A Storied Life

Millions of people have now watched the YouTube clip as eighty-nine year old Bryan Sperry, a World War II veteran, scored a touchdown during an alumni flag football game at the University of Kansas. Video of his run went viral, and thanks to a number of news outlets, now we know the rest of his story. 

As radio host Paul Harvey discovered, people are fascinated by stories like Mr. Sperry’s, both in our neighborhoods and around the world. Times-Gazette readers were given a glimpse of such a life story this week when news of Earl Hawkins’ death at age one hundred was reported on the front page of the paper. I’d heard quite a bit about this noted business owner and philanthropist, but by the time we immigrated to Ashland, he was no longer as involved in the Ashland community as he had once been. Yet he continued to support a variety of philanthropic work in Ashland County, including practical assistance to the Salvation Army that we were grateful to receive.

As I waited to express my condolences to the family at his calling hours, I was curious to know more about his life, and so I listened to the murmur of conversation around me. There were common threads present in how his former employees described their boss. “He gave me a chance.” “He believed in me.” “He knew what it meant to work hard.”

How did he do it? Why was Earl Hawkins (as well as his wife Betty) so successful in business? What was the rest of their story? As these questions were stirring in my mind, I was glad to receive a copy of Otis Earl Hawkins’ life story, “Memories of Ninety-Five Years.” Yes, five years ago, Mr. Hawkins wrote his own story, an autobiographical volume that details how a boy from West Virginia with only a ninth grade education turned a summer produce stand into a profitable, multi-county grocery business.

It’s a great ‘rest of the story,’ a ‘rags to riches’ account that shows what hard work and shrewd decision-making can achieve. I liked his description of his decision to introduce the new-fangled bar code scanner to his business, as well as his installation of the specialized cart and counter that relieved the customer of the task of unloading the grocery cart, a system still in use in the Geyer’s-Hawkins store on Claremont Avenue.  By the time I reached the end of his story, I was amazed at the work ethic Earl Hawkins modeled and the business acumen he and Betty displayed, all told with a down-home sense of humility.

As I read through the pages of his life story, I kept hearing another voice – that of my father. You see, Earl Hawkins and Frank Streeter were men of the same generation. They served their country during World War II, and they came home from the war to build a life for themselves. They made sacrifices for their families without complaint. They worked many, many hours, often in difficult situations, to do what was right for those they loved. What Tom Brokaw had to say about their generation was apparent in both of their lives: “The WWII generation shares so many common values: duty, honor, country, personal responsibility, and the marriage vow.”

I also heard the echo of my dad’s voice as Earl Hawkins wrote about his World War II military service. They both served in the Philippines – might their paths have crossed on the other side of the world? Reading Mr. Hawkins’ description of his experiences, I wish I knew more of my father’s, but like many of his generation, he seldom talked about those days and I seldom asked.  

After his unforgettable touchdown run, Sperry said this: “I just wanted to get in for a couple of plays and maybe catch a ball.” Now in their late eighties and nineties, the men and women of Brokaw’s ‘Greatest Generation’ are making one last run, catching one last pass. Like Sperry’s alumni teammates, we do what we can to clear the way to the end zone as we remember their stories with thanks, honoring their contributions to our lives and to our world.