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Today's Featured Biography

 
Tom Johnson

[update 11/3/15]

I went on to Purdue University after HHS, attending classes at the Calumet Campus during the fall semester of 1967 and the spring semester of 1968. I then transferred to the main campus at West Lafayette for my final three years and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry in the spring of 1971.

I was unable to establish a career in Forestry due to a hiring freeze imposed by President Nixon on full time permanent Federal employees. I had made up my mind when I was only thirteen years old and in the eighth grade at Washington Jr. High that I wanted to work for the US Forest Service somewhere in the mountains of the western US.

After working for two years out in Idaho for the US Forest Service as a temporary employee without receiving a permanent job offer, I decided not to go back for a third year; I moved in February of 1973 to Greenville, KY, where both of my parents were born and raised.

I changed jobs several times during my first year in Kentucky, until I was hired by the general contractor on a paper mill construction job in Madisonville, KY. That was in November of 1973, and I continued to work the construction job until the start-up of the mill in June of 1974, at which time I switched over to the mill payroll and began my career in the specialty paper industry. Ahlstrom Filtration LLC makes automotive and industrial filter paper, and your car almost certainly has some of our paper in its air filter, oil filter, or fuel filter.

I retired at the end of June 2015 after 41 years with the company. I had served as the technical director for our plant since 1981. My work included writing specifications; designing fiber combinations, or "recipes," for the various types of paper we make; and supervising experimental runs on the paper machine.

I married a local gal, Georgeann, in 1975, and we are still together. We have two grown children, Dawn, born January 13, 1977, and Wesley, born February 1, 1979. Dawn is married and has given Georgeann and me two beautiful granddaughters, Payton, born June 24, 2003, and Taylor, born September 17, 2005.

My dad retired from Minas's in 1978, and he and Mom returned to their roots, moving into a house about seven miles from where I live. I lost Dad in 1994 to prostate cancer, and Mom passed away in 2009 at the age of 95.

I am thrilled by this renewed contact with my classmates from DOHHS, and I welcome Emails or phone calls from any of you. We are going to have a great reunion!

I regret not having attended any of the previous reunions, and I thank those who took the time to track me down and contact me about them.

The "today" picture above was taken for a church directory on February 20, 2007. That's what the Old Tomster looks like nowadays. Haven't aged a bit, have I? :)

Tom

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