Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

110 years ago…

December 29, 1896 – The Tampa Morning Tribune reports that the Three Friends, a filibustering ship which had just left Tampa with arms, ammunition and soldiers bound for Cuba, fired on and sank a Spanish Navy patrol boat off the coast of Cuba. The Jacksonville-based boat’s activities were illegal and jeopardized U. S. neutrality in the war of independence between Cuba and Spain. The U. S. eventually abandoned its neutral position and fought Spain in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines during the 1898 Spanish – American War.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

50 years ago…

October 27, 1956 – The old Pedroso boarding house in Ybor City, occasional home to Cuban Patriot Jose Martí, is demolished. Tampa Mayor Nick Nuccio leads the sad proceedings by taking an axe to the front door. The property, located on the corner of Eighth Avenue and Thirteenth Street, was given to the country of Cuba to turn into a Martí museum. After demolition, the land was converted into El Parque Amigos de Jose Martí (Park of the Friends of Jose Martí). The park, and the land underneath it, is still owned by Cuba today.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

115 years ago…

October 16, 1891 – Members of Tampa’s Ignacio Agramonte Club, named in honor of a hero of Cuba’s Ten Year War (1868-1878), invites Jose Martí to speak in Tampa.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

110 years ago…

October 12, 1896 – Tampa’s Cuban population celebrates the twenty-eighth anniversary of the beginning of their country’s 1868 revolution against Spanish rule. While ultimately unsuccessful, local Cubans pointed to that revolution as inspiration for their country’s current struggle with Spain. Cuba would win its (relative) independence two years later, with US assistance, at the conclusion of the brief Spanish – American War.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

110 years ago…

October 4, 1896 – The “young ladies” Cuban Club sponsors a picnic at Ballast Point to raise money for Cuba’s revolution war against Spain. The Consumers’ Electric Company offered a special round trip fare from Franklin Street to the picnic for $.20 ($4.50 in today’s dollars).

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

Long before the rout of the Buccaneers, there was the Route of the Buccaneers.

In 1947, you could catch a National Airlines flight from New York to New Orleans, Tampa, and Jacksonville, as well as Miami and Havana.  Just phone MURRAY HILL 2-4200 to book a spot on the DC-4 Buccaneers.  This advertisement ran in the New York Tribune.  Check the Duke University website for copywrite information.

110 years ago…

August 6, 1896 – A mysterious steamship arrives off the coast of Tampa, likely belonging to the Cuban Junta, during the early years of Cuba’s 1895 Revolution. Military equipment, mainly arms and ammunition, were being stockpiled by the local Cuban population in anticipation of the steamship’s arrival.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.