Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1904-09-15
TRUE STORY Of SEARCH
TOLD TO AN ALERT REPORTER
BY MISS JENNIE JOHNSON OF
THIS CITY. Y.-REFUTES RlDIC-
ULOUS STORIES ALREADY
PUBLISHED.

PUbl4lSHE ED.
Recently there have appeared in the
press of this state and in Minneapolis,
stories regarding search for her par
eRtS that has been prosecuted by Miss
Jennie Johnson, of this city, a teacher
OF the city schools.
The single truth in these stories is
that Mss johnson has been prosecut-
ing search for her missing parents.
There the truth ends, and if the press
reporters had said that much and
ended there they would have told all
that they knew. Miss Johnson has
before this given no information to
press representatives regarding her
search, and what has been published
is such as the imagination of reporters
could devise together with note or
two furnished them by officials whom
she had sought for aid, and in whom
and on their word for secrecy she had
depended.
When approached by an Alert re-
porter Miss johnson said:
II regret very much the notoriety
that has been given to my search, and
such things as have been said. These
faring articles are gross absurdities.
i have given out nothing for publica-
tion except a few facts to the Crooks
ton Journal, which have been greatly
enlarged upon.
III determined then that l would
not be taken in again, as it were, and.
when in Grand Forks, I sought the
assistance of the chief Of police, |
was more careful than ever not to give
anything for newspaper publication. l
had the word Of that official not to
give anything to the press unless l
wrote 1T, as did not want the notori-
ETY. that it would bring me, and l
thought that it could not possibly
assist me in my search.
''At the train, as | was leaving
Grand Forks, he introduced to me a
reporter of the Grand Forks Herald,
who began to question me. | said to
him: Il suppose that you want some
thing of my search for the paper?' He
replied that he did, and l told him
that | did not wish anything in the
paper regarding it, and | refused to
give him any information.
Notwithstanding al this, ] have
gained a notoriety that is most dis
tasteful to me, and am annoyed by
questions on a subject which do not
wish to discuss. am telling you this
because / do not wish to have any
thing further said in the press regard
ing it. / know that some Of these
things that have been printed are
grossly false, and have decided to let
it rest there, as further discussion
would only keep alive matter which
j wish otherwise"
Suggesting to Miss Johnson that it
was a frequent occurrence that news
paper articles were Of assistance in
securing information in cases like hers,
she gave the reporter the following
story of the disappearance Of her par
,ents over two years ago and her re.
newed search for them.
my parents came to the United
States from Canada: have lived in
Michigan, Texas. Iowa, Wisconsin and
Minnesota My father has made some
money specializing in land. His bust.
ness in Tennessee was to prosecute
some ideas of his own regarding the
reclamation of land. He thought
that old or apparently worn out land
could be reclaimed by deeply plowed
and otherwise treated. He spent only
six months in the state. In turning
over the land after he had successfully
experimental with it he made money.
He then went to Texas where he
owned and operated a small fruit farm.
His stay in Wisconsin, where he also
owned a small piece of land, was not
long; about year. Father has also
owned land in Iowa and Minnesota.
In anticipation of the Great Northern
road connecting Sauk Center with
Wadena he purchased considerable
tract OF land in Todd county and re-
allied profit when the road went
through that county.
s'That is practically the history of
my father since coming to the states
and prior to his and mothers disap.
pearance.
"Of their disappearance the de
tail is this: Father thinking that there
would be an opportunity to turn an
other profit in land went to Warroad
which is situated at the southwestern
end of the Lake Of the Woods where
the river, from which the town takes
its name, empties into the lake, the
townsite OF which was just being
opened up. He thought to buy some