John O. Hoganson was born in Spring Valley, Wisconsin in 1877. He went into the dry cleaning business at Bemidji with his brother Anton Hoganson under the name of the Model Dry Cleaners in the spring of 1909. He married Otelia Knutson on May 25, 1910 in Bemidji. They lived briefly at 909 Bemidji Avenue, then at 805 Minnesota Avenue and then built a new home in 1912 at 1302 Bemidji Avenue. He died in March 1938 and was survived by his widow, Otelia, two sons, Lester and Wayne, and a daughter, Irene. Otelia continued to live in their home until she died on June 20, 1964.
Lester Hoganson, their son, graduated from BHS in 1932. He attended Bemidji State Teachers College for three years. He later worked at the First National Bank in Bemidji as a teller. He married Marion Olson Sept 1, 1944 at Bemidji. He served in WWII as a flight instructor and then overseas in the Philippines. After the war, he returned to work at the First National Bank. He retired from the bank as president in 1979 after 44 years of service. He and his wife traveled extensively after retirement until her death in 1988.