WWII POW returns to help Ruskin celebrate
Randall Edwards, 95, of Lakeland, Fla., participated in the
parade for the Ruskin quasquicentennial celebration
Saturday.
RUSKIN — Sandwiched between about 20 family members sitting on a flatbed trailer, the old man waving to the hundreds of people lined up along Main Street here during the Ruskin 125th anniversary parade has quite a story to tell.
Randall Edwards joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Ruskin High School in 1935. His graduating class consisted of three boys and eight girls.
"I wanted to see the world and that was the Navy advertisement," he said.
Like many of the people on the Edwards family float Saturday, the 95-year-old Lakeland, Fla., man wore a red ball cap that said "Edwards Family Century Reunion." The float was one of the first among the nearly 90 parade entries.
Members of the Edwards family timed their reunion to coincide with Ruskin's quasquicentennial celebration.
"It's where I grew up, I'm proud of it," he said. "It's deteriorated a little bit since I left, but today shows that it is a functional community. That's good."
Edwards joined the Navy to see the world, but he had already traveled quite a bit by the time he graduated from high school.
Randall Edwards, 95, of Lakeland, Fla., participated in the
parade for the Ruskin quasquicentennial celebration
Saturday.
Randall Edwards joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Ruskin High School in 1935. His graduating class consisted of three boys and eight girls.
"I wanted to see the world and that was the Navy advertisement," he said.
Like many of the people on the Edwards family float Saturday, the 95-year-old Lakeland, Fla., man wore a red ball cap that said "Edwards Family Century Reunion." The float was one of the first among the nearly 90 parade entries.
Members of the Edwards family timed their reunion to coincide with Ruskin's quasquicentennial celebration.
"It's where I grew up, I'm proud of it," he said. "It's deteriorated a little bit since I left, but today shows that it is a functional community. That's good."
Edwards joined the Navy to see the world, but he had already traveled quite a bit by the time he graduated from high school.
To read more, see Saturday's Monday's Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
