The Johnny Chronicles

Johnny Joten

1931-2024

Farmboy Johnny

A long time ago, in the 1930's, a towhead farm boy named Johnny Joten ​took a tumble off a moving hay wagon. Johnny’s dad, Edward, was ​driving the workhorses, as they pulled the hay wagon across the far end ​of Skutley Coulee. Little Johnny was riding on top of the hay in the back ​of the wagon. He stood up and started balancing himself like a surfer. ​Laughing and smiling, he was in all his glory. Suddenly, the horses took a ​sharp turn. Johnny flew off the wagon, hit the ground hard, and went ​rolling. Hearing Johnny’s cries, Edward stopped the horses and went ​back to check on little Johnny. His shadow loomed over the boy, who ​just had the wind knocked out of him. “Are you dead, yet?” Edward ​asked. At 92, Johnny could picture the incident like it happened ​yesterday, and hear his father’s voice asking if he’s dead yet.

Johnny’s family didn’t have tractors, so they used ​horses to do the farm work. Johnny’s horses were ​named Buck and Lady. Sometimes little Johnny ​would sit on their backs, but they weren’t riding ​horses. They were made for plowing and pulling. Buck ​could tell time. At 5 o’clock sharp, he was done, and ​wouldn’t work a minute later. Sometimes Johnny ​would only have one row left and would try to make ​Buck finish the field. It was a losing battle. Buck ​would snort angrily and start stomping down the ​crops. Johnny would give up and unclip Buck who’d ​walk himself back to the farm and into the barn.

Keep Out of the Back Bedroom

When Johnny was born in 1931, babies weren’t born in hospitals like they are today. Johnny ​and his brothers and sisters, Merlin, Auline, Helen, Lillian, Eddie, and Grace, were all born at ​home with the help of midwives. A midwife is a woman trained to care for a woman during ​childbirth, and deliver the baby.

One of John’s earliest memories was when he ​was four years old and his sister Grace was ​being born. There was a frantic energy in the ​house that day. Johnny didn’t know what ​was going on. He heard his mom, Alma, ​grunting in the back bedroom. Strange ​women were rushing in and out with towels ​“Keep out of the back bedroom!” they ​barked at curious little Johnny. Years later ​Johnny figured out what the commotion was ​all about.

The Trouble with Snakes

One time Johnny and his kid sister Grace were frolicking through the field merrily. All of a sudden, ​they came upon the biggest, ugliest snake they had ever seen. It reared up and hissed at them. “A ​RATTLESNAKE!” they screamed, running back to their house as fast as they could. It wasn’t really ​a rattlesnake, it was a Western Hognose, (the same kind of snake Joyce got into a tiff with years ago.) ​To make the kids feel better, their dad, Edward, went back into the field and killed the snake.

There once was a snake that lived in Jackson Schoolhouse. The ​snake made his home in the basement woodpile. He didn’t bother ​anyone and kept the mouse population under control. The kids ​would often spot the snake coming and going from the ​schoolhouse. One day during class the kids heard a blood-curdling ​scream. The superintendent, Grace Webb, had gone into the ​basement and a 6-foot-long snake was down there waiting for her. ​The kids roared with laughter as she went running from the ​schoolhouse screaming.

Musical Parents

Edward Joten, Johnny’s father, was a talented ​fiddle player. He used to play at house parties and ​sometimes he would play with a well-known ​Norwegian fiddler named “Scarney.” After ​marrying Alma though, he had to quit playing at ​house parties. For Alma was a pious Lutheran in ​the Eielsen Synod who disapproved of drinking, ​dancing, and all things fun. Alma played the organ ​and preferred hymns. Johnny recalls as a boy, after ​the kids went to bed, his mother would play the ​organ while his dad played the fiddle. They would ​make beautiful music together.

The Trouble with Sears & Roebuck

Johnny’s mother, Alma, was a frugal woman who kept track of every cent. Her ​ledgers were meticulous. She had a weakness, however, for the Sears and ​Roebuck catalogue (that is what they had in the days before online shopping.) ​In moments of temptation, she would make impulse purchases. When Edward ​found out, he got angry, and took the checkbook away from her.

Alma was livid.

Johnny’s really badly wanted a 22 rifle he saw in the Sears and Roebuck ​catalogue, but his parents said no. So, clever little Johnny took matters ​into his own hands and ordered the gun without his parents’ ​permission. “Mom does it all the time,” Johnny told himself. When ​Edward and Alma found out they were furious. Never had Johnny ever ​been in bigger trouble, although it was always hard to stay mad at their ​little Johnnycakes.

Thoughts on Winfred

One day, Johnny’s older sister, Helen, came home swooning about a charming boy she met named ​Winfred. The next time Winfred came to visit Helen, little Johnny ran to the window to watch. Winfred ​stepped out of his 32 model A coupe, just like John-Boy Walton’s car except it wasn’t yellow. Johnny ​rubbed his eyes to get a closer look. “Whats so great about him?” blurted out little Johnny, “He’s ugly.”

A couple of times, Winfred had to stay overnight at the Joten house ​because his car went in the ditch. One night, he woke up Merlin to ​hitch up the horses and pull the car out of the ditch. As you can ​imagine, Merlin was not amused.

Rejoice for Joyce!

Little Johnny didn’t stay a boy forever. As he grew older, his dad, Edward, grew ​sicker. Johnny had to step up to become the man of the farm.

Johnny was at an age where he started noticing girls. There was one girl, ​however, that he didn’t pay much notice to. Joyce Nelson was Johnny’s kid sister ​Grace’s best friend. She was four years younger than Johnny and wasn’t on his ​radar. That is, until one day when Edward pointed out how special she was.

“Now that girl would make a loyal wife and dutiful mother,” Edward told John.

Johnny took another look at Joyce. She was blossoming into a fine young lady. ​“Hmmm dad...maybe your right...” said Johnny. She was always over at their ​house and was a big help to the family during Edward’s illness. Johnny’s ​appreciation for Joyce blossomed into love. They were married in 1953, not long ​after Edward died. Together they raised eight wholesome children. Joyce was ​truly the love of Johnny’s life

Til Death do us Part

Johnny recalls the time his father had to help dig up a dead body at Morken cemetery. I ​don’t know why, but Johnny supposed it was to move it to a different cemetery. The ​body had been in the ground for a long time. The men took turns shoveling. Finally, ​they hit casket. They hoisted up the casket and pryed it open. The body appeared ​perfectly preserved in time with its suit and tie still on. However, when the air hit the ​body, POOF! It dissipated…collapsing into dust and ashes. Johnny never forgot that ​story his father told him

One of the biggest shocks in John’s life, is when Joyce out of the ​blue comes up to him and declares she wants to be cremated. ​Johnny couldn’t believe that his traditional wife would choose ​cremation over a burial. In the end she got her way and Johnny ​decided that he would be cremated too. They now reside in ​matching urns.

Obituary

John Duane Joten, 92, of Taylor, passed away on Saturday, July 27, 2024 in the Gundersen Tri-County ​Hospital in Whitehall.

John was born September 1, 1931, to Edward and Alma Joten. His family, who had a strong ​Norwegian heritage, farmed in Skutley Coulee in rural Taylor. He always spoke fondly about his ​childhood on the farm with his siblings Auline, Merlin, Helen, Eddie, Lillian and Grace. Johnny ​attended the Jackson schoolhouse as a boy and graduated from Taylor High School in 1949. In 1953, ​after his father died, Johnny stepped up to run the family farm.

On September 23, 1953, Johnny married the love of his life, Joyce Elaine Nelson. Together they raised ​eight children. The young family lived on Johnny’s family farm for several years before moving to town ​in Taylor. Johnny was a prominent member of the Taylor community and active member of the ​Trempealeau Valley Lutheran congregation.

Johnny had a renowned work ethic. He was a talented carpenter like his father before him. He also ​worked as a farmer, logger, at a creamery, feed mill, John Deere, and was a volunteer firefighter. In the ​1980’s he opened the Taylor hardware store with his wife Joyce. He also mowed Trempealeau Valley ​and Morken cemeteries up until his 90’s.

Eulogy-By Danielle Schmitz

We are gathered here today not to mourn Johnny’s death, but to celebrate his long and vibrant life. Let's face ​it, Johnny was no spring chicken. At 92, he knew he didn’t have long to live and often cracked jokes about it.

Nowadays, death is considered an inappropriate conversation topic. This is absurd since it happens to all of ​us. Luckily, I had the unique opportunity to converse about death with someone so close to it, my grandpa.

One day, I joined my grandpa outside on the deck where he was sunning himself. He enjoyed the breeze in his ​wispy white hair and listening to the birds sing. He wasn’t feeling well. He had no energy and food didn’t taste ​good anymore, not even ice cream.

A cardinal chirped in the maple tree. We remarked on birdsongs, on how listening to them is proven to be ​good for brain health. Then we chit-chatted a bit on baseball.

Johnny was the one who brought up death, not me. He remembered how surprised he was when Joyce told ​him she wanted to be cremated. I asked him if he wanted to be cremated too. He nodded. “It's going to take ​them about 5 days to cook me in the oven,” he joked, “Although I won’t have a head. They are going to chop ​it off and put it in a big pickle jar.“ It is true, Johnny generously donated his brain to Alzheimer research ​(although I don’t know if they keep it in a pickle jar).

I asked my grandpa if he was afraid to die. He shook his head no. “I’ve been waiting 8 years to die, ever since ​Joyce passed.” “I am not afraid to die either,” I said, “I hear the other side is quite nice.”

We talked about people who have had near-death experiences. They die and come back reporting they went ​to a luminous realm of soothing energy. Their loved ones were there to guide them toward the light. We ​both agreed that death is a positive thing. He was looking forward to it.

I decided I wanted to be a part of his journey to the other side and be with him when he died. So, my ​grandpa hired me to be his caregiver. I was looking forward to spending time with him and wanted to make ​his home the happy hub it was years ago.

Unfortunately, I only worked a few days before he went to the hospital and never came back home. In my ​last days with him, I asked him questions about his life, and he would tell me his stories from the old days. ​He had a surprisingly good memory for 92. Then at 11:00 every day we would watch the Waltons over ​coffee.

When my grandpa died, it happened pretty quickly. I was angry at myself for not getting to the hospital on ​time to be with him when he died. I was guilty for all the times in the past, that I didn’t visit or call him. I ​was sad that my plans to be his caregiver would never be.

I realize now my tears were selfish. Instead, I should be happy for Johnny. He got his wish— to be with ​Joyce again. I should stop feeling guilty about the times I didn’t spend with him, because maybe the time I ​did spend with him in the end was just what he needed before he crossed over. So let us celebrate Johnny ​and think of him with happiness, not sadness. That is what he would have wanted.