![]() ![]() In the 3 1/2 hours that it had been backing down Flagler's railroad it had covered only 45 miles. It was five in the afternoon before a train finally left Homestead and began backing along the single track that stretched across the Everglades and down into the islands.īy 8:30 on that Labor Day night the train, which was the last hope of the veterans and hundreds of other people lving in the middle and upper Keys, came to a sudden halt. A call had to be relayed to Miami for one to be dispatched. Perhaps because of the holiday or, possibly, no definite plans had ever been made, no train was waiting and ready at the town of Homestead. When it was obvious on Monday that this storm would hit the Keys, a call was sent out near noon on Monday for the evacuation train. ![]() Many lamps would remain unlighted and meals untouched, for out in the Atlantic was the most vicious hurricane North America has ever known. Candles were rounded up and lamps were filled and their wicks were trimmed. Women cooked extra meals and sealed them in jars or put them to simmer on the backs of their stoves. Boats were moved into sheltered coves and storm shutters were nailed over windows. Miamians wasted little time in beginning the task of boarding up, while down in the Keys the natives observed a ritual they had followed for generations. This was on Sunday, the day before Labor Day. On September 1, 1935, storm warnings were posted for all of south Florida, including the Keys. ![]()
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