Genealogy Data
Back to Main Page
Birth : 23 April 1904 in Red Wing, (Goodhue Co.)Minn.
Death : 27 February 1977 in Red Wing (Goodhue Co), Minn.
Burial : 1977 in Oakwood Cemetary, Red Wing, MN
[joan'sfam.FTW]
My father Harold Bennett had two nicknames - Hollie (which his mother and my mother called him) and Hoot. Hoot apparently came from "Hoot Gibson", an actor in the 30's who was in many of the movies shown at the Metro theatre in Red Wing where he worked. In later years my sister and I started calling him Hoot also and his grandchildren called him Grandpa Hoot. We used to think the Hoot (i.e. hoot owl) came from the late hours he kept as a projectionist and manager of several movie theatres in Red Wing! "Hoot" started his theatre work while still in high school when he became an usher at the Metro Theatre which was owned by his future father-in-law, George W. Johnson. That is where he met and fell in love with my mother Ella Mae Johnson.
Hoot was a good student in high school and was encouraged to go to college when he graduated. He enrolled in the University of Minnesota. However, as the story goes, he was so 'smitten with Ella Mae, he could not stand to be away from her and came back to Red Wing after one quarter at the University. He then started a radio repair business and soon after Ella Mae graduated from high school they were married. He also worked evenings and weekends at the Metro theatre, having graduated to the position of projectionist. (In the days before automation, the projectionist had quite a bit to do). When I was a little girl I remember going to the "second" show on Sundays with my mother and then my father would come home with us for a late Sunday night supper and stay home the rest of the evening. Other days he would have to run the evening show and the only time we saw him was at supper time before he went to work. On his one full evening off, he bowled at Nybo's bowling alley in a league. He was a "300 bowler" (i.e. had a perfect score!) His other hobbies or interests were hunting, fishing and gardening. Joan remembers going pheasant hunting with him. Joyce and Joan would take the part of a dog and go through the corn fields to scare up the pheasants for him to shoot. He didn't get many as he would not load the rifle until a pheasant flew into the sky, probably afraid of an accident. Also, I never saw where he kept his rifle in the house and I learned never to ask!
My father was a man of few words. He did not have much involvement in our day to day lives, but I loved and respected him. He was always kind to his parents - however- I think when he was a child he tried to "get away" from the "Swedish ness" of his parents. He must have spoken Swedish as a child, but did not teach us any (alas). Always a staunch Republican, he did vote for Franklin Roosevelt when he ran for his third term - he thought Roosevelt had been good for the country. He was also a "union" man, serving as Steward of his union of projectionists. Eventually he went on to become the manager of the Metro and Chief Theaters which had been sold to a film consortium owned by a Mr. Ruben of Minneapolis. (George W. owned the building the Metro was in, but had sold the "business" and gone on to manage the City owned Auditorium Theatre).
I will quote from a letter by Hoot to Ella Mae in the summer of 1947 while we were at Green Lake. ". . . . drove up on the bluff and you could see the flour mills at Hastings- the air was that clear. You know once in a while a person likes to journey back through the years and that is what I did this morning. It made me feel sort of glad to be alive. . . . . I have chased a dream for twenty years and now it is slipping away from me. I think I will try to find another dream to chase. . . . nothing more for now except I guess I have always loved you." (In this letter Hoot is referring to the closing of the Metro Theatre - television was on its way in and small town movie theatres were having a hard time). After the Metro closed he operated the movies at the Chief Theatre in Red Wing and at the newer drive in theatre. Later, he became projectionist at the Auditorium and went back to radio and television repair work. After he "retired" he still fixed T-V sets for friends and subbed as projectionist at the Auditorium. As the "Union man" he was was in charge of lighting, etc. when a traveling show or local stage production would be held at the Auditorium.
While we spent and enjoyed summers at Green Lake, Hoot always had to stay in Red Wing and work. He would come to the lake every couple of weeks and we would sit on the 'Knoll' counting cars and eagerly awaiting his arrival. Later years at the lake we would bring out the Scrabble game every evening after the kids (his grandchildren) were in bed. I think he always won!
Parents:
Father: Bennett, Oscar FrankFamily:
Mother: Anderson, Alma Elizabeth
Marriage: 22 October 1927 in Red Wing, Minnesota
Spouse:Johnson, Ella MaeChildren:
Birth : 1 January 1907 in Willmar (Kandiyohi Co.) Minnesota
Death : 11 January 1982 in Red Wing (Goodhue Co.) Minnesota
Burial : 1982 in Oakwood Cemetary, Red Wing, Minnesota
[joan'sfam.FTW]
My mother, Ella Mae (May) was a very well read and informed person for her time. Although she almost always voted republican, she was very liberal in many ways. She believed women should be able to have careers/jobs regardless of income need if they so desired. In family planning matters she was pro choice. She was concerned for those less fortunate. She returned to work when I was in high school partly to enable me to go to college. Her longest career was with the United Way of the Red Wing area, serving as the paid administrator for many years. Her unpaid career was with the Girl Scouts. She was never our (Joyce and Joan's) leader, but was a Girl Scout leader for many years and also served on the Board and in other capacities. One of her projects was the 'Mitten Tree" at Sheldon Park (Girl Scouts would donate mittens) This project is still continued by Red Wing area Girl Scouts.
Ella Mae was a very devoted member of the Christian Science Church in Red Wing and most of her friends were also church members. Her other special interest was "Eastern Star" a Masonic organization (her father was a Mason). She rose to a state office in that organization and had any friends throughout the state that she kept in touch with over the years.
Here are some quotes from a letter she wrote to her granddaughter, Betsy Schuette in 1968. "I was glad to get your letter and hear you have started working on badges in your Junior Girl Scout Troop. . .the first place we lived (in Red Wing - we moved there in 1915) was upstairs over the Family Theatre which my Father and Mother had bought and had come to Red Wing to "run". It wasn't long before we moved into a house. . . I went to the movies often, because that was our business and my mother sold tickets. When she was through selling tickets lots of times she would go in to see the second show - then I would curl up in her lap and sleep. I liked to roller skate - all around town. I got a doll each year on my birthday from "Auntie Ramsett" (Ella Wright Ramsett) who I was named after (she wasn't really my aunt, but my Grandmother's cousin). Another thing I liked to do was go on picnics and go swimming. We could swim right in the Mississippi River. We didn't have radios yet, to say nothing of television, but we had a piano and I took lessons. My brothers were musical so we always had music in our home. I was a Blue Bird for a while. Girl Scouts didn't get started in Red Wing until I was too old to join. I would like to tell you about the time my family spent on a homestead in Montana . . but it would make this letter too long. . .to me it was a very happy time, something like going camping, although to my elders it was probably a very trying time. But when there is love in the home children are not aware of things like that." (A copy of the article she wrote for the Havre, Montana newspaper is appended).
Ella May loved to write letters and corresponded weekly with her daughters and sister Vendla and then with grandchildren. She saved her grandchildren's letters and I have them in a file in my desk. She loved her grandchildren so very much!
Parents:Father: Johnson, George William
Mother: Johnson, Etta Pease
Bennett, Joyce Marguerite
Bennett, Joan Louise
There are many interesting stories in the lives of those represented here. Please help me add information, photos, or whatever you feel comfortable with.
INDEX
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z (Other)
Thanks for visiting!
Back to Main Page
This page has been slightly reformatted and preserved in memory of its creator and my brother.
(aka Bruce Johnson)
Return to Bruce and Bobbie's Main Page.