Old Times 03.26.15

75 years ago

Mr. and Mrs. “Foots” Vandergrift are announcing the birth of a son, Sam Scott Vandergrift, born on March 22 at their home in Ocoee.

70 years ago

Word has been received by Mr. and Mrs. George Bray that their son, T-5 George Bray Jr., has received the President’s Citation for scholarly conduct and splendid cooperation under stress of battle. George’s group is the Engineers, and they are in the thick of everything now in Germany.

40 years ago

The Winter Garden City Commission appointed Waymon L. Jones to fill the seat vacated by the recent death of Everett Farnsworth.

Tammy Huckabee made history as the West Orange Little League opened its season with its first female member. The Dillard Street Elementary School fifth-grader plays for the Pirates. Her dad coaches the Senior League Orioles.

Graduating members of the first beginning tennis class sponsored by the West Orange Branch YMCA include Brenda Lopsonzski, Pam Britt, Andy Davis, Louise King, Sharon Michael, Pat Katutis, Annette Spigener, Connie Holland, Bobby Freeman, Sandy Dasher and Peg Mayo. 

A memorial service was conducted by the Rev. Stacy Selph at the First United Methodist Church of Winter Garden for Everett L. Farnsworth, a prominent part of the West Orange scene for three decades. He was a member of the Winter Garden City Commission.

Hal Cuddy has taken over as head baseball coach at Lakeview High School, assisted by Bobby Ficquette of Winter Garden. Cuddy is married to the former Mary Frances Gleason, who is teaching at Lakeview and assisting Pat Moran with the swim team.

35 years ago

The “Gotha Jam” has won second place in the BJ-105 Rock Band Contest at the Central Florida Fair.

Eric Rutherford, the band’s leading vocalist, is joined by four fellow West Orange High School students — Rich Charron, keyboards; Taylor Webb, bass guitar; Mike Mayer, lead guitar; and Randy Hall, drums. If the W.O. County fans already gathered by these young musicians are any indication of things to come, we might no longer hear: “Gotha? Never heard of it.”

30 years ago

From “Editor’s Notebook”: Our publisher, George Bailey, attended a dinner at the Wyndham Hotel honoring the vice president and was greeted enthusiastically by his former Andover classmate. Overheard was, “I’ll be darned — he really does know George Bush!”

Charlie McClendon (“Chollie Mac,” as he prefers to be called), of Bay Hill, took on the job as executive director of the American Football Coaches Association and is leading this organization of more than 5,000 members from an office on Wallace Road.