Old Times 06.04.15

70 years ago

Women in War: Clara Barton had founded the Red Cross to alleviate suffering. In 1945, women can help by saving every drop of used cooking fat to replace industrial fats and oils needed for thousands of civilian and war products.

65 years ago

The Winter Garden Recreational Association dedicated its new softball field located in Shadow Lawn subdivision. The first game was played between Griffin’s Grocery and Bray Hardware. The second game was between the Rotary Club and Bray Hardware.

45 years ago

The Charles R. Drew Training Center in Winter Garden held its first graduation exercises. William S. Maxey, retired principal of Drew High School, served as the commencement speaker.

The Winter Garden Rotary Club held its installation dinner at the Winter Garden Inn with Dr. Hardie Webb passing the gavel to Dr. Otho Watford. New directors included John Nowell, Bob Ellis, Dr. Bob Foster, Dr. Emil Moherek and Johnie Griffin. Harry Smith, past district governor, was master of ceremonies.

Lee Brenton, in-service training director at West Orange Memorial Hospital since 1952, was given a surprise party on the occasion of her retirement.

40 years ago

From Editor’s Notebook: The Winter Garden Times was awarded a Pulitzer Prize by the Windermere Rotary Club for being one of Winter Garden’s better weekly newspapers. With the award went “six or seven copies of The Corner Cupboard.” The Richard Nixon Good Government Award went to Sam Durbin, the Adolph Hitler Award to Jack Fain and the Good Humor Award to the Rev. Gordon Smith.

35 years ago

The city of Ocoee and Mayor Cliff Freeman proclaimed June 8, 1980, “Evelyn Newburg Day.” More than 200 friends, colleagues and former students attended the reception at Ocoee Elementary School to pay tribute to Newburg and her 52-year dedicated career of teaching in Ocoee schools. Her first class was 1928-29, and among her students in that first-grade class at Ocoee Elementary was Betty Salsbury Hagar.

25 years ago

Hollywood film legend Steven Spielberg was joined by a large array of movie stars, including Jimmy Stewart, Ben Vereen, Angie Dickinson, Bill Cosby, Michael J. Fox and Sylvester Stallone, as he cut the ribbon for the grand opening of Universal Studios Florida.