Photo by Gayle Gresham
[ feature]
The U.S. Post Office is still open in Wild Horse thanks to the Johnson sisters.
grieved once again with the death of their oldest brother, Olin, who ran the family wheat farm with his father. Olin and their other brother, Everett (who owned a nearby farm), took care of the farming when Mack traveled with the girls to IFCO shows and Fan Fair. Loudilla, Loretta and Kay came to a crossroads after their father’s death. Kay explains: “Daddy had said if anything ever happened to him, to move to Nashville because it is where our work was. So we put the farm ground into CRP [Conservation Reserve Program] and moved to Brentwood in 1991.” Living in Nashville gave the Johnsons opportunities they didn’t have in Wild Horse. “We met with fan club presidents over lunch and guided them in running their fan clubs.” They also became more involved in organizing fan shows across the country. In 1995, Lynn disbanded her fan club when her husband was ill and near death. The Johnson sisters and Lynn lost contact with each other, but the Johnsons continued their work with IFCO and Tri-Son.
Accolades and Heartache Three awards the Johnsons received after the year 2000 sum up their contributions to country music and its fans. In 2002, R.O.P.E. (Reunion of Professional Entertainers) gave the Johnsons the Ernest Tubb Humanitarian Award for their years of raising money for charities through the IFCO shows. The Country Music Association honored them in 2003 with plaques for their contributions to making Fan Fair a success over the years. And, finally, the professionalism and success the Johnsons demonstrated through their work as women in the country music industry was honored in 2004 when they received the SOURCE Award. Loretta Johnson fought a long battle with multiple myeloma (the same cancer their mother, Audrey Johnson, died from in 1999) and passed away April 13, 2009, at the age of 67. IFCO didn’t hold a show at Fan Fair that year, but country music artists came together for a benefit memorial concert for Loretta Johnson to help with medical bills. Loudilla and Kay continued their work with IFCO and Tri-Son until Loudilla was stricken with pancreatic cancer and died on May 7, 2014. After Loudilla passed away, Kay met with lawyers and disbanded IFCO and Tri-Son and moved to Fort Morgan, Colorado, to be near her brother, Everett, and his family. Looking back on their adventures and accomplishments, Kay (who fought her own battle with cancer and survived) says, “We all enjoyed what we did. We got to go places we’d never been and met so many different people — country music stars, movie stars and just regular people who were fans. Reminiscing is still a pleasure.” Writer Gayle Gresham lives in Elbert where she loves to play guitar and sing her own country music songs. For more information on the legendary Johnson sisters, visit coloradocountrylife.coop.
Far left: The Johnson sisters received the Ernest Tubb Humanitarian Award for their work raising money for charities. Left: Kay Johnson displays the CMA Fan Fair Award that was presented to the Johnson sisters. Right: The girls’ dad, Mack Johnson, carries some of their Fan Fair awards.
Historic photos courtesy of Kay Johnson JUNE 2017
19