Dr. Lilian’s Journey to the Mountaintop

Sherry Herbers, Ed.D.

Author, “Aunt Lilian’s Deed”

            Lilian Wyckoff Johnson was born in Memphis in 1864, the daughter of John Cummings Johnson and Elizabeth Fisher Johnson. Both parents were actively engaged in social reform and both believed in the power of education to bring advancement of the individual and of the society. In 1879 Lilian was sent to Wellesley College to avoid the yellow fever epidemic. While she was away, her father started a night school for young boys left orphaned by the disease. Lilian returned to Memphis to teach at that school but in time, her father persuaded her to continue her own education. She graduated from the University of Michigan with an A.B.(1891),  traveled to Europe to study at the Sorbonne and the University of Leipzig, and ultimately, earned a doctorate in History from Cornell in 1902.

            At this point, Lilian Johnson planned to found a women’s college in the South comparable to Wellesley. Johnson taught at Vassar from 1893-1897 with the objective of gaining knowledge and skills necessary to run such a college. After receiving her Ph.D. she declined offers from Columbia University and other prestigious schools in the North in order to return to the South. She launched a letter writing campaign to notables in education, such as John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson, to garner support. She joined the faculty of the University of Tennessee as a history professor. In 1904 she did leave the South to serve as president of Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. This position was viewed as another way to build a foundation. Finally, the stage was set. In 1908 the state legislature announced a plan to establish normal schools (teacher colleges) in each of the three divisions of Tennessee. Lilian took a position teaching high school in Memphis in order to join the campaign. It was a political battle because other towns in West Tennessee were vying for designation of the site. In 1912 Memphis was selected as the location for West Tennessee Normal School. In what appeared to be an unfortunate turn of events, Lilian Johnson was not selected as an administrator or faculty person. This led to a significant change in her direction.

            Undaunted Lilian Johnson set out for Rome, Italy to study at David Lubin’s International Institute of Agriculture. She was sold on the concept of agricultural cooperatives and spoke at the White House to an audience of governors when she returned to the United States. Subsequently, she was appointed by President Wilson to a commission to study cooperative systems in Europe. She visited ten countries with Congressional leaders but the work was curtailed by World War I. From 1913-1915 she traveled throughout this country setting up cooperatives. It was then that she decided to implement her ideas by moving to Grundy County. At age 51 Lilian Johnson moved to Grundy County with a vision of improving economic conditions. She had never set up a household or done much cooking but she was about to learn.

            Why Grundy County? She chose this site because of connections with Monteagle Sunday School Assembly. For more details about her life in Summerfield and her role in Highlander Folk School, plan on attending “Aunt Lilian’s Deed.”

Following the Trail of Lilian Johnson

Sherry Herbers, Ed.D.

            I began to investigate the life of Lilian Johnson because I was curious as an adult educator. I wanted to know more about this woman who allowed Myles Horton and Don West to use her home to found Highlander Folk School. As I pieced together the details, I found many uncanny links. Like Dr. Johnson, I was born and raised in Memphis. I, too, went off to college in the North though I only made it as far as Saint Louis. I returned for graduate studies at the University of Memphis. It was an amazing coincidence to discover that Dr. Johnson had worked for four years for the right to establish West Tennessee Normal School (which evolved into the University of Memphis). I earned a Master’s degree in psychology and my first position post graduation was working in Bolivar, Tennessee. I was a founding staff member of Quinco Mental Health Center which serves five rural counties. Is it stretching it to see a connection with KinCo, the cooperative established by Lilian Johnson in Summerfield?

            Every detail of Lilian Johnson’s life seemed to generate more interest and more questions. In 2000 I phoned the local newspaper office to see if there were copies of papers published while she was a resident in the county. A kind person at the newspaper office informed me that they did not have archived copies but that William Ray Turner had quite a collection at his home. I phoned Mr. Turner and yes, he did remember hearing about Dr. Johnson from May Justus. He invited me to review his collection of historical artifacts if ever I had the chance to come to Grundy County. I was there within the month. Mr. Turner met me at the Dollar Store in Tracy City and I followed his red truck to his museum. He had already found a photo of Dr. Lilian and stories in the newspaper, Mrs. Grundy. I have had the good fortune to visit with Mr. Turner several times.

            At that point in my life I had a doctorate in Higher and Adult Education from the University of Memphis and I was teaching foundation courses in their teacher education program. Time for research was limited to summers. I went to Cleveland, Ohio to view the Lilian W. Johnson collection; I visited Bradenton, Florida where Dr. Lilian spent the last ten years of her life. I learned that in those last ten years she was actively involved in educational, church, and civic organizations. On her 90^th birthday those organizations came together to sponsor her birthday celebration. She was instrumental in founding an interracial committee (in Bradenton in 1952) and raising $25,000 to improve a recreational center for African American youth.

            With visions of a book dancing in my head, I quit my job to devote full attention to research and writing. Two unforeseen circumstances intervened, a university in San Antonio made me an offer I could not refuse and I met members of the Board of SCCS who were interested in discussing a play. I let Dr. Lilian’s life serve as my guide. She was willing in mid-life to follow her heart to a new locale and to put her ideas into practice. The journey continues to unfold.