Johnson

1. Shirley Jean Johnson: Born 27 June 1931, Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Married 21 July 1951, Austin Methodist Church, Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Morrell "Perk" Duane Perkins: Born 20 October 1927, Hallsville, Boone, Missouri; Christened 19 or 20 July, 1951; (See Perkins) Sources: Personal knowlege and papers;

2. Edward George (born "Gunner Edward") Johnson: Born 26 January 1907, Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Christened 2 June 1907, 2285 Whiple St., Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Died 7 March 1989, Forest Park, Cook, Illinois; Buried Elmwood Memorial cemetery, Elmwood Park, Cook, Illinois; Married eloped on 26 January 1929, Waukegan, Lake, Illinois; Nettie Imogene "Cupie" Dennis: Born 27 July 1914, Beardstown, Cass, Illinois. (See Dennis) Ed and Cupie had two children: Shirley Jean Johnson who married Morrell Duane Perkins; and Edward Alfred Johnson Sr. who married Chieko "Sally" Tate and had Mary who died as an infant in Japan, Sandra Carol, Deborah and Edward Alfred Jr., and then married Maria Kwartnik. Ed and Cupie eloped on his twenty second birthday. Cupie lied about her age on the marriage license as she was too young to be legally married. He was 22 and she was 14. They were married by Louis K. Ekstrand, a justice of the peace. The witnesses were Cupie's sister Jody, and Ed's best friend Haakon Krey. Ed is best remembered as the inventor of the Snickers candy bar. This was one of the most important events in Ed's life. This invention gave him a celebrety status within the candy industry. He was know as Mr. Snicker within M&M Mars and without. He was immensely proud of this title and his status and after retirement, would frequently go back to M&M Mars to check up on them. He would also go to all of the social functions (company picinic etc...) held by Mars. In addition to visiting Mars he would aslo use his celebrity status to gain entrance into other candy companies and tour their opperations. He loved this title and fame within the industry. In his las year of life, his granddaughter, Amy ordered him Vanity liscence plates for his car which read "MRSNIKR" He was delighted by this. Unfortunetely he died before the plates ever arrived. At his funeral the song The Candyman Can was played. It was one of his favorite songs. This song came from the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Though it was popularized by Samy Davis Jr.

Cupie's first job, in the mid 1930's, was for O Henry Candy Company. She worked there for one night. She was wrapping up Penny candy with a prizes. The prizes were longer than the wrapping paper. She was yelled at because they were poking out of the ends of the paper. Her forewoman was a real bitch and there was a huge storm that night so she never went back. Ed had worked there but he had long since gone to Mars!

Before World War II, Cupie also worked Baby's Valet Diaper Service. She worked here for about six months. She folded diapers after they had been washed. Cupie found this job to be exhausting. One would have to stand up all night and it was hard on her back. As soon as a table of diapers was cleared off her boss would dump another huge pile on the table. She worked there with Mary Lennen (later Kruger.)

During World War II, Cupie went to work Chicago Northwestern Railroad. She was a general clerk. She operated telephones did billings, lined up trains and every other job imaginable. She worked at the Proviso freight yards, which, at that time, was the worlds largest freight yard. When She started none of the other family worked there. Her brother had worked there but he was no longer there. He was international president of International Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks. He got Cupie the job. Since it was during the war the yard was primarily women. The Dennis and Liby families soon added to the ranks of the railway yard workers. Lorene and Nonie were among the first to come to work there all of the sisters eventually worked there. Virtually the whole family worked in the freight yard, freight yard office, or for the Brotherhood. Included would be: Juanita Liby, Robert Liby, Jennie Liby, Violet Liby, Eda Liby, Josephine Liby, Penny Stewart, Barbie Jenson, Bill Jenson, Edward Alfred Johnson Sr., plus of course all the sisters. This accounts for a huge proportion of the extended family.

Her last job (after years of retirement) was for her son, Ed Johnson. Ed ran a courier service called Amerifast (it later changed its name to Crystal Courier Service.) Here she did general office work and was occasionally paid for her services. The basic company consisted of Edward Sr., his wife Maria, and his son Edward Jr. Other family members worked occasionally for this company including Morrell Perkins, and Doug Strong (the author). She worked for this company for about two years. She still does occasional work for Ed Jr. who still operates the company.

Milky Way News, April 1951, ran a regular column entitled "Know your Foreman." This issue introduced Edward Johnson:

January 26th has marked the occasion of the two most important events in the life of Edward Johnson, our relief foreman. It was on that date in 1907 that he was born and in 1929 that he was married. So you can see that the first part of every year is real reason to celebrate. It was in July of 1929 that Ed first started working with Mars in the nougat department. In 1937 he became a foreman in that department. Later he worked in the table traffic and in the caramel department. During his service with Mars, he has been on all three shifts. Work of the Relief Foreman As a relief foreman, Ed takes over for the regular foremen when they are on vacation. He also does experimental work on Mars, making up samples for new sizes, etc. Although Ed was born in Chicago, he was reared in Minot [Donnybrook ed.], North Dakota, Where his father owned a large wheat farm. Then, one fine day in 1927, Ed left his father's farm to come to Chicago for a vacation. But, while he was here, he met a very special girl, Imogene Dennis. And he stayed. In 1929 he and Imogene were married. Ed's first job in Chicago was with a competitive candy company [O Henry Candy Company, ed.]. But he decided he needed a better job so he came to Mars! A Family of Seven The oldest of seven children--five boys and two girls--Ed has three brothers who are now wheat ranchers in North Dakota. Another brother lives in Chicago, and both sisters are in the West. The Johnsons are a family of westerners, that's for sure! During the last war, it was necessary for Ed himself to return to the farm in North Dakota for awhile. Ed's father came to America from Sweden and his mother from Norway. Both came over alone, while they were still quite young, and staked out homesteads in North Dakota. By chance, they lived on neighboring farms, and soon there was a romance flourishing. Ed and Imogene have two children: Shirley Jean, 19; and Edward Jr., 17. Shirley is planning to be married this summer. Out Where Men Are Men Ed Jr. has been in North Dakota since last June doing ranch work on his own. He is living with his Uncle. A real westerner at heart, he has been buying his own cattle for three years, and he is now building up his own stock of beef cattle. His horse and his cattle are all his, and he's actually in business for himself. That's quite a record for a 17-year-old. Standing over 6 feet tall with coal black hair, Ed Jr., is a real credit to the western tradition of stalwart young men. Both Ed and Mrs. Johnson are avid bowling fans. But every fall Ed goes back to North Dakota for the thrill of big game hunting. Since he was 6 years old, he has been handling guns, and the deer country of North Dakota is his favorite haunt. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and Shirley Jean live in an apartment at 547 North Waller Avenue. [Chicago]

Sources: personal knowledge and papers; Milky Way News;

3. Oscar Frank Johnson: Born 2 May 1876, Vinagåker, Sweden; Died 1944, Kenmare, Ward, North Dakota; Buried Donnybrook, Ward, North Dakota; Married October 1906, Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Frederika "Freda" Elieene "Johnson" Erlingsen: Born 17 June 1878, Thingavold, Norway; Died 20 December 1939, Coulee, Mountrail, North Dakota. Freda was known before her marriage as Freda Johnson. Her name was changed for her at Ellis island to "Johnson." There is an old photo of her parents labeled "Mr. and Mrs. Erlingsen." Thus I surmise that his first name must have been John. The book Tales of Mighty Mountrail, says of them:

Oscar came to Denver, Colorado in 1892. He also had two brothers (Harry and Pete) and two sisters (Amanda and Gerda) that came from Sweden. He spent some time with his brother Harry who owned the saloon in Telluride, Colorado. Later Oscar moved to North Dakota and filed a claim in Lowland Township in about 1902. He then went to Minneapolis to spend some time with his brother. Freda had a sister and a brother that came from Norway. Freda filed a claim as a single woman in Lowland township but later sold it to Bob McNair. Freda worked as a maid in Minot. Oscar and Freda were married in Chicago in 1906. In 1908 they came back to Oscar's claim shack and he began farming with oxen and a walking plow. Prior to moving back to North Dakota their first son Ed. was born in 1907. Oscar and Frank Jacobson, who married Oscar's sister Gerda, worked together, sharing their oxen and in later years did custom threshing with their Rumley tractor and separator that they purchased together. They also had a cook car which followed them where they threshed, so they could feed the crew. On the farm were born the last six of Oscar and Freda's seven children: [this paragraph is based on the book's text but it has been updated and corrected] Florence Johnson born 1909, married Eldon Pullen and had Vernal Eldon, Delwin Leroy, and Beulah Jean; Thure Albin Johnson born 1911, married Coral Alberta "Bertie" Pullen and had Patsy Evelyn, William Allen, Elizabeth (died soon after birth), Faye Eileen, and Ann E.; Helen Johnson born 1912, married Tony Rasmusson and had Gerald Alvin, Delmar Lee, Joanne Eileen, and Larry Dean (drowned at 18 months); Alfred Oscar Johnson born 1914 married Aileen (Johnson) and had a son; Wallace Johnson born 1915 married Kathleen Spires and had Richard, LaJuana, and Randy; and Hjalmar Jerome Johnson born 1917 married Sarah Elizabeth "Mary" Evans and had Jacqueline Joan and Donald Lynn. There was much hardship and sickness in these early days. All the water for washing had to be carried from the sloughs and ditches; the clothes rubbed on the washboard and finally boiled to get them nice and white. Sickness in the family was always taken care of by home remedies. Freda was a midwife in the community for many years; as everyone had their babies at home. The family just celebrated the important days like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and the Fourth of July. On the Fourth of July the Johnsons always had a picnic at the Baden Coulee. Winter entertainment consisted of house parties, where the men played whist, the wives visited, and the children played games. Oscar was a member of the School, township and elevator boards. He helped build the Coulee Church basement, where services were held for a number of years until the upper building was moved on. Oscar and Freda were members of the Church and Freda was a member of the Ladies Aid. Ed. the oldest son was baptized in Chicago [the author owns Ed's Baptism certificate] and Florence at the St. Lukes Church; Thure and Helen in the Coulee School House; and Alfred, Wallace and Hjalmar in the Coulee Church. All the children were confirmed in the Coulee Church. Freda suffered a stroke and passed away in 1939. Oscar farmed the place with his son Ed, and later on with his son Wallace. Oscar also suffered a stroke and passed away in 1944. His son-in-law Tony Rasmusson, farmed it for a year; after that it was sold to his son Alfred who farmed there for a few years. Later it was sold to Oscar's grandson, Delwin Pullen, who still owns the farm.

Oscar had at least five siblings: Peter Johnson; Gerda Johnson married Frank Jacobson; Amanda Johnson born 5 January 1871, Yissefjara, Sweden, Died 17 July 18954, Denver Colorodo, married Mr. Wall; V. Harry Johnson born 1873, Sweden, died 1928, Telluride, Colorado, he had a daughter named Clara (1905-1919); and Charles Johnson. Sources: recollections of many Johnsons; Tales of Mighty Mountrail, Amanda's will, Oscar's will, Amanda's funeral tribute.

Freda's Father--

4. John? Erlingsen: Born Norway; Died Norway. John had at least seven children: Frederika Eileen Erlingsen born 1879 married Oscar Johnson; Karen Olive Erlingsen born 1881 married Lewis Gundersson; Edward Erlingsen; Frederik Erlingsen; George Erlingsen; Alice Erlingsen; and Lucille Erlingsen. Sources: research of Pat Henderschott.