SOUTHWEST ORANGE
Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips
Family plans new Italian restaurant in the town of Windermere. PAGE 3A.
Forever home
Windermere Prep celebrates 25 years in the community. 3A.
The Oakland Town Commission approved a tentative budget that pulls $500,000 from reserves.
Town Council Member Andy Williams is the fifth generation of his family to live in Windermere. He and his wife, Colleen, are raising their daughter, Loren, in the house in which the elected official grew up. STORY ON PAGE 4A.
Amy Quesinberry Price
New head football coach embraces mission at Foundation Academy. 17A.
Andy Williams, a fifth-generation Windermere resident, and his mother, Lavina Williams, sit on the front porch of her home on Lake Down. All of the photos they are holding were taken on the same porch.
5FAST
Duke Energy announces rate decrease
Duke Energy Florida has announced a rate reduction in 2026 as a result of the company’s annual rate adjustment.
Beginning in March 2026, residential customers’ bills are expected to decrease by about $44.16 using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity compared to February 2026.
This adjustment includes Duke Energy Florida’s annual fuel, capacity, energy conservation, storm protection plan and environmental compliance clause costs.
This reduction largely is because of the removal of the Storm Cost Recovery charge associated with Duke Energy Florida’s response to hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.
Commercial and industrial customers should expect to see bill decreases ranging from 9.6% to 15.8% when compared to February 2026. However, specific impact will vary depending on several factors.
Approval from the Florida Public
tomers using 1,000 kWh of electricity when compared to December 2025. Commercial and industrial customers should expect to see bill increases ranging from 4.3% to 8.2% when compared to December 2025. However, the specific impact will vary depending on several factors.
Duke officials said electric rates can fluctuate during the year based on fuel prices and storm-related costs.
“Duke Energy Florida understands our customers face financial challenges, often making difficult decisions regarding which bill they can afford to pay,” Duke Energy Florida President Melissa Seixas said. “That’s why keeping costs low remains a priority for us, and we’ll continue connecting them with assistance programs and tools to help them save.”
2
First H Mart in Florida to open in Orlando
After years of delays,
offer a variety of foods, including instant food items, seafood, every day essential needs, groceries, as well as a broad range of Western groceries and more.
The market will be located at 7501 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, about 20 minutes from Winter Garden.
It will take over the space of a former Super Target.
H Mart is planning giveaways and prizes at its grand opening, which will begin at 10 a.m.
3
LaVon Bracy Davis wins Florida Senate District 15 special election
The Senate District 15 race came to an end Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Davis secured 72.6% of votes, while her opponent secured the remaining 27.4%.
Davis will fill Sen. Geraldine Thompson’s seat, which was left vacant earlier this year after she died.
4
Construction to begin on extension project connecting Orange and Lake counties
Construction on a long-anticipated roadway extension project to connect Orange and Lake counties began last week.
Orange County Public Works issued the notice to proceed with the New Independence Parkway extension project. Crews will begin to
nect U.S. 27 in Lake County to State Road 429 in Orange County.
The project includes two 11-footwide lanes in each direction, separated by a grass median. The four-lane road will have lighting, landscaping and a 10-foot multi-use path on each side of the road.
“This highly anticipated roadway project represents a vital step forward in enhancing connectivity between Clermont and Horizon West providing west Orange County residents with safer, faster and more efficient access to jobs, schools and essential services while supporting smart growth for our thriving communities,” said Ken Leeming, manager of Orange County’s Highway Construction division, in a press release. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2027.
5
Ocoee’s Health Central Hospital to host community wellness event
Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital in Ocoee will host a free, after-hours event to talk about weight management and healthy living.
The event will take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at
10000 W. Colonial Drive, Ocoee. Attendees can expect health and wellness booths, interactions with the hospital’s doctors and special-
For more information, contact
Courtesy photo
H Mart soon will open its doors in Orlando, marking its first Florida location.
Matthew Grewe, a Windermere Preparatory School junior, stood quietly and observed all the photos and memorabilia hanging on a wall of the lobby of the Cypress Center.
The walls held onto 25 years of the school’s history.
Grewe, who has been a student at Windermere Prep since second grade, noticed several familiar faces on the wall.
“To see the whole history of it and look back at the old pictures and see the same things that I see now that have been here 25 years is cool,” he said. “It’s cool to see the same people that are still working here.”
GREAT DAY TO BE A LAKER
Students, teachers and faculty celebrated the school’s 25th anniversary Friday, Sept. 5.
Besides the memorabilia in the Cypress Center, students also saw a documentary on the school’s history, participated in a brick installation, buried a time capsule and more.
Alex Birchenall, the interim head of school, along with the Student Government Association president from the lower, middle and high schools, signed the time capsule before it was buried.
“We are a part of history now, too,” Birchenall said.
— LIZ RAMOS
A SECOND HOME: Family concocts recipe for new Windermere restaurant
The Scialoia family will open Fresco Pizzeria right in the heart of Windermere.
SILVA
LETICIA
STAFF WRITER
Every Sunday, the Scialoias had dinner with family and friends at their home, serving up made-in-house Italian meals.
“Everybody was like, ‘Oh man, you guys should open up a restaurant; your … food is always amazing’” Achille Scialoia said.
And that’s just what they did.
Fresco Cucina Italiana opened in 2006 in Dr. Phillips, initially as a deli.
“At that time, we opened up as a full deli,” Scialoia said. “It wasn’t even a restaurant. But it was a little bit too advanced for Orlando at the time, so we changed gears and went to the restaurant route. It’s funny, but now we’re kind of going back toward that because people really enjoy that now.”
Since then, the family restaurant has flourished in its spot in Bayhill Plaza. And now, 19 years later, the Scialoia family is opening a second location in Windermere called Fresco Pizzeria.
527 Main St., Windermere ANTICIPATED OPENING DATE: December or January NEARBY NEIGHBORS: Other businesses either open or slated to open at the new commercial project include Ace Hardware, Allstate Insurance, Elysium Interiors Revel Relaty, Solvio and Victoria Jewelers.
WEBSITE: frescoorlando.com
“It’s going to be a little bit different to the extent of (Fresco Cucina Italiana), we’re just a restaurant,” Scialoia said. “(In Windermere), it’s going to be where people can grab stuff to go. People on the run, people got to go, you know. Not everybody has time to sit down and enjoy, they got to pick up
kids. … Life gets in the way.”
The grab-and-go part of the restaurant will serve Italian sandwiches, pizza, Italian baked goods, cannolis and more.
“We (also) brought on this more elegant idea where we’ll do nice wine tastings, dinners,” Scialoia said. “We’ll do more of an elegant but still family-friendly atmosphere. We want you to be able to come in with the kids, but we also want you to be able to come in on date night and (it) be enjoyable.”
The family’s biggest goal is to be a second home for families in the area.
“We wanted to focus on our local clientele and more of a family atmosphere,” Scialoia said. “I want people to come in and want everybody to know each other on a first-name basis. We want it to be that local neighborhood place where everybody feels comfortable.”
The restaurant portion will serve wood-fired pizzas made with 48-hour fermented dough, pastas, fresh bread, fresh seafood, vegetables and salads.
“People are very, very excited — especially in the Windermere area,” Scialoia said. “It’s very difficult for them to go to places, because the town only has so many restaurants.
“But a lot of people are very happy, because traffic is a nightmare,” he said. “So a lot of people are excited, because they can walk. That’s also the most exciting thing for me, is to have people just walk from their houses that’s just down the street, come grab a sandwich, grab a glass of wine, have a little salad or pasta, be happy and go home. That’s what I can’t wait for.”
His mother, Teresa Scialoia, and his brother, Luigi Scialoia, will work in the kitchen cooking the food, while Achille Scialoia takes care of frontof-house, ensuring things are running smoothly.
“It’s the most amazing thing,” Achille Scialoia said of working with his family. “Not many people have the ability to work with their families and see them often. I’ve learned
so much from my mom; she’s the backbone of our family. She’s just taken this to another level. So to keep this train moving is the most exciting thing. And working with my brother, bouncing ideas off — ‘Oh, we should do this as a special, we should do that as a special’ — it’s been really an amazing experience.”
An opening date is not set; however, the family hopes to be open in December or late January.
“It’s a blessing, and we couldn’t be more excited, especially to have this opportunity,” Achille Scialoia said. “We’re coming on 19 years of business, and we’ve always dreamt about doing a second location. But it had to make sense, and it had to be the right place. Patience is a virtue, because it really has paid off.”
FRESCO PIZZERIA
Achille Scialoia is excited to bring his family’s culinary creations to the town of Windermere.
Courtesy photos
Junior Matthew Grewe has been attending the school since second grade. He said looking at all the memorabilia and photos was cool because he noticed several familiar faces of teachers who still work there.
Courtesy photo
Former heads of school Dr. Mitchell Salerno, Dr. Tom Marcy and Carolyn Cappleman Karraker returned to Windermere Preparatory School to celebrate the school’s 25th anniversary with current interim Head of School Alex Birchenall.
Harlow Winstead, the middle school Student Government Association president, put a brick over the time capsule.
Gladys Stromberg has been at teacher at Windermere Preparatory School for 17 years while Eve Griffin was introduced to the school when her daughter Caitlyn Griffin enrolled 22 years ago as a kindergartner. Eve Griffin became a teacher at the school 18 years ago.
Windermere home houses five generations of memories
AMY QUESINBERRY PRICE HISTORIAN
indermere Town Council
WMember Andy Williams loves living in the house in which he grew up because, even though it’s been renovated, there still are reminders of his life there decades ago. He still wakes up to the morning view of Lake Down, and his childhood bedroom now is occupied by his daughter, Loren Abigail Williams. His mother, Lavina Williams, lives next door in the family’s original home, built in 1922 by his ancestors. Andy Williams is the fifth of six generations to call Windermere home. The first family members to arrive were his great-great-grandparents, John W. and Amelia McMurtrey, who were some of the earliest settlers and who opened a store on Main Street. This store later was moved and made into a cottage on Lake Butler.
Generations of the McMurtreyRosser-Williams family have kept family records and documented stories of the town’s infancy.
THE WINDERMERE OF YESTERYEAR
Andy Williams’ father, Robert Wesley “Bob” Williams, was born and raised in Windermere. In a “Windermere, Then and Now” remembrance written by Bob Williams, he said his father, L.R. “Andy” Williams, was born in the house that had belonged to the town’s first schoolteacher.
He further writes: “An old-timer, John Riles, tells how he used to walk from Turkey Lake to Windermere by wagon-rutted trails to school in a tiny house near Lake Bessie.”
Bob Williams wrote of the wilderness that was early Windermere too: “All property was carefully fenced to keep out the destructive cattle and hogs that wandered loose through the woods. My grandmother (Marcelle McMurtrey Rosser) says she would not walk to Windermere from her place on Lake Down because she was so afraid of the wild cattle and animals. At that time, panthers and bears, as well as wildcats and other beasts, were common.”
Bob Williams’ mother and Andy Williams’ grandmother, Mildred Rosser Williams Grice, grew up in Windermere, attending Sunday school at Windermere Union Church and getting her education at the old Windermere School, which later was used as town administrative offices. After the eighth grade, she went to Ocoee High School, graduating in 1935 with 11 other students.
In her written memories, Grice shared: “We had many happy years growing up here on Lake Down. Daddy worked as a grove hand and planted his own grove after hours and on weekends. He cleared this land by hand with a grubbing hoe. He had mules that helped drag heavy logs.
“One of the pleasant things I remember of growing up was our summertime. Daddy came home at 5 o’clock, we had supper real soon, then went to the lake and played. Sometimes Mother washed the clothes we had worn that day down in the lake. In the summertime, we always had our bath in the lake. We came in, put on night clothes and went to bed.” Grice later served as Windermere’s town clerk in the 1950s. By then, the town was booming with about 210 homes and 450 people, two combination gas filling stations/grocery stores, one general variety merchandise store
with lunch and soda fountain, two retail fruit packing and shipping outlets, a beauty shop, barber shop and two real estate brokerage offices, three building contractors, one registered architect and four medical doctors.
THE HOMESTEAD
Andy and Colleen Williams and his mother, Lavina Williams, live in sideby-side homes on Rosser Road in the southeast part of the town. The land was homesteaded by his great- and great-great-grandfathers, John Wesley Rosser and John W. McMurtrey, and three family homes arose on the properties, which were surrounded by orange groves.
Various family members have lived in these three houses for generations. The first of the three houses — a two-story with about eight rooms — was built in 1922 without plumbing or electricity, which wasn’t added until after World War II. The family
pumped water from Lake Down. This was where all the family gatherings took place through the years.
Mildred Williams Grice recalled the houses being about one mile from the center of Windermere.
“We had no sidewalks, so when we went walking, it was around the groves,” she wrote. “Mother and I used to go down on Lake Blanche every February and pick wild violets. Isleworth is on that property now.”
When Andy Williams was growing up in the middle house in the 1970s and ’80s, his great-grandparents, John and Marcelle Rosser, lived to the west in the original house and his grandparents, Bud and Mildred Grice, lived to the east. When the Rossers passed away, the Grices moved into the house. When they died, Bob and Lavina Williams moved in. This is where Lavina Williams lives today.
She keeps close all the memories her late husband, Bob Williams,
Oakland’s budget requires reserve funds
Orange County Fire Rescue services increased by $480,000 over Fiscal Year 2024-2025.
Mayor Shane Taylor said he was meeting with Orange County Fire Rescue Tuesday, Sept. 9, to discuss the town’s financial contribution to the fire department.
Commissioner Kris Keller said she was concerned the town had to pull $500,000 from reserves to balance the budget.
“That’s not a place I think we want to see ourselves in on a regular basis,” she said. Keller said although it’s a daunting task, she is asking all town depart-
ments to “be considerate of the budget” and mindful of spending. She also said as a commissioner, she wants to see any project presentations from the town include where the money is coming from to ensure it’s a budgeted item and only on the rare occasion is it a use of emergency funds.
“We’ve got to get this reined in because in my view, reserves are for emergencies,” she said. “They’re not for funding your budget every year.”
Commissioner Joseph McMullen suggested the town hire a grant writer to help obtain federal and state funding to offset costs.
“We need to figure out how we’re going to bring in more dollars,” he said. “We really need to have some-
one dedicated to getting these free dollars that can help us get to a point because the dollars are there. Projects are still coming. The growth is still coming.”
He also suggested the town look at ways to monetize special events.
Commissioner Sal Ramos said the missing piece in Oakland is commercial. He said if the town continues to focus on residential, the revenue from it isn’t going to make an impact.
“If we keep going on the residential, we’re always going to be pinching pennies,” he said. “When the commercial finally gets developed here, we’ll have the surplus we all need to get our heads above water.”
Commissioner Michael Satterfield
“If
Design Editor / Jessica Eng, jeng@OrangeObserver.com
Senior Editor / Liz Ramos, lramos@OrangeObserver.com
Historian / Amy Quesinberry Price, amyqhistory@OrangeObserver.com
Staff Writer / Megan Bruinsma, mbruinsma@OrangeObserver.com
Staff Writer / Leticia Silva, lsilva@OrangeObserver.com
Multimedia Sales Manager / Cyndi Gustafson, advertising@OrangeObserver.com
Multimedia Advertising Executives / Iggy Collazo, iggy@OrangeObserver.com
Madi Solomon, msolomon@OrangeObserver.com
Graphic Designer / Sarah Santiago, ssantiago@OrangeObserver.com
shared with her about his early days in the town.
He and his friends regularly crawled under a fence and lied in the grass to hear the gospel singing coming from a church for migrant workers in Chase Grove on Lake Bessie. To make money, he let some of the air out of the tires of his Model A Ford, rolled it on the railroad tracks and followed the tracks through town and through the area later developed as Bay Hill, looking for game to shoot and sell.
BUILDING A LIFE IN WINDERMERE
Andy Williams, who spent his childhood outdoors, remembers Johnny’s Country Store, where he bought lures and other fishing equipment.
“I always rode my bike or walked to my friends’ houses downtown, and we would go to the country store,” he said. “Your first taste of freedom you got on your bike.”
When he was older, his grandmother took him to the Chevron station at Sixth Avenue and Main Street to buy $5 worth of gas for his boat.
Andy Williams was named for his grandfather, Loren Robertson (L.R.) “Andy” Williams. Andy is an inherited nickname, which came from L.R.’s father-in-law, who said his daughter’s husband looked like Andy Gump, a cartoon character from the 1920s. L.R. Williams was a town council member and mayor, a building inspector, scout leader and owner of L.R. Construction Company.
As an adult, Andy Williams also has served Windermere as a town council member and is mayor tem.
Lavina Williams has stayed in Windermere because she enjoys the small-town atmosphere.
“It’s a quiet small town; it used to be everybody knew everybody,” she said. “I lived back here in this grove for 53 years, and I just love the small town.”
Andy Williams has lived in a few other places, but nothing is “home” like Windermere.
“It’s my history; it’s me,” he said. “I grew up here. When your roots are here, everything is important. Everything from how Main Street looks to our traffic issues, everything becomes personal. Taking care of our other residents is part of that. … I am blessed that I live in a house that I look out over the lake. And I’m blessed I live in the house I grew up in.”
IN OTHER NEWS
n During the Oakland Town Commission regular meeting Monday, Sept. 8, the commission unanimously re-affirmed the prioritization and funding for unpaved street improvements. Mike Parker, the public works director, said each project will come before the commission for approval.
said although this tentative budget is “as good as it gets,” the town needs to focus on long-range planning to ensure the revenues are significant in the next five years before the town is completely built out.
The next public hearing on the budget is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 221 N. Arrington St.
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Courtesy images
Andy Williams, left, sits on the porch of the family home with his daughter, Loren; father, Bob Williams; and grandmother, Mildred Rosser Williams Grice.
The original family home was built by John Rosser and John McMurtrey on Rosser Road around 1922.
The weight of it all 12 YEARS
MICHAEL ENG EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
I’ve been a news junkie for most of my life. As a kid, I liked to collect front pages of the Kansas City Star as it chronicled Operation: Desert Storm. I was fascinated with the photos, the design, the writing. I loved the idea of someone tasked with observing an event and sharing that with the rest of the world. I loved even more that that reporting then would serve as the permanent document of said event — preserved in history for generations to come.
That’s precisely why I chose to enter this profession. I wanted to be part of that charge. I wanted to connect people — through images and words — with their world. And I wanted to tell stories that wouldn’t otherwise be told.
Thus began my 25-year-long love affair with community news. I simply adored the charm of the local city council meeting or taking photos of a grandparents’ night at the elementary school down the road. I once drove by a house and noticed an alpaca in the backyard. That turned into a front-page feature.
I also have sat with a mother after her daughter was found dead on the side of the road. I interviewed a child diagnosed with cancer. And on 9/11, I was with President George W. Bush in Sarasota the morning he learned of the World Trade Center attacks.
Through it all, the mission always was this: Tell the truth. And now, that’s the marching order we give all our reporters. We remind them that at some point, you’ll probably have to interview the same person again. And if you misquoted them before, they might choose not to speak with you. And if that happens, it becomes impossible to do your job.
But sadly, somewhere along the way, journalism at large lost its way. For many mainstream news outlets, truth no longer seems to be the goal. Readers now have to find multiple reports just to cobble together some semblance of what actually happened. Even worse — as was the case with the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail — some news outlets simply ignore stories that don’t align with their chosen narrative.
Perhaps it was the advent of social media that forced news outlets to covet speed over accuracy. Perhaps it was something more purposeful — activists disguising themselves as objective reporters. Perhaps some news organizations are merely puppets whose strings are being pulled by organizations cloaked in darkness.
No matter the cause, journalism has become a four-letter word and its practitioners popular punching bags.
This might surprise you, but here’s my reaction to all this: Good. (Cue the Danny Glover meme.)
Let me explain.
This backlash reveals three things. One: The standard of objectivity and truth-telling we are supposed to uphold is necessary — and something our society truly needs. Translation: What we do is important. Two: When we
1905-2025
fail at that standard, we see the effects in real-time. Yes, accountability is a good thing. Three: People still long for an accurate way to relate and understand the world around them. Indeed, we are necessary.
Today, I am blessed to be just one in a long line of journalists who have taken up the cause to chronicle the news of the day in West Orange’s only hyperlocal community newspaper. For 120 years, the community has had its story told within the pages of our publication, and I am humbled to be able to celebrate that legacy on this anniversary.
In the lobby at our office, we have dozens of hardbound archive books from years past. Some, unfortunately, are missing. But, it always is a fascinating trip to grab one of those books, flip it open and see what our colleagues were covering decades ago. Even more amazing — it always was done with the same level of care and love we employ today.
Walking past those archives every day ensures we feel the weight of our legacy as we go into production for every edition. Sure, many of our pages are filled with “good news” — we love cute kids at school carnivals, high school sports, awesome neighbors doing incredible things. But we also cover every city commission or town council meeting. We’re chronicling development decisions. We document businesses opening and closing. And when tragedy strikes our community, we’re there, too, to make sure it is reported.
And as we watch our society’s rifts grow deeper, it is our belief that the absence of truth is to blame. Without truth, there is no true north. There’s no common ground if everything is subjective. So, on this day, I am treating the 120th anniversary of the West Orange Times & Observer as a sort of recommitment ceremony. Our staff always has — and always will be — committed to telling you the truth. We’re committed to ensuring our readers can rely on us as a compass. We’re committed to reporting with accuracy and care — and allowing you to form your own opinions. We’re committed to serving as the town square for discussion and debate. And we’re committed to recording West Orange’s history so those who celebrate our 240th anniversary can look back and know the truth. And for you skeptics out there: Our only motive is to make our community a better place. We want all our West Orange businesses to succeed, and we want to help make that happen. We want to tell the stories of all the philanthropists doing incredible work in our area, and we’re here to help however we are able. We want to see our student-athletes playing in the NFL on Sundays. Yep, we’re big believers in that whole rising-tide-lifts-all-boats thing.
We hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane in this special 120th anniversary edition. Here, we celebrate the history of our paper and its lasting impact on our community.
To our longtime readers and advertisers: Thank you for trusting us — both as your news source and as an integral part of your business growth strategy. We know 120 years of newspapers doesn’t just happen. It takes commitment — both from us and from you — and we truly appreciate the opportunity to tell West Orange’s story.
NEWSMAKERS
1905: A.B. Newton started a newspaper in the young city and called it The Winter Garden Ricochet. His first newspaper was dated Sept. 13.
1906: Newton bought The Apopka Citizen and merged the two papers.
1913: The newspaper name was changed from The Winter Garden Ricochet to The Winter Garden Times
1916: Windermere Union Church was established on Oakdale Street.
1918: The newspaper’s name was changed to Orange County Citizen.
1922: The name of the local newspaper was changed from Orange County Citizen to West Orange Herald
1924: The Woman’s Club of Ocoee was formed by 36 women who desired to created a society of fellowship and improving the social, civic, educational and moral welfare of the community.
1925: The newspaper name changed to The Winter Garden Journal.
1926: The Rotary Club of Winter Garden was formed.
1927: Lakeview High School opened in Winter Garden. The campus has since become a middle school.
1933: W.B. Burch and William Story formed Burch-Story Press and printed The Town Crier
1934: The Town Crier was renamed West Orange News when Lester Price Robinson bought the newspaper.
1935: The Winter Garden Theatre was constructed. It was modeled after a Spanish courtyard with Romeo and Juliet balconies, a Spanish tile roof and dark blue ceiling with stars.
1936: President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration provided funding to local municipalities to create beneficial projects and jobs. Ocoee’s largest WPA projects were the gymnasium at Ocoee High School and the Woman’s Club of Ocoee clubhouse. In Winter Garden, projects included Walker Field, a new city hall and fire station, Trailer City, Farnsworth Pool, Newton Park, and the park’s seawall and boat basins.
1936: Walker Field became the spring training grounds for national Minor League Baseball organizations, starting with the Albany Baseball Club. The following year, the Baltimore Orioles, a baseball club of the International League, trained here, as did players from Rochester, New York.
1942: A total of 33 draftees from the area left Winter Garden for induction into the armed service.
1946: The Winter Garden Lions Club was established, with A.A. DeLadge as president.
1948: Eldon Johns bought the community newspaper and merged it with The Orange County Chief in Apopka to create The Winter Garden Times. The Apopka Chief later became a separate newspaper.
1948: The Ocoee Lions Club was chartered with 31 members under the sponsorship of the Winter Garden Lions Club.
1949: Longcoy Airport opened north of what is now Silver Star Road and west of Johio Shores Road.
1952: West Orange Memorial Hospital opened in Winter Garden.
1954: The 2,000th telephone in the Winter Garden Exchange was installed in the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Austin Jr. on North Dillard Street.
1956: Veterans Memorial Park in Winter Garden was dedicated.
1959: The Windermere Library was started as a volunteer effort. In 1991, a new facility was built and named the Franklin W. Chase Memorial Library in Windermere.
1965: The owner of The Winter Haven News-Chief purchased
AMY QUESINBERRY PRICE HISTORIAN
One constant in the newspaper world is the content consistently is changing.
Each week, we produce a 21-inch-by-12-inch publication, averaging 20 or 24 pages, that shares with readers — by way of articles, photos and advertisements — the local news, the latest decisions made by the elected officials in the area, feature stories on the people in our neighborhoods, school news, photos of local events, the offerings at area businesses and more. We produce multiple special sections, too, including Season, Local Motion, Summer Fun, Friday Night Sights and Holiday Gift Guide.
But no two weeks are the same in the West Orange Times and Observer and the Southwest Orange Observer
These newspapers are the product of working days, nights and weekends to capture the news as it happens.
It is our responsibility to relay the information in a timely, effective and unbiased manner — documenting the lows and celebrating the highs.
When A.B. Newton started this newspaper 120 years ago — as the Winter Garden Ricochet — there’s no way he could have imagined his new project still would be going strong all these decades later. His fourpage paper covering the news of the small place called Winter Garden now encompasses an area with about 174,000 residents that includes four municipalities — Winter Garden, Ocoee, Oakland and Windermere — unincorporated Orange County and the huge master-planned development of Horizon West with its five villages and a town center.
CONSISTENT COVERAGE
For 12 decades, this newspaper has been the only consistent local source for local news.
Our front pages traditionally are reserved for the biggest news of the week. In the 1940s, the newspaper covers typically had news relating to World War II, focusing on both international news and friends, relatives and neighbors being drafted to serve. The U.S. Army had a camp set up on North Dillard Street in Winter Garden, and after the war ended, that property became a frequent topic in the 1950s as local men fundraised for and built West Orange Memorial Hospital. The hospital became the focus in the 1990s when it was closed and the new state-of-the-art Health Central Hospital opened in Ocoee.
The construction and opening of Walt Disney World were covered almost weekly in the early 1970s, and the coverage continued for every new theme park opened by Disney and Universal Studios. Later that decade, there were big continuing stories of the murders at West Orange High School and the W.T. Zeigler Furniture Store.
We have kept an eye on the local citrus business, which helped shape West Orange County. The paper covered citrus count predictions, buyouts and several devastating freezes. And when the citrus groves were all but obliterated, reporters started writing about the many subdivisions and commercial developments taking their place.
High schools are a big part of our news, from classrooms to the performing arts arena to the sports fields. It was a big deal when Dr. Phillips High School opened in 1987, forcing friendships into rivalries between DP and West Orange High. The West Orange Times even created a rivalry football game between the Warriors and the Panthers called the Ole Orange Crate Game that continues today. The winner takes home an actual orange crate, and each year the scores are added to the side. Lives were changed when an F3
tornado stormed through Winter Garden in 1998, killing three people and causing millions of dollars in damage. We were there to document the storm and its aftermath, including the strength of the community in coming together to help each other.
Years later, when three back-toback hurricanes slammed West Orange County in 2004, we documented the damage and cleanup then too.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the newspaper was when the COVID-19 coronavirus turned the world upside down and caused everything to shut down in 2020. We were faced with the dilemma of putting out a newspaper when there were no events and we couldn’t come faceto-face with anyone except our families. Like everyone else, our staff created home offices and held Zoom meetings, and we learned to pivot with our stories. We wrote about businesses closing and new online businesses starting, we shared stories of youth using their down time creatively and coming up with fun online videos, and we informed residents of the latest COVID news.
When organizations are chartered, we introduce members and the group’s mission. We have shared information about many Rotary and Lions clubs, women’s and men’s groups, Christian organizations, outdoors groups, scouts, veterans and more.
When businesses open, we have given readers information about the owners, their location and what they offer customers.
THE POWER OF PRINT
Without our advertisers, we couldn’t produce a newspaper, and all are important, whether they buy a onetime ad or engage in a years-long advertising campaign. It only takes a look back in our archives at the grocery store advertisements, vehicle
lots and real estate listings to get a feel for the cost of living.
In 1954, broker Alma Johns listed a one-year-old three-bedroom house in Ocoee for $12,500, and Cappleman Agency was selling a threebedroom home on a paved street in Winter Garden for $5,250. In the classified ads, a 1950 Tudor Champion Studebaker with leather upholstery and a radio was selling for $825. Piggly Wiggly advertised hams for 59 cents per pound, 10 frozen orange juice cans for 99 cents, two pounds of fancy plums for 29 cents and a
Anne and George
1966: Edgewood Children’s Ranch opened to establish a faith-based home and school.
1968: The Rotary Club of Windermere was formed.
1970: George and Anne Bailey bought The Winter Garden Times, which was located on North Boyd Street.
1971: The landscape of West Orange County was changed forever when Walt Disney World opened in Lake Buena Vista.
1972: The West Orange Chamber was founded.
1975: West Orange High School opened, combining Ocoee and Lakeview high schools.
1975: Tommy Zeigler was charged with the murder of four people on Christmas Eve at W.T. Zeigler Furniture Store in Winter Garden. He was sentenced to Florida’s death row for the murder of his wife, Eunice; her parents, Perry and Virginia Edwards; and a longtime customer, Charlie Mays.
1977: Raymond Screws, the principal of West Orange High School, was shot and killed by the assistant principal, Roosevelt Holloman Jr. Screws’ memory is carried on in the football field that bears his name, on a dedication plaque and on the Fallen Warriors memorial.
1978: The West Orange YMCA opened on land purchased by Bert Roper for a total of $115,000. The center later was renamed the Roper YMCA Family Center.
1980: The Baileys moved newspaper operations to a larger facility on South Dillard Street and renamed the weekly publication The Times.
1982: Disney’s EPCOT opened.
1983: The Chase family of citrus growers announced plans to sell Isleworth Groves to a group headed by Arnold Palmer.
1983: The severe Christmas Eve freeze destroyed much of the citrus acreage in the area.
1984: Mark Parker, a 19-year-old corrections officer from Winter Garden, was left a quadriplegic in a shooting at the Orange County Courthouse.
1985: The Dr. Phillips YMCA dedicated its new facility.
1987: The Times newspaper was renamed The West Orange Times.
1987: Dr. Phillips High School opened to relieve overcrowding at West Orange High.
1988: West Orange Airport closed, and Ocoee studied plans for a new 196acre development on the site.
1990: West Orange Habitat for Humanity was created.
1990: The western extension of State Road 408 was completed. The tollway, also known as the East-West Expressway, connected the Florida’s Turnpike south of State Road 50, through downtown Orlando, and to the University of Central Florida in the east.
1991: West Orange County men and women were deployed to the Middle East to participate in Operation Desert Storm, a military campaign to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait after Iraq’s invasion. The West Orange Times started an ongoing feature, Our Friends Overseas, that highlighted area residents and encouraged local people to send mail.
1992: Davis Pharmacy closed its doors in Winter Garden after 58 years on Plant Street; Webb’s Pharmacy, which opened in 1946, closed in Ocoee; and Medical Arts Pharmacy in Winter Garden closed its doors after 26 years.
1992: Ocoee unveiled its new World War II Memorial on the grounds of the Withers-Maguire House. During WWII, Ocoee had the highest percentage of men in service in the nation.
1993: Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital opened.
1993: The Lynx public bus system began a new route in Winter Garden with stops in Oakland and Ocoee.
1993: The Main Street Winter Garden downtown preservation program started.
1993: Joe Lewis,
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one-pound can of Super-Right chili with beans for 29 cents and a onepound can of Maxwell House Coffee for 69 cents. John Lamb Chevrolet was selling a 1965 two-door Mustang hardtop for $1,995 and a 1968 Chevy half-ton pickup truck for $1,795. For sale by owner: corner lot on hard road with a three-bedroom house and two-bedroom trailer with cabana, partly furnished with builtin oven and range, fruit trees, deep well and shallow well, located near the lake, $11,000.
In 1977, Jimmy’s Thriftway advertised Maxwell House Coffee in onepound cans for $2.99, a 10-pound sack of white potatoes for 99 cents and six to eight pounds of Lykes smoked shoulder for 59 cents per pound. Norman Brothers Datsun was selling used vehicles, including a 1976 Pacer for $2,995, 1974 Duster for $1,995 and a 1975 Coupe DeVille in mandarin orange for $5,795. Wingard Land Co. Realtors listed a lakefront home on Lake Florence with pool for $39,800.
FROM RICOCHET TO OBSERVER
The first edition of Winter Garden’s first newspaper, the Winter Garden Ricochet , was published Sept. 13, 1905. The first editor was A.B. Newton. The Ricochet was started when Newton met a printer with the last name March on the train coming from Sanford. The printer was looking for work, so he and Newton struck a deal, March continued on the train to Winter Garden, and they put out a newspaper. It contained four pages of three columns each. Subscriptions were priced at 15 cents for three months or 50 cents for one year, payable in advance.
A year later, Newton bought The Apopka Citizen and merged the papers, which he sold in 1909. There continuously has been a community newspaper in the area since Newton established his publication 120 years ago. It has had a number of publishers and owners, and its name has changed frequently, but the Winter Garden paper’s goal has remained the same — to provide quality local content.
Following the Winter Garden Ricochet, it has been called The Winter Garden Times (around 1913-15), The Orange County Citizen (1918), West Orange Herald (early 1920s), Winter Garden Herald (mid-1920s), The Winter Garden Journal (1925-33), The Town Crier (1933-34), West Orange News (1934-48), The Winter Garden Times (1948-80), The Times (1980-87) and The West Orange Times (1987-2014) and West Orange Times & Observer (2014 to now).
Today, two sister papers (including Southwest Orange Observer) deliver the news of West Orange County.
In 1926, the Winter Garden Herald announced that it was “now a corporation,” and “the newspaper plant has been taken over by a board of directors…to secure at least thirty of the leading Winter Garden business men who are interested in news of the better kind in this community and to show their support of a newspaper of this class by becoming stockholders in a small way.”
The oldest copy of the newspaper kept in the office archives is dated Dec. 1, 1932. The top headline of The Winter Garden Journal reads “Burch-Story to publish Journal.” Major A.E. Barnett of New
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12 YEARS
national anthem by Jean Grafton, and acknowledgements and appreciation by Betty Salisbury Hager.
1994: Horizon West Inc. held a planning workshop to set the stage for a new landuse study.
1994: Charles Wells of Windermere was named to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. Lawton Chiles.
1994: The ribbon was cut to officially open the first segment of the West Orange Trail, bringing a paved linear park to West Orange County.
1994: About 7,000 Mormons in the Central Florida area attended the dedication of the new Orlando temple of the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saint on Apopka-Vineland Road.
1996: A Winter Garden landmark — the Star-Lite Drive-In — dubbed Peavey’s Passion Pit shut down its projector after 48 years. Later in the year, volunteers formed the Save Our Star-Lite group and temporarily saved the theater in hopes investors could be found.
1996: Modern Stationery closed after 59 years in downtown Winter Garden.
1996: The one-million-square-foot West Oaks Mall in Ocoee opened with four department stores and 100 specialty stores.
1996: The St. Johns River Water Management District agreed to buy the 3,412acre A. Duda & Sons muck farm on the northwest shore of Lake Apopka for $19.8 million.
1997: Shepherd’s Hope opened to provide free medical services to the uninsured.
1997: The historic Withers-Maguire House in Ocoee officially became the Withers-Maguire House and Museum when the home was opened for public
tours by the Ocoee Historical Commission.
1997: A deal was reached among all parties involved in relocating the railroad tracks out of downtown Winter Garden. This would eliminate 13 crossings that created exposure to accidents, especially along the West Orange Trail.
1997: Actor Tom Hanks was in Winter Garden filming scenes for HBO’s 13-part series on the early days of the space program.
1997: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida opened a branch in Winter Garden.
1997: The 5,202-acre Lakeside Village in Horizon West was established, making it the first village established in the masterplanned community.
1998: The Winter Garden Heritage Museum was created.
1998: An F3 tornado ripped through Winter Garden, touching down at Johns Lake on the west end of the city, destroying homes and businesses in a northeast path through the city and killing three residents in the Hyde Park retirement community. The West Orange Times published a 112-page hardcover book with photographs and stories of the storm and the community rallying together.
1998: The 93-acre Oakland Nature Preserve opened with wooded wetlands and upland pine forests.
1998: The $800 million Animal Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World.
1998: The city of Ocoee opened several fire stations to keep pace with the growth in Ocoee.
1998:
1998:
Sometimes newspapers promote themselves and the important role they play in the community.
2000: Health Central and Valencia Community College awarded mall gift certificates, baby items and a twoyear VCC scholarship to Kimberly and Carlos Ahmed Portela for delivering the first baby of the millennium, a daughter they named Isabel. She was born at 10:26 a.m. Jan 1.
2000: The town of Oakland hired its first two female police officers, Dawn Beninato and Nicole Torres.
2000: Starke Lake Baptist Church in Ocoee honored four sisters in a celebration of “life and love.” Guests of honor were Willie Fields, age 99; Estelle Johnson, 94; Lillian Reese, 92; and Mozelle Pitzer, the baby at 90. The three oldest are charter members of the church and helped it get its start.
2000: Winter Garden officials and representatives of US Home turned the first shovels of dirt over to mark the groundbreaking of the golf community of Stoneybrook West. The neighborhood was being constructed on Black Lake between Avalon Road and County Road 535 south of West Colonial Drive.
2000: Win Pendleton, who spiced up many an event as an after-dinner speaker, died at his home in Windermere. He was a Rotarian for more than 50 years and authored 10 books.
2000: Isleworth resident Tiger Woods won his 18th PGA event at the Bay Hill Invitational.
2000: First Union Bank announced it was closing its downtown Winter Garden branch and consolidating with the Dillard Street branch. The building has served as a bank since 1947.
2000: Former Winter Garden Mayor Bob Barber died of cancer. He served four years as mayor in the 1980s and continued caring for the city long after his terms were over.
2000: Air Force Col. Tom Ferebee of Windermere died. He was known for his role as the bombardier of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
2000: Charles Wells of Windermere was named Florida Supreme Court chief justice.
2000: Emerson R. Thompson Jr. of Gotha was elected chief judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
2000: The first leg (10.6 miles) of the Western Expressway (officially Toll Road 429) was opened to the public. The toll road takes travelers back and forth from West Colonial Drive between Ocoee and Winter Garden to U.S. 441 in Apopka. Construction immediately began on a portion of Part C of the expressway, from Florida’s Turnpike south to County Road 535.
2001: Olympia High School opened to relieve overcrowded conditions at West Orange and Dr. Phillips high schools.
2001: After years of complaints, a traffic light was installed at the busy intersection of Hempel Avenue and Old Winter Garden Road.
2001: Ocoee officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for their new Family Aquatic Center.
2001: More than 300,000 books were delivered, unloaded and placed on shelves at the West Oaks Library in Ocoee in the days before its grand opening and dedication. Close to 3,000 patrons visited the library on opening day.
2001: Hope Charter School opened to students.
2001: The West Orange community showed its support in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., by collecting donations for the September 11 Fund and writing letters of support for the victims and their families.
2001: Ocoee broke ground for a 211,030-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter on West Colonial Drive.
2001: Stina D’Uva was named president of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce.
2001: The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation opened a new Winter Garden History Center in the city’s downtown. The center was set up as a place for research and not as a museum.
2001: Residents were informed of a major road-widening project along Silver Star Road that was expected to cost $12.4 million. Plans called for Silver Star to increase from two to four lanes from Clarke Road to Apopka-Vineland Road and from two to six lanes from Apopka-Vineland to Hiawassee Road.
2001: The Bloom & Grow Garden Society held its first Spring Fever in the Garden festival.
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York City, a former pastor of Oakland Presbyterian Church, was editor. The paper boasted new management, a new editor, new policies and new features.
The publication date was changed from Friday to Thursday to benefit the advertisers, who wanted the paper delivered in time for readers “to see their offerings before they do their weekend shopping.”
In 1933, Burch and his brother-inlaw, William Story, who had formed the Burch-Story Press, started The Town Crier. This was distributed free.
Burch and Story changed the name to the West Orange News and charged $2 annually. After one month, they cut the subscription price to $1. The paper was distributed weekly “in the area between the intersection of the Gotha Road with the Orlando highway and slightly beyond the Lake County line, east and west; and between Fisherman’s Paradise and Windermere, north and south.…”
Lester Price Robinson was owner, publisher and editor of West Orange News, and working with him was R.S. Williams as editor and manager.
In 1948, Eldon Johns bought the paper and merged it with The Orange County Chief in Apopka. (The Apopka Chief later became a separate newspaper.) He changed the name from West Orange News to The Winter Garden Times. Ken Chatfield was editor.
In 1965, the owner of The Winter Haven News-Chief bought the newspaper but kept the name the same. From 1966-69, Don Barnes served as publisher and editor.
George and Anne Bailey purchased the newspaper from The Winter Haven News-Chief in July 1970. It was a true family business, as the Baileys and their four sons prepared the papers for
mailing on their living room floor. It also was a small business: George Bailey could bring the entire issue home from the Winter Haven printer in the back of his small car.
The Baileys ran the paper from a small office at 18 N. Boyd St.
Many of Winter Garden’s teens worked for the paper on a weekly basis, handling the Tuesday evening operations once the paper returned from the press. The high-schoolers were responsible for labeling, folding and tying batches of newspapers to be loaded into a dolly cart and taken to the downtown post office for mail delivery.
In 1980, the newspaper office moved to 720 S. Dillard St.
The front page of the May 1, 1980, issue of The Winter Garden Times stated, “We’re About to Move!” The next week, they named Kenneth B. Morris managing editor.
Nearly seven years later, in March 1987, the Baileys changed the name again to better reflect the growing community, calling the newspaper The West Orange Times
Mary Anne Swickerath was part of the staff for nearly 30 years, starting as an Ocoee reporter — riding her bicycle to the office to deliver the news she had collected — and retiring in 2009 as editor. Amy Quesinberry assumed the position of managing editor after Swickerath’s departure.
The paper was sold to Observer Media Group, owned by Matt and Lisa Walsh, in 2014. The company moved the office from Dillard Street to its current location in Winter Garden at 661 Garden Commerce Parkway, Suite 180, in 2018. Dawn Willis was named publisher. Later in the year, Michael Eng was named editor, and Quesinberry became the community editor. In 2019, Eng was named publisher and editor.
Through the years, as the newspaper name changed, so did the slogan underneath the name. Besides “In the Garden City in the Garden State,” it also proclaimed “Winter Garden, Florida — Where Money Grows on Trees,” “The World’s Largest Orange Shipping Center,” “Completely Covers the Rich Citrus and Truck Section of Western Orange County,” “Northern Gateway to Walt Disney’s World of Tomorrow” and “The Voice of West Orange.”
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY
Newton produced those first Ricochet newspapers on a hand press with all the type set by hand. Less than a decade later, The Winter Garden Times used a big Cottrell press, with the shop foreman manning the controls while a machinist caught the pages as they came off the press. When this machine was retired, the newspaper was printed by photo offset, a method of printing, based on photolithography, in which the inked image is transferred from the metal plate to a rubber surface and then to the paper.
In the 1970s, the paper was produced with a number of electronics: typewriters, a Compugraphic machine for typing and printing copy, a headliner machine and a hot waxer. The back half of the office was filled with huge layout boards with large pages for the hands-on paste-up process.
After writing our stories on the desktop computers and formatting them to the exact column width and font size, we printed them, cut out the words, ran the paper strips through a sticky waxing machine and rolled them onto the pages.
Stories were written on Apple Macintosh computers and stored on floppy drives. Folks had to either
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12A
Top: The last run of the old Winter Garden Times Cottrell press was managed by shop foreman John Halstead on controls and machinist Cy Hopkins catching the pages as they came off.
Above: The West Orange Times & Observer is printed using The Villages Daily-Sun’s state-of-the-art printing press.
2002: Clifford R. Freeman, a prominent businessman, former Ocoee mayor and Orange County commissioner, died of pneumonia.
2002: Three new parks were opened in Orange County, including George Bailey Park near Lake Whitney Elementary School.
2002: Ron “Coach Lopo” Lopsonzski died of complications from a heart transplant he received in 1989. He was a coach and teacher for 35 years at Lakeview and West Orange high schools.
2002: Ocoee’s municipal pool, known as the Beech Center Aquatic Complex, officially opened for its first full warmweather season.
2002: Oakland unveiled its design for a new town center that includes a new administration building, Town Hall, post office and meeting room.
2002: Winter Garden broke ground to begin its extensive renovation of downtown Winter Garden. A festive ceremony dedicated its downtown refurbishment and reopened the West Orange Trail. The Streetscape project included adding a clock tower, pavilion, water fountain and decorative streetlights; bricking Plant Street; and making more parking spaces.
2002: The West Orange Healthcare District celebrated its 50th anniversary. A topping-out party for the new expansion at Health Central kicked off a year of celebrations.
2002: Winter Garden native Franklin Cappleman died. He was born in Winter Garden and spent most of his life in the city, attending local schools, working in his father’s grocery, opening his own business and serving on numerous boards.
2002: Windermere Union Church sold its property in downtown Windermere and purchased 12 acres for a new church on Parkridge-Gotha Road. The congregation was formed in 1916.
2002: The Winter Garden Cannonball passenger train made a nostalgic trip from Winter Garden to Mount Dora and back. Many train enthusiasts — young and old — took part in the experience.
2002: The Oakland Nature Preserve opened its 2/3-mile boardwalk.
2002: The West Orange YMCA, which was renamed the Roper YMCA Family Center in this year, started a fundraising campaign to collect $3 million for renovations to triple the size of the facility.
2002: Longtime Winter Garden pediatrician Charles Carter died at age 85. He practiced medicine for 63 years and was treating the second generation of patients in some families.
2002: The Board of Governors of the St. Johns River Water Management District passed a rule that controlled and limited phosphorus discharge from future developments in the Lake Apopka Basin.
2003: Oakland employees moved into their new Town Hall facility.
2003: The 3.5-mile extension of State Road 429 (Western Expressway) opened, giving drivers a straight 14-mile shot from U.S. 441 in Apopka south to County Road 535 in Winter Garden. It also connected to the Florida’s Turnpike.
2003: The city of Winter Garden kicked off its Centennial Celebration with a concert by local jazz singer Jacqueline Jones. Monthly celebrations followed throughout the year.
2003: The Nehrling Society elected officials and created a plan to purchase the historic Nehrling property in Gotha, which includes Henry Nehrling’s Palm Cottage Gardens, from its current owner.
2003: Golf superstar Tiger Woods filmed a Nike commercial at Earl Brigham’s barbershop and Downtown Brown’s, both on Plant Street in downtown Winter Garden.
2003: Ground was broken for the new S.C. Battaglia Memorial Winter Garden Library Branch.
2003: The Orange County boat ramp on Conroy-Windermere Road — one of only two ramps for the public to access the pristine Butler Chain of Lakes — was a controversial topic of discussion in Windermere throughout the year. Parking, ownership and environmental concerns topped the list.
2003: Foundation Academy in Winter Garden celebrated and dedicated its new school property on County Road 545.
2003: Ocoee officials dug their shovels in the ground in a ceremony signifying the start of construction on a new main fire station on South Bluford Avenue. Completion of the 18,000-square-foot facility is expected in the spring.
2003: Windermere used the town’s traditional Fourth of July pancake breakfast to honor retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay M. Garner for his long and distinguished service to the nation and welcome him back home from a special assignment in Iraq.
2003: West Orange Charter Elementary School — later renamed Oakland Avenue Charter School — opened its doors to students.
2003: A ground-breaking ceremony was planned at the Roper YMCA Family Center to begin its expansion that will make the Y the hub of a large family-oriented recreational complex.
2003: Ocoee Middle School was chosen to participate in a national pilot program that allowed 150 students to carry a single Tablet PC instead of textbooks and notebooks. It provided instant access to their curriculum, which was available online, and they did not use textbooks or any print-based materials.
2003: Local Rotary clubs teamed up with the Oakland Nature Preserve for Rotary International’s centennial project — the construction of an Environmental Education Center at the preserve.
2003: Fifty-and-older residents in Winter Garden and Ocoee squared off in an Old Geezers Game, one of many activities throughout the year to celebrate Winter Garden’s centennial. The mayor of the losing team — Scott Vandergrift of Ocoee — had to kiss Sir Gus the camel.
2003: The city of Winter Garden held an all-day celebration to commemorate its first 100 years. The party included a “Winter Garden Through the Decades” parade, festival, country music concert and midnight fireworks. A ribbon-cutting ceremony also marked the grand reopening of the historic Edgewater Hotel downtown.
2003: The West Orange Times published a 56-page special section to commemorate Winter Garden’s centennial and recognize its institutions, its people and its beginnings.
2003: The Henry Nehrling Society organized a celebration to recognize the long-awaited purchase of Palm Cottage Gardens, the historic home of Dr. Henry Nehrling, in Gotha.
2004: The town of Oakland dedicated its new Town Center, C.M. “Pete” Tucker Square and Grover Tubb Fountain. Family members and descendants of Tucker and Tubb were present for the unveiling of the dedication plaques.
2004: Citing a failure to comply with many state and city fire codes, Winter Garden announced the possible closure of the city-owned Trailer City mobile home park on Lake Apopka. Residents spent the rest of the year protesting the city’s closure options.
2004: The Orange County School Board approved the acquisition of a land bank site to provide the first high school to serve Horizon West.
2004: The newly remodeled Pounds Motor Company celebrated its grand reopening 90 years after first opening its doors in downtown Winter Garden.
2004: The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation was given the operating and maintenance responsibilities of the Winter Garden Theatre for the next 50 years.
2004: The area sustained much damage from three hurricanes in six weeks: Charley, Frances and Jeanne.
2005: The new Ocoee High School opened to relieve overcrowding at West Orange and Apopka high schools.
2005: A concert in Winter Garden originally scheduled as a small hurricane relief benefit snowballed into a seven-band event that raised $20,000 to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.
2005: The city of Ocoee held a ribboncutting to celebrate its Downtown Streetscape Project along McKey Street.
2005: Windermere kicked off its trafficimprovement plan on downtown Main Street. The yearlong roadway construction would include roundabouts, new sidewalks and crosswalks, brick paving and realigned parking.
2005: Dr. Phillips High School retired the numbers of four former baseball players who joined the Major Leagues: Danny Miceli, Brian Barber, Johnny Damon and A.J. Pierzynski.
2005: Castle & Cooke presented its plan for the 258-acre Oakland Park development south of Lake Apopka that included 750 homes in both the town of Oakland and the city of Winter Garden.
2005: Ocoee planned two important changes in the city: a new and bigger post office and a new Twistee Treat.
2005: Fuel shortages prompted local high schools to retool their sports programs.
2005: The Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves, 1.15-million-square-foot open-air shopping mall, was approved.
2005: The S.C. Battaglia Memorial Winter Garden Library opened on East Plant Street.
2006: The Winter Garden City Commission transferred ownership of the Garden Theatre building to the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation. This allowed the theater, which was under renovations, to continue receiving funding from the Dr. Phillips Foundation.
2006: The old Oakland African-American Historic Cemetery was discovered in an overgrown and forgotten piece of land when Florida Turnpike Authority officials were on site to discuss roadwidening plans.
2006: Gov. Jeb Bush officially signed into state law the Justin McWilliams Act, named for a 20-year-old Ocoee resident who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in a privately owned field. Until then, Florida law did not cover hit-and-run deaths and injuries when they occurred on private land.
2006: Juanita Maxey, one of the most important women in Winter Garden’s history, was honored at a community party celebrating her 100th birthday. She was a schoolteacher for 45 years, impressing upon generations of black students the importance of an education.
2006: Ocoee celebrated the opening of the Tom Ison Veteran and Senior Center. The facility was named for the deceased former mayor.
2006: Winter Garden held its first Music Fest, a two-day street party that featured music of all genres and a display of musical memorabilia.
2006: Windermere mourned the death of a former mayor, Carl Patterson Jr., age 84, and his wife, Jane, 82, who died in a car crash while driving home from Tampa after visiting their son. Carl Patterson also had served the town as a council member, planner and Historic Preservation Board chairman. He authored “Windermere Among the Lakes: The Story of a Small Town.”
2006: West Orange High broke ground on a new campus at the corner of Beulah and Warrior roads.
2006: The Ocoee Pop Warner Jr. Pee Wee team achieved earned a spot in the National Pop Warner Championship.
2006: The West Orange Times Reading Reindeer program set a new record of 4,272 new books and $1,505 to purchase a Dr. Seuss book for
12 YEARS
2006: The 2,551-acre Village F and 2,975-acre Village H, aka Hickory Nut, were established.
2007: Foundation Academy broke ground on a new $14 million campus for its middle and high schools at Tilden Road and County Road 545.
2007: The town of Oakland held its first Triple A (African-American Arts) Festival to bring awareness to black artists.
2007: The new Daniels Road bridge in Winter Garden officially opened. This was the first four-lane link between the northern and southern areas of the city divided by the Florida’s Turnpike. Daniels now runs past the new Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves.
2007: Winter Garden celebrated the official grand opening of the new shopping center, Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves.
2008: The town of Windermere and Orange County prepared for a legal fight over whether Isleworth would be annexed into the town or stay in unincorporated Orange County. The town and county continued arguing until April, when Windermere agreed to drop its efforts to annex Isleworth.
2008: George Bailey, longtime owner and publisher of The West Orange Times, died at age 82. He and his wife, Anne, purchased the weekly newspaper in 1970 and ran it together.
2008: Winter Garden city employees and officials moved into the new City Hall at the corner of Plant Street and Highland Avenue.
2008: The Garden Theatre made its official comeback after a 45-year absence in downtown Winter Garden.
2008: The Winter Garden Farmers Market debuted on the west end of downtown Plant Street.
2008: Jack Quesinberry, who served 16-and-one-half years as mayor of Winter Garden (the longest in the city’s history at the time) was recognized for his public service in a special ceremony hosted by the city and Oakland Park. A 300-year-old oak tree was dedicated in the community, and a plaque was unveiled near the tree’s base.
2008: City commissioners in Winter Garden repealed the “blue law,” which prohibited alcohol sales on Sunday and past midnight on other days.
2008: The 2,129-acre Village I was established in Horizon West.
2009: West Orange High School’s replacement building opened.
2010: The Matthew’s Hope homeless ministry was created by Pastor Scott Billue.
2010: The new Jessie Brock Community Center opened on the former Dillard Street Elementary School property.
2011: The 9-11 Flag toured the country and gave citizens the chance to add a stitch to the flag tattered and nearly destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. It made a stop in Ocoee in memory of the daughter of Ocoee resident Elsie Rosado, who died when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.
2012: The town of Oakland recognized its 125th anniversary.
2012: More than 850 acres of property were purchased and marked the start of the Hamlin community in Horizon West.
2013: The First Baptist Church of Winter Garden, which organized in Ocoee in 1888 and moved to Winter Garden eight years later, celebrated its 125th anniversary.
2013: The Winter Garden Art Association was established in the former firehouse on South Boyd Street.
2013: West Orange High School students selected the school’s first Homecoming king and queen with Down Syndrome — Travjuan “Bubba” Hunter and Semone Adkins. Hunter died two years later of pneumonia.
2014: Observer Media Group, owned by Matt and Lisa Walsh, purchased The West Orange Times newspaper.
2014: Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Scott Pine was shot and killed while responding to reports of car break-ins in a gated community off South Apopka Vineland Road. In 2022, Deputy Scott Pine Community Park, in Horizon West, was dedicated.
2014: Windermere Police Officer Robert “Robbie” German, 31, was killed while on duty after he stopped two teen suspects.
mail to or drop off their photos and news at the newspaper office. We used film cameras and had photos processed in the darkroom. It was a game-changer when the office got a fax machine and had access to email, and suddenly, the hustle and bustle of customers and clients walking through the front door diminished greatly. Technological advancements led to photographers using digital cameras and, today, smartphones can take superior-quality photos in some instances. The newspaper went to an all-digital, server-based format in 2002; a website was created and served as another outlet for sharing our stories. When Observer Media Group bought the paper, the website was relaunched with a more powerful platform, and the staff embraced a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (now X).
Today, everyone works on individual laptop computers and the pagecreating process is done digitally. Many files exist in the cloud, allowing staffers to work from anywhere with an internet connection. After a hurricane knocked out power at our office and all our homes, some staffers worked from their cars parked near free Wi-Fi to upload their photos and stories. And, instead of driving the pages to the printer, today, we simply upload them.
EXPANDING COVERAGE
Newton’s four-page newspaper covering the news of the area — and the area itself — certainly has grown. More folks moving to West Orange County meant more news to share. The first indication the paper’s coverage area was expanding was in 1933, when the name was changed to West Orange News. The name remained until 1948, when it was rebranded as a Winter Garden newspaper once again. When the Baileys bought the publication, Walt Disney World was in its construction phase and West Orange County was about to see a major change in population, real estate, roads and schools.
Until then, the entire area boasted two public high schools (a third one closed during desegregation), two junior high/middle schools and six elementary schools. The real spike in schools came as Horizon West was developed, and today, West Orange County is home to eight public and charter high schools, 10 middle schools and nearly three dozen elementary schools, as well as multiple private schools from elementary to high school. In 2015, the area was becoming too large for all the news to fit in one weekly newspaper, and the Observer split its coverage area into two papers. The West Orange Times & Observer concentrated on Winter Garden, Ocoee and Oakland; and the Windermere Observer (later renamed Southwest Orange Observer) covered Windermere, Dr. Phillips and Horizon West.
TRADITIONS
Through the years, the hometown newspaper has held onto a number of traditions, the longest being the annual recognition of local high school graduates. This annual tradition started in the 1960s with the inclusion of groups of photos of graduating seniors from Lakeview, Ocoee and Drew high schools. It became a special pull-out section in the 1980s and has expanded to include class photos, a list of graduates, graduation information and a goodbye message from the principals.
The West Orange Times started its Reading Reindeer literacy project in 1998 to collect books for underserved children in West Orange County. The program will celebrate its 28th year in December.
The newspaper has long been dedicated to the students in West Orange County. For decades, a section, now called Observer School Zone, has been devoted to the area’s schools by highlighting students, teachers and events. When school is out, student writers contribute to the section, dubbed Summer School Zone.
One exciting tradition is bringing home awards for our hard work. Observer writers, photographers, page designers and ad creators regularly win awards in the Florida Press Association’s Better Weekly Newspaper contest. These awards remind us that what we do matters. We present a window to the life of the community, and it’s our job to inform, educate and entertain our readers. We are constant. And we are there, camera and notepad in hand, to document our corner of the world.
Advertisers through the years have promoted everything from tools and machinery to restaurant specials to movies and real estate.
Mayoral memories
Mayors share the impact the newspaper has had on their respective communities.
The mayors of Winter Garden, Oakland, Ocoee and Windermere have lived in their respective communities for decades and have seen firsthand how the communities have grown and changed, all while preserving their communities’ histories.
Over the years, they’ve picked up the West Orange Times & Observer and Southwest Orange Observer as trusted sources for the news happening in their communities.
From government meetings to local events to individual celebrations and losses, the mayors have seen it all in the local, community newspaper.
The mayors reflected on how The West Orange Times & Observer and Southwest Orange Observer have impacted their communities.
WINTER GARDEN
MAYOR JOHN REES
Throughout the newspaper’s history, Winter Garden Mayor John Rees said the West Orange Times & Observer has been a source for the local news of what’s happening in town, events coming up and more. He’s watched the paper grow to cover more than solely Winter Garden.
“When we were growing up here, it was mainly Winter Garden,” he said. “We had some Ocoee and stuff in Oakland, but it brought the news to Winter Garden of what was going on in your area, what you can expect, what was coming into town, what the events were. I think it just kept everybody in town informed. Growing up, everybody looked forward to getting the paper.”
Rees has been reading the newspaper since he first learned to read at 5 years old. He recalled The Winter Garden Times and the Orlando Sentinel were delivered to his home as a child.
Growing up, he remembered seeing his Little League team in the paper and when Lakeview High’s basketball team was a runner-up at the state championship. As an adult, Rees and his wife had their wedding picture in the paper.
He said being in the paper gave him bragging rights, sometimes even going around and asking for the autographs of the people in the newspaper.
“As kids, you grab the paper and you run around, ‘Hey, look at that, we’re in the paper. Oh, we don’t see your picture anywhere, sorry,’” Rees said laughing. “It was fun with your friends. Most people like my cousins that might have been in California or Ohio in bigger cities, they didn’t have that. For us to take the page of the paper and send it to them was pretty neat.”
Every time Rees looks at the paper now, he always is sure to look at The Ways We Were, which showcases the communities’ histories from at least 80 years ago until now.
“If you were to ask a lot of the people that grew up here, I think a lot of them really, really enjoy reading and reminiscing about something that happened 75 years ago,” he said.
WINDERMERE
MAYOR JIM O’BRIEN
Windermere Mayor Jim O’Brien has been reading the West Orange Times & Observer and the Southwest Orange Observer since before he and his wife moved to Windermere in 2004.
“The Observer has been a mainstay of the town of Windermere since its inception with the Bailey family residing in town,” he said. “The greatest impact the Observer has had over time is the deeply personal way they follow the people and stories that impact our friends and neighbors. The relationships between the town of Windermere and the Observer staff is unique with a deep understanding and trust built over decades. We value the local content that keeps our community informed and connected.”
Over the years, he recalled seeing his children in the pages of the paper, including in the coverage of the town’s Easter egg hunts and Halloween event in 2008. When O’Brien became involved in the town of Windermere’s committees and elections, he saw himself in the paper as there was coverage of his family and his vision for the town in 2010.
“Local election coverage was a hallmark of the Observer and valuable to voters throughout West Orange County,” he said.
Every week, O’Brien looks forward to reading the “positive coverage of people who work to make life better for our town and the West Orange community.”
OCOEE MAYOR RUSTY JOHNSON
Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson has resided in the area for 69 years.
The Ocoee High School graduate has grown up with the Orange Observer’s presence and now has the ability to see how it’s impacted him as well as the community members in his area of Ocoee.
Johnson has read the paper since as long as he can remember, after turning old enough to be able to read. During his Boy Scout days, his group was featured once, but he doesn’t recall being featured individually.
Over time, he’s been able to see how the Observer has evolved. He’s noticed differences in how it’s presented and the styles used, but he views it as a positive.
“Everything changes, the different ways presented in the paper and things like that, but that’s good,” Johnson said. “Everything changes for the better; it’s just moved to the better.”
He particularly enjoys “The Ways We Were” section, which highlights West Orange’s history. It presents old advertisements, historical figures and events that happened in the area years ago.
“(It) might have something 50 or 60, years ago, something we were involved in or my father-in-law for instance,” Johnson said.
Having lived in the area since 1955, Johnson and his wife have been able to see many of their relatives featured in the Observer. When he sees the history section, they can recognize different things and people and reflect on that time in their lives. Both of their children have made it into the paper, including when his daughter graduated in 1987 and was a debutante, and his son played baseball.
Johnson loves that the Observer strives to serve the local community, covering high school graduations, a Little League team’s success, small local businesses and more.
“I read every little thing about it to see what’s going on in the area,” Johnson said about the Observer. “That’s the good thing about it. It has local (news), Winter Garden to Oakland, Windermere and us (Ocoee) so it’s good.”
The localness of the paper is exactly what Johnson believes helps Ocoee. He said it’s a positive that the people in Ocoee get to see how their town and surrounding areas are doing. Without it, they might’ve missed the news otherwise.
Johnson specifically looks out for the obituaries in the paper. They serve as a way to notify the local community about those who have passed away and sometimes is the only way they know about their passing.
OAKLAND MAYOR SHANE TAYLOR
Shane Taylor recalled being a kid and hearing the siren on the old water tower at the old fire station, where SOBO Art Gallery currently is located in Winter Garden, to let everyone in the surrounding packing houses know it was time for lunch.
He remembered, depending on which way the wind blew, he could smell the juice plant making concentrate in Oakland or Ocoee as he made his way to high school.
Taylor said as a member of the West Orange High School band, he’s sure he was featured in The West Orange Times & Observer
Every week, Taylor, now the mayor of the town of Oakland, looks forward to reading The Ways We Were feature in the newspaper as a flashback to “the way we were back in the day,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people who are new here that don’t understand the history of the town or the community,” Taylor said. “It was a citrus community is what it was way before Disney showed up. … Just the smell of the citrus plant, the orange trees, all that stuff, I know it’s corny and crazy but I’ve never had the desire to sit there and go, ‘I’m leaving, I want to get away from this.’ No way.”
Just as the West Orange Times & Observer did 120 years ago, Taylor said the newspaper continues to be a “very informative” source of news.
“It’s one of those medias that you can go to if you want to know what’s really happening in town,” he said. “It was always a feel-good paper. Very rarely did you have something in there that was negative, so that was good. Growing up with that and seeing that, it’s a very informative piece.”
12 YEARS
2015: Observer Media Group opened a sister paper to the West Orange Times & Observer because of tremendous growth in the area. It initially was named Windermere Observer and covered Windermere, Horizon West, Dr. Phillips and Gotha; the name later was changed to Southwest Orange Observer to better reflect the communities it covered.
2015: Dr. Phillips High School underwent significant renovations and additions.
2015: Longtime physician Dr. Albert Gleason died at the age of 103.
2015: Crooked Can Brewing Company opened its doors at the Plant Street Market in downtown Winter Garden.
2015: Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive opened as an 11-mile, self-guided wildlife drive at its Lake Apopka North Shore property.
2017: Windermere High School opened to relieve overcrowding at West Orange High School.
2017: Three prominent former mayors in West Orange County died: Jon VanderLey, of Oakland; Jack Quesinberry, of Winter Garden; and Scott Vandergrift, of Ocoee.
2018: The Rotary Club of Horizon West was founded as an opportunity to build friendships, network and give back to the community.
2018: The Observer moved its office to 661 Garden Commerce Parkway, Suite 180, Winter Garden, after 38 years on South Dillard Street.
2018: The first phase of the 209-acre Tucker Ranch Recreation Park and Nature Preserve opened with nature trails, a playground, picnic areas and a canoe/kayak launch. Winter Garden officials broke ground on the 25.6-acre second phase in 2024.
2018: The American Legion post in Winter Garden held an event to properly thank Vietnam War veterans for their service.
2018: The city of Ocoee welcomed its first black commissioner, George Oliver III.
2020: The Coronavirus — dubbed COVID-19 — created a pandemic that forced the world to shut down to try to stop the spread of the disease. Schools and offices closed, and students and employees had to find new ways of studying and working in isolation. Online learning and meetings became the norm. Many businesses closed their doors forever, while others were born out of the shutdown.
2021: Horizon and Lake Buena Vista high schools opened. Horizon relieved overcrowding at Windermere High, while Lake Buena Vista relieved overcrowding at Dr. Phillips and Freedom high schools.
2021: Horizon West Hospital opened.
2022: U.S. Army 1st Lt. Evan Fitzgibbon, a Windermere resident, died in a Ranger School weather-induced training exercise. The town of Windermere dedicated Old Glory, a patriotic horse, in his honor in 2025.
2023: Heller Bros. Packing Corp., which opened on Ninth Street in Winter Garden in 1939, ended its citrus production line after 84 years.
2023: Orange Technical College — West Campus broke ground across from Ocoee High School in Ocoee in February. OTC moved from its original location on Story Road in Winter Garden to the new campus, 2010 Ocoee-Apopka Road, in 2024.
2024: Kathy Stark retired from Oakland politics after serving 10 years as a town commissioner before being elected to the mayor’s seat for five four-year terms.
2024: The Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine opened in Horizon West.
2024: Windermere High School’s on-campus football stadium was completed. Prior to this time, home football games were held at Deputy Scott Pine Community Park in Horizon West.
2025: The city of Ocoee and the town of Windermere both celebrated their 100-year anniversaries.
2025: Orange County began presenting redistricting maps after the Orange County Redistricting Advisory Committee worked to create two more districts.
WINTER GARDEN MAYOR JOHN REES
WINDERMERE MAYOR JIM O’BRIEN
OAKLAND MAYOR SHANE TAYLOR
OCOEE MAYOR RUSTY JOHNSON
Fifty years of gridiron greatness
The legacy of prep sports in West Orange starts with the story of two schools Lakeview and Ocoee.
1905-2025
YEARS
MEGAN BRUINSMA STAFF WRITER
Back in 1970, overpopulation already was becoming a problem in the West Orange community.
Two high schools — Lakeview and Ocoee — were overcrowded, and they needed a solution. Grades seven through 12 attended Lakeview, and Ocoee had an even larger range, grades one through 12.
In came West Orange High School, which officially opened in 1975. Architect Eoghan Newman Kelley set his talents to developing a design of the new school dedicated for 10th through 12th grade.
Change is hard for anyone, especially students who thought they would be finishing their final year of schooling at a place they had attended their whole lives. The combination of Ocoee and Lakeview also meant their athletics programs would come together. Hopes were low heading into their first football season in 1975.
People predicted West Orange would struggle because it was the first year they’d been playing together.
However, what the public and even our own reporters didn’t realize was most of those boys had been on a team together for years, and they would thrive in their first year as a Warrior, heading to the playoffs.
FUSING TOGETHER
“Once the decision was made and we knew what was going to happen,
everybody was fine,” said Tom Lamb, West Orange defensive tackle on the first team. “It was kind of sad, giving up Lakeview. We had been there six years.”
Lamb was a part of West Orange’s first graduating class in 1976. He said they started in the fall at Lakeview’s campus and didn’t move to the new building until the spring semester, which helped with the transition.
Greg Kannon graduated from West Orange in 1976 and played defensive back and wide receiver, and was a kickoff/punt returner on the football team. He said being on the team helped to make the transition easier to the new school. They spent hours together outside of the classroom, competing and building up teamwork.
“Team creates unity, there’s new members of a team every year and this was just that next year with new team members,” Kannon said.
Most of the Warriors’ first football team had played together since eighth grade, Lamb said. He highlighted a few players such as their center and defensive safety came from Ocoee, and the quarterback was from Evans High School.
The first players already were famil-
iar with one another, but it was the coaching staff that came from different pieces of a puzzle. Lamb recalled one coach came from Evans, another from Ocoee and their head coach Ron Lopsonzski, or “Coach Lopo,” from Lakeview.
“We had really, really good coaches, and plus we had all played together, so it was just a recipe for success,” Lamb said.
The new Warriors didn’t just have to adjust to life at a new school; they also had to prepare for their transition from a 2A level of competition to 3A.
“(It) meant the competition was heavier, more intense, better choice or greater choices of athletes, and it made the synergy between the two schools becoming one have a common opponent,” Kannon said. “That was a great unifying factor.”
They entered the season with a high level of togetherness. They had a goal to do well and wanted to achieve that.
Not everyone thought the freshly put-together Warriors could accomplish success. Lamb said a sports writer kept saying they were going to get “clobbered” and ranked them at the bottom in preseason.
“One of my favorite memories was
before the season started, the Orlando Sentinel made a comment, ‘Don’t hold your breath before West Orange even scores, and don’t expect them to win any games,’” Kannon said.
BEATING THE ODDS
Despite those predictions, the Warriors went on to win their first four games, lost two, then won four again and headed to the state playoffs. There, it lost in the first round to the No. 1 high school football team, Ocala Forest. The team won more that season than either Lakeview or Ocoee had in many years — and against stronger competitors.
“I think because the expectations and the doubters were so strong, there was definitely satisfaction of having a successful year of going to the playoffs,” he said.
Along the road to playoffs, each former player recalled one key game.
Lamb remembered when they beat Bishop Moore, an Orlando private school that’s historically had a good team, by one point. The score was 8-8, and they headed to overtime. In 1975, tie-breakers were determined by putting the ball at the 50-yard-line, and each team had four plays to get the ball
as far as possible.
“We beat them by 1 foot,” Lamb said.
The Warriors came out victorious 9-8.
In their last regular-season game against Colonial High School, which was the Warriors’ first time playing a 4A school, banter began before kickoff.
“At the beginning of the game, they would constantly make comments about, ‘Welcome to 4A boys,’ emphasizing the boys,” Kannon said.
He ended up having a great game — with two long touchdown receptions and caught a two-point conversion.
West Orange won by double-digits and displayed a phenomenal team effort against greater competition right before heading to playoffs.
ETCHED IN HISTORY
Excitement began to build as the Warriors entered the state playoffs, and none of the players had ever been there. In playoffs, Ocala Forest came onto the field with their dominating size.
“They were so much bigger than we were, and they had at least two AllAmericans on that team, and I think
The first West Orange Warriors football team took the field in 1975.
Courtesy photo
DR. PHILLIPS
Dr. Phillips Panthers opened their
in
Their opening marked the first time West Orange High School was split — half of their student body became Panthers and the first rivalry was born, known as the Ole Orange Crate Game.
The two schools have competed in the game since 1988. Whoever wins has the honor of taking an orange crate in their possession. In 2010, the rivalry took a break when the teams changed divisions, but it started right back up in 2015 with the same level of spirit.
Last year, the Panthers defeated the Warriors, 33-11, continuing to lead the rivalry overall.
Next game: West Orange hosts Dr. Phillips at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.
HORIZON/WINDERMERE
As two of the newest schools in West Orange and Southwest Orange, Windermere and Horizon have birthed a new rivalry game the Battle of the Groves — with the coveted Smudge Pot trophy at stake.
In the first three years, it didn’t seem like much of a rivalry. The Horizon Hawks captured the first three wins in dominating fashion.
However, last year, under the leadership of Riki Smith, the Wolverines finally got over the hump in the most dramatic way possible.
Tied 7-7 at the end of the fourth, Horizon and Windermere headed into overtime. Wolverines QB Jack Reilly was able to secure the Smudge
they sent 10 or more players to major colleges,” Kannon said.
Lamb said they knew it would be a tough game, but they fought for it and despite losing, it remains a positive memory in his mind. It also etched the team forever in the history of West Orange football.
“We were part of something special, and we had a special camaraderie,” Kannon said.
He said their dynamic was something he hasn’t heard of anyone else having to deal with, and it brings him joy knowing they were a part of creating a winning tradition at West
Pot with a 1-yard run into the end zone. Not only did the win secure bragging rights over their Horizon West rivals, but also it completed Windermere’s perfect 10-0 season.
Next game: Windermere hosts Horizon at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30.
OCOEE
When West Orange first opened in 1975, Ocoee closed its doors. The school didn’t reopen until 2005 for grades nine through 12.
The two schools only have seven miles between them and with their history, a rivalry quickly formed. It became known as the Battle for the Shield. The game is a battle between schools just as much as it is between communities.
This matchup is extra important to each because it’s a district game, and each year plays a crucial step in sending the teams a step further after regular season ends.
Last year, West Orange took the shield 21-14.
Next game: Ocoee hosts West Orange at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24.
OLYMPIA
As the area continued to grow, West Orange High School was split again with the birth of Olympia in 2001. It only seemed right to form another rivalry game.
The schools compete in the Backyard Bowl, exchanging a fence after each victory, symbolizing the yard-like division between them.
They haven’t played since 2023, when Olympia took a 34-20 win over the Warriors.
Next game: Olympia hosts West Orange at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17.
Orange. Even though the team had hopes of being good, you never truly know in sports, Lamb said, and to have the season they did in the Warriors’ first year means a lot.
Since the first class of 1976, West Orange has continued to be a rememberable football program. Most recently, they’ve secured a district championship in 2024 and made it to the regional finals. The school’s known for producing college commitments like Ivan Taylor at Alabama, Jordan Castell at the University of Florida, Jayden Gibson at Oklahoma and many others.
1905-2025
Meet the Observer team 12 YEARS
Mike
University of Missouri — Columbia School of Journalism. As editor and publisher, Mike has his hands in just about every piece of the business and enjoys the variety and challenge of it all. He loves creating new ways to deliver content to our audience and helping his colleagues grow in their crafts. He also enjoys any opportunity to pull out his notepad and camera to report the news. Mike’s more sinister side comes out every April Fools’ Day. Mike is active in the worship ministry at Quay Church and also teaches drum lessons at the Performing Arts Academy of Central Florida at Church at the Cross. He also is a professional dunk tank victim. He especially enjoys strawberry season at Southern Hill Farms, as well as the many Horizon West festivals throughout the year.
CYNDI GUSTAFSON, SALES MANAGER
Cyndi, a proud mother of two, has worked at the Observer Media Group for 13 years. She is proud of both her personal growth and the role she has played in helping the paper grow alongside the community. She is inspired watching the West Orange Times & Observer continue to serve as a trusted vehicle for supporting and promoting a healthy, connected yet ever-changing community. What began as simply being part of the community has become a deeper journey — immersing herself in the change she wants to see and contributing to the legacy she hopes to leave.
She is also a West Orange Chamber of Commerce ambassador, Rotary Club of Winter Garden board member and advocate, board member of the Roper YMCA, board member of the Winter Garden Heritage Founda-
tion and a chair for the Habitat for Humanity Women Build.
JESS ENG, DESIGN EDITOR
Jess joined the Observer Media Group in 2000 and has guided the editorial design for many of the company’s newspapers. She is a graduate of the Ball State University School of Journalism and Strategic Communication. She and her husband, Mike, were married in 2005; they have three children.
Jess serves with the children’s ministry at Quay Church. She enjoys baking and spending time with her family. She enjoys the West Orange Chamber of Commerce’s annual Best Fest: “The Taste of West Orange.”
LIZ RAMOS, SENIOR EDITOR
Liz has worked for the West Orange Times & Observer for 10 months and the Observer Media Group for six years. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri — Columbia School of Journalism. Liz loves how West Orange preserves its history while looking toward a bright future. Her favorite event is the Winter Garden Christmas Parade. It was the first event she was a part of when she started working for the newspaper, and she loved seeing so many people come out to participate or spectate. What makes West Orange special is the community support, whether it’s
supporting a nonprofit, cheering on a local team or lifting people through hard times.
AMY QUESINBERRY PRICE, HISTORIAN
Amy “retired” from the paper in May 2025 after 35 years but still maintains a presence with the weekly history page and several history stories each month. She graduated from West Orange High School in 1985 and the University of Georgia in 1990 with a journalism degree and started working for The West Orange Times two months later.
Amy is married to Don Price, whom she met in seventh grade at Lakeview Jr. High School. She has two grown children. Her favorite stories are the Familiar Faces and Way Back When features and anything having to do with local history. She and Don enjoy taking their golf cart to downtown Winter Garden for dinner and to cruise Plant Street. Amy was born and raised in Winter Garden and loves that downtown has so many options for dining and shopping. Her favorite Winter Garden events are Spring Fever in the Garden and music festivals. She loves attending concerts and traveling.
LETICIA SILVA, STAFF WRITER
Leticia began working as a staff writer for the West Orange Times &
Observer since June 2025. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s in journalism December 2024. She loves learning more and more every day about every community in West Orange. She appreciates how everyone in these communities are so caring, loving and helpful. She’s grateful to be a part of such a wonderful team and community.
MEGAN BRUINSMA, STAFF WRITER
Following an eight-week summer internship, Megan joined the Observer full-time. She graduated from Florida Atlantic with a bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in sports studies. She grew up in East Orlando with her younger sister, and she’s excited to learn more about West Orange in this role. Her favorite part about journalism is hearing everyone’s stories and the uniqueness every day brings. Sports coverage is extra special to her, because the environment they bring is incredible. She played and watched sports growing up, so being able to report on them for a career is a dream.
IGGY COLLAZO, MULTIMEDIA SALES EXECUTIVE
Iggy has worked in advertising/ sales for more than 30 years and has been part of the Observer for more
than five years. Originally from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Iggy, her husband, Manny, and their three girls have lived in West Orange for six years now. Her favorite thing about West Orange is the sense of community that exists and that we get to help build through our weekly coverage. People, both inside and outside the business community, are genuine and kind. She said she truly loves that she gets to talk to people every day, help our business partners thrive, and work and play in the best communities in Central Florida.
MADI SOLOMON, MULTIMEDIA SALES EXECUTIVE
Madi joined the staff four months ago after graduating from the University of South Florida, where she majored in public relations and advertising. She was born and raised in Winter Garden, and she loves connecting with new people and helping local businesses share their stories. Her favorite thing about West Orange is the strong sense of community and the support she sees everywhere she goes. One of her favorite local spots is Urban on Plant, and she loves spending Saturday mornings at the Farmers Market. West Orange is such a special place to live and work because of the people who make it feel like home.
ALLISON BRUNELLE, ADVERTISING OPERATIONS MANAGER
Allison has been with the Observer for 10 years. She is married with two daughters and attended graduate school at UMASS — Amherst. As advertising operations manager, Allison is our “Wizard Behind the Curtain.” She loves all the details involved in what she does and enjoys every opportunity to interact with our readers. She enjoys wandering the shops on Plant Street and said Spring Fever in the Garden is her favorite Winter Garden event.
SARAH SANTIAGO, GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Sarah Santiago has been with the Observer for one-and-one-half years. She graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. She genuinely enjoys making clients happy and loves hearing positive feedback about the ad campaigns she creates. Her favorite local restaurant is La Hacienda in Ocoee, and she enjoys visiting the Winter Garden Farmers Market on Saturdays. This community is truly wonderful; everyone genuinely cares for one another, making it an excellent place to live and work.
Kassie Gustafson | Black + Bay Photography
GAME OF THE WEEK
Stefany Ortiz
After playing a role in Horizon’s Metro West Conference Champion title last season, senior setter Stefany Ortiz is back and leading her attackers with success. The team currently is ranked No. 34 in Florida.
In her past two years with the Hawks, she played outside hitter. Last season she had the secondmost aces, 34, and averaged 0.9 per game. Ortiz has adapted well in her new role and has fabulously set up her teammates with dimes to allow them to dominate against opponents.
Coach Ernest Rittenhouse described Ortiz as the quarterback of the team. She has put in extra work outside of practices to excel in her role. Ortiz, the team captain, is averaging 10.67 assists per set and has recored 23 aces through Sept. 4.
How does it feel to be named Athlete of the Week?
I feel so honored to be named Athlete of the Week . It’s a reminder that hard work does pay off. I’m also extremely proud of my
… Every girl has worked incredibly hard to get us to where we are right now.
What do you enjoy the most about volleyball?
I enjoy the social and bonding aspects of volleyball. I’m always grateful for my teammates and the relationships I have developed with them throughout the years.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned from volleyball?
“What is the most important play in volleyball? The next play. Focus on the next play.” I believe this is my coach’s favorite quote and definitely one of mine now. … I have been able to use this on the court but also outside of the court.
What is your favorite volleyball memory?
I don’t think it’s fair that I have to pick one (because) there are genuinely too many good memories. But one of my favorite volleyball memories would be winning the Metro West Conference Championship last year.
THE BASICS Age: 17 Sport: Volleyball Grade: Senior School: Horizon High School
Who is your favorite athlete?
Caitlin Clark (because) she managed to turn and accelerate the interest of women’s sports — but especially in basketball.
What is your go-to pre-game meal?
I love some Chick-fil-A to be honest!
What is your go-to pre-game hype song?
“Me or Sum” by Lil Baby and “Still Think About You” by A Boogie Wit da Hoodie.
What is your favorite non-sports hobby?
I enjoy hanging out with my friends and getting to meet new people.
What is your favorite subject?
Science, the only correct answer.
What are three things you would take with you to a deserted island?
My phone so I can still talk to people and not get FOMO. A mall so I can get food, go shopping and have a roof over my head. Money because I would definitely need it to buy food or at least to survive.
What is your favorite movie?
“Teen Beach 1” and “Teen Beach 2.” They have solid soundtracks, bring me nostalgia and are entertaining.
If you could have dinner with one person — dead or alive — who would it be?
Someone dead, I don’t know who but I think it would be cool if I had a dinner with someone dead.
If you could go back in time to a specific period in history, when and where would you go?
Probably the ’90s, everything that came from the ’90s, like the movies, is iconic. I would also love to see my parents during this time, I think it would be hilarious.
Looking back, what piece of advice would you give your Stop worrying about the future and just enjoy every moment you
If you could ask your future self a question, what would it be? Are you still very nostalgic about every single thing in
Who is your favorite super-
My parents because they’re the best thing that has happened to me. I guess they always managed
Who is your favorite supervil-
My dog because he’s a little crazy, but he’s still my favorite.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
To get ready in under 10 minutes or teleportation, so I can’t be late to anything ever and I could just
Does pineapple belong on No. I’ve honestly never tried it, but I don’t think I want to try it.
— MEGAN BRUINSMA
Foundation Academy (3-1) at Jupiter Christian (3-1)
Their greatness, His glory
Foundation Academy’s newest head coach, Daniel White, fully has embraced the role with the backing of the school’s staff.
MEGAN BRUINSMA STAFF WRITER
Life doesn’t always go according to plan, and that’s OK. It’s rare for plans to always come to fruition. Going with the flow and listening to what others recommend is part of the journey.
That’s the story for Daniel White, former Apopka High School player and now head coach of Foundation Academy’s football team.
During his time as a University of Alabama at Birmingham player, his eyes were set on the NFL, like most college football players. Years ago, he didn’t envision his life leading him down the road of coming back home to a local high school and becoming its head coach, but that’s exactly where God led him.
White now steps into his new role at Foundation Academy with the backing of all the staff at the school, who all share school spirit and a vision of producing this year.
STRONG SUPPORT
White officially took on the new role in January and, in his first few months, has realized the importance of having a strong, supportive staff and administration team to fuel success. The team’s started off this season 3-1, after finishing last year 5-5.
“One thing that I think I always knew but it really hits home now being a head coach is the fact that you can’t do this thing alone; you need people and you need good people,” White said. “I’ve been really blessed and really fortunate to have some really good coaches.”
He said the staff surrounding him have fully supported him with learning the ropes of becoming a head coach and transitioning into the role. It’s not only the athletic department that plays a vital role in assisting White but also the administrative team.
“(They) know me and my vision for the program … and I just understand that I’m not doing this by myself,” he said.
The whole process has been a blessing — especially after his father was hired as the associate head coach.
When White accepted the head coaching position, he advocated for his father to become a part of the coaching staff. A large reason White took the role was to come back closer to home to be around his family and loved ones, so when the opportunity came about to get his father on staff, he leaped at it.
His father’s been a longtime deacon and served as White’s spiritual adviser. To be in the head coaching position, White knew he needed his father around to keep him grounded, encouraged and to continue to grow his faith and journey with Christ.
“I needed my dad there by my side, so it’s been a joy,” he said.
Foundation Academy is set on building the same motto for all students, which is “All in.” It’s following the Colossians 3:17 scripture in the Bible. White said it’s the model the school came up with, not something originating in the football world.
BACKING OF THE LORD
First and foremost, Foundation Academy’s program is built on the back of Christ, White said. The Lions want to develop young men with great character who become pillars and staples in the commu-
nity. The last focus is producing championships.
“We understand that we represent Jesus Christ, but Jesus was a winner and we want to win as well, so that’s what we’re about,” White said. “That’s what this program is built on, whether win, lose or draw.”
To him, the most rewarding part of his new job hasn’t been the amount of wins or losses the team has produced, but rather the moments when he gets to see players change and find their life with God.
Two weeks ago, the team had a player who wanted to give his life to Christ.
“That’s the real win for me, to be able to lead these young men who may not know Christ for themselves, want to give their life and follow after Christ,” White said.
The athletics department’s specific motto is “Our greatness, His glory.”
“We may get the credit in the newspapers and on social media, but at the end of the day, we owe it all back to God, because He’s the one who gives us the ability to do what we do,” White said.
White credits the team’s success to the players, the young men who have bought into the culture being developed at Foundation Academy. He said the team still isn’t where it needs to be and it has a long way to go, but the players have been answering the call.
“They’ve done an outstanding job of playing to the best of their ability and honoring God doing so,” White said. “It’s a long season, and they’re continuously working on growing and developing into better athletes.
SHAPED FROM THE PAST
White played at UAB as a linebacker from 2009 to 2013, and it was there he found his life’s journey through the players, coaches, administrators and trainers he met.
“The people that I’ve met … paved the way and gave me the opportunity that I’m faced with today — whether that’s here at Foundation or that was my time at the college level, at the various stops I had,” White said. “UAB really shaped the man I am today.”
At college, he had three main instances that truly taught and shaped him in valuable ways.
The first was during White’s freshman year. He enrolled in January 2009 at UAB as a true freshman. During his first, and only, 8 a.m. class the professor wrote on the board every day, “Success is when preparation meets opportunity.”
WEEK FOUR SCHEDULE
Games kick off at 7 p.m. unless noted
FRIDAY, SEPT. 12
n CFCA (2-0) vs. Saint Stephen’s Episcopal (1-3)* n Dr. Phillips (2-1) at Ocoee (3-0) n Foundation Academy (3-1) at Jupiter Christian (3-1), 6:30 p.m. kickoff* n Horizon (2-1) vs. Forest (1-1)* n Lake Buena Vista (2-1) vs. Oak Ridge (1-2)* n Ocoee (3-0) vs. Dr. Phillips (2-1) n Olympia (0-3) at Timber Creek (2-1) n The First Academy (1-2) at Eau Gallie (2-1) n West Orange (3-0) at Boone (3-0) n Windermere (3-0) at University (0-3)* n Windermere Prep (2-0) at Faith Christian (1-2) * District game
The second lesson was when he was kicked off the team for the second time at UAB. White said an older gentleman shared with him that he only had academics left, which is when he began to take his classes more seriously.
After the old coaching staff was fired, White had the opportunity to rejoin the football team because he stayed in shape and kept his grades up. He’s grateful for the staff, especially head coach Garrick McGee.
“(McGee) and his staff, they really opened my eyes to becoming a coach,” White said.
White’s defensive coordinator, Reggie Johnson, called him into the office one day. They sat down and had a conversation about what White’s future might look like, since it was his senior season. His one and only plan was to play in the NFL. Johnson suggested White should look into coaching for a plan B.
“I guess I was a little dismissive just because I was so focused and I was so sure of myself making it to the NFL,” White said. “But when that didn’t happen, God brought me into coaching.”
UAB’s staff is what helped to propel White on his coaching journey, leading him to Warner College, Morehead State University, Delaware State University, and now back to his hometown and with Foundation Academy.
“I don’t know what class that was and that was the only 8 a.m. class I ever took and that just stuck with me for the rest of my life,” White said.
Thomas Lightbody | TK Photography
Julia Brooks
In Daniel White’s first year as the head coach of Foundation Academy, he’s felt tremendous support from the entirety of the schools’ staff.
THE WAYS WE WERE FROM THE WINTER GARDEN HERITAGE FOUNDATION
120 years ago
A.B. Newton started The Ricochet newspaper in Winter Garden.
85 years ago
A military flag dedication, a ceremony seldom witnessed by persons not connected with military service, was held at Ocoee Trade School. The flag was donated by Florida’s only general, Charles P. Summerall.
80 years ago
Walker Field was being improved with an additional 540 new seats, 180 of which will be reserved. The total seating capacity would be 740.
75 years ago
Lakeview High graduates Curtis Pickens, Ray Fleming and Carroll Dickinson went to Tampa for a physical examination with a goal of enlistment in the U.S. Coast Guard. Selby Burch, a junior at Florida Southern College, also made the trip.
55 years ago
The Magnolia Special Education Center for mentally trainable children began occupying almost the entire facilities of the former Charles R. Drew Jr.-Sr. High School. Margaret Warner was principal. The center formerly was housed in the old Marks Street Elementary School in Orlando.
The Drive-In church on Winter Garden-Ocoee Road celebrated its 17th birthday with the organizing minister, the Rev. D. Victor Hitchcock, bringing the message.
The Junior Service League announced a new collection of recipes was available. Like the first cookbook, “Cook and Tell,” it was made up of a variety of recipes from West Orange-area residents as well as the league’s active, past-active and sustaining members.
50 years ago
James “Butch” Bryant, president of J. & J. Trucking Company of Dade City, purchased Killarney Fruit
Company’s packing house on West Highway 50 in Killarney. It was built in 1942 by Gus Hall.
45 years ago
The Ocoee Recreation Department tennis champs were Jerry Mask, Men’s Singles; Mask and Mike Gant, Men’s Doubles; John McGuire and Sheila McGuire, Mixed Doubles; Sara Benson, Women’s Singles; and Gant, 16-and-Under Singles. Orange County’s 911 emergency
telephone system, the first of its kind in the world, went into service.
35 years ago
Camie Ogren, a 17-year-old junior at West Orange High School, competed in the National Disabled WaterSki Championships in Michigan and won first place in slalom, trick and jump. She also won first place overall in the lag amputee division.
The twin towers of the World Trade Center might not have been located in West Orange County, but many residents living here have direct connections to the tragedy that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001. They remember watching the horror unfold on their television screens, or right outside their windows, and the unspeakable images that flashed before their eyes. They remember loved ones who died in an instant.
Three local municipalities, Winter Garden (left), Ocoee and Windermere have created 9-11 memorials from metal scrapped from the destruction in New York City. Twenty-five years on, we refuse to forget; our memories are indelible and important. As historians, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation documents your lives, your milestones, your memories and your accomplishments. Write down your stories and share them with the history center for posterity. And never forget.
The mission of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is to preserve the heritage and architecture of Winter Garden while creating new cultural experiences. The Foundation also preserves the material culture of West Orange County, using it to educate the area’s youth on the community’s rich history.
30 years ago
Movies at the West Orange 5 in Ocoee: “The Prophecy,” “Something to Talk About,” “Desperado,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Dangerous Minds” and “The Amazing Panda Adventure.”
20 years ago
Ocoee High School held its first home football game, and the firstdown marker was the one used for games at the original Ocoee High School.
THROWBACK
SEPT. 11, 1975 THE WINTER GARDEN TIMES
TelePrompTer was an independent media company, in competition with Cablevision, that offered television viewers the chance to watch more than just the Big Three national commercial broadcast networks. Some markets even offered the Home Box Office service. The local market advertised in The Winter Garden Times an exciting lineup of cable shows for the fall “Superseason II”: movies, such as “The Razor’s Edge,” “Dorian Gray” and “Bluebeard”; action shows, such as “The Mod Squad,” “The Untouchables” and “Star Trek”; and comedies such as “The Three Stooges,” Leave it to Beaver,” “Mickey Mouse Club” and “The Brady Bunch.” Of course, network television still provided the regular shows, such as “The Invisible Man,” “Swiss Family Robinson,” “Starsky & Hutch” and “Chico and the Man.” The cable company was located on East Cypress Street in Winter Garden.
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DOUBLE THE FUN by Prasanna Keshava, edited by Jared Goudsmit
By Luis Campos
Join Us in Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
From September 15 to October 15, Lake Apopka Natural Gas District
(LANGD) joins the nation in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. This observance serves as an opportunity to honor the countless ways Hispanic and Latino individuals have shaped our history, and we’re proud to reflect on the remarkable impact Hispanic leaders have made in the energy industry, especially in advancing safe, reliable and affordable natural gas for all.
From early trailblazers who helped advance natural gas technologies to present-day leaders shaping the future of energy choice, Hispanic and Latino professionals have undoubtedly left an indelible mark on America’s energy landscape.
Federico Peña, for example, became the first Hispanic U.S. Secretary of Energy when he was appointed under the Clinton administration. During his tenure, Peña led over 15,000 federal employees, developed the Clinton administration’s Comprehensive National Energy Strategy and oversaw the largest privatization in the history of the U.S. Government. Olga D. González-Sanabria is also a Hispanic energy trailblazer. A Puerto Rican scientist and engineer at NASA, she played a key role in developing technology that powers the International Space Station, and her groundbreaking work in energy storage technology has influenced how we think about reliability, durability and efficiency.
Organizations like Hispanics In Energy, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Community for the Advancement of Latinos at the Department of Energy are also paving the way for the next generation of Hispanic and Latino leaders in the industry. Their work and the work of countless others has driven
innovation and helped ensure that all communities can rely on dependable and cost-effective energy solutions.
Today, natural gas remains a key driver of energy affordability and resilience, helping families and businesses save money and stay powered. This reliability is especially important for communities that face higher energy burdens.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reports that Latino households spend, on average, 20% more of their income on energy compared to non-Hispanic white households. That’s why LANGD is proud to connect our customers to energy assistance programs like LANGD’s Helping Hand Fund and other state and federally funded programs, to ensure that comfort and safety remain within reach for everyone we serve.
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the District, we invite our neighbors to join in this nationwide observance by learning more about Hispanic history and the achievements of Hispanic leaders in industries like ours. Their stories inspire our mission and reinforce the importance of providing safe, reliable and affordable natural gas that meets the needs of every community we serve.
BAPTIST
First Baptist Church Pastor Tim Grosshans 125 E. Plant St, Winter Garden (407) 656-2352
Sundays: 8:30 AM Traditional 9:45 AM Bible Study 11 AM Contemporary Wednesdays: 6 PM Awana
2nd Campus: First Baptist Church @ Horizon West 15304 Tilden Road, Winter Garden
Sundays: 9:45 AM All Ages www.FBCWG.org
Starke Lake Baptist Church Pastor Jeff Pritchard PO Box 520 611 W Ave., Ocoee (407) 656-2351 www.StarkeLakeBaptist.org
Victory Baptist Church & Christian Academy 1601 A.D. Mims Rd, Ocoee FL 34761 (407) 656-3097 www.VBCOCOEE.com
Sunday: 11AM & 6 PM Wednesday: 7 PM
For more information about LANGD and how natural gas can power your home or business, visit www. langd.org or call (407) 656-2734.
Be sure to like, follow and re-share LANGD’s content on Facebook.
