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Larry Broquet, an educational television teacher of the 60s passes away

Born 1927, Lawrence (Larry)  A.  Broquet, 89, passed away on November 28, 2016 after a brief illness. He started his career in educational television teaching World History at WTVS Channel 56 in Detroit, and that launched him on the adventure of a lifetime when he and his wife Jean and their four children relocated to American Samoa.

Larry was among the first group of teachers hired in 1964 to participate in the federal government-sponsored program to bring English and education to American Samoa via televised lessons. H. Rex Lee, the governor of Samoa at the time, launched a grand plan that involved building 26 new consolidated schools and erecting a 40,000-watt transmitter on top of Mt. Alava to send the programs to every remote village. A new television studio (KVZK) was also built with facilities for filming.

Larry’s first televised lessons were in Hygiene and Sanitation, where he instructed youngsters on the proper way to shower and use toilet paper. He was often recognized by students on the street, who would run after him and shout “Lar-ee! Lar-ee!” He was always happy to stop and converse with them.

The family lived in Tafuna for two years and then moved into a huge wooden house in Fagatogo. Larry was eventually promoted to Supervisor of Elementary Education, and he often toured the village schools and sat in classrooms to observe the process. He was very proud of the language skills many of the students developed.

The family left the island in 1968 and the ETV program continued for a few more years.

But newly appointed Governor Owen Aspinall was not a fan of ETV and the program was eventually scrapped. Despite the dismantling, Larry remained convinced that educational television was extremely valuable and considered the program one of the greatest achievements of his career.

While he was on the island, Larry discovered a previously hidden talent. He began writing a variety show that became known as “The Samoan Fales”. It started as a collection of terrible old jokes and song parodies and by the fourth annual version, it had morphed into a full-script with over-the-top production numbers. He continued to write song parodies for the rest of his life.

Although the Broquet family only stayed in American Samoa for four years, they considered it a highlight of their lives. Others on the island who were hired as colleagues became life-long friends, and many teachers still communicate with each other via email in a group called The Coconut Telegraph.

After their return to the mainland, they spent a few years in Huntington, WVA, where Larry worked at Marshall University’s WMUL. The family then moved to Springfield, IL where Larry was an administrator at the Illinois Board of Education. He and Jean retired in 1989 and spent the next 12 years traveling to Alaska, China, Europe, Africa and New Zealand. They also returned to American Samoa in 1989 for another look at their beloved island.

To read more about ETV and the Broquet’s life in American Samoa, go to https://thesamoanletters.wordpress.com.