The Word is out...

This morning in the Key West Citizen

HTA donates historic schooner to nonprofit.
CITIZEN STAFF

The Western Union, the historic wooden schooner
that has graced Key West’s skyline on and off since
1939, will now become the property of a nonprofit
group that intends to restore it.
The Western Union’s present owner, Historic Tours
of America, which also operates the ubiquitous Conch
Tour Train, will announce its decision to donate the
ship to The Schooner Western Union Preservation
Society at a 5 p.m. press conference Monday.
Theo Glorie, owner of the Coffee Plantation on
Caroline Street and the foundation’s organizer, says
it’s the answer to the puzzle of how to keep the 139-
foot sailing ship in Key West.
“The plan is to restore it and make it new again,”
Glorie said. “We’ll have a couple of fundraising parties,
sell sponsorships and hold membership drives to ensure
that it remains a boat for the people of Key West.”
The Western Union has been for sale for more than
a year; Glorie and others feared that a private buyer
might one day remove the wooden sailing ship.
There are other costs associated with maintaining
the ship. Not only do the ship’s wood decks, cable
rigging and interior require constant upkeep, but the
Western Union inhabits a slip next to the Schooner
Wharf, the Waterfront Market and other high-priced
real estate in an increasingly expensive part of the
city. The slip fees alone could be a challenge for anyone
who takes the vessel on.
The ship with the tall wooden masts and wide,
sweeping deck was originally owned by Thompson
Enterprises of Key West and leased to the Western
Union Telegraph Co. from 1939 to 1974 for the purposes
of laying undersea cable between the United
States, Cuba and other Caribbean islands.