Joe Drennan
Staff Writer

After serving Columbus Township as part of the road maintenance department for 30 years, George Johnson decided it was time to retire and enjoy the winter season.

Johnson was working at West Publishing and was looking for employment elsewhere when a friend told him Columbus Township had an opening in the road maintenance department. Johnson sent his application in and was the lucky one out of a handful of guys who got the job.

ìWhen I started we had approximately 1100 people and 23 miles of road in the township,î Johnson said. ìWe only had two pieces of blacktopped road in Hornsby Street on the east side of the freeway and an old country road that was given back to the township. The rest of the roads were sand.î

In the next 30 years Columbus Township doubled its roads to over 50 miles. At the moment 15 miles of the township roads are blacktopped with more on the way, Johnson says. The streets that haven't been blacktopped yet have been upgraded from sand to gravel during Johnson's career.

Road improvements aren't the only thing Johnson has witnessed over his 30 years. The town board grew from a three member board to a five member board shortly after he started his job, the maintenance building doubled in size and the town hall/offices/senior center complex was constructed. Johnson ranks the construction of the town hall/offices/senior center among the most exciting things that happened in the township in his 30 years of service.

The Forest Lake Fire Department fire station located right next to the Columbus maintenance garage is another improvement to the township that Johnson thinks fondly of.

ìThat fire station was a real accomplishment and a really good benefit for the people of Columbus Township,î Johnson said.

The construction of the fire station is something Johnson appreciates more than most people because he was part of the Forest Lake Fire Department for 27‡ years. He said that for a number of years an extra fire engine was housed in the maintenance building. When it came time to replace that engine then fire chief Dave Marquardt said he wouldn't let a new engine be housed in maintenance garage and get beat up by the daily activity in the garage.

Working in Columbus Township for 30 years has its fair share of memories too.

In his first winter, Johnson says he remembers being out plowing when he came upon a car stuck on the side of the road. As he went to go around the car he hit it and ended up in the ditch himself.

ìThere are plenty of memorable stories like that,î Johnson said.

While many people would consider working all night in snow storms just to clear the roads for the morning rush hour a nuisance, Johnson found peace in it.

ìWe'd usually get out there at one or two in the morning when there was little traffic on the roads,î Johnson said. ìSeeing the beauty when things were all nice and white, it was really pretty out there in the morning. To see all the wild life was fun too. I had to work but it wasn't that bad. We always had the roads opened fairly quick though, even with the big Halloween storm.

ìIt's been interesting working in Columbus Township for 30 years. Its ben fun working here and not so fun at times,î Johnson said. ìIt's hard for people to realize that they don't live on the only road in the township and some roads demand more maintenance than others.î

Retirement

With all his new free time, Johnson isn't too sure what he'll be doing with it, but he has some ideas.

ìI'm going to stay really busy in my retirement,î Johnson said.

Johnson and his wife celebrated his retirement right away by taking a trip to Las Vegas. Johnson says he and his wife are planning to travel to Florida after the first of the year too.

ìWith my job we were never really able to travel during the winter season so it's going to be nice to see what other parts of the country look like during the winter,î Johnson said.

When he and his wife are not traveling, Johnson says he'll continue to teach fire fighting classes at Hennepin and Anoka Technical Colleges and teaches some classes for the National Fire Academy.

ìOne thing my wife has said is that we're not going to stop at every firehouse along the way when weíre on vacation,î Johnson said. ìBeing in the fire service and the brotherhood that it is, it's easy to stop at the firehouses because they're always willing to help you or just talk.î

On Nov. 22, Columbus Township showed its appreciation for Johnson by throwing him a retirement party at the town hall that was open to the community.

ìI've enjoyed working here in Columbus Township and have made a lot of friends in the township. I was just in awe with all the people that came to the open house for me that day,î Johnson said.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605