Biography of Ben JOHNSON, Scott Co, Arkansas

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Contributed by Delaine Edwards.
July 6 1999

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THE ADVANCE REPORTER
Thursday, June 22, 1967
Spotlight On...
BEN JOHNSON
	Many elder residents of Waldron can recall Main street as it 
appeared prior to the concrete surface, and that picture brings to mind 
the period when the horse and wagon unit was utilized for travel and 
transportation. Ben Johnson, a life-long resident of Waldron, was very 
active during that period. He had two strong horses and a big wagon; and 
he did a lot of hauling over the unpaved road from the Arkansas Western 
Railway box cars to the retail stores uptown.
	Ben acquired his outfit in 1917 and retired in 1950. His horses, 
"Bob" and "Vern" weighed about 1600 pounds each. His wagon was a huge 
carrier with a long bed that was just step-high at the rear and sloped 
upward and was almost head-high at the rear and sloped upward and was 
almost head-high to a tall Indian at the front where the driver's seat 
was mounted. The seat was so high the driver could hardly reach the rumps 
of the horses with a bull whip. However, Ben never used a whip.
	One hundred sacks of feed, 10,000 pounds, were considered a load for
his wagon. During the rainy season it was not unusual to see the loaded 
wagon with the wheels buried to a depth that placed the brake hubs in the 
mud. Ben never got in a hurry in those situations. He permitted "Bob" and 
"Vern" to get their breath while resting for a few minutes, and then the 
two big horses would inch the wagon forward until it was smooth sailing 
again.
	Ben said he and his partner, and brother-in-law, the late Jim Audas,
would empty seven railroad box cars of feed (2,800 sacks) and deliver the 
feed to storage rooms uptown in 48 hours; and they did it in three days, 
working about 16 hours a day. They received 2 1/2 cents per sack for 
hauling. The charge for miscellaneous items delivered was 6 cents per 
hundred pounds. "It was hard work and long hours," Ben recalled.
	When model T Fords were popular, Ben recalls, he and "Bob" were 
called to many mudholes in the area when a horseless carriage became 
stuck in the mud. On one occasion the driver of a model T walked to 
Waldron from the "Hon Bottoms" to get help. (No telephones in Hon 
Bottoms.) Ben fastened the rear end of a long chain to the horseless 
carriage and the front end of the chain to old "Bob" and things started 
to move. Out of the mud, the model T continued under its own power.
	Sometime later when the Fords proved themselves, Ben bought himself 
a brand new truck and put old "Bob" and "Vern" to pasture and retirement.
	Ben has lived in Scott County all of his 77 years. When he was 
younger he enjoyed a fox hunt about twice a week. Old-timers say he'd 
rather fox hunt than eat when he's hungry.
	Ben and Mrs. Johnson, the former Grace Audas, have resided at their
present home in Waldron for 35 years. They have six children: Mrs. Sybil 
Hickox, Midland, Texas; R.C. Johnson, San Diego, Calif; Mrs. Gaynell 
Anderson, Oklahoma City; Mrs. Maurine Birchtold, Chicago; Benjamin 
"Botchie" Johnson, Fort Smith, Ark; and Mrs. Patricia Hunt, Houston, 
Texas.