This week in West Orange County history

OLD TIMES

85 years ago

The canning kitchen in Winter Garden was to open at once. The toll for this year for vegetables and fruit was one out of each five cans and for meat, one out of each seven.

The senior class, the ninth graduating class from Lakeview High, left as its memorial a sidewalk reaching from the drive at the side of the auditorium to the south door of the main rear entrance. The walk was about 75 feet long and 5.5 feet wide.

Jane Jones presented her pupils in piano recital: Margaret Ficquette, Nydia McAdams, Jimmie Lee Dillard, Faith Voight, Sarah Elizabeth McMillan, Eleanor Nolan, Jannette Johnson, Margaret Cappleman, Harriet Pounds, Jean Sadler and Christine Kitchen.

80 years ago

The local theater received New York publicity: “The Winter Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, Florida, is the first to buy the as-yet-unmade movie version of your ‘Hellsapoppin,’ which has been running these many years at the Winter Garden, in New York.”

Professor Lambert spoke to the Rotary Club. The law professor of Stetson University told the club that Hitler was out for world conquest, and Lambert urged full aid to Britain.

20 years ago

The Bloom & Grow Garden Society was awarded the Kellogg Award for Civic Achievement by the National Council of State Garden Clubs Inc. The national award was given to just one garden club, and Bloom & Grow was recognized for its Path of Life at Chapin Station.

Marilyn Johnson, human resources specialist for the city of Ocoee, was honored for coordinating a blood drive for city employees and elected officials on behalf of recently retired City Manager Ellis Shapiro, who was ill.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

May 25, 1945

The U.S. Treasury posted advertisements in newspapers around the country during World War II. Victory Volunteers were in local communities recruiting people to buy war bonds.

“Only by your purchase of more bonds and bigger ones in this double drive will you be doing right by the men who fight,” the ad read in The West Orange News.

Local businesses George S. Merchant, Edgewater Hotel, Cappleman Brothers, Rexall Drug Store and Hoyle Pounds sponsored the newspaper ad, which announced each household’s quota based on income. For instance, if the average monthly income was $250, the personal war bond quota was $187.50 (cash value).

FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

This week’s nod to Historic Preservation Month features the McMillan house, located on North Lakeview Avenue in Winter Garden’s residential historic district.

Malcolm Yulee McMillan built this unique home in 1918. Impressed with a sloping roof line he’d seen on a house in Daytona Beach, he drove there with his contractors to show them what he wanted for his new Winter Garden residence. A disagreement arose as to whether the McMillan roof should be straight-sided or sloped, and the partnership with his contractors subsequently ended; a new builder was able to honor McMillan’s wishes.

McMillan was a citrus and vegetable grower and local Realtor. The home still stands, owned by a descendent of Winter Garden pioneer J.L. Dillard.