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The sign erected recently on the Sunrise Lake edge of County Road 14, just north of Lindstrom, denotes the location of a wildlife refuge area created to honor generations of Johnsons, who farmed where the Morning Sun housing development is now under construction by Lyman Properties.

The Roy and Gladys Johnson Nature and Wildlife Refuge was part of a deal that annexed hundreds of acres into Lindstrom City. Roy and Gladys' main farmstead remains in Chisago Lake Township while single family and town homes are being constructed all around it. The wildlife acreage was presented to the citizens of Lindstrom as a gift from descendants of Roy and Gladys Johnson, seeking to preserve for all time some of what made the farm so special.

Years and years from now when bird watchers visit or boaters on Sunrise Lake admire the wild shoreline the legacy of this special family will surely bring gratitude and smiles.

A granddaughter still residing in the area explained that her grandparents tended and respected the woods and wetland on the south edge of Sunrise Lake for as long as she can remember. Kathy Flynn said, "As difficult as it is to witness the transition (to a development) I am encouraged that their commitment to the land and to the natural cycles of the seasons is being preserved.

"I know this would have made my grandfather very happy."

Flynn wrote a letter to the Lindstrom Park Board requesting the honor of naming the city-owned land for Roy and Gladys. The Lindstrom Park Board wholeheartedly agreed and signage finally made it official. This area will remain a passive park for visitors to observe wildlife and to serve as habitat.

It has been over 20 years since Roy Johnson passed away, Gladys lives in town. They married in 1931 and for 50-some years they worked the farm on County Road 14; homesteaded by Roy's mother and father Albin and Alice Johnson. Roy was one of eight children.

Flynn said Roy and Gladys were very active in the community and participated in Lions, 4-H, fair boards, Farm Bureau, Trinity Lutheran Church activities, hospital auxiliary, Lakeside Garden Club and the Sunrise Lake Association.

"When I was a young girl my grandpa and I would quietly push the rowboat through the muck so we could fish for sunnies with bamboo poles," said Flynn. "Grandma was always waiting in the kitchen to fry those sunnies up for dinner. It was during these times grandpa would tell me so much about the cycles of nature, about the tamaracks that grew tall then fell with the rising water. There's the mystery of the apple tree at the bottom of the swamp. It sits alone down there on a small clump of earth. Grandma thinks it was planted by Native Americans. Some think it was planted by Johnny Appleseed. Who knows?"

Flynn added, "The undisturbed wetlands and woodlands that (my grandfather) loved so much, still flourish, providing a home for foxes, deer, eagles, herons and many other animals providing incredibly wonderful sights and sounds of nature."

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