JULIUS JOHNSON HISTORY
My parents, also my grandmother and my two
oldest brothers, arrived at Glen Flora on March
25, 1897. They left Harlan, Iowa after my dad had
a sale to dispose of farm machinery and horses and
some household items. Corn, the main crop was
selling at ten cents per bushel, also cholera, the
dreaddisease wiped out all of my dad's hogs, in
other words the farm renter went broke and
Grover Cleveland, the democrat president was
very unpopular. With the election of president
McKinley, who defeated Cleveland, and the
Republican party gained strength as many
disgruntled democrats supported Mr. McKinley,
and he was assassinated in 1902. My eldest
brother, Joseph, was six years of age and brother,
Clarence, was four and my brother Herb and
myself were born at Glen Flora. My grandmother
was about seventy-five years of age when they ar-
rived at Glen Flora. In reference to brother Joseph
and Clarence's age it meant arrival at Glen Flora.
My parents were born in Norway.
My brother Joseph died on May 7, 1899, age
eight years, five months. My grandmother Sarah
Thompson died November 15, 1915 age 93 years.
My mother died November 18, 1933, age 67. My
father, Helge Johnson died December 22, 1936,
age 74 years. Brother Herbert died August 22,
1971 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brother Clarence
died April 1, 1971 at Veteran's hospital age 77
years. Brother Herbert was 74 years at time of
death, burial at Arlington     Cemetery   in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brother Joseph's grave at
Glen Flora in Lutheran cemetery is second oldest
grave there.
Julius Johnson died in the spring of 1983.
Julius Johnson

Vern Welton 50th Anniversary - 1974

MEMOS OF JOHNSON-
WELTON FAMILIES
Among the earliest settlers here in Glen Flora
were Nels Christian ("Chris") Johnson and his
wife, Marie. Having relatives in Wisconsin they
came to Wisconsin from Denmark in 1886. In
1893 they moved to (Miller Siding) now known as
Glen Flora and settled on 70 acres of woodland, for
which they paid $6.00 per acre.
To this union four children were born: Bernard,
Henry, Carrie and Emma.
Nels worked at a sawmill west of Glen Flora,
known as Switzer's Mill. There he worked I 1
hours a day for the equivalent of $1.10 per day.
Mr. Switzer owned a grocery store and he paid his
help with supplies from the store - no money.
Later Nels worked at a mill known as the C.A.
Coon Lumber Company Mill in Glen Flora. That
was a 10 hour day for $1.60 per day.
Later they cut logs and wood to sell and cleared
land to start farming.
Mr. Johnson died in 1928. Mrs. Johnson died in
1939. Bernard died in 1966, Carrie Johnson Long
died in 1962. Henry, a World War I Veteran, now
91 years old makes his home in Glen Flora with his
sister, Emma. Emma and husband, Vern Welton,

settled on this land in 1930.
Vern Welton was appointed sub mail carrier in
1934 by postmaster, Mildred Swanson. Vern held
this position for 43 years. He drove a team of
horses for the first eight years on a 24 mile route.
For this Vern received $4.00 per day.
To Vern and Emma six children were born:
Marion, Donald, Kenneth, Max, Dolores and
Kathleen. Marion taught school for several years.
She is married to Norris Erickson, administrator
of the Prentice School District. Donald is manager
of a large Sears Roebuck Store in Alexandria,
Minnesota, where he and his wife, Rose reside.
Kenneth has worked for over 20 years and is still
with the Burlington Northern Railroad. Ken and
family reside in Minneapolis, Minn. Max works in
the office of the Pako Company. Max and family
make their home in Minneapolis, Minn. Dolores
works at R&W Novelty Company and makes her
home with her mother at this time. Kathleen
teaches in Rhinelander and is married to Alan
Lewis. Alan is principal in the Rhinelander
district. (Kathleen lost her first husband, James
Prasnick, is a boating accident in 1977).
Later the Weltons acquired more acreage and a
large herd of Holstein dairy cattle and farmed for
many years with the help of their children.
Mrs. Vern Weldon (Emma) was telephone
operator for six years in Glen Flora for the Cream
Valley Telephone until the company changed to
dial phones in 1958.
After the death of Vern in February, 1978, Mrs.
Welton sold the farm and moved to the Village of
Glen Flora. Presently she is the Glen Flora cor-
respondent for the Ladysmith news.
THE OSWALD AND AGNES
JOHNSON FAMILY
I (Agnes) was born in Rusk County and am the
youngest of 6 children born to William and Mary
Krisik. Andrew, Steve, Paul and Mary are de-
ceased; Anna (King) and I are left. My parents
moved from Pennsylvania, having emigrated from
Austria-Hungary, now known as Czechoslovakia.
When they settled north of Glen Flora, it was all
virgin timber, with no roads. Mother told of how
once when she was digging potatoes, a big bear
came close and she brushed it away with her
apron.
Mother carried water from a spring which was
an "eighty" across from home. More than once she
tripped, spilling the water. Once when going after
the cows, she got lost, spending the night in the
woods. In the morning she came across a creek,
following it back to familiar surroundings. A posse
looking or her, found her, but she said she could
have made it home after finding the creek. Father
returned to Pennsylvania to work in the coal mines
several times, but Mother wouldn't go. She said
she had found heaven right where they were, no
dust or smoke, just pure clean air. Father died
when I was three. Mother raised us with the help
of the 2 oldest children, Andrew and Anna.

The Family of Oswald and Agnes Johnson, including
wives and husbands
We attended the Little Red School House which
is now at the county fairgrounds. I finished 8th
grade at Central School, then walked to Glen
Flora for the 2 years of high school they had there
then. I wasn't able to continue, for I had to help

Mother who was alone.
Oswald and I were married November 26, 1930
and since then have lived in Cedar Rapids
township where we are the oldest residents. We
own a dairy farm. Oswald has been town treasurer
36 years. He came to Cedar Rapids from Min-
neapolis at age 10 with his father, step-mother and
other family members. His father, a carpenter, was
a Norwegian immigrant. Work was scarce, so they
figured they'd have a better life by moving to the
country; but it was hard as there were only trails
and old logging roads. About 40 families settled in
the township around that time.
We have 6 children: Edward, William, Robert,
Virginia, Marian and Margaret. All attended the
Pioneer School and graduated from Glen Flora
High School except Margaret, who attended
school at Glen Flora and graduated from
Flambeau High School. The boys all served in the
Korean War.
Edward and wife, Rose, farm in Colby and have
3 children; William and wife, Barbara, also farm
in Colby and have 3 children; Robert, employed on
the home farm, is the present town chairman;
Virginia and husband, Raymond Kopacz, farm
near Sheldon and have 8 sons (one is married and
has one child), Virginia, an R.N., graduated from
Marshfield School of Nursing; Marian and hus-
band, Richard Tobias, of Eagan, Minnesota, have
2 children, Richard is a biology teacher at Burns-
ville High, and Marian does secretarial work at a
nearby college; Margaret and husband, Michael
Scrivner, of Woodruff, Wisconsin, have 2
daughters. Michael is a CPA with an office at
Minocqua and Margaret is attending college in
Rhinelander.
We have 18 grandchildren and     1 great-
grandchild. Agnes Johnson
THE FAMILY OF ALLEN JONES
The family of Allen Jones have been residents of
Rusk Co. since 1911. He is survived by a son,
George 87 and a daughter, Sarah 84, who live
together on a small farm outside of Bruce.
Allen and his father, Henry, a lawyer, came
from England in 1850. Henry's wife died in
childbirth when Allen was born.
Both Henry and his son fought in the Civil War,
Allen joining as a drummer boy and lying about
his age to be allowed in. They served in the same
company during the war, but were separated due
to Henry's incarceration at Andersonville prison.
After the war, Allen returned to McGregor,
Iowa where he met and married Harriet Har-
rington. In 1890, with six children, the family
made the trip to Wisconsin. They lived in Loyal for
11 years where four more children were born.
The family moved to Goodrich in 1901. Two
children died during the next two years.
About that time, Allen and the boys, Burt,
Henry, George and Ralph formed the Jones Fife
and Drum Corps. They performed annually in
Memorial Day parades until Allen's death in 1930.
They made yet another move in 1911 to Big
Bend, Rusk County. They bought 205 acres with
buildings and went into farming. Three of the
children married and began families of their own,
more houses were built on the land.
Although some of the family were there for thir-
ty years, it was a difficult time. The farmland that
they bought because it was very fertile, had one
large drawback. It was flooded often by the Chip-
pewa River which bordered it on three sides.
In 1920, son Ralph drowned while checking out
the river the night before a baptism had been
planned by the family's church.
Four years later Grandma Jones passed away
and in 1930, Grandpa Jones died of pneumonia at
the age of 86.
The remaining family gave up the struggle with
the flooding land and abandoned the farm in 1941.
By then, Mary, Henry, Abby, and George all had
married and moved away. Burt, Ellen, and Sarah
lived in the Caley Lake area at Bruce where
George and Sarah now reside.
Sarah, who worked at the farmer store in Bruce
from 1945 to 1955, milked cows by hand until
1978. She now spends her time crocheting, making