Joe Williamson drives every day from his apartment in Tryon, to his store (Williamson’s Paint Center) in Landrum. He also works out in the gym (Tryon Health and Fitness) three days a week.
In 2013, Williamson took first place in his age class in the javelin, softball throw, discus, shot put and running events in the Greater Greenville Senior Sports Classic. This year, because he was recovering from pneumonia, and his legs were not back to full strength, he concentrated on the field events, and had to be satisfied with winning first in first four events mentioned above. But, he’ll be running again next year. Why not? He’ll be only 97.
Williamson looks and sounds about like any healthy person in his 70s. But this warm, friendly and very proud individual leaves the famous battery bunny in the dust. “My ‘secret,’” Williamson pronounced, “is exercise and a good diet. (Also) I always keep a good temperament, because I enjoy life and I like people.” Lethargy does not suit him. “I’ve never liked to sit down and do nothing. I’ve been going to the gym for thirty years.”
Williamson, who before World War II, worked for Pittsburgh Plate Glass, began his paint business in 1949, not long after his discharge from the Army Air Corps, and his proud service during WWII. “I still work,” Williamson said. “I go over there (to the paint center) every day . . . I work with the computer. It’s good for the brain. Another good thing for the elderly,” he suggested, “is puzzles. I do a crossword every day.”
Williamson, originally from Charlotte, was more or less delivered to Spartanburg after WWII, having to deal with limited options in military transportation stateside. He’s lived in Tryon since 1987.
While not an athlete beyond high school, Williams found himself in good shape and also with a competitive side. To better prepare himself for success in the field events, Williamson enlisted the help of Doug Allen, who competes in statewide events in both South Carolina and in the Great Lakes region. Allen is a friend from the church that Williamson still attends in Spartanburg.
Williamson noted that the field events require more technique than muscle, and that throwing the discus effectively is particularly challenging.
Allen imparted much technique to Williamson, who took it from there. “The javelin,” said Williamson, “has to have the right grip, or you won’t get any distance. The same with the softball.
The discus is the hardest to learn, because you have to have it at the right level and the right pitch, as well as the right grip. I did a little (competition in field events) in high school,” remembered Williamson. “But that was many, many years ago.”
Noting the importance of technique, Williamson recalled the presence of a woman from Spartanburg, who competed in his group at one of the games. “She had the know-how of doing things the right way,” recalled Williamson. He also remembers “some right big guys with big muscles,” who fared poorly in the field events, due to improper technique.
Williamson and other local competitors in the Greenville event, practice all year, every Monday morning from eight to ten, weather permitting, at the junior high school in Inman. The Greenville Classic is held once a year, in April, the track and field events hosted by Bob Jones University. “They have a nice track, and acres and acres of lawns to do the throwing (events),” said Williamson. He noted however, that, while the school hosts much of the competition, there is no connection between the university and the event. Basketball and some other events are held elsewhere in Greenville.
Williamson made one other health-related note. Though he never smoked before entering military service, he picked up the habit there, based on the ready availability – and more – of cigarettes there.
“The U.S. Army and Navy did a great disservice (to enlistees),” said Williamson. “They gave them all the cigarettes they wanted.” Even he wasn’t immune. “I haven’t smoked since 1967. I got my lungs back.”
During his Army Air Corps years spent mainly in India and Burma, Williamson was not a pilot, but his group made many food drops to Allied service members serving in the region. During that time, he met the wife of Chiang Kai-Shek, the leader of the Republic of China from 1928-75.  “She came through our base,” Williamson said, “to go to the U.S. . . . She was a beautiful lady.”
Williamson’s own beautiful lady, Allene, his wife of 64 years, passed away two years ago. “She was great,” he noted.
In May 2012, Williamson took an Honor Flight to Washington, DC, for an event open to all U.S. World War II service people. Local athlete and owner of Nature’s Storehouse, Tryon, John Cash accompanied Williamson.
Williamson, who’d served as Sgt. Major in the Air Corps, recalled that when their plane, transporting many WWII veterans, landed in DC, “Fire trucks sprayed the plane. That’s usually reserved for heads of state,” Williamson noted. “What a reception we got,” he recalled, with some 50,000 people to welcome them. “It made you feel like they really did care. Williamson said that at the time, he had gone years, thinking nobody gave a damn.
Does Williamson consider himself a senior citizen? “I can’t deny it,” he answered. At the Greater Greenville Senior Sports Classic, he’s been competing in the age 95-100 bracket, though he’s seen no other competitors over 95. Williamson can’t wait for the April 2015 games.
“I’m planning on being there next year,” he predicted. “You can believe that.”