Karl August Johanesson was born a woodsman’s son in the village of Torp, Sweden, in 1872.
He got up early to deliver newspapers on his way to school three miles away, sometimes in 50 below zero weather. He read the papers before delivering them and picked up grocery orders to deliver on his way home.
When he was 15, Karl and his sister Kristina set sail for America.
Over here, he became Carl August Johnson. According to his granddaughter, Diane Hale Smith of Amsterdam, “He wrote his new name over and over again in a journal to begin the transformation. I treasure that journal.”
When Johnson arrived in Amsterdam, he worked at Inman Manufacturing on Guy Park Avenue, a factory that turned out machinery for paper-box making. Johnson was trained as a machinist, tool maker, coppersmith and electrician. Today, the Inman building is a senior center.
Smith wrote, “When he turned twenty-six he joined the Army, trained at the local armory and was sent to fight in the Spanish American War in 1898. He stepped on a scorpion and was sent home to recuperate. He reenlisted on September 6th 1899.”
Back in Amsterdam, Johnson was a chauffeur for the Greens and Warnicks — prominent families. He drove one of the first motor cars in the city.
Smith wrote, “He spent any free time he had at the local YMCA on Division Street. It has been said that he initiated basketball at the YMCA by hanging a coal scuttle on the wall, the way they often played in Sweden.”
In 1905, he married Mina Kaiser at Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church. They raised four daughters, including Smith’s mother, Dorothy.
Johnson became partners with Clarence Birch, operating a small garage at 78 Stewart St. Johnson and George Calhoun later became partners and opened a large garage at 12-14 Market St., behind the then Barnes Hotel.
Smith said, “They sold and serviced Case, Marmon and Huppmobile cars and parked over one hundred cars a night at the rate of $1.00 each. They were well on their way to becoming wealthy businessmen when the stock market crashed. Due to a great amount of outstanding credit they had given to their customers, the business closed.”
Johnson found work at Fownes Glove in Amsterdam and retired at age 79 in 1951. Smith wrote, “He was known for his honesty. Once when I was a teen I met an elderly man who remembered his generosity in accepting a Bible in exchange for mechanical work. He read that Bible completely four times and took it to heart applying it to his everyday life.
“My mother told me that when she wanted to be liked when meeting new people she would always say that she was Carl Johnson’s daughter. Years later I did that myself mentioning I was Dorothy Johnson Hale’s daughter.”
Carl Johnson never returned to Sweden and lost touch with his Swedish friends. He enjoyed listening to records by Harry Stewart, who performed as Yogi Yorgesson, with an exaggerated Swedish accent. His daughter Dorothy secured him the records while working at Morrison and Putman’s music store.
Johnson died of a heart attack in 1955 shortly after his 50th wedding anniversary and after receiving his 60-year Masonic pin.
Smith said, “He would stay up until three in the morning reading National Geographic and dreaming of the day that we would walk on the moon. Sadly, he passed away before they did but I imagine he was watching from somewhere else with that twinkle in his eye. He never wanted to miss anything!”