Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 10-11-19

Local
Popular Senior Citizen To Celebrate 98th Birthday
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Throughout history, many events took place on October 14th. In 1834, Henry Blair became the first African American granted a U. S. patent for the invention of the corn planter.
In 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle published “The Ad- ventures of Sherlock Holmes.” Teddy Roo- sevelt survived being shot while campaigning for the U. S. presidency, representing the Progressive Party. And, on October 14, 1921, Mr. Emanuel Johnson was
born.
Mr. Johnson plans to
celebrate his 98th birthday with family and friends. He also said a celebration will take place at the Emanuel P. Johnson Community Center in his honor.
When asked about his up- coming birthday, Mr. John- son said, “I’m turning 98 and I can’t wait.” He also said his birthday is just another day, but it is made special by family and friends.
Les Miller, Jr., Hills- borough County Commission Chairman, said, “He’s turn- ing 98 and still going strong. Mr. Johnson has done so
EMANUEL P. JOHNSON ... Celebrates his 98th Birthday
on October 14th
much for his community.
That’s why he is called the Honorary Mayor of Progress Village.
“That is a long time to be giving back to your commu- nity. We thank him for his service and wish him many, many more birthdays.”
During his nearly 98 years, Mr. Johnson has ob- served many changes in his- tory ranging from Civil Rights to Voter’s Rights. He served in World War II and was drafted into the Army in 1942. When it ended in 1945, he was stationed in Ham- burg, Germany. He was dis- charged in 1947.
Mr. Johnson later
moved to Tampa and he was one of the first families to move into the newly devel- oped Progress Village Subdi- vision. He and his wife, the late Mrs. Ruby Johnson, raised their 5 sons and 3 daughters in the newly cre- ated subdivision.
He retired from DeVoe Paint Company in 1996, after 46 years of service.
Mr. Johnson has been honored on several occa- sions. In June 2015, he was among more than 80 veter- ans in the Tampa Bay Area who were flown to Washing- ton, D. C. to tour the Memo- rials.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDA PAGE 3-A