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Mr. Johnson left Sterling, Ill. in the early spring of 1876 for Sac County, Iowa. He located in Wheeler township, buying 160 acres for which he paid $6 an acre. There was cheaper land, but the piece he selected was held at the above figure, and it being an extra good farm, he paid the price rather than buy something that did not suit him.
The lumber for such outbuildings as had to be built right away was shipped from Clinton, and hauled across the country from Vail. Until the lumber arrived Mr. and Mrs. Johnson made their home with a neighbor, August Lundblad, who owned a farm about two miles south. Many new settlers came into that neighborhood that year and in 1876 the whole country seemed to be alive with people that were buying farms, and as a rule, they were Swedish people.
Nels Anderson built the first buildings on the Johnson farm. Thirty-five acres were broken up the first season, and the following year, enough more to make 90 acres under the plow. The thirty-five acres broke the first year were sown to wheat and a little corn was planted, and as this was grasshopper year not much was raised they could realize any cash on.
When asked how they managed to exist, Mr. Johnson said: "One dollar went further then than five do now, and we went through somehow." (Very likely the old cow, a few chickens and a pig or two had something to do with it). As wheat was not a very paying crop, flax was tried for two years. This paid fairly well, but the land grew poorer each year, and as a sort of restorer was seeded to clover.
They either traded at Denison or Vail, and had their wheat made into flour at Deloit. Now and then they would visit Ida Grove, (old Ida Grove) where a mill was located also. These trips to Vail, Denison or Ida Grove, were long, tiresome days work, and if the roads were muddy or there was deep snow, two days would be required to make the trip. Settlers at the first stage, had to drive many miles for a doctor, as the handy telephone on the wall, or the motor car were unknown.
One of Mr. Johnson's neighbors living two miles northeast was a very handy neighbor to have around. His name was Wm. Molson, who extracted teeth for all who wanted such work done, and Mr. Johnson says that he remembers that he also bled people, (I imagine not the way they are bled now) and at one time he operated on him.
A. E. Johnson who still resides on the farm where he first settled, and Henry Hanson of Odebolt were among the Johnson family's neighbors also. When Odebolt started, the trade from the settlement came this way, and when Kiron started nearly all the old timers did their trading there.
The second year in Sac county, (the grasshopper year) Mr. Johnson and his neighbor Chas. Henderson made a trip to Denison to buy poison to kill grasshoppers with. Night overtook them before they got home and they got lost. Generally, a team will, if given their own way reach home safe, but in this case the team was lost as well as the men, and it was pitch dark. The men knew that they were not so far from home, but in which direction?
After milling around for some time Mr. Johnson said to his companion, "You hold the horses and I will try and find out where we are." Getting out of the wagon he began crawling around on his hands and knees, and finally crawled onto some breaking, which he was sure was on his farm and they arrived home safe at last. Grasshopper traps were made out of boards and cloth and constructed in such a way that when the hoppers got in the trap they did not get out, until killed. This method was especially effective with the young hoppers and the old ones did not do much damage.
In 1909 Mr. Johnson sold the farm where they had lived for 34 years, to Gus Hammerstrom, who still owns a portion of it. Mr. Johnson then came to Odebolt, bought a large lot and built a fine residence. After getting the town residence all fixed up to suit himself, Mr. Johnson concluded that he had possibly made a mistake in selling the farm, and he did not fancy being without a farm anyway, so he made a trip to South Dakota and after looking around some bought a farm of 320 acres in Minnehaha county, nine miles from Sioux Falls. This is one of the best farms in that country, with rich soil, and a set of good buildings.
Mr. Johnson, as one of the pioneers of Sac County, not only passed through the grasshopper years, when he and his neighbors had nothing to sell , when it was worth little or nothing. He remembers at one time he had a hog that weighed 500 pounds, hauled him to town, and received $10 for him--$2 a hundred. At other times wheat would be a good crop and the price very low, the next year the price would be high, but wheat a very poor yield. Eggs and butter were not worth much, so products from the farm did not bring in much cash.
In 1895 two sons, John and Arthur, and a brother in law of the two brothers rented a farm from Henry Hanson, four miles south of Odebolt. In the late summer, the three men were in the field stacking grain, and while at the stack unloading a hard storm struck that neighborhood and a bolt of lightening struck and killed three of the men. This was a terrible shock to the Johnson family, from which Mrs. Johnson never fully recovered and died the year following.
Three of the six children are living, Oscar and Helen at home, and Mrs. W. J. Stamper of Madison, Wisconsin. Besides the two brothers, John and Arthur, who were killed in 1895, Olive, died in 1909. The latter was a great favorite with everybody, as she clerked in the stores at different times.
Next Saturday Mr. Johnson will reach his 81st birthday, and he is remarkably well and active for a man of that age. In the summer he can be seen either attending to his lawn (in which no dandelions grow) or busy with his garden and fruits. He has a good variety of apples on the place, cherries, grapes, strawberries, currents [sic], gooseberries and these, if given the proper attention take up most of his time. He says that he does not care to be idle--feels better when he is busy.
It is a pleasure for this newspaper to publish such interesting facts and happenings connected with the Johnson family. It tells the younger generation how such men as C. M. Johnson, and others, made their headway in a prairie country--not by speculation, but by industry, close attention to business, and doing to others as they would want others to do.
transcribed by B. Ekse from microfilm