Women's History Month: Wilhelmina Harvey remembered as "The Grand Dame of Keys politics"
MIAMI - The sun-soaked Florida Keys, from Key Largo to Key West, are "close to perfect, far from normal," as the tourism brand. They are definitely diverse and for a politician in Monroe County, they are a daily challenge.
Virginia Panico, the long-time Executive Vice President /CEO of the Key West Chamber of Commerce, remembers one woman who more than met that challenge for years.
In the 1980s, Wilhelmina Harvey became the first female mayor of Monroe County, later known as "The Grand Dame of Keys politics" and "Wild Willie."
According to Panico, "She kind of like ruled the county for a while and was very well respected."
Besides being the first female mayor, Harvey was the first woman to be elected to the Monroe County Commission. In her time she was also a science teacher, Chair of the Monroe County School Board, and enjoyed scuba diving.
About the nickname "Wild Willie?"
Author Margot Bisztray said Harvey told her how it came to be.
"I used to watch my dad and brothers operate our Model T. Once after my mother and dad went in the house, I turned the key and put my foot on the clutch, and pulled down the accelerator. People were running down the street yelling 'stop that child!' I could barely see through the windshield. That's why they called me Wild Willie," Harvey recalled to Bisztray.
Panico said Harvey played to her strengths.
"She was a sharp, educated woman and she played the opposite. As far as I knew, she would play that little ditzy but by no means, it was not the case," she said.
In 1981, Harvey was deeply involved in the Conch Republic, the symbolic and humorous Keys succession rebellion in which they protested US Border Patrol checkpoints at the entrance to the island chain.
"She was always, always was at different events, never missed events, never miss a special event with the people," said Panico. "She had everybody fooled, I think, she was very coy on how she did things."
Simply put, Harvey was a character.
A true Conch, Harvey was born in Key West. Her father was an engineer with Henry Flagler's railroad based in Key West. She understood tourism and promotion, the backbone of the Florida Keys economy. One of her finest moments came in 1991 when she greeted Queen Elizabeth II who visited Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.
"She went out there and greeted Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, presenting them with a queen conch shell," said Panico.
Harvey later related the story to Bisztray.
"When I presented the certificate, I gave her a beautiful pink conch shell. A while later, an old-time Conch friend said, 'Wilhelmina, why did you give the queen a conch shell? You must not have told her that we Conchs don't take them in the house because it's bad luck.' I said I wasn't going to spoil the presentation by being negative, but why was my friend unhappy? She said, 'Haven't you read? Not only has the palace burned, but her daughters-in-law are all running around!'"
Harvey was one of the first inductees into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. She passed away in 2005 at the age of 93.