ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

ERICK JOHNSON PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #1208

DATES: 1905-1990

SIZE: .25 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Erick Johnson Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Dorothy Johnson, Grand Forks, North Dakota, on June 12, 1990 (Acc.#90-1707).

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Erick Johnson was born October 16, 1905, to Anton and Jenny Jonsson in Renneslov, Sweden. He grew on his parents 25 acre farm, where they raised mostly potatoes and rye. In 1918, he left his parent's farm to search for work throughout Sweden. In 1928, he immigrated to the United States. Johnson eventually settled in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he worked various jobs on local farms. In 1939, Johnson moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, to try his hand at construction work. That same year Johnson married Dorothy Wright on July 3, 1939. They bought a farm south of Michigan, North Dakota. During World War II, he served at Naval Ammunition Depots in Hawthorne, Nevada, and Hanaford, Washington. After the war, Johnson worked construction jobs on Air Force bases, and traveled to several foreign countries. One of his most memorable construction jobs was building an Air Force base in Morocco from 1952-1953. Erick Johnson died May 28, 1990, at the age of 84.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Erick Johnson Papers mainly consist of his autobiography/diary from 1905-1969. The first folder consists of Erick Johnson's obituary. When he arrived in American, the country was on the verge of the Great Depression but he managed to find work on various farms in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After he established himself in America, Johnson visited Sweden after an eight year absence in 1936. In 1952 Johnson ventured to Morocco to work construction on the biggest foreign construction job since the Panama Canal. At that time, this construction job consisted of building the biggest Airbase system in the world.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. Obituary
2. 1905-1928
3. "My Trip to Sweden" - 1936
4. 1928-1939
5. 1939
6. 1942-1943
7. 1945-1951
8. "Transportation to Casablanca" - 1952
9. "19 months in French Morocco" - 1952-1953
10. "Building an Airbase" - 1956-1969
11. "Swedish Story"

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