90 years later: Floridians remember historic hurricane that devastated the Keys – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

A historic hurricane slammed into Florida’s southernmost point 90 years ago and many residents said it’s a storm they will never forget.

Residents like Alma Pinder Dalton and others said the Florida Keys in 1935 was gorgeous, beautiful and starting to grow.

“He had just built a new house,” said Alma Pinder Dalton, a resident who lived through the hurricane.

“We had a two story home on the beach,” said Norman, another resident who lived through the hurricane.

Back in that time, people built their wood frame houses right on the beach. There were roads and cars, but no bridges from island to island so people had to use the ferry.

To link the islands, a YouTube video shows the overseas highway under construction.

A thousand World War I vets were recruited to come down and do the highway construction work.

Then on Labor Day of 1935, word started to spread that there was a storm coming.

“The weather bureau said we wasn’t gonna get it,” said Pinder Dalton.

Pinder Dalton lived through the hurricane. She remembered the weather bureau saying the storm wasn’t coming, but she said her dad disagreed.

“We’re gonna get something. So we shuttered up the house and moved over to uncle Russell’s to sit the storm out,” said Dalton.

At the same time, the U.S. government sent down a train to evacuate the veterans, but it wouldn’t make it in time.

As the sun set, each family tried to find the safest, closest house.

“We moved up to a little cottage,” said Norman.

As it grew dark, the wind picked up and the nightmare began.

“The water started coming up. I remember the water around my feet and the roof went off,” said Norman.

“We all got to the back door to go out. We were following my daddy out and the house went to pieces,” said Dalton.

The wooden houses were destroyed. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters were left struggling in a 20 foot wall of water that swept over Matecumbe and Islamorada.

“I was just hanging on to uncle Fred,” said Dalton.

“We’re floating now, we’re a raft, we’re floating over the trees,” said Norman.

At the same time, the wind estimated at 185 miles per hour roared through. A devastating Category 5 storm.

“Everybody’s ears were peeled from the wind and the rain. It was terrible,” said Dalton.

“It was hard to breathe because of the pressure problem,” said Norman.

As the sun came up, Norman will never forget what he saw.

“A lot of us didn’t have any clothes because the wind had blown our clothes off,” said Norman.

And the beautiful Florida Keys were gone.

“Complete desolation,” said Norman.

“Everything was flat. It was just flat. There was nothing,” said Dalton.

The train that came to rescue the workers was torn from the tracks.

Sadly, there were fatalities from the storm.

“Sophie and aunt Camille was found under the refrigerator,” said Dalton.

Officials said 485 people died, including 228 civilians and 257 veterans.

So many bodies, they were tied to docks and stacked on land. Too many bodies to bury, so they cremated many of them.

“You’re looking at the dress that Alma Pinder Dalton wore in the ’35 hurricane,” said Barbara Edgar, a hurricane historian.

Barbara Edgar is now trying to preserve the history of the 1935 storm in honor of her father.

“He started researching it years ago and, of course, talking with the locals that went through it,” said Edgar.

Irving Eyster hosted many of the ceremonies at the monument to the victims in Islamorada and wanted to be sure the legacy of this storm lived on.

And if another one heads toward the Keys, Norman says “remember the 1935 storm and do something simple.”

“Secure what you got and leave,” said Norman.

It was good advice 90 years ago, it’s still good advice today.

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