“He was a scientific Will Rogers,” Johnson said of Kettering in a new interview, referring to the early 20th-century humorist. “Which means that he had a sense of humor. But he was brilliant. He was just absolutely brilliant.”
“Boss” Kettering, of course, is a legend in Dayton history and arguably one of the architects of modern life. He led research at NCR, founded auto parts company (with fellow business luminary Edward Deeds), and oversaw research at General Motors (which bought Delco in 1918) until 1947. His widely used inventions included the electrical starting motor, Freon refrigerant and leaded gas.
On June 21, Johnson will be at the The Delco, a new residential community at 115 Madison St., Dayton, as people tour the new refurbished building near the Day Air Ball Park, home of the Dayton Dragons.
The Delco apartment building was previously the Mendelson’s Liquidation Center, which was owned and operated by businessman Sandy Mendelson for more than 40 years. Well before that, however, it was Delco Plant No. 2, which was constructed in 1915 on the site of the former Swaynie House hotel, built in 1839.
Kettering died in 1958 at the age of 82, but not before securing some 300 patents in areas as diverse as treatments for venereal disease, incubators for premature infants and much more.
Johnson was a 22-year-old graduate of Central State University when he met Kettering. Johnson gives his age today as “four score (years) or more.”
“He did so much,” Johnson said. “I knew him (Kettering) personally. In my mind, he did so much more than invent the self-starter. ... If I look at it, that was probably a tenth of one percent of what the man accomplished.”
“I worked as close to him as anyone,” Johnson added. “I knew the man very definitely. He even called me Charlie. I don’t think anyone has ever called me ‘Charlie.’ I was either ‘Chuck’ or ‘Charles.’”
Johnson “will share his deep knowledge of the Delco site and Dayton’s heyday of manufacturing innovation,” said Monica Snow, Preservation Dayton Inc.’s vice president. “Participants will also see how Crawford Hoying has transformed this historic landmark into an innovative housing and commercial complex.”
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Johnson lives in the Dayton Wright-Dunbar neighborhood these days. He joined Kettering’s staff as a senior research associate for the study of photosynthesis at the C.F. Kettering Laboratory in Yellow Springs, working with and for Kettering until he died in 1958, a span of about six years.
When Jones worked there, he assisted Kettering in the pursuit of personal interests.
“I simply worked on his hobbies with him. I worked on what he was interested in — it magnetism, it was x-ray radiation and wind research in the (19)50s,” Johnson said.
Johnson recalled flying on Kettering’s planes. “The guy was a multi-millionaire,” he said with a laugh. “You know? He could do things in planes, and one of his ways was flying between laboratories in his personal plane.
“Let me tell you, as a 22-year-old fresh out of college, I don’t think I’ve had an experience like that since then,” he added.
Johnson remained at the lab until 1963. The lab closed in the late 1980s.
He worked as a contractor and engineer in management positions at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for some 45 years, until his retirement in 2001. He also worked for Aerojet-General Corp and the University of California-Irvine.
Today, Johnson is a volunteer for Dayton History at Carillion Park, sharing memories of Kettering. He has worked on a biography of the man, off and on, for about a decade.
“I’ve got the ideas in my mind,” he said. “I just have to take the discipline to put them down. It keeps growing.”
If you go
Registration for the June 21 tours opens at 4:30 p.m. in the lobby of the AC Hotel by Marriott Dayton at 124 Madison St. The cost is $10 for Preservation Dayton members and $15 for non-members. Tickets are limited to 80 attendees and can be purchased at thedelcosneakpeek.eventbrite.com.
The program begins at 5 p.m. with a presentation by Johnson.
For information, call (937) 232-7904 or email preservationdayton227@gmail.com.
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