Over the years, Lawrence has done a better job than many communities in providing sources for what once was considered “vocational education” – you know, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, secretarial work, auto mechanics and bookkeeping, to name a few.

The community still does reasonably well in this category, but there is room for improvement.

Teaching people about “manual arts” has always been important and may be even more vital to our nation and its economy than ever. We are getting educationally top-heavy with college graduates while the pool of well-trained employees for jobs that don’t require a four-year degree keeps shrinking.

In 1907, a local bond election asked for $40,000 to develop a new manual training building and programs for Lawrence students. Women were urged to get their families involved and to be sure to vote themselves, and they did an excellent job. The bond issue passed and a “manual” building (now gone) at what is now Ninth and Kentucky streets was the result

Local emphasis on “vo-ed” training has ebbed and flowed through the years, but visionaries such as Mary Gauthier and John Ames kept plugging away to provide strong programs in the local schools. Year after year, Lawrence students excelled in state testing on vocational areas. The district currently offers career and technical programs in about a dozen areas, including business, computer technology, welding, auto technology and accounting. It also is working with Johnson County Community College, which is planning to start offering programs in Lawrence this fall.

One veteran of “the trades,” a real asset to Lawrence, made the remark once that “everybody can’t go to college and doesn’t need to because there are many wonderful callings for great lives – and they are the core of our economy.” That’s more true now than then.

Recently, John Ratzenberger, who gained fame as a postal worker on “Cheers,” was on a TV talk show and was discussing his ongoing efforts to put more emphasis on “the manual arts.” He appears often at conventions to promote the cause. His comment was classic:

“We recognize the importance of the fine arts to enrich our lives but they have to be secondary to the manual arts, or our economy will collapse. Bear in mind that Michelangelo’s famous painting in the Sistine Chapel in Rome never would have come about if somebody hadn’t had the skill and expertise to construct the chapel and provide the ceiling.”