This week in West Orange County history

OLD TIMES

70 years ago

Jimmy Loomis, 7-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis E. Loomis, fell out of a tree, broke his right arm and spent a night in Orange Memorial Hospital. Jimmy declared he was “through with women,” as it was on account of a woman he fell out of the pecan tree. Little Vickie Bozeman fell and knocked him out of the tree and then herself received only a scratch.

The remains of the sleek “Atlantic” were removed from Lake Apopka by a Florida Power Corp. crew as part of the program involving the remodeling of the old city dock in Winter Garden. Weighing nine tons when built, the boat was carried here on a trailer in 1926. Alternately docked at Winter Garden and Montverde, the boat made trips around the lake carrying fishing parties. After being wrecked and half submerged for about 12 years, the hull had become a famous landmark.

50 years ago

Approximately 250 new Walt Disney World recreation employees descended on Windermere in an orderly and well-organized manner to begin a two-week training program in all the different aspects of recreation to be available at Disney. Sessions took place in Town Hall, Windermere Union Church and Windermere Baptist Church and covered everything from first aid to a detailed education in what was to be offered visitors. The group in charge of beaches and pools took additional training at Bay Hill Country Club.

Stockholders and other interested parties participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Valencia Shores neighborhood off West Bay Street on the southern shore of Lake Apopka in Winter Garden.

Johnny Johnson reported there were six restaurants open and in operation at Disney.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Sept. 16, 1971

In 1971, bright, bold patterns were seen everywhere, from clothing to home décor. The Winter Garden Times offered suggestions for prettying up bedrooms and bathrooms and tying them together by decorating in the same sheet patterns.

Perhaps you could cut your sheets to fit your walls and ceiling and then attach with two-way tape. A single-size sheet can easily transform into a shower curtain. And for a matching lampshade, you just need a do-it-yourself Lam-Eze kit to handpress the fabric to the shade. Leftover scraps could be used to use as colorful backing on the bedside bookshelves and to cover the chair pad.

FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

La Iglesia Adventista Hispana de Winter Garden — the Winter Garden Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church — located at 46 E. Miller St., has served a Hispanic population since 2002. Miguel Yepez is the current pastor. The building, constructed in 1950, has been enlarged since its days as a house of worship for the New Hope Primitive Baptist Church.