John Deere Family!

Hamilton’s Lawson family has been involved in agriculture-related business in Hamilton County for more than a century.

The family’s John Deere dealership, Lawson Implement Co., is the oldest business in Hamilton County that has been continually operated by the same family. And this year it has been named a Gold Star dealer for the first time in its history.

“This is a huge accomplishment,” said Billy Lawson, owner. “We worked hard all year to achieve it.”

Gold Star Certified John Deere Dealers excel in sales and marketing, customer support, operational management, retail environment and employee development.

The local dealership is also a Medallion Dealer, which is a John Deere finance award.

The Lawson family has worked for generations to build the business into what today is considered the best John Deere dealership in Central Texas.

C.T. “Charlie” Lawson came to Texas as an infant in a wagon train in 1871. He came to Hamilton in 1898 and worked at various gins and operated a thresher. In 1902, he moved his family here.

His son, W.P. “Bill” Lawson followed in his father’s footsteps by working in the threshing business beginning in 1916. Three years later, he bought a gin at Shive, then opened a gin in Hamilton, eventually adding West Henry Feed Store, Lawson Implement Co. and Hamilton Wool and Mohair Co. to his holdings while also farming 700 of his 2,100 acres of land.

His son, W.C. “June” Lawson, graduated from Hamilton High School in 1935, and afterward bought the implement company from his father in 1942. He married Merle King in 1940, and they had three children, Johnnye Lawson Gautier, Billy Lawson and Jean Lawson Bloodworth, all of whom now live in Hamilton.

“Back in those days, we had a very small crew,” remembered Merle. “We had maybe three mechanics and one person up front. Everything was done

on a manual card system, and there was a book to look up the parts.

“We had a pretty good business though we lived paycheck to paycheck,” she said.

Merle said June worked with his father at the gin and also took care of the John Deere business.

“He worked night and day,” she said. “He was the lowest fellow on the totem pole at the gin – he parked the cotton wagons.”

Cotton used to be a major crop in Hamilton, she said, and at one time there were three gins in Hamilton.

Merle didn’t work when her children were small, but helped her husband in the business before and after that. In fact, at 91, she still comes in to work a few days a week.

“Billy has been right here all his life,” Merle said of her son, who with his brother-in-law, Bob Gautier, bought the dealership from her in 1977. “Billy worked here in high school and every time he was out of school.

“When my husband died in 1969, Bob and I ran the place,” Merle said. “We had Maytag, GMC and John Deere then. I was so amused the first time Bob sold a pickup and tractor to Johnny Harris out at Hidden Valley. He was so nervous and excited that he had me refigure it.”

Billy graduated from North Texas State University in 1970 with a degree in accounting. He came back to Hamilton, and was married to Sharolyn Isensee in 1975. They have four daughters.

When he first came home, he kept the books for the store at night and worked in the store and farmed during the day.

“I would be up at 3 or 4 in the morning doing the books,” Billy said. “I worked in parts, then sales, and it grew from there. It was still done on the card system then. The only computer I knew of then was the size of a building.

“In the daytime we farmed 1,000 acres of land. We pretty much raised our kids in the back of a pickup. We worked cattle all day, 24/7. Mostly Sharolyn raised the kids and

farmed and ranched while I ran the business.

“The ’70s were good for us; it was a good economic time,” he said. “We sold the land in 1984 and built these buildings, and they seemed so huge… Now we’re adding on.

“I was the last Lawson,” Billy said. “I wasn’t sure what would happen after that, but certainly wanted to keep the business in the family.

“Now we have our daughter and son-in-law here, and we’re certainly excited about having them learning the business.”

Billy and Sharolyn’s third daughter, Lindsey, and her husband Quin Hanson have been back in Hamilton for about 18 months, anxious to carry on the family tradition that is Lawson Implement.

“I’ve been part of the business all my life, but not from this perspective,” Lindsey said.

She grew up, as did her dad, working in the store during the summers, mowing the lot, painting the fence and doing whatever else needed to be done.

“Now, we work here, but it’s not like work, it’s more like home,” Lindsey said. “I’m so excited to feel like it has come through the family and now I get to be a part of it and have an opportunity to help with its growth and building the business, to be a part of it like everyone before me… It’s overwhelming, but I’m also thrilled to be back. Quin married into the family, but he feels the same way.”

Quin started his Lawson career behind the parts counter, while Lindsey worked in the office. Quin has since graduated to sales and is getting more involved in management and marketing, while Lindsey handles the accounting and payroll functions.

“We’re trying to learn everything about the business,” she said. “We’ve worked other places, but there’s definitely a sense of pride to being here.”

Lindsey said it was always in the back of her mind that she could come back to the family business, but she had no idea she would come back in this capacity.

“I’ve had some rough jobs,” she said, “but now I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”

Her sisters and their husbands, while not in Hamilton, are also involved in the business. Oldest daughter Leslie and her husband Ben Jansen live in Austin where she works for LCRA and he works behind the scenes developing the Lawson website. Loren and husband Clay Moore live in Katy, where she works for IBM and he is in the insurance business, also handling the insurance for Lawson Implement. And youngest sister Landry and husband Casey Yates live in North Richland Hills where Casey works for EOG.

“They all might have a future here,” Billy said. “I didn’t pick just one (daughter) and say come home and help. If we get another store, there will be more opportunities.”

Looking to the future, Billy said he is considering buying one or two more dealerships. He and Bob added the dealership in Goldthwaite in 1994, then Billy bought Bob’s share of the business when he retired in 2004.

“If the right opportunity comes along, we will take it,” Billy said. “Nowadays it’s ‘get bigger or get out.’ We don’t plan to get out. The John Deere dealer of tomorrow has to meet higher standards.

“We’ve made it through some tough times, times of 18 to 20 percent interest, but we’ve made it,” he said, thinking over the past 30 years in business.

“The rain affects us more than the economy,” he said. “When the weather is right, we do OK.”

Billy said that during his time in business, he has seen a shift from dependence on the local farmer and agriculture-related businesses to catering more to investors and people who leave the cities to operate farms and ranches in this area.

“The economy will affect that,” he said.

He also has seen the diversification of John Deere into recreational vehicles, lawn grooming and farm land.

And merchandise, which is where Lindsey has found her niche, taking merchandise to

shows and parades around the area as well as filling local and internet orders.

“It has grown,” she said. “A lot of the local people didn’t realize we have this part, but since they’ve become aware of it, they come out for birthday, baby shower and Christmas gifts. We have boots, clothes, toys, caps, even Barbies, and we ship all over the nation and in Canada. A lot of our customers are from outside Texas via the internet.”

“Sophistication jumped on me in a hurry,” Billy said of the new technology available to dealerships. “It is a continual effort to keep abreast of the computer world and progress. We do not sit still.

“We didn’t get here by ourselves,” he said. “Our family has been blessed throughout the years with outstanding employees, and they continue to be an essential part of our business’ success.”

One of Billy’s favorite days of the year is John Deere Day, when he can show appreciation to his customers and the community.

“A lot of dealers have stopped having John Deere Day,” he said. “I grew up with it. They used to turn out school so everyone could come down for foot-long hot dogs. Then we’d have a parade to the Texan Theatre, show a movie and give toys away.

“Today it’s a live band and barbecue and 600-700 people. We will continue to have it.”

John Deere mandates that its dealers stay current with technology and equipment. Billy said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

New to Lawsons this year will be the addition of bar-code technology and the incorporation of the Stihl line of chainsaws into the inventory.

The business has also expanded physically with the addition of a conference room for employee training and expanded advertising to include billboards and a more elaborate web site.

“We’re just being more aggressive,” Lindsey said. “We’re getting out there more in the public eye and participating more in the community.”

The business for years has donated to and participated in community events and provided Gators and lawn equipment for sporting events and park facilities, rodeos, parades and other functions for years within their area of responsibility, which includes five or six counties.

“We consider it advertising to see our equipment around in the city,” Billy said.

The Lawsons are proud of the company’s long-time association with John Deere.

“That sign is important,” Billy said. “The John Deere sign draws people to us. It is a highly sought-after franchise.

“We don’t really have to compete with other folks, because the John Deere name means something, like IBM, Chevrolet or Cadillac. It means our clientele know that when they buy something here, we stand by it.”

Lawson Implement’s motto has been the same for all these years: “Where service is a pleasure,” and the management and staff stand by that pledge.

“The Hamilton community has been good to us,” Billy said. “We have had good loyal customers throughout the years, and that has kept us alive.”