HISTORY: West Orange County of yesteryear for week of April 10, 2025

OLD TIMES / THE WAYS WE WERE

Excerpts from the newspaper archives:

75 years ago

An interesting event was the art debut of Miss Dorothy Kannon in the home of Mrs. P.H. Britt on North Highland Avenue. The young artist presented 14 oil paintings, done from real-life scenes in Winter Garden and the surrounding counties. A large and appreciative group of people came to see the paintings and to congratulate Miss Kannon on the progress she had made in her talent.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the new Lakeview High School gymnasium.

55 years ago

The Orange County Board of Public Instruction implemented two majority-to-minority transfer policies for students. In the first policy, black students had the first-choice priority to attend the school nearest their residence which was attended solely or predominantly by white students, unless or until 50 percent of the student population of the requested school was composed of black students. In the second policy, all students, black or white, were permitted to transfer from a school in which his or her race was in the majority to a school in which his or her race was in the minority.

30 years ago

Amber Kline, 17, was chosen Possum Queen at the Florida Cracker Festival in downtown Winter Garden by successfully luring Jessica the Possum to her during the contest.

The United States Air Force selected a Dr. Phillips High School senior to attend its academy in the fall. Greg Preisser, son of Gary and Geraldine Preisser, was appointed to the USAF Academy by Congressman Bill McCollum.

Windermere Police Officer Douglas Owens was commended by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Windermere’s police chief for an arrest he made that undoubtedly averted a disaster about to happen. Owens arrested an armed man who also was wanted for questioning by the Secret Service for making indirect threats to possibly harm the president of the United States. The man had 30 .22-caliber rounds in his front pocket, a camouflage compass in the other pocket, and, next to the driver’s seat, two Rambo-size knives and a loaded .22 Marlin rifle.

20 years ago

Two-time Olympian Mark Ruiz began sharing his diving expertise with young Central Florida swimmers and divers. Shortly after the close of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the YMCA Aquatic and Family Center on International Drive offered him a position.

Brandy McMillan, a 1997 West Orange High School graduate, completed AirTran Airways In-Flight Training and immediately began employment as an AirTran flight attendant.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

April 9, 1970

Did you ever cook with Snowdrift shortening or vegetable lard or launder your clothes with Fab washing powders?

A&P grocery store, located at 731 S. Dillard St., in Winter Garden, advertised its sales in The Winter Garden Times in April 1970, and the deals were plentiful.

You could make an inexpensive breakfast with sliced bacon for 69 cents per pound, three packages of Jane Parker sweet rolls for $1 and a 10-ounce jar of A&P-brand instant coffee for 99 cents.

Or how about a nice dinner of rib pork roast for 59 cents per pound, complemented by five cans of golden corn for $1, four pounds of potatoes for 59 cents, a head of lettuce for 19 cents and Sultana-brand salad dressing for 38 cents?

FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES

This dapper young man is only known as “Junior” in this one photograph stored in the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation archive. Do any followers know who he might be? Foundation staff believes he resided in the Historic East Winter Garden Neighborhood, but that is as far as the research takes them. Any information would be appreciated, as they constantly are working to update and improve the details behind the thousands of photographs in the collection. Call (407) 656-3244 with any information to share.