J. Norman Johnson

J. Norman Johnson was born in Jamestown, New York on July 26, 1920. His father Jonas E Johnson emigrated from Sweden in 1893 and settled in Jamestown where he married Anna Mathilda Anderson who had also recently emigrated from Sweden. Jonas built a home and with his brother Oscar, founded the Anchor Furniture Company in 1902, which flourished before the great depression.  

Norman was a Captain in the United States Army during World War II. As a member of the 82^nd Airborne Division he fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and was part of the force that liberated the Wöbbelin concentration camp near Ludwigslust, Germany.

After returning from the war, Norman reunited with his wife Alice Harkrader and moved to Cleveland where he studied dentistry at Case Western University. The couple eventually moved back to Jamestown where Norman established his dental practice and raised four children; Jonas, David, Elizabeth, and Erik in the house that his father had built.

As a boy Norman had always been interested in woodworking. He even built a small airplane, which his mother had destroyed while he was at school, fearing that he might try to fly it. In 1995, at the age of 75 he retired from dentistry, and focused his energy on woodworking.

While much of Norman’s work is in the Mission style, each piece is completely unique. He liked to work with oak, mahogany, cherry and spalted maple. Most of his work is in the collections of his children, grandchildren and close family friends.

Norman was also an avid sportsman and sailor. He hunted at the Mud Island Duck Club where Western New York painters Max and Roy Mason had painted a generation before. He also built a number of boats including a rowing shell, an Adirondack Guide Boat, and two kayaks.