Senior Profile - Watson (Wat) Lawrence: Who Knew?

That’s right, mild-mannered, soft-spoken Watson (Wat) Lawrence has quite a story to tell. In his 90 years, he’s piled up quite a list of accomplishments in the electronics field.

 

Born in a neighboring county, Lawrence and his family moved here when he as a boy. He graduated from high school here and he’s spent most of his life in our town. Lawrence first worked at the local shoe plant for about two years. Then he got a job at a radio station where he worked as an engineer.

 

In 1941, Lawrence’s draft number came up, so he joined the Navy instead of waiting to be drafted. He recalls that his monthly pay was a whopping $21. He was so good at electronics that they made him an instructor. He went into the Navy as an enlisted man, but, by the time he got out, he had achieved officer status as an ensign.

 

After the war, Lawrence worked at an airport maintaining their electronic equipment. It wasn’t long before he came back home to start his own business. Lawrence did the wiring work for a local manufacturing plant and the educational building of First Baptist Church, just to name a few of his jobs.

 

“I installed the first burglar alarm in town at Smith’s jewelry store downtown,” Lawrence said. “I also developed an electronic duck call, but it was outlawed.” I guess it wasn't fair to the ducks. Lawrence sold and installed the first television in this area, too.

 

“It was black and white, of course. The only TV station was 200 miles away, so we had to have a really tall tower to get any reception at all,” he said. Eventually, Lawrence was offered a position traveling for an electronics supply company. He held that job for 36 years. After he retired, he worked at a furniture store, mainly in the appliance department. If you were a customer of that appliance store, you might remember his frequent comment: “They just don’t make them like they used to.” Well---he should know.

 

I enjoy writing senior profiles because, not only are they a challenge, but they are also very fulfilling. And, I’m often surprised by what I discover in my interviews.

 

My first encounter with Mr. Lawrence was in his role as salesman at the furniture/appliance store. He was very serious, and he often made comments about how they don’t make appliances like they used to. I was assigned to write a profile on him for a local publication. I wondered what in the world I could write about a retired appliance salesman. I had no idea that, in his heyday, he had been an entrepreneur and a true pioneer in electronics.

 

Look around. You know people whose stories are as interesting as anybody else's. Young people have dreams. Older adults have life experiences and memories that need to be passed on to others. You, as a writer, can be the link between generations.

 

 

 

 

 

Emily M. Akin is a freelance writer, blogger, and editor of the Senior Grapevine section of Hometown Magazine, living in Union City, Tennessee. She holds bachelor’s degrees in music and organizational communications and a Master of Business Administration degree. Writing for the Christian market since 1999, her work has appeared in numerous Christian periodicals including The Upper Room, The Secret Place, HomeLife, Mature Living, The Lookout, Vista, and Mature Years. She currently serves on the steering committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference.