DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Theodore Merchant Lawrence, right here in Nueces County. Now settle in, because this one covers a lot of ground. Literally.
You start with cattle drives and you end up with a road named after you. That is not a bad arc for one life. Theodore Merchant Lawrence, known to just about everybody as Buddy, was born right here in Corpus Christi.
His grandfather was Dr. David Henry Lawrence, one of the city's first physicians. So Buddy came from good stock, you might say, though he wasn't content to stay put and trade on the family name.
He left home at an early age and went to work on the King Ranch, riding cattle drives across country that does not forgive the unprepared. After that he worked as a professional hunter, which tells you something about the kind of man he was. He was not looking for the easy path.
In 1880 he married Cora Eugenia Garrett, and together they became the parents of six children. Buddy Lawrence settled into farming in the 1880s, and then in the following decade something clicked. He got interested in vegetable truck farming, right here on the very ground this marker stands on.
His home and his vegetable farm occupied this site. And in 1894, he is credited with being the first person to ship vegetables out of Corpus Christi. The first.
You think about all the produce that has rolled out of this region since then, and somewhere at the front of that long line stands Buddy Lawrence with a load of vegetables and a destination. He went on to become a partner in the Roark Produce Company, helping build the truck farming industry across the whole area. But Buddy wasn't finished.
In 1902 he was appointed County Commissioner for Precinct One, which included Corpus Christi. He served until 1908, came back by election in 1910, and then just kept on serving, continuously, all the way until 1932. During those years as Commissioner, the county road systems were modernized and the first causeway over Nueces Bay was constructed.
Roads and connections, built on the watch of a man who once drove cattle across open range. In 1933, the County Commissioners Court changed the name of Chemical Plant Road to Buddy Lawrence Drive, in tribute for his contributions. The man who left home young, worked the King Ranch, hunted professionally, farmed this ground, shipped the first vegetables out of Corpus Christi, and spent decades shaping this county's infrastructure.
They named a road after him. Seems about right.
What the marker says
A grandson of one of the city's first physicians, Dr. David Henry Lawrence, Theodore Merchant "Buddy" Lawrence was born in Corpus Christi. He left home at an early age and found employment on the King Ranch, where he participated in cattle drives. He later worked as a professional hunter. In 1880 Lawrence married Cora Eugenia Garrett. They became the parents of six children. Lawrence began farming in the 1880s and in the following decade became interested in vegetable truck farming. This was the site of his home and vegetable farm. He is credited with being the first to ship vegetables from Corpus Christi in 1894. As a partner in the Roark Produce Company, he helped build the truck farming industry in the area. In 1902 Lawrence was appointed County Commissioner for Precinct One, which included Corpus Christi. He served until 1908 and was elected to the position in 1910, serving continuously until 1932. During his years as a Commissioner, county road systems were modernized and the first causeway over Nueces Bay was constructed. In tribute for his contributions, the County Commissioners Court changed the name of Chemical Plant Road to Buddy Lawrence Drive in 1933. (1989)