Oral History Interview with Joan Johnson

Partial Transcript: "Okay, good morning.This is Kathy Kremer."

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes becoming Unitarian along with her family during her youth and her encounters with famous figures in the Unitarian faith. She recalls conflict with her father when she supported a coal mining strike.

Keywords: Abraham Lincoln Center, Chicago, Ill.; Alton, Ill.; Congregational churches; East Chicago, Ind.; Homer Jack; John Lewis; Randall Hilton; Unions

Subjects: Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining

Partial Transcript: "How about your education?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes meeting her husband, Donald "Don" Johnson, during college, their marriage and travels during his service in the Navy, and his efforts to find work after leaving the military.

Keywords: Accounting; GE; General Electric; Korea; Northwestern University; University of Illinois

Partial Transcript: "And then, did you move back to Illinois, afterward?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her husband finding employment as an accountant at General Electric in Louisville, Ky. She also recalls his concerns about taking a job requiring significant time traveling and his training in computers.

Keywords: Accounting; Auditing; Donald Johnson; Family; GE; Northwestern University; United States Navy; UNIVAC

Partial Transcript: "And when did you join First Unitarian Church?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson recalls looking for churches to join when a neighbor wanted to take Johnson's son to a Bible school. She describes Weston's speaking including a panel television program called The Moral Side of the News and concerns within the church about increasing African American membership.

Keywords: Change; George Gibson; Lutheranism; Politics; Prejudice; Racism; Robert Weston; Sermons

Subjects: Civil rights movements

Partial Transcript: "In those days what were church members doing for the church?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes the volunteer work members did in the church. She recalls her own work beginning with sitting with newborn babies through serving on various committees and participating in the Women's Alliance.

Keywords: Babysitting; Bob Weston; Committees; Fundraising; Greeting

Partial Transcript: "So it seems like, and I don't have the dates for Bob Weston in front of me, but he was there for quite a while."

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes raising money and planning for the new church.

Keywords: Architect; Fundraising; T.J.

Partial Transcript: "Would you care to say anything about some of the other ministers that you knew?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson recalls the loss to the church community when minister David Brown died young. She describes her relationship with minister Robert Reed including some complaints she had about the way youth were overlooked in the church and his asking her to work in the office at the church.

Keywords: Babysitting; Bob Reed; David Brown; Philip Smith; Robert Reed

Partial Transcript: "So she started in 1985. She had just started before the fire?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson remembers getting a call in the middle of the night that the church was on fire and arriving at the church the following morning to see that it was completely destroyed and still smoldering. She describes the temporary facilities that the church used for services, Sunday School and committee meetings and the planning for rebuilding the church.

Keywords: Building committee; Fire department; Furnace; Heywood House; Interim minister; Nazareth College; Sister Eileen M. Egan; Spalding College

Partial Transcript: "And you were on these, now you were busy with kids?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes introducing a scheduling book to keep track of office tasks. She remembers her relationship with Marge Warden, who also worked in the office and how they discovered people and places they knew in common in North Dakota.

Keywords: Catholicism; North Dakota

Partial Transcript: "And so you were new to the staff, she was new to the staff, you had an interim minister, and you were searching for a settled and meanwhile the church burns down?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson talks about work after the fire, including salvage efforts, trying to rebuild records, purchasing supplies, and writing thank-you notes for the many donations from various individuals and faith communities.

Keywords: community; donations; Hymn books; Insurance; Religious education; Starting over; Supplies

Partial Transcript: "You worked for the ministry?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her outreach work at South Louisville Ministries organizing meetings and coordinating services and the alignment between her religious beliefs and her social work.

Keywords: Community services; Food co-ops; Food pantries; Humanism; Humanists; Social services; South Louisville Ministries

Subjects: Community organization

Partial Transcript: "Were there other church related activities that had to do with community organizing?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson talks about her work between 1972 and 1980 at River Region mental health center, which became Seven Counties (and more recently part of Centerstone). She describes a major research project involving a committee of school counselors, ministers, the publisher of the The Voice-Tribune in St. Matthews, and the Chief of Police from St. Matthews to understand drug use among youth in the East End of Louisville. She recalls conflict with Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Richard VanHoose and that the results of the survey showed the vast majority of students favored alcohol over other drugs.

Keywords: Alcohol abuse; Drug abuse; Surveys

Partial Transcript: "And while you were doing that you were also active in the church?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her work-life balance. Sums up her experience by saying, "I mean I'm willing to sacrifice, but I'm not gonna put my kids on the altar."

Keywords: Children; Motherhood; Mothers; Volunteer work; Women and work

Partial Transcript: "Do you recall any social justice issues during Bob Reed's stay at the church?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes Robert Reed's work with conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War, Marge Warden's work in the church office, and Richard Beal's efforts to collaborate with African American ministers.

Keywords: African American; Bob Weston; conscientious objectors; Richard Beal; Robert Weston; social justice; The Moral Side of the News

Partial Transcript: "And that reminds me, I meant to ask you, you mentioned the forums."

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes Forums, an innovative program in which speakers involved in current events would come speak at the church.

Keywords: Community activism; Community involvement; Community organizations; Community organizing; Social justice

Partial Transcript: "I'd like to ask you about, one big person that we haven't talked about is your husband."

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her husband's contributions to First Unitarian as a treasurer.

Keywords: Accountancy; Accountant; Bookkeeping; Donald Johnson

Partial Transcript: "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes getting to know other church members through her work in the office and how she listened to people's problems when they called and the minister was out.

Keywords: Business; Listening