HISTORY: West Orange County of yesteryear for week of Sept. 26, 2024

OLD TIMES / THE WAYS WE WERE

From the newspaper archives

80 years ago

J.S. Kirton, principal of Lakeview High School, was advertising for a janitor for the school.

Mr. and Mrs. Steve Peavy entertained with a barbecue dinner in honor of their son, Pfc. Thelbert F. Peavy, who was home on leave following two years and two months overseas with the United States Marines.

A 16-ounce loaf of bread was priced at 8 cents.

70 years ago

The Garden Club of Winter Garden held its first business meeting of the year with Mrs. Fred Roper presiding.

The Cappleman Agency advertised a one-story, three-bedroom home in a good location and on a paved road in Winter Garden for $5,250.

Winter Garden merchants were conducting a Goose Guessing Contest with more than $900 in gifts and on merchandise offered as prizes.

55 years ago

Magnetix Corporation of Winter Garden was selected by Phillips Publications of Tampa to duplicate recordings of the King James Version of the New Testament for a 13-tape cassette album that was offered for sale to the public.

50 years ago

Dillard Street Elementary School had some new faces on its safety patrol: Dianna Sanders, Mary Hood, Carrie Norris, Cindy Vernosky, Threasa Maddux, Jo Anna Rosich, Vicki Dasher, Mary Houry, Kathy Aubry, Tammy Guthrie, Brian Huttle, Sylvester Cawley, Kelly Meridith, Duayne Paramore, Ken Scott, Tim Faircloth, Manuel Campos, Jeff Whitman and Scott Martin.

45 years ago

The Ocoee Youth Center sponsored a two-mile fun run, and 24 runners finished the route. The. youngest runners were two 7-year-olds, Deanna Spears and Kent Makin, who were among the finishers.

Jack H. Ross of Oakland was honored by the Orange County Farm Bureau at its annual dinner. He received special awards and tributes after serving 11 years as secretary-treasurer and previously as president. He had been a member since 1952.

35 years ago

Joining Jody and Chris Cooper in the Auburn University Marching Band was 1989 West Orange High School graduate Andy Crabtree. Jody was the trumpet section leader, and Chris played snare drum. Andy was the only freshman chosen for the snare line.

20 years ago

Clint Lowery of Winter Garden competed with more than 2,000 other athletes in the Ironman Wisconsin race in Madison. The event started with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Monona, continued with a 112-mile bike course through local townships and finished with the 26.2-mile marathon. It was his third Ironman competition, and it took him a little more than 13 miles to complete.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

SEPTEMBER 17, 1954

Pounds Motor Company advertised its latest entertainment center in the Winter Garden Times, and folks in West Orange County were being encouraged to go to the shop and check it out.

The 21-inch Ultra-Vision table model television featured a contemporary design in blond oak for $199.95; the base cost extra.

The full-screen General Electric TV was voted best by 7-1 nationwide. It offered 262 square inches, as compared to only 220 square inches on other “so-called” 21-inch sets.

FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

This view of downtown Winter Garden in the late 1960s shows an Atlantic Coast Line freight train heading west through town. The ACL Depot is at rear left, now the home of the Winter Garden Heritage Museum. Signs for Rexall Drugstore and Pittman Jewelers can be seen on the buildings on the south corners of Plant and Main. Bernie's Liquor Store (now Tony’s Liquors) occupied the original Shelby Hotel building. 

The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, thanks in many cases to amateur photographers, is fortunate to preserve thousands of photographs showing over a century’s worth of images.