Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Although it's only early November, hundreds of people from Lake Wales and far beyond are preparing for the area's biggest festival of 2024. The 40th annual Lake Wales Mardi Gras celebration will reach a climax on the busy weekend of February 10 when more than a dozen parade "krewes" will step off in colorful costumes and festooned floats to present the annual parade, the traditional high-point of weeks of celebration. "Mardi Gras" is French for "fat Tuesday," the day before...
A CRA grant will help a local not-for-profit save an aging historic building that serves as an important civic space in downtown Lake Wales. The Lake Wales Woman's Club was awarded a $50,000 grant that will help the 100-year-old organization pay for a new roof for their auditorium at 275 East Park Avenue. The funds will also help remediate mold, according to CRA staff. The grant meets three of the goals cited in the Lake Wales Connected plan recommendations, Assistant City...
New life is being breathed into a significant building in the historic center of Lake Wales after actions taken by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday. The city commission, sitting as the CRA board, also agreed to a new loan program to help local investors fund the renovation of five downtown retail units. "This is new, this is the first one," CRA Executive Director James Slayton said of the $100,000 loan toward a First Street property owned by Tammy and S...
The big issue before the voters in the Lake Wales area in 1923 was whether Polk County should opt in to the new state policy of requiring that farm animals be fenced in. Prior to that time in most of Florida, residents fenced their yards and gardens to keep unwanted animals, especially cattle, out. The issue became more serious with the popularity of the automobile after hundreds were killed in crashes involving cattle wandering onto highways. Trains were equipped with "cow ca...
Robert Lee Whittemore of Lake Wales, passed away Wednesday, November 8, 2023 in the home that he built. Born January 21st, 1939 in Lake Wales, Robert was a Baptist, a retired diesel mechanic, and an amateur banjo picker. He loved reading, working with his hands, and being in nature. Robert was preceded in death by his parents TK Whittemore and Marie [Browning] Matchett. He is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Eunice Whittemore; his children Danny Whittemore (Rachel)...
A major resurfacing project is expected to disrupt traffic flow on US 27 during the coming months as contractors undertake improvements to about seven miles of the six-lane thoroughfare stretching from Waverly Road in Lake Wales north to Kokomo Road in Lake Hamilton. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the project involves removing and replacing the asphalt roadway surface, as well as reworking shoulders. The project also includes widening and adding a new...
