[The author served with Mayor Gary Johnson
as councilmember from 2008 to 2014 and is a current Pelican Rapids city councilmember.
Do you have a city story to tell? Submit your idea to communications@lmc.org.]
 |
| Gary Johnson was elected mayor of Hawley, MN in 2008. |
One
thing that has been consistent within the city since the beginning is the
involvement of the Johnson family. Mayor Gary E. Johnson, the current mayor, has
been at his post since 2008. He is the fourth-generation Johnson mayor in the
town’s history.
Hawley
was incorporated in 1871, and the Johnson mayors date back to Gary’s
great-grandfather Andrew Johnson, who served in 1891 and again in 1895. Andrew
Johnson brought many businesses to the fledgling community, including a bank,
an automobile dealer, a grocery store, a creamery, a potato brokerage, and a
lumber yard. The main family business was the Johnson’s store, which was
started in 1887 and was a department/general store and later a grocery store in
downtown Hawley.
E.P.
Johnson, Gary’s grandfather, was mayor from 1946 to 1949 and again from 1952 to
1954. E.P. went on to serve two terms as a representative in the Legislature. Burton
Johnson, Gary’s father, served as Hawley’s mayor from 1972 to 1984.
E.P.
Johnson’s brother, E.W. Johnson, also served as mayor for one year in 1933. All
told, there have been five Johnson mayors of Hawley—spanning roughly 20 percent
of Hawley’s 144 years.
The
current Mayor Johnson said he learned about hard work and city service from his
father, Burton. Burton was mayor for 12 years, and served in city government
for a total of 24 years, including a long run as a councilmember.
“It
was something all of us were aware of,” Johnson said of his dad’s service. “I
remember being 14 or 15 years old and dad coming home at midnight. His commitment
was legendary.”
When
his father was the mayor, Johnson said, the city had only one meeting a month,
which made for a late night, especially for a local grocery store owner.
Johnson
said he has been proud of continuing the Johnson civic service tradition, but
it hasn’t always been easy. Like most rural towns, as transportation, business,
and community needs changed, Hawley lost many downtown retail businesses.
Lately, however, it has highlighted its rural, small-town roots and values to
attract new residents and businesses including a new concrete plant, a new
implement sales and service facility, new retail, as well as other
manufacturing and service business expansions. Hawley now is in the envious
position of having to attract and free up housing space for new residents.
“We
need to be progressive and continue to grow. If you don’t grow, you die,” Johnson
said, adding that there is still a need for an enhanced community center,
convention and meeting space, housing, a downtown anchor business, additional
retail, and recreational amenities.
Johnson,
who recently retired after more than 30 years at Honeywell, said he will
continue to serve as long as the community wants him. And there could be a
fifth generation waiting in the wings. His daughter, Jennifer, hasn’t yet
stepped into local politics, but owns a local accounting business and has
dabbled in a few committees and civic organizations.
