Feb 14, 2020
Harold Kinker, Retired Ohio Pharmacist
University of Toledo College of Pharmacy Class of 1970 (BS Pharmacy Degree) kinkerh@gmail.com
When I joined the staff of Walgreens store 5323 in Toledo, OH in 2002, Harold was the pharmacy manager. Harold was a mentor and became a friend. Almost 20 years after meeting, we are still friends and even go out to lunch with a group of current and former Toledo-area Walgreens pharmacists several times a year.
In 2002, I worked full-time on the midnight shift “7-on/7-off” for about 12 months: I worked one week, then had the following week off. My hours were 10 PM to 8 AM Monday through Sunday. I worked 70 hours and got paid for 80. Counting vacation time, I was only required to work 25 weeks per year. My partner on the off-weeks asked me to cover vacation for him twice. I worked 21 days in a row on midnights each time while pregnant. I was 24 years old.
When I became a Mom, I needed to step down to part-time. Harold helped me find a way to make it happen. Thanks Harold!
Harold was great with pharmacy and store staff, and our patients liked him.
Harold served on a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from 2004-2012. He had paid deployments, similar to National Guard duty. Highlights included helping with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, surviving gas mask training in an Alabama “Cobra Tank," and nuclear emergency training in Nevada. To learn more about DMAT, visit https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/ndms/ndms-teams/Pages/dmat.aspx
Harold is a Volunteer Trail Patrol Walker for the Toledo-area Metroparks. 50 hours/year is the minimum commitment. He volunteers more than 200 hours/year. Harold walks with other volunteers 2-3 times/week, about 2 hours at a time. Toledo has one of the best Metroparks systems in the country! To learn more about the Toledo-area Metroparks, visit https://metroparkstoledo.com
Harold volunteers with the Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project creates videos of Veterans and their stories. Multiple copies are made of each video. Three copies go to the Veteran; another goes to the University of Toledo; and one goes to the Library of Congress. Interested WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Afghanistan Veterans can call George or Harold.
George Pugh 419-877-0600
Harold Kinker 419-868-1950
To learn more about the Veterans History Project, visit https://www.loc.gov/vets/
Harold loves retirement and enjoys vacation cruises with his wife and friends.