By Chad Koenen

Publisher

One may be hard-pressed to find someone who has had a bigger impact on the staff and students at Henning Public School for the past 59 years than Richard O. Johnson. His impact on the students goes far beyond all of the countless trophies and awards his music programs received during his 34 years as music teacher at Henning School—after all, awards were always a nice pat on the back for Johnson, but watching a student grow to become respectful and productive adult later in life was the real reward for the individual who has spent his life in the academic world.

After retiring as a full-time teacher in 2001, Johnson remained a focal point at Henning School as both a substitute teacher and a school board member. Now in his 25th year of substitute teaching at the school, and on his third generation of students at Henning School, Johnson is putting down his school badge for the final time as he officially retired from substitute teaching.

Now 81, Johnson was never married and never had children of his own, instead his students were like children to him which led him to nearly six decades in the world of education. 

“The kids were my family and that is why I taught as long as I did, I wasn’t paid (extra), but I went up to the school seven days a week for yearbooks or solos.”

Ricard O. Johnson

A Dilworth-native, Johnson was hired as a K-12 instrumental teacher in 1967. He quickly gained a reputation for holding students accountable, even if that came at the expense of a few watches that were broken. 

“I broke three watches and finally I learned to take it off and they knew if I took the watch off they had to listen,” said Johnson with a laugh.

  In more recent years, parents and even grandparents who had Johnson as a music teacher at Henning School would routinely share stories with their children and grandchildren about how he pushed them to succeed in choir and music a generation ago. Today, he remained active in the school system by substitute teaching on a fairly frequent basis and would oftentimes be seen in the hallways joking around with the students and continuing to instill that drive to succeed in and out of the classroom. 

Much of Johnson’s success in the music department stemmed from his ability to push students to try new things, such as singing a solo if he saw promise in them. Johnson said he took pride in having a student who didn’t believe they could sing a part of a song or a solo succeed. That success can help breed future success later in life by showing them that even the scariest endeavors can be overcome with some hard work, positive reinforcement, and maybe a little encouragement along the way. 

“I would come up to you and say ‘you are singing a solo this year’ and they would say ‘no I am not’. I would just say yes you are and they would be all it would take,” he said. “I truly believe the kids need a leader, they don’t need a friend.”

While he instilled a sense of hierarchy with the students that didn’t mean he wouldn’t go the extra mile to help a child succeed. He accommodated students’ schedules for lessons, working with them in small groups and one-on-one. This sometimes meant coming in before and after school or finding a last-minute outfit so a student could experience prom. 

“One year I had a kid call me that he couldn’t afford a tux for prom and I got him an outfit from the pops group to wear,” he said.

When it came to music trips, Johnson was a firm believer in competing with other students from across the country. The choir and band room is filled with trophies and plaques the students received under Johnson’s direction. Even though the group focused on the competition aspect of the music trip, Johnson made sure that the students had time to experience the region they visited and that every student had the opportunity to fund-raise for their trip. 

In some cases, especially 25-50 years ago, a music trip to Florida may have been one of the first real big experiences for a high school student outside of the immediate Henning area. 

“On the trips I made sure everyone went and made sure they had ways to fund-raise because number one some of these kids would never have the opportunity to go on a trip like those and number two we competed and we did well,” he said. “For some of the kids it was the only trip they ever went on during their time in school.”

While in school Johnson was listed among the top 25 for the Teacher of the Year award, led the FFA state choir for 18 years and directed a cantata at local churches during the holidays. He also served as the advisor for the yearbook, student council, musicals band and choir, and was the president of the Henning Education Association.

In addition to pushing students to succeed in ways they may not have thought was possible, the long-time teacher always heeded the advice he received prior to graduating from college. 

“At school, when I graduated from college, they said to be friendly with the janitors, the cooks and the secretary because they will be the ones to help you out,” he said. 

Johnson has stayed in touch with a number of his former students over the years and even received a visit from the Henning High School Class of 2026 at his temporary residence in Battle Lake prior to graduation. 

“They send letters and thank me,” said Johnson of some of his former students who have stayed in touch. “I learned from the kids. It’s not just the teacher who teaches, you can learn from the kids also.”

Over the years Johnson has had three yearbooks dedicated to him and remained in touch with a number of his students long after they left the hallways at Henning School. In fact, he served on the school board and Henning Community Club with some of his former students, something he often joked about with his former pupils at the time. 

When he was hired at Henning School, Johnson said he was told by the administration that he needed to be active in the community and be a part of town. That led him to stints in the community club and chamber of commerce, where he was in charge of the Henning Festival Queens pageant for several years, helped with the parade, joined the Lions Club and continued to make an impact as a member of the Henning City Council and eventually the town mayor. 

“It was good to be in the community club and at school because I wouldn’t have anything else to do,” he said.

Already active in the community, Johnson said he originally ran for the Henning City Council because he wanted to see the city construct a tennis court in the Hollow.

“I wanted a tennis court,” said Johnson with a laugh. “And after I won Sue Reinbold had a bottle of wine sitting there waiting for me.”

Over the years Johnson was a member of the school board and served as chair, was on the Henning City Council and was also mayor for six years through some of the biggest changes in the city in the last half century as the community instilled natural gas for businesses and residents. 

Though he said there were disagreements during his time as an elected official, Johnson said the people he served with did not take criticism and votes that didn’t go their way personally. Instead, he said the group voted how they felt was right and moved on for the betterment of the community—something he said he would like to see more of in today’s world. 

“We worked together, even though we were divided,” said Johnson of his time on the Henning City Council and Henning School Board. We did our thing and we worked together.”

Though he will no longer be a substitute teacher at Henning School come this fall, Johnson said he is still planning to supervise the weight room five days a week and will continue to be visible at athletic and community events at both the school and in town.