Johnson, Mary Pay, 1906 - 1992. Oral History Interview, 1974

Collection — Container: Volume 1

Identifier: SMHC Collection 1213

Staff Only

Abstract

This collection consists of the transcript of an oral history interview conducted with Mary Pay Johnson, of Madison Lake, Minnesota. The interview was conducted as part of the Blue Earth County Historical Society’s project intended to chronicle wholesale and retail businesses in Mankato since 1900. Johnson was a lifelong resident of Blue Earth County, and her family has operated a variety of businesses in the area. Some of the topics discussed were her family’s earliest times in Blue Earth County, and their wide range of business ventures, including candy-making, livery stables, a lime kiln, the Ben Pay Hotel, and Johnson Laundry.

Dates

1974

Biographical / Historical

Mary Pay Johnson was born in Mankato, Minnesota in 1906. She is the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Pay (1864 – 1956) and Josephine Messer Pay (1873 – 1952). Mary Pay married Kelsey Johnson (1905 – ) in 1932. They have one living daughter, Mary Josephine, Mrs. Richard Hey (1932 – ), of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Johnson died in 1992.