Redding’s Al Johanson passes away at 91

I recently read that Alger “Al” Johanson has passed away at 91. He gave me my first full time job in Redding in 1974, and became something of a pivotal figure for me as a young man. I see currently, services are pending. I’m sure at age 91, most of his contemporaries have passed on as well. I feel compelled to write something about him here.

Al and his partner Owen Jones ran Redding Optical Lab on Gold Street. I worked there 7 years as a lens maker, and eyeglass fabricator. At the time, Redding Optical Lab was the longest operating lab of its kind in California. We made prescription eyewear for most everyone in Redding who needed to wear glasses. Technology and market changes rendered the business mostly obsolete, and it closed not long after I left for another tech job. The building on Gold Street is now a blood lab.

Me and a couple co-workers at Redding Optical Lab grinding lenses in the late 70's.
Me between a couple co-workers at Redding Optical Lab, grinding lenses in the late 70’s.

Al and his wife Edith lived in Sunset Terrace. Very active in Rotary. He was a truly rare and unique individual. He loved to waterski. So he built his own custom V8 powered ski boat. He loved photography, so he had his own darkroom setup. He loved to fly, so he built his own airplane in his basement, and flew it out of Benton Airfield.
VariEze_in_flightNot just any airplane. It was a canard design built from composite material. A design called a Long Easy designed by Burt Rutan. This was very much cutting edge technology at the time. Even now Rutan’s designs are legendary, and include the current Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

Al introduced me to the first personal computer I ever saw. Perhaps the first one in Redding. It looked to me something like an erector set and used cassette tape for memory storage. I was fascinated! A computer in your house seemed like science fiction. Of course there were no “apps” or even programs. You had to program it yourself using a language called BASIC. Al had written some code to calculate lens design, something we had been doing by hand at the lab. Automation in the 70’s.

Back in those days, I played keyboards in a garage band called Headwind. Al let our band use the upstairs section of the building on Gold Street for free practice space at night. What a leap of faith (and risk)! Our band went nowhere ultimately, but I will be forever grateful for his charity to our artistic cause.

At the time, he just seemed to me like an ordinary Redding guy. My boss. The fullness of time has given me greater perspective to appreciate just how rare and special an individual Al was to have met. Like some Northstate Da Vinci. You want a plane? Build it. You want a computer? Learn to code. These ideas informed my early adulthood, and that mentality has shaped my life too. I bought what may have been the first Apple II computer in Redding because of Al. And with that I began a lifetime of curiosity, technical learning, and a DIY ethic that I carry with me today.

So he lived to be 91, and passed a few days ago on October 7. I haven’t seen him in years. But his passing triggered a flood of interesting memories for me. I went looking for a photo of him to share, but find none. Odd, since I take a lot of photographs. And so this post ended up being more about me than him. There are a few things I recall of his family, although memory falters after 30+ years. His first wife Edith, a teacher, passed away many years ago. His daughter became a veterinarian, I think. His son, an aerospace engineer who worked on some high profile science projects.

L’uomo Univerale. The DIY Renaissance man. For me, Al Johanson will always be ReallyRedding.

” Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time”

*Edit*

I see an obituary has been posted at the newspaper. I’m going to curate it below. I hope nobody minds.

Alger “Al” Norman Johanson

1923 – 2014

Al passed away on October 5, 2014. He was born in Portland, Oregon on April 17, 1923 to Norman Brian Johanson and Alma Aletta Johanson (nee Hammer).

Al graduated from Chico High School. He entered CSU Chico as an engineering major, but was drafted into the Army for World War II. He served as a medic at Brooke General Hospital in Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. He married his high school sweetheart, Edith Lively in 1945. In 1947, Al and Edith moved to Redding and started the Redding branch of the Chico-Redding Optical Lab, which became the largest independent lab in the state of California. They had two children, Paul and Lois. During this time, Al was extensively involved in the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and Rotary. Al received several commendations, including acknowledgement as a Shan Fellow and a Paul Harris Fellowship. He Rotary service included the Mulege, Mexico dental/optical services project. Al had a passion for flying (he held private, commercial, instrument and Part 135 pilot licenses) and used his own Cessna P210 to transport local health professionals and supplies to Mulege. He personally contributed his expertise honed in the optical lab to fit glasses for villagers. For 25 years, Al managed the Rotary-UC Berkeley International House exchange program that annually brought approximately 30 international students to the Redding area to stay with local families during spring break so they would have an opportunity to learn about American culture and the far north state.

Al built his first house himself, working on it on the weekends and each day after work, and kept up his hands-on approach throughout his life, rebuilding much of the family home when it burned in the mid-1980’s), building boats for water-skiing and his own aircraft, a “Long EZ.” The EAA was especially important to Al; he was Past President of the EAA, Chapter 157, and he spent a portion of many days at Benton Airport with his flying buddies, most of whom he outlived. He served on the board of the Mercy Air Ambulance. Each year, Al and Edith flew to the national EAA “fly-in” in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Al loved anything that burned a LOT of gas and went fast. He said if he had a dollar for every gallon of gas he had burned, he would be a millionaire. Edith and Al were happily married for 43 years until Edith passed away. Al sold his optical lab and retired during Edith’s illness so he could nurse her. After retirement, Al joined a coffee group which met every weekday morning at the Sandwichery and was a regular until about 7 years ago.

Two years after Edith passed, Al found happiness again with Isabella “Izzy” Talley. Together, they had a wonderful time travelling to Egypt, Norway (to see Al’s ancestral “home”), the Panama Canal, New England, and up and down California. They especially enjoyed taking long drives around the north state to see the beautiful surroundings. Al and Izzy were married for 25 years, the last ten of which were touched by Al’s slow decline due to dementia and Parkinson’s. Throughout life, Al did a lot for other people; often no one else except the recipient knew what Al had done. As he was always the helper, it was particularly difficult for him to receive help. Izzy was a devoted caretaker, but when caring for Al became too much, she shared responsibility with the staff at A Brand New Day, who grew to love Al for his mischievous and stubborn self. It was difficult to determine how bad the dementia had gotten as Al was never a big talker (being more of a “do-er”) and had several stock phrases that he used for most conversations. “How are you, Al?” “Terrible!” (followed by a quick grin). Even when he had lost his ability to talk, there were times you could still see Al in the twinkle of his eyes.

St. James Lutheran Church was an integral part of his life. He was involved in founding the church in Redding which just celebrated its 65th anniversary and was a lifelong member, serving on the council and supporting the church leadership.

Al is preceded in death by his parents, his first wife (Edith), and his three brothers (Harold, Art and George).

He is survived by his second wife (Izzy), his son Paul (Diane), his daughter Lois (Steve Hild), and three grandchildren (Brian and Brandon Johanson, Julia Hild). He is also survived by his six stepchildren (Sam Lewis, Izzy Lewis, Russ Lewis, Rebecca Hinrichsen, Margaret Arthofer, and Buffy Tanner), their spouses (Phil Park, Sumudu Lewis, Henry Hinrichsen and Dave Tanner) and eight step-grandchildren (Tanya and Christina Lewis; Lauren, Sidney and Grayson Arthofer; Hannah and Rachel Hinrichsen; and Lily Tanner).

The family would like to recognize and thank the wonderful staff at A Brand New Day for their care and love of Al, as well as Mercy Hospice for ensuring Al’s passing was peaceful and pain free.

The family will hold a private remembrance of Al’s life.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the St. James Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.
Call (530) 221-6474 for more information.

gPa moments

Almost a month now, since the birth of grandson Talon. My daughter Erin and I work together running The Address Realty, so he spends a lot of time here at the home office. It’s been a great month.

Talon at 12 days
Talon at 12 days

Having kids teaches you about yourself. I’m looking forward to the lessons taught to me by my grandson. gPa (gee-paw) time.
Certainly trying to enjoy the moments.
To be in the moment.
Put down the iPhone and iPad, and be in the moment, gPa
Put down the iPhone and iPad, and pick up the gPa
The moments are indeed fleeting.

I repair a smashed iPad!

So I dropped Erin’s iPad in the driveway. Like some slow motion segment of a horror film. Nooooo….
Broken iPad
Despite good advice to the contrary, I set about replacing the shattered glass on the fondle-slab (as they are called in the U.K.).Heating the glueOf course, it’s glued together. Not exactly service friendly. Armed with just enough knowledge to be dangerous via Youtube, I press on.
Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave at this point. Sorry, Steve.
Prying it looseTurn it off, foolTiny shards of glass aim for my eyes, like razorblade glitter.
Flat batteriesFlat batteries. Pretty amazing technology.
iPad 2 repair sceneIt abruptly occurs to me that I probably should have turned it off first. Yeah, too late now.
Broken digitizerThe glass digitizer is just a little broken.
LuckySometimes, you just get lucky. DIY gizmo repair. That’s Really Redding.

The Buddha lamp

Buddha LampThis lamp was once the valued possession of my now departed mother-in-law. She’s gone, but the lamp remains.

It’s been on a journey, as various relatives tried to find a place for it. None seem content with it. Now it’s at my house.

I don’t believe I’ve seen other religious icons made into light fixtures. The Buddha seems to have taken the transformation in stride. Still, it’s certainly not very dignified.

Nobody seems to want the lamp, yet we hang on to it for purely sentimental reasons.

Ironically, Buddhists have something important to say about that kind of attachment. From Wikipedia: “The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self. The doctrine asserts that because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile and leads to suffering.”

Admittedly, the human suffering here is insignificant. But there it is. We either suffer with the Buddha lamp, or suffer with idea of discarding grandma’s parlor light from the house in Summit City. And along with it, a part of her in our memory. Our attachment to the impermanent is the source of the anxiety.

And so the Buddha lamp offers illumination, with both warm light and insight.

Kodak bankruptcy hits close to home

The sad news that Kodak has declared bankruptcy bears mention here. Below, is the clock I was given for my 20th anniversary with Eastman Kodak (EK).
Kodak in redding ca
20 years is a long time in the life of a human. I didn’t spend it all as a direct employee of EK. About half that time I was with a company acquired by Kodak, Bell & Howell. I was a Field Service Manager for both company’s operations.

When I began with EK, the sheer scale of the company was truly astonishing. They were so large in Rochester, the company had its own bus system for the thousands who worked there. Laboring in huge brick factory buildings that seemed literally to stretch for miles. Yellow boxes of film sold everywhere for fabulous profit margins. The company was doing amazing science and research.

Yet even then, in the late nineties, you could tell the glory days were long past. This great American company was on an arc, and the signs of its descent to an inevitable end were already plainly visible, a hundred years in the making. Aside from the obvious fact that its main product was as obsolete to most people as a buggy whip, the decay was as much from the top down, as it was from the bottom up.

A century in Rochester had produced a royal court of management, and generations of entwined managers spoke of having Kodak in their blood. From an outsider’s view, the bloodlines were clearly more important than managerial competence. The atmosphere was at times maddening.

But in the end, perhaps the troubling leadership problems made no difference. The company simply ran its course.

Toward the final days of my career there a decade ago, it seemed I was spending more time working on who to lay-off than getting anything constructive done. I had even developed a sort of routine to handing out the news. An acquired skill of which there is nothing good to be said. Make it fast and unannounced. Be aware of their safety, and of your own. It is a formidable thing, to tell a multi-decade employee who is good at what they do, that they are no longer needed. And then they came for me.

It seems a lifetime ago. The day I was “let go,” my boss arranged for me to lay off 3 of my employees first. These were all longtime people, all more senior than me. Good people. All heartbroken. One gentleman unexpectedly brought his wife with him, and I listened as sympathetically as I could as she cried and threatened to sue me. In the back of my mind, I knew my boss had flown in from Chicago, to lay me off later in the day. But right then, these were my people, and they deserved to hear it from me. They deserved my solemn respect, and the right to look me in the eye as I delivered the bad news.

Kodak was a great American company. They created terrific products. They pioneered many progressive ideas, like employee health insurance. And they fostered scientists who provided them with a multitude of useful patents, which is apparently the bankrupt company’s only equity now. I am sad to hear the news of their demise. Saddened, but not surprised.

I wonder what the bankruptcy process will look like for Kodak. Going bankrupt, whether it is an individual who files for bankruptcy or a business that finds that this may their only option, this situation is never an easy one to go through.

I was talking to a friend in another company who filed for Chapter 11 and they said that they were using a Cary bankruptcy attorney that specializes in this area of law. Apparently, they have a shining recommendation for maintaining core assets based on what my friend said. There was some concern that the bankruptcy filers they were using previously were not credible. Yes, fraudulent insolvency is a real concept that preys upon companies filing for bankruptcy and I hope that doesn’t happen to Kodak.

Kodak’s future is uncertain at this point and I can’t say what will happen. America still manufactures many things. A different Kodak may emerge. But the multitude of jobs won’t be there, not like they once were. Automation, computerization, and other “efficiency” factors have worked to create this jobless recovery. Kodak will be missed by all who worked there, and I think our nation will miss Kodak if it goes for good.

Awkward family photos for our ’80s Christmas cards

Daughter Erin has been getting some mileage on Facebook posting our family Christmas card images from the ’80s, and labeling them awkwardly for a laugh. Actually, they are pretty amusing in retrospect. Growing up Murphy meant that you couldn’t just have a “normal” family photo. Oh no. It had to be some unique creative expression. Of course, not every kid grows up with a paper-mâchĂ© T-Rex in their yard with flashlights for eyes, so the scenes may have raised an eyebrow or two. But it was the ’80s, you know. A different time. Anyway, laugh if you must. We certainly did when we made them. Click to embiggen.

Even the dog can't believe it.

Awkward family Christmas photos. If you don’t have any, well, sorry. We have plenty.

Merry Christmas from ReallyRedding.

Erin auditions for the Bachelor TV show

One of Erin’s friends suggested it’d be fun for her to be on the Bachelor TV show. I didn’t know much about the show. She asked me to help make an audition video, and here it is. It was unscripted, and Erin was pretty nervous in front of the camera. That much is clear. Still, she did go on to get further interviews, and they flew her down to L.A. for the finals.


It’s amusing to watch in retrospect. She was held to strict confidentiality, up until they told her a few days ago that she didn’t get the part. I’m okay with that outcome, to tell the truth. The more I learned about the show, the less I liked the whole idea. It sounded like fun at first, but according to Erin they were quite intrusive. The whole thing was a lot more regulated than one might think. Of course, that makes sense. In a reality TV show, casting is everything. And so is the element of surprise, so they have to be quite careful in their selection process. If she had gone on, I think it would have been very much a good news/bad news scenario. Well, we’ll never know, now.

BTW. The Gold Hills Golf Course home shown is still for sale. Happy to show it if you like it.

The Buddha out my window

I have this small statue in the garden. I have been asked if I am Buddhist. I’m not, although I find myself in alignment with several of the important concepts. Things like impermanence, mindfulness, attachment, and Karma. Mainly though, I like looking out my window and seeing the serene face. There are lots of times that serenity comes in handy.
Buddhist staute in my garden
I was raised a Catholic in a town with a lot of Hispanics. There, the statues of Jesus usually had painful looking crowns of thorns, and sometimes blood coming from nails in his hands. Not really serene, but very Mexican. I get the point, but for now, the Buddha statue resonates. I think Buddha and Jesus would have had a lot to talk about with one another.

Happy New Year! From Really Redding. Our site is re-launched

Last year was, uh, interesting. Time for a new one. Today we wish you a Happy New Year.

Today we are re-launching our main real estate website, RedHotHomes.com It was sort-of cutting edge back in the day (like last year), but was starting to look a bit stale.
Some of it needs more work, but what doesn’t? Click on the image to take a peek. And thanks to all our viewers last year. May the next year and decade see all your real estate dreams realized.
RedHotHomes.com real estate site in Redding