Scott County Arkansas Biographies

From a special section of the Waldron News newspaper of 23 April 1981, consisting of interviews of Scott County citizens 80 Years of age and over. The interviews were done as part of a celebration of the Bank of Waldron's 80th anniversary.

THOMAS P. LORENZO

On October 23, 1897 in Pittsburgh, Pa., an event took place in the lives of Angelo and Theresa De Lorezo, Thomas P. Lorenzo was born. He has lived 67 years of his life in Scott County - 48 years spent in the Pleasant Hill community, and 19 years at his present home in Waldron, where he lives with his wife, Louise M. Lorenzo. They have three children - Charles A. Lorenzo of Morrilton, AR, Thelma M. Lorenzo and Tom G. Lorenzo, both of Little Rock, AR. Mr. Lorenzo's occupations over the years have been as an electrician, stone mason, telegraph operator and general building contractor. When he was about 15 years old, he worked as a telegraph operator in Pittsburgh, working for Western Union and Pennsylvania Railroad. He was the youngest telegraph operator in the state of Pennsylvania. When he worked for Western Union, he took messages from the Dayton Flood to relatives in Pittsburgh. When he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, his responsibilities were great, for if you made a mistake and two trains ran together, you got 20 years in prison. He remembers the government freezing money for about a month during the Hoover Depression. Mr. Lorenzo helped build the Courthouse in Waldron from start to finish. He also helped to build the manholes in 1938 or 1940, when Waldron had it's water and sewer system installed.