Saturday, October 10, 1936
- Jill Johnson Tewsley
- Oct 10, 2020
- 2 min read
Henry and Edna
Raining again today.
Henry went to Alex's again
this A.M. to help fill silo.
Rained off again.
Henry went to G.R. this P.M.
Worked hard all day.
Henry Alden Johnson, Edna's husband (and my great grandfather) attended Valparaiso (Normal) College in Indiana for two years. Upon completion he served as a school teacher until his father passed away. Henry then returned home to take over the family farm.
A long-time member of the Kent County Road Commission, Henry, according to the Bowne Township Historical Museum, had the longest service record of any Road Commission member. He is credited as the father of the Kent County Park System, and Johnson Park is named in his honor.
Edna first captured Henry's attention, according to family legend, when she would pass by the Johnson family farm on her way to her teaching position at the McVean School. As the story goes, Edna would pass by on foot or sometimes by bicycle (the kind of bike with the giant front wheel) and Henry would come out of the barn to sneak a peak at her.
When Edna was a teacher at the McVean School, it stood on Alden Nash (between Bowne Center and 64th Street). At that time, it was a single story building.
In 1912, after Edna had left her teaching post, the school was moved to Bancroft Avenue in Alto. In 1924 a second story was added. In 1926 the McVean School was destroyed by fire and a new school was later erected.
The relocated McVean School and its replacement are adjacent to the home where I grew up and where my parents still live. By the time I was born, the new school had been converted into three apartments. Until I was about six, my dad's sister Sherry and her four children lived next door to us in one of the apartments.
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