Richard “Dick” Thomas (Tampa, FL) Richard was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1942 and spent a couple years in Atlantic City, New Jersey when his dad was in Coast Guard Radio School and a few years in Ketchican, Alaska where his Dad was also stationed.  When his dad was discharged in 1945, the family moved to Oakes Rd, Brecksville, Ohio.

His sister Jane was born on June 20, 1945. The family home was at 5409 Oakes Rd until Richard and Jane graduated from College. Both Richard and his sister got married in 1966 and have 2 children each roughly, the same ages.

He attended Brecksville School for all 12-1/2 years in the same building. He spent pre-teen years riding bicycles around the neighborhood, was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout & Explorer –camping, etc. He joined DeMolay and played DeMolay intramural basketball. Dick had a paper route most of the time during Jr & Hi. School (Cleveland News and Plain Dealer). He learned to drive in family’s 1936 Ford pickup truck in the field behind their house and he also customized a 1951 Ford a couple times. He was in the school band (trumpet), a Dixieland pep band for several years, and a dance band for a while. He also played violin in the orchestra. Richard was in the Purdue All-American marching band for 2 years –military band alternative to ROTC.

He attended Purdue University; non-fraternity; band; worked in residence hall snack bar, sorority dining room and lived in private housing mostly with Jim Harwood and others. Richard co-op’d in Chemical Engineering, working every other semester at Sohio, downtown Cleveland, then at the BFG Research Center in Brecksville. It took 5 years, so he graduated in 1965 at the same time as Carol, a cute Pi Phi he met at Purdue. He took a job at BFG Chemical Company vinyl chloride plant in Calvert City, Kentucky –on the Tennessee River just downstream from Kentucky Dam, which is what holds back the water for Kentucky Lake. Carol and Richard got married in July 1966 and she became the Manager of the Student Union Cafeteria at Murray State University until 1970.

In 1967, the union at BFG went on strike for 6 months so he worked in the plant 12-hr days, 7 days a week for the 6 months, taking home triple size checks. At the end of the strike, salaried people took trips, bought new cars, etc. Richard and Carol bought a little house on a waterfront lot on Kentucky Lake. He progressed to Sr. Engineer working in several departments’ technical groups then he “retired” in 1974.

Their son, Richard, Jr. was born in 1970, not too long after Richard’s parents died of cancer. Richard, Jr. got his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue. He eventually moved to Florida to work for Energizer, got his MBA at University of Florida and then got into telecom financial analysis businesses. He met his wife, Tanya, at Purdue. They have two cute kiddies in Tampa, Florida.

In 1971, Carol found a little old 4 room house in Aurora, Kentucky, about 5 miles from their home. It had a well with a bucket and an outhouse out back –that was all the “plumbing” but it did have a TV tower on the roof with an electric rotator. In 1972, they opened The Brass Lantern Restaurant with 75 seats in the little remodeled house. They eventually expanded to 200 seats after a couple significant additions and became the first restaurant in Kentucky, west of Louisville, to be rated as high as Three Star (Mobile Travel Guide). The restaurant was internationally advertised in Gourmet Magazine for 10 years. Carol worked the dining room and gift shop and Richard worked the kitchen and office. Open 9months a year, dinner only, specializing in filet mignon, prime rib, lobster tail and bistro specials. He was President of the Kentucky Restaurant Association one year and became active in the Marshall County Tourist Commission (Treasurer) for twenty-some years.

Their daughter Jennifer (Jenny) was born in 1975. She got her BFA in ceramics at Ole Miss. She tried that career for a year then moved to Atlanta. She worked in a few restaurants, for a Headhunter, and then decided she wanted to be an interior decorator. Jenny opened a retail home décor shop, then another one, then closed them both and continues to decorate for her clients.  Jennifer and her husband Clay Warner have a newborn daughter.

In 2002, Richard and Carol sold the restaurant and retired after 31 seasons. They have been going back and forth to Tampa (Rich) and Atlanta (Jenny) and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico every February. Over the years, they traveled with and without their kids to Europe, the Caribbean, parts of the US & Mexico. They have had a timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexaco for about 14 years. Since they have been retired, they are home in Kentucky about 45% of the time (he keeps track). In the late 60’s and 70’s they had various boats and enjoyed water ski-ing and sailing until the restaurant took all their free time.

In 2007, on one of their trips to Tampa, they stopped in at The Villages to check it out.  Long story short: they bought a home in The Villages. Their new back yard is at the landing zone of tee shots on the 2nd fairway of one of the 12 country club courses (boink!). Rickard started learning to play golf after he recovered from t-boning an out-of-control SUV in 2002.
In April, 2009 Carol’s kidneys gave up and she is on dialysis until a kidney transplant comes up.  That has been a real education.

They have had rental properties off and on over the years and are down to one rental house in Atlanta and their house in The Villages until they move. Richard and Carol had their Kentucky waterfront home on the market since right after the market crashed. They sell on EBay and have yard sales with all of their accumulated stuff of 40+ years in Kentucky. With Carol’s kidney situation, they will be renting or selling their Mexican timeshare weeks (4 weeks in February).

Richard hasn’t ever gotten back to any High School reunions. Frank Lid and David Pryce-Jones stopped in a few years ago. Talk about scary, “they were ME--round and bald.” Kit Taylor and Richard have kept in touch over the years. Kit and his wife Saunie live in Tucson and they came to Atlanta for Jenny’s wedding. Richard is the same as ever. Based on the pictures in the Alumni newsletter, he knows what some of the “regulars” look like now. Richard hopes to get to the 50th Reunion and hopes everyone has a big name tag with their “before” picture. He’d like to know what everyone else has been up to too.

Richard “Dick” Thomas (Tampa, FL) Richard was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1942 and spent a couple years in Atlantic City, New Jersey when his dad was in Coast Guard Radio School and a few years in Ketchican, Alaska where his Dad was also stationed.  When his dad was discharged in 1945, the family moved to Oakes Rd, Brecksville, Ohio.

His sister Jane was born on June 20, 1945. The family home was at 5409 Oakes Rd until Richard and Jane graduated from College. Both Richard and his sister got married in 1966 and have 2 children each roughly, the same ages.

He attended Brecksville School for all 12-1/2 years in the same building. He spent pre-teen years riding bicycles around the neighborhood, was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout & Explorer –camping, etc. He joined DeMolay and played DeMolay intramural basketball. Dick had a paper route most of the time during Jr & Hi. School (Cleveland News and Plain Dealer). He learned to drive in family’s 1936 Ford pickup truck in the field behind their house and he also customized a 1951 Ford a couple times. He was in the school band (trumpet), a Dixieland pep band for several years, and a dance band for a while. He also played violin in the orchestra. Richard was in the Purdue All-American marching band for 2 years –military band alternative to ROTC.

He attended Purdue University; non-fraternity; band; worked in residence hall snack bar, sorority dining room and lived in private housing mostly with Jim Harwood and others. Richard co-op’d in Chemical Engineering, working every other semester at Sohio, downtown Cleveland, then at the BFG Research Center in Brecksville. It took 5 years, so he graduated in 1965 at the same time as Carol, a cute Pi Phi he met at Purdue. He took a job at BFG Chemical Company vinyl chloride plant in Calvert City, Kentucky –on the Tennessee River just downstream from Kentucky Dam, which is what holds back the water for Kentucky Lake. Carol and Richard got married in July 1966 and she became the Manager of the Student Union Cafeteria at Murray State University until 1970.

In 1967, the union at BFG went on strike for 6 months so he worked in the plant 12-hr days, 7 days a week for the 6 months, taking home triple size checks. At the end of the strike, salaried people took trips, bought new cars, etc. Richard and Carol bought a little house on a waterfront lot on Kentucky Lake. He progressed to Sr. Engineer working in several departments’ technical groups then he “retired” in 1974.

Their son, Richard, Jr. was born in 1970, not too long after Richard’s parents died of cancer. Richard, Jr. got his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue. He eventually moved to Florida to work for Energizer, got his MBA at University of Florida and then got into telecom financial analysis businesses. He met his wife, Tanya, at Purdue. They have two cute kiddies in Tampa, Florida.

In 1971, Carol found a little old 4 room house in Aurora, Kentucky, about 5 miles from their home. It had a well with a bucket and an outhouse out back –that was all the “plumbing” but it did have a TV tower on the roof with an electric rotator. In 1972, they opened The Brass Lantern Restaurant with 75 seats in the little remodeled house. They eventually expanded to 200 seats after a couple significant additions and became the first restaurant in Kentucky, west of Louisville, to be rated as high as Three Star (Mobile Travel Guide). The restaurant was internationally advertised in Gourmet Magazine for 10 years. Carol worked the dining room and gift shop and Richard worked the kitchen and office. Open 9months a year, dinner only, specializing in filet mignon, prime rib, lobster tail and bistro specials. He was President of the Kentucky Restaurant Association one year and became active in the Marshall County Tourist Commission (Treasurer) for twenty-some years.

Their daughter Jennifer (Jenny) was born in 1975. She got her BFA in ceramics at Ole Miss. She tried that career for a year then moved to Atlanta. She worked in a few restaurants, for a Headhunter, and then decided she wanted to be an interior decorator. Jenny opened a retail home décor shop, then another one, then closed them both and continues to decorate for her clients.  Jennifer and her husband Clay Warner have a newborn daughter.

In 2002, Richard and Carol sold the restaurant and retired after 31 seasons. They have been going back and forth to Tampa (Rich) and Atlanta (Jenny) and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico every February. Over the years, they traveled with and without their kids to Europe, the Caribbean, parts of the US & Mexico. They have had a timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexaco for about 14 years. Since they have been retired, they are home in Kentucky about 45% of the time (he keeps track). In the late 60’s and 70’s they had various boats and enjoyed water ski-ing and sailing until the restaurant took all their free time.

In 2007, on one of their trips to Tampa, they stopped in at The Villages to check it out.  Long story short: they bought a home in The Villages. Their new back yard is at the landing zone of tee shots on the 2nd fairway of one of the 12 country club courses (boink!). Rickard started learning to play golf after he recovered from t-boning an out-of-control SUV in 2002.
In April, 2009 Carol’s kidneys gave up and she is on dialysis until a kidney transplant comes up.  That has been a real education.

They have had rental properties off and on over the years and are down to one rental house in Atlanta and their house in The Villages until they move. Richard and Carol had their Kentucky waterfront home on the market since right after the market crashed. They sell on EBay and have yard sales with all of their accumulated stuff of 40+ years in Kentucky. With Carol’s kidney situation, they will be renting or selling their Mexican timeshare weeks (4 weeks in February).

Richard hasn’t ever gotten back to any High School reunions. Frank Lid and David Pryce-Jones stopped in a few years ago. Talk about scary, “they were ME--round and bald.” Kit Taylor and Richard have kept in touch over the years. Kit and his wife Saunie live in Tucson and they came to Atlanta for Jenny’s wedding. Richard is the same as ever. Based on the pictures in the Alumni newsletter, he knows what some of the “regulars” look like now. Richard hopes to get to the 50th Reunion and hopes everyone has a big name tag with their “before” picture. He’d like to know what everyone else has been up to too.

Presented with Dick's permisson