The Villages - November 2020 - 2

CHECKING IN

BY RICA KEENUM

Celebrating Veterans & The
Thanksgiving Holiday, Too!
Service and sacrifice. This month is about honoring those
who donned a uniform for the sake of our country. The
Villages is home to countless veterans, and recently we asked
for their military photos. We'd hoped to create a collage of
these cherished images: Men and women posing near aircraft
carriers, in roving army tanks and while gathered with proud
members of various platoons - so many photos, memories,
reasons to celebrate this month. And while we could not
share every submission, we featured as many as we could.
We thank every veteran for their service and their response
to our call out.
Also on the topic of military history, we tour Eisenhower
Regional Recreation Center, named after United States
34th President and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The center
features framed photos and keepsakes. In the lobby, a stately
horseshoe staircase leads to an upper level, where a dozen
mannequins model donated military uniforms representing
various branches and ranks - the highest-ranking of these
belongs to four-star Gen. Larry Ellis, an Atlanta resident who
trained U.S forces for war.
Recreation Facilities Manager James Pierce is fairly new
to the facility and proud to work in a place that houses such
significant memorabilia, the bones of countless living stories.
A New Jersey native, Pierce went to school in Pennsylvania
for a recreation management degree.
"I moved to Florida in 2008," he said. "My parents had
moved here and I realized there was a lot of recreation
activity here. In January of 2015, I started out at El Santiago,
moved to Tierra Del Sol, then Fish Hawk, then Pimlico,
Churchill, and finally, here."
Pierce takes a deep breath, exhales as he glances around.
"This place is great," he says. "My dad is a veteran, so it
means a lot to work here. Every rec. center is beautiful, but
this has the history attached to it - and the stories."
Other great content in this issue are Thanksgiving Day recipes and savory local options for catering or delivery. And read
about one Villages couple who spent 65 years dancing together and cruising the world on more than 70 incredible trips. See
their photos and read about their unique shared passions.
There's plenty more in this edition. Stay safe and enjoy
the feasting and fun this holiday!
2

NOVEMBER 2020

The Villages - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - November 2020