Many of us may remember Floyd "Lefty" Johnson, our Junior High principal. He was a rather towering figure, and perhaps instilled fear in some of us because of his stature and the fact that he had a large paddle in his office. Undoubtedly, that paddle was seldom, if ever used, but its presence may have helped some of us behave a little bit better than we normally would have. "Lefty" came to Brookings in 1948 as a science teacher and "B" squad coach. He was a talented at Augustana College in Sioux falls, and I believe is in their Hall of Fame. Not only was he a fine basketball player, but he was also an outstanding tennis player. He was still playing competitive tennis in the 1960's, and introduced many Brookings youngsters to the sport during his years in Brookings. He also led the summer recreation program for many years during the 50's and 60's for the city of Brookings. For his athletic accomplishments, "Lefty" was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Augustana, into the South Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame, into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame and into the Northern Section Tennis Hall of Fame. He was also honored with the Liberty Bell Award. (http://www.sdshof.com/inductees/floyd-lefty-johnson/; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123639923/floyd-arnold-Johnson; http://www.sdtennishall.com/leftyjohnson.htm' https://goaugie.com/honors/hall-of-fame/floyd-lefty-johnson/98).
I was fortunate to begin my teaching career under "Lefty" in 19973 when he was principal at the Brookings Middle School, the first middle school in South Dakota, which started in 1967. He helped me immensely, and guided me through some difficult situations, since we were both science teachers.
Knowing how busy teachers, coaches, and principals can, it takes a very devoted wife to participate and enjoy her spouse's commitments. Their trust in each other must be infinite for their marriage to be successful. It would be fair to say the "Lefty"s commitment to his wife Elnore, and her commitment to him, were just that, infinite and everlasting, "till death do us part."
While "Lefty" passed away in 2003, his wife continued to live a productive life in Brookings, as indicated below. Sadly, she passed away on March 8, 2020. The visitation was held shortly after the warnings about the corona virus were all over the newscasts. Consequently, there were very few people at the visitation, and the funeral was restricted to only a few people. I was able to visit with "Lefty's" daughter Mary Ann and son Chuck. It was great to reminiscence with both of them. Mary Ann was in the class with one of my brothers, and told me a few things of which I was unaware. Their other son Marty, one year behind us in school, was not yet present.
