Entertainment Limited, Inc. decided to produce a handy book for the visitor and local alike.

It's called "True Secrets of Key West Revealed!"

Full of questions and answers going through more than 500 years of Key West history. Every question is carefully researched, photographed and indexed for your reading or browsing pleasure. Some samples of the questions in the book are below.

Where are all of the Key West key lime trees?

There are very few lime trees left in Key West. On an island with a limited amount of land it is not profitable to cultivate limes (or any other crop for that matter.) The limes used in Key Lime pies are imported now, mostly from Tahiti.

What has protected Key West from Hurricanes since 1922?

Sister Mary Louis Gabriel S.N.J.M. (Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary) built the Grotto of Saint Mary at the Saint Mary Star of the Sea Parish Catholic Church and dedicated it May 25, 1922. Built on the model of the Grotto in Lourdes, France, the Grotto of Saint Mary was built to protect Key West from Hurricanes.

Before the Grotto was built the last hurricane that killed anybody was in 1919 and 300 people in Key West lost their lives. Since the Grotto has been built nothing larger than a category 2 has ever gone over Key West and there hasn't been a single life lost.

Did CNN (Cable News Network) really say Key West was probably destroyed?

They sure did, during hurricane Andrew, August 24, 1992. As the storm destroyed the town of Homestead on the mainland it cut the electricity and phones in Key West. Since there was no communication with Key West CNN reported that, "Key West was probably destroyed." One wonders if CNN also describes sources unavailable for comment as "probably dead." The reality is that wind and rain damage were minimal in Key West.

Did Key West have nuclear missiles aimed at Cuba?

No, but it isn't hard to see where misconceptions came from. HAWK missiles were set up along Smathers Beach. These surface to air missiles were built by Raytheon Corporation and introduced into service in 1962. They resembled the Lacrosse Guided Missile, which at the time was capable of carrying an atomic warhead. But the HAWK missiles carried only conventional warheads and, with a limited range of 14.9 miles, they were installed to shoot down any incoming conventional aircraft from Cuba.

Why did Key West have a pink submarine?

They military policy might have been "don't ask, don't tell" but that's not our policy. In 1959 Tony Curtis and Cary Grant arrived for the filming of "Operation Petticoat." The super-structure of the U.S. submarine Balao was painted pink for the movies plot. (What did YOU think?)