He Caddied for Duke of Windsor & “Jackie O” at Newport Country Club - At 90, He Tells His Story
GoLocalProv News Team and News Editor Kate Nagle
He Caddied for Duke of Windsor & “Jackie O” at Newport Country Club - At 90, He Tells His Story
Born in the Fifth Ward in 1933, Lauzon, who is now 90, began caddying at the Newport Country Club at the age of 9, and following years in military service, returned to Newport where he eventually became a manager at the club.
In 2024, he was recognized by the Newport Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) as their “Man of the Year.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to Lauzon, the Duke of Windsor — and “Jackie O,” then a Bouvier — are among those whom he caddied for in his youth.
This week, the U.S. Senior Open is at the Newport Country Club, and GoLocal sat down with Lauzon at the AOH hall on Wellington Avenue to hear his tales from the storied golf course.
“When I was 8, 9 years old, we had to make a dollar somewhere,” said Lauzon, of growing up in a household of six. “We had absolutely nothing.”
Starting Out at the Club
“It paid a dollar a day, maybe. That was a lot of money,” Lauzon told GoLocal of caddying at Newport Country Club. “I stayed straight…most of the time. I had nothing else to do. I had no money. Nothing.”
“I was just a kid,” said Lauzon, of when he started. “I didn’t know any better. I was just interested in making a dollar. They didn’t care, the people you caddied for. You got their bag on your shoulder and that’s all that.”
And one of the golfers he caddied for when he began was the Duke of Windsor.
“The biggest a—hole in the world,” laughed Lauzon. “Nobody liked him.”
The reason? According to Lauzon, he “didn’t tip.”
According to Lauzon, when the Duke would come to Newport, “He’d stay with Robert R. Young.”
When Young died by suicide in 1958, the front page headline in the New York Times read, "Robert Young, Financier, Ends Life in Palm Beach; Chairman of New York Central Kills Himself With a Shotgun Palm Beach Mansion Is Scene of Financier's Death."
“They’d play all the time. A tip? Not up there with him — he wouldn’t know what the hell you were talking about,” said Lauzon of the Duke. “We’d see him coming through the gate and we’d all go hide.”
But because he was one of the youngest caddies, Lauzon said he would often get the assignment.
He said he saw Simpson on occasion, but like the Duke, the interactions were perfunctory.
“I saw her a couple of times. The only thing we got out of her was a ‘hello,’ said Lauzon. “I didn’t care.”
For Lauzon, hanging out with the other caddies provided the basis of his social scene.
“There was a gang of us. Nobody had any money,” said Lauzon, who said the caddies would get picked up in the mornings at St. Augustin Church in the Fifth Ward. “It almost got into a routine with some of those people, seeing us sitting there. Same thing coming home. Dropped us off on the corner.”
“Then, if I made ten bucks a week, that was ‘eh.’ Twenty bucks, that was good,” said Lauzon — noting most of it went to his family. “Nine holes was 75 cents. Then they pumped it up to a dollar. 18 holes was a dollar seventy-five. There were no carts in those days.”
“The ladies would go with nine holes,” said Lauzon.
Upon accruing a few years of caddying, “Now, now I’m getting into a bit of trouble,” Lauzon laughed.
“A lot of those people would come from Bailey’s Beach. They were cheap bastards, too. They’d come over around 2:30 in the afternoon. Automatic,” said Lauzon.
“In my high school days, it would be me [and a few guys] and we’d caddy for the same ladies,” said Lauzon. “The Bouviers. He wasn’t even going with her at the time.”
“Her” of course was Jackie Bouvier, confirmed Lauzon. And “he” was John F. Kennedy, the former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator — and United States President. The couple were introduced in 1952 and wed in Newport in 1953.
“Sands was another girl [in the group]…it was a foursome,” recollected Lauzon. “A couple of them, they liked to party, I’ll tell you. They were up there in age now. Party time. We got along pretty good, and they’d tip us pretty good. They’d steal money out of their fathers’ pockets.”
Lauzon said the caddies and the group of women were “all about the same age.”
“Gooseberry Beach was where we’d used to go…that was our hangout,” said Lauzon, of where he and his caddy friends would go after work.
“It got to the point now, we’re getting very friendly with these girls, they’re getting friendly with us…party time,” said Lauzon. “We said hey, we’re having a party down at Gooseberry Beach, you girls want to go?”
“Ooooh, we’d love to go, they said. Now — this is a no-no,” laughed Lauzon. “But they liked to party and liked to raise hell. They’re not old. They’re not married. Nothing.”
“Now, we didn’t have any money. The beer, the wine — they said, ‘Oh, we’ll take care of it!’ Meaning of course they’d get it out of their fathers’ cellars,” said Lauzon.
“The day comes. We were all set down at Gooseberry. They don’t show. All of a sudden one of the caretakers comes…said something happened, but the girls wanted to send something down,” said Lauzon. “Two big boxes of booze they sent. But the word must have gotten to the families. It was a no-no. Someone dropped a dime somewhere. But we did have all this liquor…enough for another month!”
“When we did see them, they apologized, but we understood,” said Lauzon. “That would have been a cardinal sin if they came down there with us.”
For Lauzon, who then went on to graduate from De La Salle in Newport, serve in the United States Air Force, and return to Newport — and later become a manager at Newport Country Club — his family is his greatest accomplishment.
He met his wife at the AOH hall, and they had four daughters.
"And they have Masters degrees -- can you believe it?" laughed Lauzon.
And around Newport, Peter "Pimo" Lauzon at 90 is still known simply as "the man."
He turns 91 in August.