The strange death of a Pine Apple doctor leads to many questions

One of my favorite pastimes is looking through old newspapers. I was looking through the May 12, 1932 edition of The Monroe Journal the other day, and an unusual front-page story under the headline, “Pine Apple Doctor Drowned In Creek,” caught my eye. It read as follows:

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PINE APPLE, ALA., May 10 – Dr. B.W. Watson, 65, practicing physician for the last 44 years, was drowned accidentally Monday, when he fell into a creek on his farm near here.

Dr. Watson is believed to have been attempting to cross the creek on a log walk when he lost his footing and fell into the water. Dr. Watson practiced at Decatur, Ala. for 20 years before he moved to Pine Apple.

Funeral will be held here at 3 p.m. tomorrow with Dr. Dobbins of the Camden Baptist Church officiating. Besides his widow, he is survived by a son, William Watson of Decatur, and a daughter, Mrs. James E. Donald, Pine Apple.

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I dug a little deeper into this story and learned that B.W. Watson was actually Boardman Walne Watson, who was born on Oct. 13, 1866 at Snow Hill. His parents were William M. Watson and Elizabeth Jane Watson, who are both buried at Monterey, over in Butler County. If you go to the Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery in Pine Apple today, you’ll find Boardman buried there beside his wife of nearly half a century, Lola Curry Watson.

Lola, a native of Monroe County, was the daughter of the Rev. William Green Curry. When Boardman and Lola got married in 1888, their wedding ceremony was held at the Verbena Baptist Church in Chilton County, where Lola’s father was the minister. Sources say that for many years, Chilton County residents remembered the Watson wedding because the weather was so bad that day that numerous cotton bags had to be spread out on the ground to protect the bridal party from all of the mud.

Some readers and local history buffs will also remember that Boardman and Lola were the parents of John Caffey Watson, who was Wilcox County’s first World War I fatality. John was killed in action on July 15, 1918 in France at the age of 27 while serving as a corporal in Co. F of the U.S. Army’s 167^th Infantry Regiment. His grave can also be found in the Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery.

Again, taking a closer look at the story about Boardman’s drowning, we’re left with more questions than answers. Apparently, he owned a farm that was just outside of Pine Apple, but where exactly was his farm located? Also, which creek did he fall into? Was it Turkey Creek, Bear Creek, Little Turkey Creek or some other creek in the vicinity of Pine Apple?

It also seems unusual that an adult male, even one who is 65 years old, would drown in one of our local creeks, so what were the specific details behind the incident? Was the creek especially deep and swift? Was Boardman unable to swim or somehow impaired or disabled? Did he hit his head, become unconscious or get trapped underwater somehow?

Was someone with him when he fell into the creek? Was he alone and found after the fact? If so, who was with him or who discovered his body?

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more information about Boardman’s life and unusual death. It would be interesting to know the full story behind this accidental drowning. Who knows, the full details could prevent the same misfortune from befalling someone else in the future.