This week in West Orange County history: Jan. 25, 2024

OLD TIMES

70 years ago

Egg producers in this and 38 other Florida counties were given assurance of a supported price of 38 cents a dozen until further notice for all Grade A large eggs sold to “country buyers” operating under contracts with the Food Distribution Administration.

The Sunday morning service at the First Christian Church of Ocoee was the scene of two outstanding events. The mortgage, which had been carried on the educational building for the past several years, was ceremoniously burned; and the recently elected elders and deacons of the congregation were ordained.

Winter Garden’s new bookmobile station, located in the basement of City Hall, opened and was ready to serve the people of this area, according to librarian Mrs. George Barley.

A group from the Trailer City Shuffleboard Club appeared before the Winter Garden City Commission to stress the importance of having at least 12 good shuffleboard courts.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hurley, Mr. and Mrs. Hoyle Pounds, and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Kerr were on the Silver Dollar cruise weekend.

55 years ago

A new camping area known as Tucker’s Ranch Campground opened on the east shores of Johns Lake.

50 years ago

From real estate ads in the Times: 2-story Colonial, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, family room, garage, central heat and air, carpets, deluxe kitchen, separate dining room. Great terms, super deluxe! $52,000.

30 years ago

About 150 people — elected officials, municipal planners, landowners, environmentalists, consultants and interested residents — spent more than six hours exchanging ideas at a growth-management workshop in Windermere. The meeting set the stage for a new land-use study to be undertaken by Horizon West Inc., a newly established organization of landowners and community leaders in West Orange. This public/private land-planning partnership would later become the enormous masterplanned community of Horizon West.

The Tibet-Butler Preserve and Vera Carter Environmental Center were dedicated. The 439-acre property opened on Winter Garden-Vineland Road on Lake Tibet.

The West Orange High Ninth-Grade Center was under construction southeast of the main campus to relieve overcrowding at West Orange High School.

20 years ago

Peter Moore, of WOHS, was named U.S. Youth Soccer Boys Adidas Coach of the Year for Region III. He previously was named Florida Youth Soccer Association Boys Coach of the Year.

Officials from Orange County Public Schools and the city of Ocoee donned canvas gloves and rubber boots to help pour the concrete for the foundation of a new high school under construction off Ocoee-Apopka Road.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

JAN. 24, 1974

The latest in stereos was on sale at TG&Y Family Center, as advertised in The Winter Garden Times in 1974. For a low $78.88, music lovers could invest in a Midland International AM/FM/MPX/8-track stereo receiver with sizable speakers.

And what’s a new stereo without some new music? TG&Y, located in the Winter Garden Tri-City Shopping Center at Highway 50 and Dillard Street, offered a large selection of titles and artists. Do you know what would sound great coming out of those speakers? The store shelves included 8-track stereo tape cartridges, and for $1.97, shoppers could own their own Buck Owens, Bobby Sherman, Lawrence Welk, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Cash, Floyd Cramer and George Jones.

FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

Winter Garden Heritage Foundation staff members spend their busy workweeks gathering, processing, cataloging and presenting every aspect of local history that is shared with them by the people of West Orange County. Employees often are questioned about their personal origins, and this week, on what would have been his mother’s 92nd birthday, WGHF director Jim Crescitelli shares this photograph of his parents. Taken in 1964, Anthony and Vilma are seen on the front stoop of their Brooklyn home, surveying their turf.

Mom and Dad were married Jan. 24, 1954, and honeymooned in Miami Beach. Her parents had lived in Miami but were discouraged by the hurricane of 1926 and moved to Brooklyn. Their son, Jim, moved to Florida in 1978 and became privileged to work in local history in 2012.