JOHNSON FAMILY REUNION
[Lead Belt News, Flat River, St. Francois County, Missouri,
Wednesday, August 23, 1967]
The children of the late James H. and Louella Conrad Johnson have just held their fifteenth annual reunion at the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Luther Dolle and Mrs. and Mrs. Owenby of 815 and 817 Illinois Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom survive. All were present with the exception of one brother in Nebraska. This has been an annual event since the death of Mr. Johnson in 1953. (Mrs. Johnson died in 1941). This event is an effort on the part of the children to hold the family together.
At the time of Mr. Johnson's death in 1953, there were 111 direct descendants. As of this account there are 172, the latest addition arriving Tuesday evening, August 15, 1967, Kelly Kristine Poff, great-granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Johnson of Flat River, Mo.
Brothers and wives, sisters and husbands, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins (Johnsons and Conrads) and old family friends, seventy one in number as well as could be counted, were in attendance.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are very proud of their big family. Since the death of Mr. Johnson in 1953, there has been only one death in the immediate family, a brother who was killed when coming to the defense of a cashier in a restaurant during a holdup.
Four states were represented, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri. Those attending from Flat River were a son and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Johnson, daughter (Mary) and husband, Mr. and Mrs. James E. Morris.
A most enjoyable time was had by all. The next gathering is planned for some time in June, 1968 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ira Johnson of Johnson, Nebr., when this couple will celebrate their golden wedding. One brother and his wife have already reached that goal, Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Johnson of Flat River.
An added note of history [to this] account: Mrs. Louella Conrad Johnson was the granddaughter of Missouri State Senator David R. Conrad from Bollinger County who served in the Senate from 1866 to 1870. Mr. Conrad was the father of thirteen children, one of whom was Mrs. Johnson's father, John C. Conrad, who homesteaded in Oklahoma, and lived to the age of 93, passing away in January 1935. Mrs. Johnson was the oldest of thirteen children and also the mother of thirteen children, making three generations of thirteen in one family. Two of the number thirteen children still survive, Mrs. Ruth Conrad Corbin, residing in Texas, and Mrs. James E. Morris of Flat River, Mo.