No, this is not a blog about Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Today’s entry is about what happened on November 8, 1991. After sitting dormant and decaying for years, the Harry S. Truman Little White House was rededicated after a $1.7 million renovation from private funding. Over 200 people attended the ceremony and heard then Secretary of the Navy (and now Senator, D-Virginia) James Webb give the keynote address.
Fast forward 20 years to 2011. With any wooden structure in a sub tropical climate, restoration never ends. Even with all that we have accomplished, we still have a long way to go. There are lots of ways you can get involved. You can join the Key West Harry S. Truman Foundation. Physical items are always appreciated and we have a couple here that we are in search of. Or consider us in your will. If it had not been for the generous donations in 1991 the Little White House might still be sitting in disrepair. But its not. It is alive and well and continues to share the legacy of President Harry S. Truman to visitors of Key West.
On October 14, 1962 Soviet missiles were discovered in Cuba just 90 miles south of Key West. Key West, due to its close proximity to Cuba, prepared for possible invasion. Large numbers of US troops gathered here to invade Cuba and defensive measures included HAWK missiles to shoot down Soviet planes and barb wire and machine gun emplacements along the beach to deter invasion by Cuban and Soviets troops to Key West. The US Navy blockaded Cuba instead. On October 27, the Soviets agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba and the United States agreed to withdraw our missiles from Turkey and war was averted.
