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Friday, 30 of July of 2010

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Door County Icon Series: A conversation between Al Johnson and Norbert Blei

Al Johnson and Norbert Blei
Update: Al Johnson passed away this weekend and to honor the legacy he has left his beloved Sister Bay and Door County, I have moved this interview to the top of the list.

Good friends and Door County Icons Al Johnson and Norbert Blei cover allot of material in this almost hour-long discussion of Door County past and present. Among the topics: the “counter culture” at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant, Emma Husby, Eddie Valentine, Wink Larson, Baldy Bridenhagen, Ingert Johnson and the Johnson family, condominiums and of course – goats on one’s roof. Barbara Luhring listens in to this fascinating and many times hilarious conversation. You should listen in too.

This is a large MP3 file and will take a while to download on dial-up.

 
icon for podpress  Door County Icons Norb Blei and Al Johnson [55:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2833)

Date: February 27th, 2007 @ 23:33

Author: Barbara

Categories: Al Johnson, Door County, Door County Icons, Highlights, Norb Blei

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Comments RSS TrackBack 8 comments

Jess Schultz

in February 26th, 2008 @ 12:16

I have just finished listening to this podcast. It was fun and I enjoyed hearing the history of Sister Bay and Door Cnty from Al’s perspective.

I worked at Al’s when I was 19 washing dishes in the fall of ‘95 and ‘96 and always look back at my time there with fondness.

Please pass on my regards to Al, Lars, Rolph and Annicka.

Jess Schultz
Colorado Springs, CO.

Connie Copeland Wullschleger

in August 2nd, 2008 @ 10:56

I worked for Al in 1958 when he use to run next door to the local IGA when anyone ordered a steak. To this day I remember Al’s kind heart, swedish pancakes and herring for breakfast.

Sam Landstrom

in October 26th, 2008 @ 00:21

I worked as a dishwasher for Al in high school and was good friends with his son Dennis. My favorite memory of the restaurant was coaxing the goats off the roof and into the back of a flatbed truck using swedish biscuits. I had to ride in the back of the truck to make sure none of them jumped out. Despite the fact the goats were all female, they fought with one another (when forced into close proximity) and it was up to me to keep them apart. I imagine it would have been a peculiar site to anyone watching us drive by. Anyway, it was a good time. I look forward to visiting again sometime.

Joakim Jilderfält

in October 31st, 2008 @ 14:44

Me and my brother, Tomas, worked at Al´s in the summer of `80 or `81.
We still sometimes talk about our summer in Sister Bay, about the Johnson family and what we experienced “over there”.

Now as we both work as teachers in Sweden and have become mature men, we would like to thank the Johnson family for the opportunity they gave us. We didn´t really understand how big it had been until years later.

Please pass on our regards to the Johnson family.

Tack för allt ni gjorde för oss.
Med vänliga hälsningar
Jocke Jilderfält
Vetlanda
Sweden

Mindaugas

in December 4th, 2008 @ 08:52

I worked for Al in 2001. The best place to work!

Best wishes to all, especially ROLF.

Agnes Vinkler

in January 4th, 2009 @ 15:48

I worked at Al’s in 2005, it was a great experience especially for someone from eastern Europe.
Best wishes to all!

Dick Shield

in August 21st, 2009 @ 17:50

As I child (50 years ago) I spent my summers in Ephraim. A restaurant on the water at the end of Spruce Street was owned by an Al Johnson and his family, who lived next door. My sisters and I played with his daughter Janice. Is this by any chance the same Al Johnson?

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In memory of Door County icon Al Johnson | Door County High Points

[...] weekend Al Johnson, the Door County entrepreneur who put goats on his roof and in doing so helped bring tourists to [...]