On Saturday, February 27, we had a great group of young men at the Little White House the Boy Scouts from troops 573 and 578 that represent Key West and Big Pine Key. They were to here to plant a tree on the grounds of the Little White House as part of their Centennial Project. 2010 marks the 100th birthday of the Boy Scouts of America and troops around the country are all taking on a special service projects in honor of the this special year. The Centennial Tree that was planted was a jacaranda, which when mature, will produce large purple flowers and really look fabulous in our garden.
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.
