Sometimes, when you look back on your life, you can spot the exact day that it changed forever.
For me, that was 61 years ago next Tuesday.
That’s the day I walked into Shirley Porter Williamson’s journalism class at Ballard Memorial High School.
I’m not sure why I was there.
But Christine Travis, my sophomore English teacher, told me I could write and should take journalism in the fall.
So, I did.
I had no idea what my future held.
I had no plans for college or anything after that.
But I fell in love with journalism that day.
And I still love it today.
When I was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2021, I called Mrs. Williamson — I never could call her Shirley — and thanked her.
Heck, I met my wife in her journalism class.
And many of those kids are still my friends today.
Our high school in rural western Kentucky didn’t have a football team or a band.
But it had a student newspaper.
Because Mrs. Williamson cared.
If she hadn’t, I don’t know what I would be doing today or where I’d be.
But it wouldn’t be here doing this.
I went on to get a master’s degree in communications from Murray State University; wrote hometown news releases for the Army at Fort Hood, Texas; worked on a couple of weeklies in Tennessee and I’ve been here 52 years.
And I loved every minute of it — well, not in the Army so much.
Mrs. Williamson lived life by her rules.
She smoked, drank, loved casinos and had a salty tongue.
I’m sure she caught a lot of flack from the higher-ups.
But we never knew it and she was always there for us.
And we loved her for it.
Mrs. Williamson moved on from Ballard County.
She served as the director of public relations and pupil personnel services for Paducah Public Schools and later as the assistant to the president of the Paducah Community College.
She served as an organizational analyst for the Governor’s Office for program administration and director of media relations and legislative analyst for the Office of the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives back when Don Blandford was there.
Mrs. Williamson was the first female associate commissioner in the Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Communication Services.
The last time I saw her was a few years ago in Las Vegas.
Our son lives there and we were visiting him.
Mrs. Williamson was at the MGM Grand gambling.
She invited us to have dinner with her at the casino.
She ran so much money through there each year that they gave her free food and meals.
In case you can’t guess where this is going, Mrs. Williamson died last week four months shy of her 95th birthday.
She told her daughters she didn’t want a funeral.
Said if they did, she’d come back and haunt them.
That was Mrs. Williamson all the way.
Even the kids who didn’t go into journalism say she gave them confidence and pride in themselves.
If there was a teacher who had a major impact on your life, thank them while you still can.
I’m thankful that I did.
Keith Lawrence; [email protected]
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
