How do you begin the measure the impact of Jim Johnson on the tight-knit Chevy Chase community?
His contribution to the character and athletic development of generations of youth throughout the Washington, DC area is legendary. A humble, selfless, family-oriented leader, Jim Johnson was always quietly assembling and organizing the most impactful programs and events in the area. He was the ultimate neighborhood guy.
He founded Chevy Chase Boys Club Youth Football. He led the local Cub Scout organization. He taught CCD and coached countless teams. He established a newspaper of “all youth” reporters with “The Shepherd Street News”. He master-minded the most ingenious Haunted House in the neighborhood. He established countless family traditions for his wife and six children. He has been a daily communicant since 1988.
(Oh, and along the way ran a marathon and tried out for the Redskins.)
He always made you feel like part of something bigger than yourself.
And he never asked for anything in return.
Jim Johnson is the kind of man who makes you proud to be from the same place that he is from.
Graduation from Blessed Sacrament School
The Early Years
Jim Johnson grew up the youngest of five children in Chevy Chase, MD. He attended Blessed Sacrament School and loved the spirit of toughness and independence administered by the nuns at the school.
“I still vividly remember, in 2nd grade, feeling as though I was okay on my own.”
That feeling would serve him well in business years later.
As a youth, Johnson excelled at sports. He had a particular love of football.
“I was a halfback and ran as hard as I could. I didn’t care if it killed me. But the funny thing is, I never got hurt.”
That is because Jim Johnson was always delivering the hit.
Cub Scout sports were a huge deal back in those days. And good athletes were in high demand. Billy Rowan and Eddie Haggerty recruited Hugh O’Brien, Jimmy Donahue and Johnson to join their “den”. The boys from Underwood Street never had so much success.
“We won everything: football, basketball, baseball. I had the greatest time. And it fueled my desire to give back to the Cub Scouts later in life.”
Jim’s father was a builder. But when the Depression hit everything dried up. So in 1933, he opened a grocery store on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, DC. It was a modest beginning and times were tight for the whole Johnson Family.
Eventually, neighbors and customers brought shrubs and flowers up to the store to sell. The outside “garden” area became a profitable side business. And it grew exponentially. By 1950, Johnson’s Grocery store became a flower business only.
“When I was 10 years old, I’d go up and work the cash register. I got paid 25 cents a day and thought I was rich!”
And so it went during childhood. Sports. School. Flower shop. And hanging out in the neighborhood.
Starting a Family
Jim Johnson went on to play football at Bethesda Chevy-Chase (B-CC) High School and helped lead them to a Number 1 Ranking in the Washington, DC area. He also caught the eye of a fellow classmate named Carol Mitchell.
The two knew of each other but did not officially meet until they saw each other at a party off Turner Lane.
“Apparently Carol mentioned to a friend at the party that she was going to marry me one day. Not sure what she saw in me. But I sure know what I saw in her.”
Jim Johnson and his six children back in the day
What followed was a love affair that lasts until this day.
Carol and Jim took it slow. (I am told they did not kiss for 4 months but that might be TMI!) They dated for 4 years. And what did they do during that time?
“We watched “American Bandstand’ together!”
They married in 1960. The foundation for family, business and community service was set. Six kids followed. Jimmy. Julie. Charlie. Matt. Millie. And Marylou.
The traditions were only beginning.
Setting Up The Business
When they were first married, Jim Johnson was working for his father at Johnson’s Florists. But by 1962, Jim rekindled that feeling of being on his own that he first felt at Blessed Sacrament in the second grade.
He had worked in high school and college in landscaping and always thought he could make his mark on the community with his own business.
“In 1962, I wrote a letter to my father explaining why I wanted to go out on my own. He was nothing but supportive. But he did tell me I would never make as much money if I left!”
Johnson’s Landscaping was born in 1963 and his first hire was a massive worker named Henry Battist. In the early days, the two of them would work “kin to can’t”.
“Start working when you kin, stop working when you can’t.”
It was grueling dawn-to-dusk work made possible by their first customer, William Calomiris.
Known as the “Golden Greek”, William gave Johnson’s Landscaping its first break on his sprawling property in Spring Valley. He also encouraged Jim to write down all his goals so he could visualize them. It would be another valuable lesson.
Jim Johnson wrote down “750 lawns”. That was his goal. And he devised a unique (at the time) marketing campaign to make it happen.
Jim Johnson would employ neighborhood kids and other workers to deliver 2,000 green adverting cards a day to homes in the area. The response was miraculous and the business exploded.
By 1972, Johnson’s Landscaping had 4 new trucks and serviced 750 lawns in the Washington Metropolitan area.
A Pillar of the Community
The Johnson Haunted House—a Neighborhood Favorite!
In 1975, Jim Johnson’s mother passed away (his father had passed years earlier) leaving him the ancestral home on Brookeville Road. And that house would become the hub of the neighborhood.
There was always major activity in the Johnson home. It would transform into an incredible Haunted House at Halloween. A “Turkey Bowl” football field at Thanksgiving. A tennis gathering for local neighbors. A meeting place for Cub Scouts and coaches. And a playground for the six kids and all their friends.
But he wanted to extend the activity outside his house and into the community. And it wasn’t all about sports.
Jim and Carol had found a copy of “The Thornapple Street News”, a hyper-local neighborhood paper from the 1930’s while cleaning up their attic. It inspired them to start an “all-kids” publication called “The Shepherd Street News.” Over 25 kid reporters from all over the neighborhood met at the Johnson Home (of course!) and shared the “stories” they discovered.
Carol typed up the stories and Jim printed them on an old mimeograph at Johnson’s Landscaping. It was a simple operation but it was exactly the type of activity that empowered the youth and brought the community together.
In addition, Jim was already serving as “Den Father” for Den 3 of the Cub Scouts, on his way to be in charge of the entire area as Cub Master. ]
He also coached the boys in football and introduced an entire generation to the game. But there was a gap between Cub Scout football and 130-pound CYO football. There were some boys who were either too old or too light. Jim Johnson wanted every boy in the Chevy Chase area to have an opportunity to play football at any age.
He founded Chevy Chase Boys Club (CCBC) to fill that gap.
Jim reached out to Henry Glassie who helped him mold the vision and the organization. He then went on a long journey to drum up awareness and support for the Program.
Jim went hand-to-hand in the community. He created innovative flyers (he had some experience in that department!) He delivered talks to every school in the area.
“I was normally scared to give a speech in front of a crowd. It never came naturally to me. But I was so passionate about starting the Boys Club that I simply wasn’t afraid.”
The word spread like wildfire throughout the community. But starting a movement from scratch is not easy. It took sweat, passion, and dedicated partners. And Jim found them in his first coaches.
George Todd, Joe Tropea and John Miller rounded out the first four all-star coaches of CCBC (Wade Hubbard, Coach Odom Coach Kane and Coach Richardson would come a few years later).
“Chevy Chase Boys Club would have never gotten off the ground without our coaches.”
CCBC started with two teams in the Beltway League outside Washington, DC. Johnson and Todd coached the younger boys. Tropea and Miller coached the older boys.
In the very first game, Chris Kelly, who ironically would go on to buy the house where Carol and Jim met, caught the first touchdown pass for the Program. But victories for the CCBC teams did not come easily in the early years.
After two years, Johnson moved the CCBC to the Montgomery County Recreation League. And the Program exploded.
They added a third team. Then a fourth team. Then a fifth team. And there were 35 boys on each team. Soon, the victories piled up along with the number of qualified coaches.
Of course, the coaches meetings were always held at the Johnson Home. But one year, instead of the traditional kickoff meeting, the entire staff ventured downtown to attend a coaching clinic led by Lou Holtz. The inspiration gleaned from Holtz elevated the energy and enthusiasm in the practices for the rest of the year.
Hundreds of boys packed into a small swath of grass at Shepherd Park for practice on weekday evenings. Bikes were littered across the upper lawn like piles of leaves. And each team reported to their loosely defined patch of turf to get instruction and have some fun. It was organized chaos at its finest.
Chevy Chase Boys Club became a rite of passage for any experienced or inexperienced football player in the area from 1972 to 1989. Football-shaped stickers on the helmets. Long, black and yellow windbreakers that boys wore well into the summer. And tough-nosed coaches and players. It was a tradition that defined a generation.
Jim Johnson had turned his dream into a reality.
A Well-Rounded Legacy
But Jim Johnson wasn’t just a husband, father, coach, visionary and community leader. He wasn’t just humble and selfless. He had a competitive spirit that still burns brightly today.
In 1971, The Washington Redskins held an open tryout at Anacostia High School. Over 400 people showed up dreaming of a shot at NFL glory. Jim Johnson was one of them.
He tried out for quarterback and threw over 100 passes and connected on a number of long throws. In the 40-yard dash, he won outright for his group. Head Coach George Allen walked up to him with a stopwatch and asked him if he was a linebacker.
“I’m trying out for quarterback”, Johnson said with pride.
Allen turned the other way. He already had Sonny Jurgenson and Billy Kilmer.
“To this day, I think I might have made the team if I told Coach Allen I was a linebacker!”
In the end, only kick returner Herb Mul-Key made the roster. But Jim Johnson gave it everything he had. And that’s all anyone could ask.
But it wasn’t just football that drove Johnson. He was an avid runner long before Nike made running popular. As a boy, he would through the neighborhood, turning heads with the curious activity. And he never stopped. Rain. Cold. Heat.
In 1979, Jim Johnson executed on a lifelong dream by completing a full marathon. This with six kids, a thriving business, a youth football organization and numerous community activities. How did he do it?
“I have an amazing wife.”
Smart man. And very true.
The Lasting Impact of Jim Johnson
On October 5, 2014, the idyllic field at the end of Turner Lane was dedicated to Jim Johnson. Shepherd Park officially became Jim Johnson Field. It was a glorious moment for the entire Johnson Family, celebrating the legacy of a community icon.
And that legacy continues.
Jim and Carol Circa 1961 at Piney Point
Jim and Carol have 30 grandchildren. The three boys now run Johnson’s Landscaping, the business that Jim started. And every year, on the day they officially met, Jim and Carol celebrate by walking past the house where they met to the park (now Jim Johnson Field.)
And the Johnson home is as busy as ever. Right now, there are 17 people living the house as a some of the family has temporarily moved back home. And Jim Johnson can still be found throwing passes on the front lawn to eager grandchildren.
And the competitive spirit? It still burns.
Last year, Jim Johnson fell while on vacation and suffered head trauma that required 2 brain surgeries and forty three days in intensive care.
He battled and fought back.
“I was so thankful for my family who stood by me during those difficult times.”
When I caught up with him at Olympia Cafe, just steps away from Jim Johnson Field, he looked as healthy as ever.
“I’m getting there. The only thing is, they won’t let me drive yet.”
When I asked him how he got to the restaurant, he shrugged.
“I drove.”
After all these years, Jim Johnson is still okay being on his own.
And he still has bold plans for the community.
“I am making up flyers for a new Softball League. Over 80 players only! Old softball players never die, they just fade away.”
Remarkable. And does anyone doubt he will get it off the ground?
After all he has accomplished and all the pure goodness he has delivered to the community, how does Jim Johnson want to be remembered?
“As a big kid who loves football, loves his family and loves his community.”
Mission accomplished. And right back at you, coach.
What Does It Mean For Us?
Jim Johnson impacted an entire community with his quiet, humble leadership. And what lessons can we draw from his legacy?
It’s not always about shouting the loudest. It’s not always about asking for something in return. It’s not always about advancing our own self-interests. The greatest things in life come from passionate, selfless dedication to a cause.
Resilience is built on a foundation of faith and belief. And when we create traditions that make people feel part of something bigger than themselves, they will last forever.
Thank you, Jim Johnson, for showing us the way to a resilient life.
Thanks, Rob. It is a great article and well deserved.
Absolutely. You guys pulled it off.
A very true story about a remarkable person and family and I am glad to have Jim as a friend.
Outstanding. And thank you for the great ideas of the stickers and the CCBC jackets. Legendary.
I met Jim around 2003 and he invited me to play on his Fossils softball team. Jim kept stats on every player in his own handwriting. Not a computer. I enjoyed every minute and inning I played for him. A great human being.
My only regret is that I didn’t meet him earlier in my life.
Absolutely. A great human being. And better late than never! Thanks for the note.