Established on 03.12.2021 by Dawn Y. Mitchell, Brian Newton Johnson, and Gayann Kathleen Broker †
Written by Dawn Mitchell:
Congratulations to the recipient of the Esther Kading Johnson and Glenn N. Johnson Endowed Scholarship! The story behind this award reflect my parents' belief in education as a stepping stone to a positive future.
My mother, born in 1912, was a first generation citizen whose parents came from Germany and settled in Clay County, Minnesota. She loved school and was determined to become a teacher. Graduating at age sixteen, she wanted to pursue her dream just as the Great Depression occurred in America. To earn money for tuition and room and board at the Moorhead Normal School (now Minnesota State University), she spent two summers walking round and round in neighbor's field, scything grain by hand; forming the stalks into bundles; tying them with twine; and then throwing them onto a horse-drawn wagon. After a year's preparation in Normal School, she taught for ten years in one-room school houses, living in the homes of near-by neighbors located on the plains of Norman and Clay Counties. In addition to preparing lessons for k-8 students, she had to start and maintain the wood stove, haul out the ashes, and clean the building. Woman teachers signed a yearly contract that included a promise that they would not marry, since if they became pregnant, the farmers would not be able to find substitutes. Mother taught school after marriage for another forty years in Twin Valley and Moorhead, Minnesota.
My dad, born in 1915, was the grandson of a Danish woodworker who came to America for a better life. This Dane homesteaded in South Dakota but moved to Brown County in southern Minnesota; he and his wife had twelve children, one of which was my grandfather, Julius Johnson. Grandpa Julius moved north to the Red River Valley because the land was known for its great productivity; he purchased a half section of land in Clay County, and when he retired his son - my dad, Glenn - bought out the sections willed to his siblings.
Glenn only finished eight grade. Because he was the oldest son, he took the place of a "hired hand", helping grandpa prepare the soil, plant the crops, and then cultivate and harvest them, thus missing large segments of each school year. In addition to operating our farm, he earned a plumber's license and during winters worked on large construction sites in the tri-state area, including installing the missile silos along the US/Canadian border during our country's Cold War years with Russia. Though never earing a formal degree, he enrolled in many college classes when he retired.
Our parents married in 1941 and lived the majority of their life on the family farm two miles south of Borup, Minnesota, though they also had homes in Moorhead and in the Lake Country.
The farm my husband, Dale J. Mitchell and I, Dawn Johnson Mitchell; my brother, Brian N. Johnson and his wife, Mary Collins Johnson, and my sister, Gay Ann Johnson Broker, placed in a Charitable Remained Trust to benefit Concordia students, is the same farm described above in this essay. Because our parents were role models for us, assisting people in having an opportunity for a better life through education became a philosophy we also endorsed.
Brian spearheaded this endeavor; he had a long-standing relationship with Concordia through his involvement with the Norwegian Language Village and later with John Pierce, regarding estate planning for community members. Brian and Mary practiced the belief of "paying it forward" and enriched the lives of many in local area towns. While our sister and I spend most of our time on the West Coast, we agreed that we would gladly have the trust and my scholarship project serve students from local areas in which five generations of our families had log resided.
Our parents ensured that all of us graduated from colleges or universities. Many members of our family have followed our mother into the field of education, earning advanced degrees to teach students from kindergarten to university level. At this time, all of the grand children have graduated from institutions of high learnings, too. One family member, Marni Johnson Kirchmaier, graduated from Concordia in 1987. She participated in the language program at Skogfjorden and attended Concordia following high school. Her experiences there afforded her a life-long appreciation for the blessings of a well-rounded life including the spiritual, academic, social, and emotional well-being Concordia offers.
I am proud to honor our father and mother's memory with this scholarship and encourage you to also embrace your educational opportunities at Concordia College.
The Esther Kading Johnson and Glenn N. Johnson Endowed Scholarship is awarded by the Office of Financial Aid to students of any class majoring in one of Concordia's education programs. Selection is also based on financial need.
† - Testamentary endowments may not be contributed to until they are fully established.