Showing posts with label Wilhelmina Harvey first female commissioner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wilhelmina Harvey first female commissioner. Show all posts

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Only in Key West

Wilhelmina Harvey was the first female commissioner of Monroe County and the first  woman  to be elected Mayor Emeritus.  She was a philanthropist and a "grand dame of Keys politics." In l982 when Key West  citizens of Key West formed the Conch Republic, a satirical micronation, in response to a Border Patrol checkpoint that disrupted travel and tourist activity. Harvey became Admiral and First Sea Lord of the Conch Republic's navy, whose actions included attacking a Coast Guard cutter with loaves of stale Cuban bread.[8][4] The Conch Republic became a Key West mainstay as a tourist attraction and a humorous method for the city to negotiate with state and federal governments. During the 1995 "invasion", she stopped and accepted surrender from Army Reserve troops.[9] She often served as the Republic's ambassador and met several presidents and foreign leaders in that capacity.[3] In 1991, she hosted Queen Elizabeth at Dry Tortugas National Park, acting as both Monroe County mayor and Conch Republic ambassador.[3][2]

Rick Worth, a local artist immortalized her on a mural on the side wall of Bobby's Monkey Bar as she crossed the 7 mile bridge with a diverse crew,
which served as the model for One Human Family––Unity in Diversity