Within the tall, stately, two story home at the corner of Ann and Second Street lies an abundance of history. Not only because this is one of the first homes to be built in Manning but because it is, and has been, home to Letha Johnson for many, many years.
Amongst the spacious rooms, adorned with treasurers from the past, sits a charming lady with her longtime companion, Baron, perched lovingly on her lap.

Mrs. Johnson has enjoyed history all her life and shared that joy with students at Manning High School until her retirement in 1972. Today, nearly ninety years young, rather than sharing her knowledge of the famous people and places she has studied and taught about to so many others, she shares a little bit about herself and her own personal past.

Over the years many people have asked her about her unusual first name. "My father knew a girl named Letha," Mrs. Johnson said with a smile, "No one else ever has!" Mrs. Johnson was the only child of Henry and Mary Boysen. "I am a German from Schleswig," she stated proudly.
Growing up as an only child was not as lonely as one might think. Her parents were the owners of the drug store in Schleswig throughout her youth, surrounding their child with many companions in the customers that they served.
"My mother helped dad at the store. When I was an infant my parents put me in a slot of the wallpaper display in the back of the store to sleep," Mrs. Johnson said. "I literally grew up in that drug store. Back in those days the store was open until 10 or II o'clock every night."

The school she attended was only a few blocks from the drug store. Mrs. Johnson can remember running as fast as she could to the drug store every night after school. "I suppose my mother told me to come right home so I ran as fast as I could," she said. As she grew older, Mrs. Johnson worked in her parent's store and graduated from high school at the very young age of sixteen.
Her parents had heard a representative from Grinnell College speak about the excellent program that was offered there and were very impressed. The fall following her high school graduation in 1923, Mrs. Johnson entered the college and was a resident of the traditional Mear's Cottage dormitory. The next four years at college offered limited visits back home to Schleswig for the young scholar.
"I didn't even come home for Thanksgiving," she said. "Just Christmas and the end of each school year when I would work at the drug store. It was too far to travel much more than that."
College provided for many entertaining experiences as she attended dances and other activities. "Back in those days girls did not go to dances without a man," she recalled.
"That has changed now."
In 1926 her parents decided that they had worked all the long days they cared to at the drugstore in Schleswig and made the move to Manning upon purchasing the Manning Trust and Savings Bank. That move was the beginning of many happy years to come for the young woman.
"I never worked in the bank," Mrs. Johnson chuckled. "I use to kid my dad about it. I would tell him he didn't think I knew enough to work there." As the youngest student to ever graduate from Grinnell College, Mrs. Johnson caused quite a stir in 1927 when she received her degree of a double major in English and history at the age of twenty.

The year Mrs. Johnson graduated from Grinnell she was struck ill and unable to work. After regaining her health in 1928 she became the new history teacher in Ida Grove, a position which she held for six years to follow.
In the meantime, her parents had rented the house next door to where the Johnson family lived, in particular, a young man by the name of Clifford "Bud" Johnson. (The Johnsons lived at the corner of Third and Center Streets in the home now occupied by the Ronnie Hiatts.)

"Bud" (Clifford Manning Johnson), the only boy born into a family of a bunch of girls, according to Mrs. Johnson, bought the Manning Shoe Store from his father, Chris, selling it to current owners, Emmett and Donna Mullen in April of 1953.
"I fell in love with the boy next door," Mrs. Johnson fondly remembers. "We were married in 1934."
After their marriage, Mrs. Johnson substitute taught at Ar-We-Va at the request of then Superintendent Pontius. "He said he was desperate so I helped him out," she said. The arrival of the Johnson's two daughters, Marie in 1936 and Julia in 1941, took priority, putting teaching on hold for a number of years.
"When I went back to teaching there was a shortage of teachers," Mrs. Johnson said. "I don't know why."
By this time her youngest daughter was a high school student and Mrs. Johnson was prepared to join the work force once again.
"A man by the name of Bill Bailey was the superintendent," she said. "I taught high school English and history to grades 10 through 12 in the old high school."
Mrs. Johnson said she recalls taking field trips to the state legislature in Des Moines each spring. She also remembers the students as "good kids."

About her recollections she stated, "I taught under a woman who had been principal here for years, Marie Perkins. Ken Kock, who left here and moved to Denison, was the superintendent. They are both gone now, so they can't verify or disverify."
Mrs. Johnson never taught under current Manning School superintendent , Wayne Curlile, although she taught with him. "He is a good man. I wonder if he would give me a job substituting," she laughed. And then she pondered, "I wonder if I were to walk into the classroom now if kids would respect me simply for my age? I wonder if they would shut up and listen or not?"

"I loved teaching history," Mrs. Johnson said. "Teaching the students and the history. It was a combination."
"I hope my students realize now how important history is and why," Mrs. Johnson said. "It is important to remember history and even ancient history. It is important to know these things because history repeats itself."
Mrs. Johnson still goes back to Ida Grove and visits the students she taught there. "They are either in nursing homes or dead now," she said. "Which is sad, darn it."
As she reminisced about her life she said, "This is a wonderful town. Manning is outstanding! It doesn't have violent crime. It's not a goody, goody town. It is a good town to live in. I've had an interesting life and I've lived it in small towns. So you can have an interesting life in a small town.

Bud passed away several years ago, but Mrs. Johnson continues to live in the home that they shared together and attend the Presbyterian Church where he was the choir director for forty years. Daughters, Marie and Julia, reside at Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Canaan, New York, respectively.

Update on Letha Johnson ---
She now resides in the Manning Plaza - dated February 2, 2002)