Seven

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

This is the group photograph taken at the 1938 Fourth of July picnic in Zellwood. The 1930 annual Fourth of July community picnic was delayed due to illness. On July 23, at 3:00 a.m., Reasley, James, and Gladys Vincent started cooking 103 pounds of pork. By 10:00 that morning, Zellwood’s citizens had converged at Rock Springs for contests on land and in the cold springwater. Appetites piqued, and the barbeque started at 1:00 p.m. (Courtesy of Laurie Marsell.)

Zellwood’s baseball squad, The Mudhens, played on a field off of Robinson Street. Fans perched on wooden bleachers under an oak tree. This 1940s photograph appeared in the Orlando Morning Sentinel. Shown here are, from left to right, (first row) W.B. Shiver, R.L. Schacht, manager Bob Potter, unidentified, Tommie Smith, and Harold Morton; (second row) Ellis Starbird, Jimmy Davis, Doug Fielder, Nelson Smith, Vernon Maltby, and Lester Harvey. (Courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel.)

The Apopka Little League won the Little League National Championship in 2001. The squad included three members from Zellwood (Will Blankenship, Justin LaFavors, and Andrew Cobb). Shown here are, from left to right, (first row) Blankenship, LaFavors, Cobb, Stuart Tapley, and Beau French; (second row) Josh Tanski, Jeff Lovejoy, Tyler Scanlon, Ryan Markelly, Brandon Brewer, and Zack Zwieg; (third row) Cal Ripkin Jr., coach Bobby Brewer, Ken Tapley, mayor John Land, Pres. George W. Bush, Richard Anderson, Phil Lamphere, and Jack Douglas. (Courtesy of LeRoy and Wanda Brown.)

Erline Bell designed this gown for her 1946 marriage to Wallace “Wally” McCormack. Neighbor Helen Letsinger first made the gown from a sheet. After a fitting, she reproduced it in satin as a gift. Money was tight. Lester Vincent declined a fee for decorating the church, and Mary Vincent served as wedding planner; “Miss Mary” never charged any bride for wedding-planning services. Pianist Evelyn Lovelady learned to play “Clair de Lune” for the wedding. (Courtesy of Erline Bell Chafin.)

A “Tom Thumb wedding” script came to Zellwood with Lydia Hoffman, a teacher from North Dakota who played piano and taught art. The participants pictured here are, from left to right, Sylvia Lister, Ella Mae Rice, Mary Carol Miller, Mary Howard, Peggy Simmons, Gary Potter, Richard Gardner, unidentified, Phillip Simons, Claxton Moore, and Ronnie Gardner. (Courtesy of Mary Wright.)

Martha Letsinger (left), Deloris Brown Lynch (center), and Ann White sang and tap-danced at the birthday party of C.M. Jones, which was held at the Orlando Coliseum on Lake Ivanhoe. The party’s attendees were transported by an 18-wheeler. The students of Harriet Jones performed in recitals at the Mount Dora Community Building, Zellwood Community Center, and school talent shows. (Courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel.)

This November 3, 1949, image shows the winners of a Youth Center “amateur contest” (as described on the back of the photograph). Pictured here are, from left to right, (first row) Bobby Holloway, Richard Gardner, Gary Potter, Jimmy Hobkirk, Foy C. Wise, Joy Vincent, Mary Agnes Howard, Edna Browning, Harry Bruce, unidentified, and Joan Bartlett; (second row) Glenda Bass, Evelyn Lovelady, Lester B. Vincent Sr., R.E. Haughey, and James A. Vincent. (WL.)

The community put on many plays in the 1980s under the direction of George and Roberta Kluhsmeier. In the above photograph, George (with moustache) poses in front of the cast of Avalanche of Adversity. Another popular production was Hoedown in Corn Town. George played a role in the Broadway production South Pacific before moving to Florida. The below photograph shows the Zellwood Players drama team, which originated in 1998. The team moved their productions to the vintage stage of the Zellwood Community Center in 2010. The outdoor Easter pageant has been held for over a decade at the community center. Zellwood Players consists of local townspeople with a desire to bring family entertainment to surrounding communities. The annual production of Cricket County, offering music and the true meaning of Christmas, is a real crowd-pleaser. (Below, courtesy of Hannah Brown Bloser.)

Zellwood exhibited annually at Orlando’s Central Florida Fair, claiming blue ribbons, trophies, and regularly winning Best Maintained Booth, an award named after Lester B. Vincent Sr., who was responsible for Zellwood’s booth for over 47 years, beginning in 1923. Assembling Zellwood’s display became a town-wide volunteer effort undertaken by everyone—from teenagers to octogenarians. Prize money from the fair sustained the community center. Most importantly, the booths showcased Zellwood’s wealth of resources. (Courtesy of Evelyn Vincent.)

In this early 1970s image, Mary Whitman Vincent (right) accepts the President’s Trophy and the Manager’s Blue Ribbon from Pete Parrish (left), president of the Central Florida Fair. The President’s Trophy, the highest honor at the Central Florida Fair, was awarded to the Zellwood booth for general excellence and the attractiveness of its homegrown and locally-manufactured products. (Courtesy of Becky Vincent Juvinall.)

In 1946, Zellwood residents wanted to build a youth center, and the town’s first fundraiser was the Little Miss Zellwood Contest. Elwood McHaffie placed a photograph of Honey Sheddan in McHaffie’s Grocery and collected penny votes, which won Sheddan the crown. Pictured here are, from left to right, (first row) Helen Davenport, Sheddan, and Joann Whitney; (second row) Marjorie Henderson, Julia Fern Haynes, Nellie Ruth Keith, Marguerite Vincent, Sue Elliott, and Daisy Allen. (Courtesy of Honey Sheddan Caldwell.)

Ladies from the Zellwood United Methodist Church gathered for fellowship while creating outstanding quilts. Some of their quilts were sent to the Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise, Florida. Other quilts were given to needy families, and some were sold for funds to continue the worthwhile service. Pictured here are, from left to right, Clifford Vincent Wicker, Byron Morton McCoy, Tessie Morton Owens, Gladys Cooper Vincent, unidentified, Betty Bell, Jessie Goolsby, Dorothy Edwards, and Annie Allen Vincent. (Courtesy of the Vincent family.)

Boy Scout Troop 639 is shown here enjoying a well-deserved camping trip. Zellwood’s Boy Scouts have been recognized for their community-improvement projects, including participation in the annual Conquest Cemetery Memorial Day Service, appreciation luncheons each December, numerous work days, and other activities throughout the community. (Courtesy of David Buchan.)

Some Zellwood scouts are pictured here in 2013 during a “Scout Sunday” at Zellwood United Methodist Church, which sponsored this troop. Pictured here are, from left to right, (front row) Jordan McKenna, Kallin Kimball, Adam Kauk, and Jameson McDevitt; (second row) leaders John and Ellen Heizman and Kim McGough; (third row) leader Joe Kauk, Tommy Oh, Zachary McGough, and leader Andre “Andy” Furbush; (fourth row) Dwight Doggett (liaison for scouts and ZUMC), leader John McDevitt, Alex Ameno, leader Nicola McKenna, and Johnson McDevitt. The Eagle Scouts in this picture include Adam Kauk, Kimball, Johnson McDevitt, Zachariah McGough, and Ameno. The Eagle Scouts not pictured are Shaun Buchan, Kyle Yates, Ian Yates, Joseph Heizman, Steven Kauk, and Trevor Furbush. (Courtesy of Hannah Brown Bloser.)

Kay Buchan was the leader of Girl Scout Troop 993 from 1987 through 1999. This group camped at Camp Mah-Kaw-Wee and other venues, including Buchan’s backyard in Zellwood. In 1992, these girls rolled Easter eggs on the White House lawn. They are, from left to right, Neecy Gorden Burch, Tonya Holderfield, Bobbi Clark Arbogast, Lauren Choi, Margaret Clark, Jessica Manley, and Janet Buchan Russell. (Courtesy of Kay Buchan.)

The Girl Scout organization has been represented in Zellwood since the early 1920s. In this 1932 image, Girl Scouts pause during a six-mile hike led by troop captain Estelle King. Afterward, they were treated to a weekend of fun and activities hosted by William and Isobel Edwards at their home on the Laughlin Estate. (JFB.)

The Northwest Orange County Improvement Association (NOCIA) was organized in 1968 when area residents were concerned about the government rezoning land at the expense of surrounding property owners. That same year, 600 people attended the first NOCIA corn boil, which evolved into the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival. Each year, the crowd grew larger. John Anderson (above) and other Nashville talents entertain the crowds at the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival, and arts and crafts vendors remain a huge attraction. NOCIA has made donations over the years to worthwhile organizations whose volunteers worked at the corn festival. (Above, courtesy of NOCIA; left, courtesy of Carol Adkins.)

BMX Action, a California-based magazine, touted Zellwood’s BMX practice track as one of the nation’s best. In 1983, Tom Miller (pictured)—with help from his father, Paul Miller—started the track with 40 truckloads of clay on a site east of the post office on Zellwood Community Center property. In 1984, Zellwood native Rex Roberson pitched in at the track. BMX professional Todd Corbitt, from Apopka, brought national attention to Zellwood’s BMX practice track. (Courtesy of Tom Miller.)

Zellwood Garden Club was federated by the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs in 1960. The club’s purposes are to encourage gardening, protect birds, promote conservation, and beautify Florida. The members shown here in the 1990s were given tools as part of the officer installation ceremony. The members are, from left to right, Liz Bragg, Dorothy Jacobus, Sara Eure, Jackie Goins, Sue Hazelwood, Helene Shannon, Rosa Lee Ondich, and Jean Haskins. Annual club activities include decorating the post offices, recognizing home gardeners, planting trees, and holding a Christmas raffle. (Courtesy of Zellwood Garden Club.)

In 1954, concerned citizens raised money to purchase Zellwood’s first fire truck, which was parked behind Zellwood Truck Stop. Lester Bill Vincent was the first volunteer fire chief. The fire department was manned entirely by community volunteers. When the alarm sounded, all available men rushed to put out the fire. Later, the volunteer fire department collected money to construct the building shown here. It is still in use today. (Courtesy of Becky Vincent Juvinall.)

In 1993, the Zellwood Community Center dedicated a plaque to commemorate Col. T. Ellwood Zell, principal founder of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). Zell and two “companions” founded MOLLUS in Zell’s Philadelphia office while preparing for the funeral cortège of Pres. Abraham Lincoln. Zell was the second person to sign MOLLUS’s original document. These “companions” accompanied Lincoln’s body on the train to Illinois for burial in 1865. John Philip Sousa wrote “The Loyal Legion March” in honor of MOLLUS. The plaque’s location—at the entry of Zellwood Community Center and Zellwood Historical Society, Museum, and Library—is especially appropriate, because Zell was devoted to literary interests. (Courtesy of Dwight Doggett.)

Redlands Christian Migrant Association’s Zellwood branch, at 3109 Union Street, opened in 1981. Alma Canahuate, teacher of one- and two-year olds, is pictured here. With twenty teachers, a cook, maintenance workers, and three office workers, RCMA serves children aged two weeks through pre-kindergarten. This nonprofit, nonsectarian organization’s program is offered from November through May. (Courtesy of Odemaris Reuter.)

A motorist heading southeast from Jones Avenue on Highway 441 in the 1940s would pass these buildings on the east (upper) side: the post office and Stewart’s Sundries building; the two-story mercantile, Bateman’s general store and Greyhound bus stop (behind the post office); a rental cottage; a grocery store; Stenstrom’s barber shop, a gas station run by Asa Reeves; Claude Jones’s Sun State dry-goods store; Rainer’s rental cabins and two-story apartments (diagonal to 441); and the Zellwood Coffee Shop. On the west side of Orange Blossom Trail were the train depot, with Leonard Stewart’s house behind the depot (lower left), and the Bee Hive (lower right). (Courtesy of Betty Uptagraft.)