Zion National Park

Joe & Carol at Bryce Canyon National Park

Horseshoe Bend in Page, AZ

The Lamica Family

Joe and Carol Lamica
Founders of the Longhorn Hideout Veteran Retreat

Joe and Carol are high school sweethearts, who have been married for over 35 years. Joe is a Marine Corps veteran, serving at Camp Lejune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Okinawa, Japan, and was deployed to the Tinian Mariana Islands to rebuild runways for the first time since World War II.

While Joe was in the Marine Corps, Carol worked as a cosmetologist.  In 1983, Joe took a job with Rensselaer County Highway, serving for 32 years, mostly as a highway supervisor. During this time, Joe also started his own business, Lamica Excavating. Carol returned to the classroom at Hudson Valley Community College and became a licensed dental hygienist.

Throughout the years, Joe has been an integral member of the community, coaching various youth sports for 13 years, developing community sport fields, and later officiating high school football and basketball.

Carol has always been passionate about animal rescue. She has provided a forever home for over twenty homeless animals, including horses, goats, dogs, cats, ducks and a Mediterranean Burro. In her limited free time, she enjoys creating her own jewelry, gardening, and loves creative projects around the house.

---

What motivated you to Create a special retreat for veterans?

Joe:  “The main reason we wanted to start this retreat is because, when we think of the military, we think of our veterans and current personnel and how they deserve to be treated like the heroes they are, and we also think of my family. I grew up as one of six kids, and my parents continuously struggled to make ends meet. We never were able to all go on a vacation together. My father, Everett Hayden Lamica, enlisted in the Marine Corp at seventeen and was on the front line in the Korean War. When he would come home, we would usually be moving to a new duty station, a new base, or a new home. He reenlisted in the Air Force and was deployed to Vietnam. Dad ended up serving 21 years in the military, and for the remainder of his life he was haunted by memories of war. He recovered on the surface but never was the same. Through all that, he still was our hero. Our role model. Our father. He inspired all of his five boys, each of whom served in the military. I served in the Marine Corp (Note: See “About Us” section for more details on Joe’s active duty history), and have brothers who served in the Marines, Air Force and Navy. We are passionate about serving Veteran FAMILIES because my mother, Maude, worked so hard to take care of us six kids while my father was deployed. She did all this living in a two-room schoolhouse without running water and only an outhouse. Though we never had much money, my mother made sure we were loved, taken care of, and knew that life was best lived serving others. My parents never took a true vacation either; one they truly deserved, and would have benefited greatly from. The United States Military runs through our veins, and this is the best way we can honor those who served.”

Carol: “My father, Dale Fairchild, enlisted in the Navy in 1946. He served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II and was called back to action during the Korean War. Because of all of this, Joe and I hold a special place in our hearts for all veterans and the families who support them behind the scenes. At Longhorn Hideout, our goal is to provide Veterans and their families with a chance to take some time to breathe, enjoy the beauty of the west, and reconnect with each other.”