HISTORY: West Orange County of yesteryear for week of Nov. 21, 2024

OLD TIMES / THE WAYS WE WERE

Excerpts from the newspaper archives:

80 years ago

One thousand soldiers of 352nd Battalion arrived in Winter Garden from Clermont and were stationed at the barracks on Lake Apopka.

70 years ago

The Orlando Transit Company bus had a freak accident in front of the Davis Pharmacy on Plant Street when the bus hit the bumper of Gene Cappleman’s car that was parked.

County Commissioner A.D. Mims said the actual cost for the Avalon Road job was $15,558.06. The resurfacing work was done by the J.D. Manley Construction Company.

55 years ago

Jaycees Ernest Crawford, Stan Smith, Calvin Grubbs, Robert Rudd and Tom Goddard attended the District 8 conference held in Orlando.

45 years ago

Special recognition went to the employees and management of B.L. Cobia Inc., Winter Garden, for the excellence of merchandise supplied to Sears during the past year.

50 years ago

Orange County officials, including County Commission Chairman Jack Martin, broke ground for the new Orange County Branch Courthouse on Story Road in Ocoee. The 30,000-square-foot complex was to resemble a modern shopping mall, with a central concourse and offices on each side. Planned were a sheriff substation, Health Department clinic, voter registration office, public defender, branch offices, probation and parole complex, court clerk office and tax collector office.

35 years ago

Seven members of First Baptist Church Winter Garden continue telling heartwarming stories of volunteerism during the rebuilding phase after Hurricane Hugo ravaged South Carolina: Dixon and Bernice Hays, Dick and Rose Abbatiello, William and Hattie Bracewell, and John Wade.

The Greater Orlando Airport Authority had been searching for suitable land for two reliever airports in the area. One was to be located in West Orange County, and a careful search identified six possible sites. Two in Apopka and one in the Avalon area were eliminated, leaving two sites north of Schofield Road and one at the west end of Johns Lake.

The East-West Expressway extension from Kirkman Road west to Ocoee was expected to be completed and open in 10 months.

A letter to the editor from concerned parents at Palm Lake Elementary School opposed the experimental year-round school plan for a list of reasons, including the following: There is no cost savings, there is no plan to continue or expand year-round school, this is not the stable environment young children need, there is no expected educational benefit, the need for daycare will increase, family life will be disrupted (especially with children at other schools), and there is no value in this experiment for Palm Lake students.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

NOVEMBER 7, 1974

The Card Carousel Shop was a one-stop shop in the Tri-City Center in Winter Garden in the 1970s. It sold everything from cards, gifts, stationery and party accessories — all the pieces necessary for entertaining.

In the Nov. 7, 1974, issue of The Winter Garden Times, the store advertised its weekly specials that included decorative address books ($1.19), BIC pens (10 cents), original hobby horses ($3.29), terrycloth coasters (89 cents), Hummel boxed notes (98 cents) and large rooster votive candle holders (98 cents).

With the Christmas holiday right around the corner, the shop was offering decorative glass ornaments from $1.69 to $2.98 and boxed Christmas cards half price.

FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

This dramatic photograph of a Tavares & Gulf railroad “wood burner” engine was donated to the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation by Winter Garden’s Lau family. The T&G began just southeast of Tavares at Ellsworth Junction, running south through Astatula and then winding through Ferndale and Montverde on the west side of Lake Apopka. Just below Montverde was Wait's Junction; at this point, the T&G split into two lines — one ran west to Clermont, and the eastern branch continued to Ocoee. The foundation welcomes further information from railroad enthusiasts about this engine. Call (407) 656-3244.

The 1913 T&G depot at 101 S. Boyd St. today serves as the Central Florida Railroad Museum and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.