The "General" - Mr. Johnson

[hausser]

Here are some snippets of A.E. Johnson. All are from sources so they
can be considered almost true. He came to Todd in 1906. He was the
principal of the school and taught Latin, math, manual trades and headed
up the print shop. He was a stern disciplinarian who always checked
everyone's hands to see that they were clean and hair to see that it was
well combed before they could enter the dining room at Todd. He could
master anything mechanical. His greatest joy was to build. He built
the barns, boats and the body to the camp truck. Newspapers would call
him to to trouble shoot the Lineotype machine. At Todd they printed
books for Harper and Brothers. We have him signing in at Tosebo in
1918, along with Flora, his wife, and daughters Doris, Wallace
(Melinda's mother's baby-sitter) and later Mildred. Mildred is still
alive and lives in Madison, Wis. Joanne, Melinda's mom still has some
contact with her. Yes, we have copies of the "sign-in's" from 1914-1970.
It would be great if we could ever get the originals from the present
owners of camp seeing they are now trying to sell it again. Why the
keep the ledgers is beyond me! They don't know any of the folks or the
long time history of the camp. Oh, well! When you come here you can
talk with some of the Todd folks who have tales to tell about A.E.
(don't know what that stands for). He was an "old fellow" when we
entered his life. Any way, we have many, many, many pictures, momentos
and sources you can access to help you while away the hours during your
stay.

 

[GeorgeH]

The above information about the General was supplied by Caryl Roskie Lemanski in a 2001 Email to Larry Meyer.
The Generals last year at camp was 1955. I believe he was 80 then. He was the principal driver of the 1942 Chevy camp truck which he drove back to Todd at summers end. The wooden body for carrying campers was built by him. Peirce Erb, 1954-55 counselor and '40's camper and Todd student, told me in a March 2003 telephone conversation about a repair in the roof of the camp truck camper body-the damage caused by a Todd physics teacher who packed explosives in an old engine block on the Todd lawn. . . . after the explosion, one of the earthbound pieces of cast iron pierced the roof of the trucks camper body which was parked nearby.