Bruce Carlton Lawson - Redskins #1 Fan

Community mourns… Lawson’s

impact made through kindness, love for community

Editorial

Loudon News Herald

There is a void in Loudon today. Saturday, Bruce Lawson was laid to rest. As journalists, when we refer to individuals in stories, we generally identify them by their last name. That just won’t work in this case. There are many Lawsons here, but only one Bruce. He was not a dignitary, nor a politician. He didn’t have his hand on the pulse of the business community and he wasn’t at the forefront of economic development. He didn’t run for touchdowns and he didn’t score on slam dunks. Yet, somehow, everybody in Loudon knew him.

He was simply … Bruce. He was a walking encyclopedia of facts, statistics and trivia on Loudon High School sports. He lived and breathed the essence of Friday nights in the fall under the lights at Chig Ratledge Stadium. Those who didn’t know him personally still knew who he was. He was “the” icon of Loudon High School sports. Wiktionary, an open content dictionary within the Wikipedia online program, defines icon as: A person or thing that is the best example of a certain profession or some doing. The key word in that definition is “best,” and there was nobody that better personified the spirit of athletics within the Redskin Nation. He was simply … Bruce.

He had a couple of different connections to this organization. He was a newspaper carrier for the News-Herald for nearly ten years. He also supplied our sports department with the statistics and information vital to our coverage of Loudon High School athletics. Whenever he came into our offices he always seemed to have a grin on his face, as if he knew something you didn’t know. That being said, he was usually right.

That smile - which was part and parcel of his being - was a constant expression on his face. Even following a Redskin loss, he seemed to find a positive anecdote to capture for use during a post-game analysis, or for casual conversation at some point down the road. He was simply … Bruce.

Tomorrow, students and faculty at Loudon High School will get back down to the business of education. Loudon community leaders will continue to tackle the issues of dealing with a struggling economy. Local politicians will work on balancing budgets and improving our quality of life. But as the winter turns to spring, and spring turns to summer, and summer turns to fall, it will eventually become football time in Tennessee. When that occurs, the Loudon High School football team will take the field and the Redskin Nation will stand up and cheer.

It just won’t be quite the same. There will be a voice missing … but not a spirit. He was simply … Bruce.

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