Chemistry teacher retiring after 33 years

By Carol Rolf

LITTLE ROCK — After 33 years as a teacher and coach, John Johnston has decided it’s time to retire.

Johnston has spent the last 23 years as the chemistry teacher at Pottsville High School. Before that, he taught and coached football and girls basketball at Atkins for seven years and “did some time (three years) in Konawa, Okla.”

“After 33 years, I still have good health and there are some other things I want to do,” Johnston said. “My wife and I want to travel. She’s retiring, too. She was administrator of the Russellville Women’s Clinic until it closed.

“We want to travel and spend more time with our grandkids,” he said.

Johnston and his wife, Jan, will have been married 40 years in June. They have two grown sons.

Son Brad Johntson and his wife, Daina, live in Tonitown. He works for the executive headquarters of Tyson Foods and she is a pharmacist. They have one son, Jace, 14-months old.

Son Jamie Johnston and his wife, Christi, live in Atkins. He owns a Husqvarna dealership and is a mail carrier and she is a hairdresser. They have two daughters, Megan, 6, and Hannah, 3.

Johnston received a bachelor of science degree from Arkansas Tech University and a master’s degree in education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Weatherford, Okla. “I’ve coached and taught chemistry down through the years,” he said. “I’ve taught mostly physics, chemistry and AP chemistry.”

The Johnstons also own Oak Grove Market on Highway 105 North, which is a general store started by his dad in 1963. “We have a little bit of everything including a deli,” he said. “We cater to the loggers and farmers.It’s going to require some of my time after I retire.”

He also hopes to play more golf. “That’s my main hobby,” he said. “My sons both golf so I hope we can spend more time together doing that.”

Johnston is a son of the late James and Betty Jean Johnston “We were what I call ‘clean poor’ growing up,” Johnston said. “We had something to eat and clothes to wear, although they were Tuff Nuts instead of Levis.

“Dad had the opportunity to buy into a business with his brother in Kings City, Calif., so we moved and lived there for four years while I was in high school,” he said. “Wecame back here a lot better off than before.”

Johnston said he has seen a lot of changes in education since he entered the field 33 years ago. “It’s a completely different world out there,” he said. “You see a different student, too. They have different things on their mind. All the technology is something.

“We have good kids here at Pottsville,” Johnson said. “It’s a really good school system. I feel good to have been a part of it. I’ve worked under three superintendents who’ve all been good supporters. I will miss all the people here, all the everyday acquaintances,both faculty and students.

“Basically I’ve tried to get the kids prepared in one way or another for whatever they plan to do,” he said. “I’ve tried to get them ready for that first class in college or a first day on the job, showing them that what they’ve learned in chemistry will be good for the rest of their lives.”

“He’s been a great teacher,” said Jonathan Bradley, principal at Pottsville High School. “When you hear chemistry professors from colleges make comment about how well Pottsville students do in college, that speaks well of Mr. Johnston. He will be missed.”

River Valley Ozark, Pages 68 on 05/01/2008