A Family Tradition: Walter C. Phipps, and Bill and Mitchell Lawrence

Phipps in Wildlife Pre-service School
Chapel Hill, N.C. 1953
Courtesy Judy Lawrence

There are few things more satisfying than when a memory surfaces unexpectedly.  While researchers have shown that our recollections are notoriously flawed, it is still a pleasant surprise when they pop up.  Just last week I was using a circular saw and the image of my Grandpa Caveny’s nubby finger popped into my head (he lost it when a saw kicked backed on him).  Then my other grandfather paid a visit while I was squirrel hunting a few days later.  The best I can recall, he only took me hunting a couple of times, but nowadays when I hunt squirrels, Grandpa Ruppe comes to mind.  Moore County Wildlife Officer Mitchell Lawrence’s career was jump-started by two grandfathers. 

Walter C. Phipps, Mitchell's great-grandfather, was born in 1926 and raised in the Piney Creek community of Alleghany County.  Phipps was a veteran of World War II, serving in the 95th Division and as a military policeman with the 6^th Service Command.  He spent a short period with the N.C. Highway Patrol before returning to Alleghany County to farm.  Phipps became a wildlife protector with the NCWRC in 1954 and spent most of his career in Davie County.  He was selected as the North Carolina Wildlife Federation's officer of the year in 1960.  He passed away in 2009.

Walter C. Phipps - Protector of the Month 1960
from Wildlife in North Carolina

Bill Lawrence - Protector of the Month 1969
from Wildlife in North Carolina

William (Bill) E. Lawrence, Mitchell’s grandfather, as born in 1940 in Bertie County.  Bill served three years in the U.S. Army and went to work with the NCWRC in 1965. After training in Asheboro, he was assigned to Iredell County.  While stationed there, he took an interest in Walter Phipps’ daughter, Judy.  Bill and Judy married and moved to Hyde County.  Bill worked out his career in Hyde, retiring in 1992.  Bill and Judy now split their time between there and Alleghany County.

"I do not remember my Grandfather or Great-Grandfather actually in the profession because my Grandad retired in the early 90’s and I was very young.  I do remember many stories and loved visiting to hear about the old game warden practices."

Mitchel Lawrence and Walter Phipps
Courtesy Judy Lawrence

"One story that always sticks out in my mind is when he [Bill] had to get some bear cubs from a tree and he used the help of a local lineman.  He asked the lineman if he wanted to use his ‘night stick’ to knock the cubs from the tree.  The lineman said no because he wasn’t going to let a little 20 lb. bear whoop him.  The lineman climbed the tree and when he attempted to knock the first bear off the limb and down into a catch blanket my grandfather had, the little ole bear nearly ripped the lineman off the branch.  After that, he slid back and said, ‘how bout throw me that night stick.’  The bears were successfully removed from the tree and safely transported."

Bill, Mitchell and Judy Lawrence at Mitchell's recruit graduation in 2013
Courtesy of Judy Lawrence

"I wanted to be a Wildlife Officer for many years.  I think the urge began before I was 10 years old but I didn’t think it was that serious until my late teens. After that, I really knew that it is what I wanted.  My grandfather was very supportive of my decision to be a WEO and he gave me a lot of good advice."

Wildlife Enforcement Officer Mitchell Lawrence

Wildlife Enforcement Officer Mitchell Lawrence

I suppose good advice is the most valuable commodity a grandfather possesses.  By the time we reach grandfather status, we have lived a life that has ebbed and flowed through most of life’s challenges.  Wisdom is sometimes shared through the stories that are told, but more often it is passed along in snatches of conversation and by living example.  Mitchell was exposed early to lives defined and shaped by service to country, community, fellow officers, and family.  It only stands to reason that he would follow those examples.