The Conch Republic
Keith W. McDuffee
Key West in '82? I read a bit about it in a book about the Keys.
I guess back in 1982, the U.S. Government started checking ALL of the
vehicles passing over 7 Mile Bridge for suspicion of drugs. Of course,
the 'peaceful' residents of Key West were all but happy about this, so
they all got together and told the rest of the States to screw and
suceded from the union! They made a Key West flag and national anthem
and called themselves The Conch Republic. They had a raging party that
lasted for an entire week. After they realized they weren't getting
any more money from the states, they decided to join back again.
Key West. What a town!
How about Mayor (captain) Tony!?! He got so pissed that the military
was leaving the island, and to show them how dangerous it was not to
have military protection from the 'very close' island of Cuba, he
waterskied from Key West to Cuba!
Any other stories?
Keith W. McDuffee
Systems Administrator
Object Design, Inc.
(617) 270-9797
mcdu...@odi.com
Kim Dyer
>Key West in '82? I read a bit about it in a book about the Keys.
>I guess back in 1982, the U.S. Government started checking ALL of the
>vehicles passing over 7 Mile Bridge for suspicion of drugs
blockade at 7 Mile would be pretty pitiful ... lots of great places
to moor farther up the keys if you were carrying something "unusual"
if they were stopping people there.
>After they realized they weren't getting
>any more money from the states, they decided to join back again.
anything to DO with the blockade stopping. Pretty hard to stop anyone
serious about bringing in drugs that way.
Phillip Jacobs
of Conchs began an uprising and formed the Conch Republic.
As reported by the United Press International 1982
April 22, 1982, Thursday, AM cycle
The South is threatening to rise again -- but this time its the Florida
Keys, where officials are so hopping mad about a roadblock that they intend to
symbolically secede from the union and may even declare war on their mother
country.
In a ceremony tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Old Town Square in
Key West, the red, white and blue of the Old Glory will be replaced with the Key
West flag, denoting the formal declaration of the '' Conch Republic. ''
Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlow said Thursday he is taking the action because
he feels that the federal government is treating the Florida Keys like a foreign
country -- and he has had enough.
The straw that broke Wardlow's back was a roadblock set up Sunday by the U.S.
Border Patrol at Florida City near the Dade-Monroe county line, effectively
separating the Keys from the mainland. It was set up to catch illegal aliens
being smuggled from Key West to points north and drug smugglers.
''The only place the Border Patrol patrols is on the border of a foreign
country,'' Wardlow said about the roadblock.
''I'm very disgusted. Everytime somebody wants to make a few points, they
pick on the Florida Keys. If the Border Patrol was that concerned with catching
illegal aliens, they should move their roadblock around to I-95 or I-4 to Disney
World and then see what reaction they get,'' he said.
The roadblock has incensed Keys residents, whose economy is based heavily on
tourism. The roadblock last Sunday caused a 19-mile long traffic jam and
businessmen fear it may cause many tourists to head elsewhere.
Border patrol officials say the traffic jams have been eliminated but Keys
residents say that may be because fewer people are traveling there.
''What we will do is declare war, fire one shot, surrender and then ask for
$1 billion in foreign aid for the damage they've caused,'' Wardlow said. ''And
we might also ask the United States to pay us for the military use of our land
here.''
''And we'll only negotiate a settlement with Vice President Bush or President
Reagan.''
Wardlow charged that the Keys area was singled out for a politically
motivated demonstration of force because there is not a single elected federal
representative from Monroe County to protest.
He said that all city and county commissioners in Monroe County agree with
the sentiments behind the mock ceremony.
For a copy of the "Official Passport to the Conch Republic, " a
passport sized guide to the delights of Key West, write to Ocean Key House Suite
Resort & Marina, Zero Duval Street, Key West, FL 33040 or call (800) 328-9815.
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I speak ONLY for myself, not my employer, not my school, not my wife, not
my children and especially not my dog.
Phil Jacobs (513) 865-7743
Mead Data Central In a hundred years Delivery Architecure
P.O. Box 933 This all won't matter! ph...@meaddata.com
Dayton, Ohio 45401 -jimmy buffett- ...!uunet!meaddata!phil
pja...@valhalla.cs.wright.edu
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