My father, John B. Lawrence Jr., was a respected investigative reporter in Philadelphia in a turbulent and historic era – the 1960’s. He worked for both WCAU-TV and KYW-TV. He died alone in an accident in his home in 1997 at age 62. For decades my family had safely stored a few reels of 16mm mag-stripe film that he had long ago brought home from work. Only recently did I have the film converted to a digital format, and only then was the discovery made as to what those reels contained. Here are three stories he worked on, none of which I believe made it to air, hence perhaps the reason he was able to bring them home. Clearly the one story on the possible detonation of a nuclear bomb underground in rural Pennsylvania was not fully edited, and it is my guess as well that the other two stories may not have aired for differing reasons – that happens in the news business. He was a decent man. As an only-child with no cousins, who from childhood on was seldom if at all in the company of his aunts and uncles, and raised as a Presbyterian in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood in East Germantown, his early life was filled with indescribable loneliness, and he suffered from a terrific stutter. Excepting an uncle on his mother’s side, he became the first in his family to graduate from college, and by his mid-thirties he was well-known in Philadelphia for his investigative reporting. By the time he was forty however, he had lost his way: he had left the news business and tried to make his living as a novelist, but failed. Other ventures failed, and he struggled with alcohol dependency, a thing which contributed to his death. When he was forty-seven the family left him. He loved Christmases, Thanksgivings, and giving gifts more than receiving. He was supportive of his three children and their respective goals, if at times somewhat inattentive. For those who miss and still love him, enjoy.
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