This was the home of Leon M. “Pinky” Johnson and his wife Lois from 1939 to his death in 1987.
Leon Johnson was born April 20, 1904, at Fosston. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 1927 and began teaching at Hankinson, N.D., in 1928. He also taught at Grand Rapids and Floodwood before moving to Bemidji in 1937. He married Lois Vennewitz Dec. 21, 1931, at Alexandria. He taught vocational agriculture at Bemidji High School until retiring in 1968. He was an advisor to the Future Farmers of America Club in Bemidji and coached four teams to national championships in FFA competition.
He was a Minnesota Teacher of the Year, past president of the Minnesota Vocational Agriculture Teacher’s Association and past vice president of the National Vocational Agriculture Teacher’s Association. He served on the Bemidji City Council from 1969 to 1972 and was secretary of the Beltrami County Fair Board from 1962 to 1977. He was a member of First Lutheran Church, the Elks Lodge, Lions Club, Curling Club and Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Mrs. Johnson died in 1983. He died June 1987. He was survived by a daughter, Nancy and a son, Leon L. Johnson.