Facing Des Moines: Meet Mark Johnson

Meet Mark Johnson. You may find him working at his home business (Chairman of the Board), showing his hand-crafted furniture around town, working at Dahl’s on Ingersoll, showing and selling plants with his wife in the spring (from their garden), or even driving his vintage 1937 Packard.

As Chairman of the Board Mark Johnson crafts wooden leisure chairs for the garden and porch. The Adirondacks or Mackinac Island might come to mind when you see his work. Mark works from home, often outside in the driveway or garden. If you want to see his pieces, he will be

• at the Des Moines Botanical Center for Jazz in July on Tuesday July 22nd with the jazz starting at 6 pm,
• at Beaverdale Park at 34th and Adams for Jazz in July on Saturday  July 26 also at 6 pm, and
• on the lawn at Hoyt Sherman Place on Sunday July 27 for the Art Affair from 10-4. You can expect 30 artists and vendors there.

Mark’s family, Swedish on both sides, moved to Des Moines from Minnesota; his father served as minister at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church starting in 1947. Mark was born and raised in Des Moines, graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1966 and earning two degrees in Education at Drake where his favorite prof was the late Keach Johnson. One of his hobbies is reading and historical fiction has special appeal. Three of his recommendations are Water for Elephants, Pillars of the Earth, and A World without End.

What advice would he offer a grandchild? education, education, education.

Mark is a Navy veteran who served on an LSD (Landing Ship, Dock) with stops in Hawaii, Australia, Singapore, and Japan with one in Vietnam.

Look for Mark around Des Moines.

photos by James G. Lindberg

Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.

Facing Des Moines

Let’s put a face on Des Moines. We are more than the CEOs, weather forecasters, politicians, sports stars, celebrities and criminals that seem to dominate the news. Fear, disaster, celebrity and excitement sell more soap, cars, drugs, beer, food, and political ads than your typical day so that is what we read and hear. While the City of Des Moines is a collective group, those who live here are individual. Friday I will start a weekly blog entry called “Facing Des Moines.”  I hope to give you a glimpse of a person worth knowing: a typical citizen who you might not otherwise encounter and probably not someone you’d read about in the Des Moines Register or see on KCCI. It will be someone who makes Des Moines a better place, someone who meets responsibilities as a citizen and family member, someone who is working, paying taxes, and pursuing a good life. Unless you’re the person who is the face this week, it won’t be you, and lucky for you, it won’t be me.

If you are looking in from another city, state, or country, be prepared to put some real faces on Des Moines. If you live in Greater Des Moines, meet your neighbors. In either case, see who we are: people, faces, stories, not yours – ours. When? Fridays.

Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.