HE will not strut, he will not straddle, and he will not shirk.

That was said of Ed. R. Johnson, President of Rotary International, some nine months ago at a Rotary Club luncheon in Roanoke, Virginia. And it was John Nelson, of Montreal, Canada, one of Rotary's Past Presidents, who said it. John Nelson has a way of sizing up a man, and he sized up Ed. when Ed. was a member of the Board and he himself was President.

Was John Nelson telling me? I, myself, know quite a little about Ed. Johnson, and I invite you to watch him, and you, too, will know that he accurately weighed the man.

Edward Roberts Johnson is a worker! A little girl I know, the youngest of a group of children playing about the campus of Hollins College, came one day into her grandmother's room and said dejectedly: "I ain' goin' to belong to that club any more‑I ain' nothing but a member." That is the attitude of some people in every community. They do not admit it so frankly and charmingly as did this little girl, but that attitude is manifest in all their doings‑or lack of doings. Because they are nothing but members- they are nothing but members. Not so with Ed.

Ed. Johnson has been a member of every kind of committee that called for hard work and services in a wide-awake city of some 70,000 people. I need not list them all, but among them are: President of the Y. M. C. A. for several years; one of the organizers and officers of the Roanoke Community Fund; President of the Chamber of Commerce; Director for several years of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, and, at various times, member of committees organized in the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Into all of these activities, whether in official capacity or as nothing but a member, Ed. Johnson has thrown his active mind, his organizing ability, his constructive services, and his sincere self‑and always modestly, unostentatiously, and with no flourish of trumpets and drums! That's Ed. Johnson‑and everybody that knows him, knows it.

Roanoke, Virginia, is located at a strategic point. Before the white man came to Southwest Virginia it was an important place‑important to elk and deer and buffalo, and so important that they beat their own paths and trails from many directions to the great salt marsh. Important to the Indians‑so important that the "great war path" passed that way and a number of less famous Indian trails converged and crossed there. Important to the pioneer‑both as a hunting ground and for other obvious reasons ‑so important that "The Great Road from the Yadkin River, through Virginia to Philadelphia," and the road from Eastern Virginia to Southwest Virginia and Kentucky and the Northwest Territory, and other important "traces and trails" crossed at Big Lick. Important to the business men of a later day‑so important that the vast Norfolk and Western Railway system has its principal shops and general offices located at Roanoke and the Virginian Railway passes through the city.

E D. JOHNSON'S father was in the railroad business, and before he came to Roanoke the family lived at various times in Aurora and Beardstown, Illinois; Helena and Great Falls, Montana, and Toledo, Ohio. It was while the family lived in Aurora, Illinois, that Edward Roberts was born.

Ed's. father was for more than 15 years the President of the Norfolk and Western Railway Company. He, Lucius E. ("L. E.") Johnson, was an honorary member of the Roanoke Rotary Club, the first man so honored. On Ed.'s first visit to his home club after he became President of Rotary International, he referred to his father and wished that he might have been present to share with him and with us the pleasure and the honor. And that's another side of Ed. He has appreciation and he does not forget.

Ed. attended the public schools, Alleghany Institute, and Purdue University. He is a member of the Phi Delta Theta Greek‑letter fraternity.

Ed's. business connections have been and are numerous and varied. He has at times been engaged in railroad work; the coal business‑as salesman, operator, and jobber; and in several commercial and financial institutions. In 1913, he became connected with the Virginia Supply Company and has been President of this company for 18 years.

I have a peculiar and special interest in Ed. Johnson and a kind of fatherly affection for him, even an air of possession. Before I came to Hollins College, I taught one session in a boys' preparatory school in Roanoke‑Alleghany Institute. I "taught" a little of everything‑including Ed. Years later, when I was President of the Rotary Club, Ed. came in and that night, very much to my surprise and delight, he told of an incident of his school days. He was doing something not conducive to the academic atmosphere, he recalled, and I told him that unless he stopped I would send him from the room. He was inclined to argue and suggested that he might not go. When I told him I would see to that, he expressed doubts‑whereupon he quickly found himself in the hall. I am proud of that achievement!

In the local club Ed. ran true to form, accepting cheerfully and seriously all assignments and seeing them through in his own sincere and thorough way. His administration as President of the Roanoke Rotary Club was characteristic of the man ‑ well planned and well executed. His development in the larger field of the district and Rotary International was steady, and whatever he did, he did well.

Ed. lives in a beautiful home, beautifully planned and beautifully situated on a hill overlooking the city. To the west there is a magnificent view of the mountains that surround this picturesque Roanoke Valley. At Lindisfarne, both inside and out, the good taste of Edith Johnson is everywhere in evidence, for she planned it and under her direction the plans were carried out. The home is one of openhearted hospitality‑a thing of beauty and a joy. Ed. and Edith are very genuine people.

Ruth, the daughter, is lovely in looks and in character, and is gifted and accomplished. Lucius, the son, until a few years ago lived with his parents, but is now living in a home of his own. And Ed. and Edith are grandparents‑and proud of it as they have every right to be! Whenever Ed. and Edith are entertaining guests, Ruth and Lucius and his wife Frances are there, and all are cheerful and happy and cordial and young! Lucius is president of the Johnson Chevrolet Corporation, and is active in the Rotary Club of Roanoke.

ED. JOHNSON has no tricks of style or oratory and no mannerisms. He does not scheme, he does not maneuver. He works wholeheartedly and sincerely and successfully at his work, whatever it is. He has good judgment, he has wisdom, he has executive ability to a marked degree. He has earned and merited the confidence of his associates in everything he has undertaken, and he has earned and merited the admiration and friendship of hosts of Rotarians in this and other lands.

These are the characteristics which have distinguished Ed. Johnson in his own club and district and in Rotary International. These are the characteristics which are distinguishing him as President of Rotary International.

Written for January 1934 issue of The Rotarian, by Joseph A. Turner, Business Manager for Hollins College

"Not an official biography"

Prepared by Wolfgang Ziegler 31 August 2003