Who we are:
Extract from Newspaper Archives
80 years ago
Staff Sergeant Charles McMillan of Eglin Field spent the holiday with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. MY McMillan.
The Winter Garden Third Selective Drafting Board called the following men to undergo pre-enlistment physical examinations at Camp Blanding: Charles Williams, Lester Lamar Sterling, Charles Helms, Hollis Lafet Guthrie, Bert Edward Roper, William Clifford Davis, Jasper Bissell Hill, William Ernest Dill, Floyd Lamar Gaines, James John Allen, Arben Vian, Eldridge Harris, and Euchel Greer.
55 years ago
The Cubs won the Winter Garden Little League in West Orange with players: Frank Morris, Leonard Dial, Lester Tinsley, Vaughn Tillman, Tony Marten, Hugh Connell, Allen Sanderson, Kevin Tinsley, James Morris, Freddie Peters, Jerry Kennedy, Scott Topping, Steve Branom, Johnny Dial and Steve McGahee.
50 years ago
At a groundbreaking ceremony for a new high school in West Orange County, Lakeview High School student John Cappleman and Ocoee High School student Dawn Broadway dug the first shovelful of dirt. They were among the first graduating class for the new, then-unnamed school.
40 years ago
The Charles W. Irgun family, which has owned Deer Island in Killarney since 1934, has signed an agreement to sell the property to Wade Bradford of Winter Garden for future residential development.
Ocoee’s Randy Freeman has been named head debate coach at the University of Florida.
30 years ago
An Ocoee couple has returned the Florida Lottery’s winning ticket worth $31.9 million. Don and Shelley Cooper were told they would receive the huge prize of $1.595 million annually for the next 20 years. The couple purchased the winning ticket at Reddy’s Market on the corner of Silver Star Road and Blueford Avenue.
20 years ago
The West Orange Chamber of Commerce sponsored the “Fill a Box Project” to help underprivileged children attending West Orange County elementary schools. The project, sponsored in conjunction with STARS (Supplies To Assist ouR Students) of West Orange, involved filling over 1,000 pencil boxes.
Children at West Orange Christian Service Center in Ocoee had the opportunity to learn about tigers and observe two adult tigers as part of the center’s summer day camp activities.
West Orange Habitat for Humanity held the dedication ceremony for the two homes seven months after breaking ground on two homes for the Crystal Jackson Powell and Rosa Lee Noble families on Jean Street near Winter Garden. The homes were sponsored by the Rotary Club of Windermere and St. Luke United Methodist Church.
Thursday in Review
July 9, 1954
If you were planning a trip in the summer of 1954, you likely visited Tom Cox & Co. Men’s and Boys’ Clothing Store to buy your vacation clothes and a set of Samsonite suitcases. The Winter Garden store carried a variety of colors, including Bermuda Green, Colorado Brown, Admiral Blue, Saddle Tan, Alligator Finish and Rawhide Finish.
For women, a train case with a mirrored top and removable tray can hold 52 travel essentials for just $17.50, while a wardrobe case with dividers, “exquisite lining,” “pearl-smooth hangers,” and “plenty of pockets” is available for $25.
The men’s “Janiner” line, with two compartments for easy packing, hangers for three suits and a rayon gabardine lining, was priced at $27.50. A small Quick Tripper case for weekend getaways was $19.50.
From the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation Archives
Directly across Tremaine Street from the Central Florida Railroad Museum is a mixed-use development that will be the third building to rise on the corner: a power plant built on the site in the late 1920s. Built to replace an outdated facility built in 1912, the new building was a state-of-the-art utility plant designed to provide electricity and water to the city of Winter Garden.
The back of the photograph features a letter written 95 years ago from the Florida Public Service Company, praising L. W. King, former superintendent of the Winter Garden Power Plant, for his work in his new position with the Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation of Atlanta.
A wonderful series of photographs documenting the arrival and installation of the 1920s power station (demolished in the 1950s) was donated to the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation by a friend who found a scrapbook filled with these photographs in a “junk shop” and I’m intrigued by what still remains.
