Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 42
It's likely most everyone around town is familiar with Junior's Fish Market as much for owners Mike and Lisa Montella as the fresh-off-the-boat fish and seafood and prepared meals. The market is in a high visibility location at 1341 SR 60 East, across from Racetrac. Lake Wales has its share of distinctive personalities, but when it comes to Junior's, Mike, is as personable and friendly as they get. Whether you come to Junior's to select from their ample showcases of fish,...
During these trying times when businesses are struggling to reinvent themselves to adhere to both Governor decrees and social norms as well as keeping six feet between employees, owners and managers there is indeed a delicate balance that a tight rope walker would even find unnerving. Restaurant owners and managers have adapted. Good Eats is about getting the word out to the public on who is open and providing curbside and online ordering options as well as working with the...
"...there's magic in my eyes. I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles." Song: "I Can See for Miles," The Who, 1967, (Pete Townsend) Album: The Who Sell Out Marty and Linda's '57 Chevy finally was pried from his garage and is now on consignment at Streetside Classics in Lutz near Wesley Chapel. We're hoping that it will sell and relocate to a new owner's garage before the 90-day exclusive contract he signed last Tuesday expires. From the looks of Streetside's...
"Out on the streets of a runaway American dream. At night, we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines. ...We gotta get out while we're young 'cause...baby, we were born to run." Song: "Born to Run," Bruce Springsteen, 1975 Album: Born to Run Prefacing Florida Pickers (FP) with song lyrics provides a theme and a tune to replay in my mind while writing. I manage an antique and vintage vinyl shop so this is a perfect way to showcase some of our great music for sale in...
"I'm back. Back in the saddle again." Song: "Back in the Saddle" Aerosmith, 1976 Album: Rocks Hello Everyone. For those that don't know exactly what Florida Pickers is now is the perfect time to find out. This is my own conception, a concoction of mixing antiques and advertising, as a way of making potentially lucrative and beneficial connections. It began a few years ago as video snippets I posted regularly on Facebook. I simplified it into a written piece with photos about...
Creating the menu for Granny's Kitchen, Stephanie (Granny) and husband Bob chose from the many experiences Bob could draw on having owned several successful restaurants featuring New England seafood. One of the specialties of the house is New England Clam Chowder, Bob's own recipe, that has won multiple awards in Newport, Rhode Island. Stephanie is the more outgoing personality, and loves marketing. She worked 25 years in sales and customer relations in Virginia. Stephanie...
Sea Eye Custom Picture Framing is a Lake Wales' best kept secret at the moment. Located within the Park Avenue Executive Suites at 244 East Park Ave., it is not well known except to a handful of friends and satisfied customers, as well as frequent patrons of the adjacent Melange Antiques and Art Gallery at 250 East Park Avenue. The two businesses have been functionally symbiotic until the Covid outbreak, which caused Melange to close until the lockdown is lifted. The unique...
Yesterday's Treasures owners Betty and William (Bill) Schermerhorn have collected for over 50 years mostly in New York state, and many of those finds are displayed and for sale at their shop in a house located at 125 W. Park Ave. a few blocks west of the Lake Wales Post Office. For any of you who know the place, but haven't stopped to look, you are in for a visual and virtual walk down memory lane. "We have an eclectic assortment of treasures from yesterday's past," says...
Lake Wales Highlanders head coach Tavaris Johnson was voted the 2019 Buccaneers High School Coach of the Year contest from an elite field of weekly winners representing seven counties of area high schools. To qualify Coach Johnson won Week Ten's Coach of the Week, and through a voting process, came out on top to win the prestigious award over the other ten nominees. The program is sponsored by Tampa Electric (TECO) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation. Johnson is the...
On the heels of a sale yesterday of a 1971 VW kit car featured in a previous Florida Pickers column in addition to the sale last week of a rare 1936 Buick Roadmaster I immediately began searching for new listings of old classic cars to fill the void and generate future sales and stories. Then I found this 1968 Chevy Camaro survivor, blast from the past online. I called and made an appointment with owner Tim to scope out his original Camaro convertible in showroom condition. A...
Mission Statement: Lake Wales Care Center is a faith-based community service organization which demonstrates Christ's love by building bridges between people in need and people with a desire to serve. When you read and comprehend the Care Center's directive Kathryn's Christian Books makes total sense. It's about providing "the local dad who brings his daughter in to get ice cream, and help her with her homework," says store co-manager Lauren Wilkinson. "Or the businesswoman,"...
With 10 players out with the flu the week of their Regional Final against Tampa Jesuit including star quarterback, Eric Williams, the Lake Wales Highlanders gave it their best effort against all odds. In a sport where injuries cause coaches to get creative illness isn't often a factor as it was in last Friday's game. Incidentally, it just happened to be the most important game of the season. In a lopsided Class 5A High School final the formerly undefeated Highlanders finally...
If you are are in the market for buying an existing business with plenty of goodwill and lots of potential look no further than Steve Seisel's Polk Furniture Store. A bargain at $16,500 Steve says the store is so well known he never has to go out and search for inventory. People call him, often "two or three time a day," says Seisel. "As far as I know I am the only consignment shop in Winter Haven." While that may or not be totally accurate it doesn't matter because in my own...
And then there were eight. Of the eight teams remaining with the prospect of being crowned the FHSAA 5A State High School Football champion our own Lake Wales team is very much in the hunt. Next up at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at home are the Tampa Jesuit Tigers, 10-2, opposing the undefeated Highlanders in a 5A regional final. Lake Wales is 12-0 after running over Port Orange Atlantic, ending the Sharks season last Friday in front of a boisterous partisan, standing room only,...
To rock or not to rock. That is the question. I wish I could say I vividly recall my grandma knitting in her rocking chair as a prominent childhood memory. But I can't. Neither of my grandmothers knitted, and neither one rocked. Or did they? Chances are pretty good they actually did rock because for hundreds of years rocking chairs were considered "the most popular furniture," according to wallswithstories.com. Nearly everyone had one; nursery, glider, spring, swivel,...
To rock or not to rock. That is the question. I wish I could say I vividly recall my grandma knitting in her rocking chair as a prominent childhood memory. But I can't. Neither of my grandmothers knitted, and neither one rocked. Or did they? Chances are pretty good they actually did rock because for hundreds of years rocking chairs were considered "the most popular furniture," according to wallswithstories.com. Nearly everyone had one; nursery, glider, spring, swivel,...
"Corvette" was an old term used to describe small warships that were first used in the 1670s by the French Navy. How it ended up the name for the model destined to become the fifth longest running automobile ever produced, sandwiched between the Toyota Land Cruiser (1951) and Mercedes SL (1954), is the subject for another column. In case you wondered, the Chevrolet Suburban, still in production, which made the scene in 1933, is the oldest auto in production today. Because spor...
Lake Wales is home to attorney Flora "Tonya" Stewart where she lives with her husband, Sam, and three children ages 3, 8 and 10. But she works here, too, and operates Tonya Stewart Law, P.A. from an office located at her 1924 downtown building purchased in 2017 at 229 E. Park Ave. in Lake Wales. She also has an office in West Polk County at 1102 Florida Ave. S., Lakeland. Her phone number is 863-279-4473. Why use Stewart and her law firm? She says she is a "compassionate...
Mike Hora from Spring Hill says of the Tri-Five ('55, '56, '57) Tbird two-seaters, "Greatest car ever, at least that's what I've specialized in over the last 20 some odd years," Mike relates. "I've made lots of money and enjoyed working on them, too." He adds, "In fact I'm in Punta Gorda looking at a 1955 [Thunderbird] right now." John Durning from Longwood has lovingly named his '57 Tbird, Roscoe. "I've had this car since '68. Mechanically sound, stripped to bare metal and...
When Harry Met Henry... Well, not exactly. Because if in 1978 Harry J. Shay had actually met THE Henry Ford things may have turned out differently for Harry and his Model A & Model T Motor Car Reproduction Corp. (later changed to Shay Motors Corp.), and his better idea of teaming up with Ford to purchase Pinto powertrain and chassis, and more importantly, the use of thousands of dealerships to sell his anniversary Model A roadsters. In the early 70s he began building a prototy...
Stop in and be a part of Michele's fun crafting community at the new Krafty Kitten. The shop offers over 10,000 rubber stamps along with dies and the latest in cutting equipment. All their fabulous tools are available to use so let your inner artist shine! The Krafty Kitten invites Lake Wales Chamber members and guests to their Grand Opening event from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23. Ribbon cutting is at 5:30 p.m. Please RSVP by calling 813-546-2200. If you want to craft but are...
On a recent trip to Sebring I already knew that the city that hosts the world famous "Twelve Hours of Sebring" races each Spring would be the perfect hunting ground for classic and exotic cars. What brought me to Highlands County was a 1938 Chevrolet Master Deluxe belonging to Nestor Peralta, who had decided to part with his longtime ride that in the good times tooled around New York state with his father at the helm and family in tow. The coupe had been in a fire and...
Welcome everyone to Florida Pickers (FP)! This is my first submission to appear in this publication as a weekly column. What is FP? Well, let's just say up to now it has been a hobby of mine that not only fulfills my desire to not only find cool stuff, often in the form of classic vehicles, but also to visit places around The Sunshine State and meet interesting people with stories to tell. Although we are a Lake Wales publication my goal is to travel around in my 2003 Mazda...
Wilena and Courtney Vreeland of the 400 block of East Johnson Avenue knew something was amiss when their cherished pet, "Tyger" didn't show up his morning feeding. Having just started the search for their missing feline, a neighbor related having heard a loud disturbance in the early morning hours which only added to their apprehension. "We knew something was terribly wrong," said "Willie" Vreeland. "He's always there like clockwork waiting at the back step for his...
THE LODGE, Winter Haven "Right now we have two levels of office space-private office, and there's 10 of those-or you're a general coworker, and you can use any of the common areas that aren't being used at the time," relates Meghan D. Young, special projects manager with SixTen LLC, the real estate developer who has recently opened The Lodge, www.thelodgewinterhaven.com, at the former Elks Lodge site, hence the name, to join the many new coworking businesses cropping up in com...
