- February 10, 2025
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OLD TIMES / THE WAYS WE WERE
80 years ago
A son named Noel Michael was born to Pvt. and Mrs. Wilson Griffith of this city. Pvt. Griffith was on duty in the West driving returned wounded men on the West Coast to the hospital to which they were assigned.
All packing houses in Winter Garden were closed with precooling rooms filled with fruit ready to ship out. No cars were available due to the most prolonged severe weather conditions in many years.
Lakeview High School adopted a new organization called the Bird Club, and members learned about bird life, particularly those of Florida.
Miss Dewey Vick left by plane to attend the Florist Convention in Miami.
For sale: Five acres on Lake Apopka west of the old city dock. Partly cleared and titled. Price, $1,500.
55 years ago
The much-heralded Walt Disney Preview Center was in operation at Lake Buena Vista. That’s the name WDW chose for the community that was planned on the property near Interstate 4 and State Road 535.
A score of B+ was awarded the Devil’s Diary yearbook of Lakeview High School by the National School Yearbook Association of Memphis. The book was considered “very good” by this 20-year-old service, which rated more than 1,000 student publications annually.
50 years ago
The Orange County School Board confirmed the appointment of Otto F. Dickman as principal of Lakeview Junior High School.
Fifty thousand balloons, fireworks and the Goodyear blimp overhead filming it all provided a fitting setting as Disney World opened its gigantic Space Mountain attraction. Ocoee Mayor and Mrs. Scott Vandergrift and their three daughters were among the special guests.
35 years ago
What a time was had by the West Orange High School band members on their four-day trip to New Orleans to perform in the USF&G Sugar Bowl pre-game show in the Superdome.
Ronda Deanne Sadler was chosen Teacher of the Year at Dillard Street Elementary School.
Jenell Bovis was named principal of Windy Ridge Elementary School, which was under construction north of the WillowWoods subdivision on Conroy Road.
30 years ago
Gov. Jeb Bush visited Maxey Elementary School to focus statewide attention on the school’s success story. Maxey went from a D-graded school to an A in three years.
20 years ago
Four-year-old Sydney Adams-Farley of Winter Garden filmed a national television commercial spot for the Disney/Visa card. She was the principal actor in the commercial, which aired on the Cartoon Network, MSNBC and ABC Family.
THROWBACK THURSDAY
JAN. 25, 1990
If ever there was a place to see and be seen, it was the Winter Garden Rotary Club’s annual pancake supper. The fundraiser was held for many years in the cafeteria of West Orange High School, filling tables in both the orange and blue and the yellow and green “commons,” as they were called.
Rotarians donned their aprons to dish out the breakfast plates, and diners could chow down on a stack of pancakes with a side of sausages, all for just $3.50.
After a number of years, the event was moved to the cafeteria of Lakeview Middle School.
FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION ARCHIVES
There are fascinating details in this 1947 aerial photograph of Oakland. You’ll see most of the town was covered in orange groves and there were no developments along Lake Apopka. The pier, surrounded by aquatic vegetation, is seen at the north end of Tubb Street. The curved railway beginning at lower left is the Tavares & Gulf; at center, just as the T&G begins its turn to the east to parallel the Atlantic Coast Line, you can spot the line’s tiny depot. The second iteration of Oakland Presbyterian is seen at the southwest corner of Oakland Avenue and Brock Street; it stood just east of where today’s church is located.
The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation Archive contains almost 400 maps, many of them aerials such as this one. Call (407) 656-3244 and make an appointment to visit.