Reece Caraker Jr.

After retuning home from the Army I went to work at Ace Hardware at Southgate, met my wife, she worked next door at Ligget-Touchton Rexall drug store. We were married July 1, 1968. I left there and worked in Beverage sales for 22 years, changed jobs in 1990 and went to work for PCSB in the Paint Shop retiring June 30, 2012. My three older girls attended Kathleen High School. Connie had a class with Ray Lewis. Denise, my youngest attended Lakeland High School and graduated in 2003, forty years after we did. Denise was in Miss Haley's class after graduation she attended FSU and majored in creative writing and how to bankrupt Daddy. Donna is an IT manager with Publix, Cynthia works in accounting for a firm in Seffner and Connie worked at Marriot Vacation Club for 19 years and was an Internet Facilitator when she left. She now resides in Ellijay GA. She is working for Home Depot.Denise the youngest is Regional Assistant for Justice Clothing in Tampa. She is currently enrolled at FSC working on her MBA.

Denise and her boyfriend both graduated from the FSC MBA program on Dec. 19, 2015. Denise finished with a 4.0 and was inducted into one of the honor societies.

Worked at my mothers store and did a few odd jobs that summer after graduation. Decided to join the Army and went down and pre-enlisted shortly before my eighteenth birthday. Right after I was on my way to Jacksonville for induction and then on to Fort Jackson S. C. for zero week. Uniform fitting, testing etc. Then to Fort Gordon GA for basic training. I had enlisted to go to Air Defense Missile school at Fort Bliss Texas on the outskirts of El Paso. Near the end of school I was called out of formation to get a dental appointment slip. On the bottom of the slip in red indelible pencil in parentheses is was written, (THULE). I tried to pronounce the word as "Thool", the corporal corrected me and said it was "Toolee". I ask where is that, "Up North" he replied. It is as I found out Thule, Greenland. It is approximately 750 miles above the Artic Circle. One year later I returned to the states and was stationed in the St. Louis Air Defense Command. I returned to Lakeland in September of 1966 after my separation from active duty.

I remember evening band practice 10th. grade when Mr. Munafo was band director, everyone started a big row like we were having fights and Mr. Munafo called the police or perhaps one of the neighbors did but when they showed up we all got in formation just like nothing had happened and Mr. Munafo was trying to explain why they were called out.