The Johnsons of Sheffield, Alabama
By Bettie King

An African proverb says: "A family is like a forest. When you are outside, it is dense. When you are inside, you see that each tree has its place."

My father, Walter Johnson, was born on March 1, 1900 in Clifton Wayne County, Tennessee. He was born to Ardie Johnson and Alice Evans. It is unknown if there were other children born to this union. My father hardly talked with us regarding his family, which always left us wondering if he had other siblings and relatives.

The family moved from Clifton to Alabama and resided in Sheffield from as early as the 1930’s. In 1936, my father began working at Bond Brothers Incorporated. According to the Birmingham city directories, Bond Brothers was a seller of wholesale lumber and railroad tires. Their offices were located in downtown Birmingham at 2027 First Avenue, North and they appear to have been in business from 1922-1950.

It is estimated that around the 1940’s my father moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he met my mother, Eula Christine Heilig. She was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. They married and became the parents of five children: Marie, Barbara, Walter Jr., Bettie and Margaree Johson. My mother had two children from her previous marriage to M.T. Rambo. Their names were Emma and Herculees (Joe) Rambo.

In St. Louis, my father began working at Screw and Bolt Company as a laborer. My mother was a housewife. While working at Screw and Bolt Company, my father’s co-workers called him “Train”. They said he was called this because he was so strong and able to lift heavy objects. Every Christmas, the company would have great Christmas parties. Even though we’re adults now, we can still remember those parties. There was always a lot of really delicious food, we’d get some great presents, and we would have so much fun.

Our family really cherishes the memories of our father. He would get up every day and go to work. As a matter of fact, we cannot remember a time when he did not work. Even after he retired, he would work part time. He loved to watch television when he was off from work. He loved to watch wrestling and it was hilarious to watch him watching Wrestling because when any of the wrestlers would throw a punch at one another he would “bob and weave” as if he was in the ring himself getting punched. He also loved baseball. He would sit at the radio with his beer and just have himself a great time listening to the radio announcer, Harry Carey call the plays of the game. We sometimes got a chance to attend some of the baseball games with him. 

We lost our father in 1973 and our mother died about fourteen years later. We feel blessed to have had our father in our home with us and providing for us.

The children of Walter Johnson Jr. are: Anthony, Avis
Walter’s grandchildren are: Makiel, Kenya, Camilla
Bettie Johnson King’s children are: Yolanda, Lumumba, Tommy, Tamara, Benjamin, Richard
Bettie’s grandchildren are: JeJuane, Andrea, Mechi, Martini (Trey)
Maragree Johnson Ross’s children are: Larry, Angela, Stacy, Tracy, Arthur, Melissa
Margaree’s grandchildren are: Olivia, Cameron, Taylor, Capri, Arjoanay, Arthur III, Kayla, Keana, Jasmine
Emma Rambo Sander’s children are: Jean, Christine, Chester
Emma’s grandchildren are: Melinda, Danika, Kristin, Sylvia, Jamal, Javon, Vontay 


Email: bettieboop1052@sbcglobal.net