FROM THE ARCHIVES: Major L. Earle Johnson – Nation Builder

As narrated by Gabriel J. Christian

Originally published May 25th, 2020

Amidst the doom, gloom, and uncertainty attendant to the COVI 19 Pandemic, I received a box of written material, mementos, and historical material from one Lyndon Earle Johnson in April 2020. In our time at the Dominica Grammar School in the early 1970s, we knew him simply as “Major” as he was the commandant of the Dominica Cadet Corps. But he was more than that. Indeed, when one recites his seldom heralded contributions to Dominica’s progress, his true badge of honor is that of: Nation Builder!

The Major was born on December 19, 1939, at Roseau, Dominica. His mother was Eulie Anastasia Defoe nee LaRocque, a seamstress; and his father was Stanley Johnson, a joiner of Antiguan ancestry. Educated at the Dominica Grammar School, Earle Johnson graduated in agriculture from the Eastern Caribbean Farm Institute at Centeno, which fell under the aegis of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture (ICTA). Johnson joined the public service on January 1, 1960, until his resignation in 1978. A qualified agriculturist, he served for seven years as Director of the Dominica Regional Youth Camp at Londonderry, and at the time of his resignation was General Manager of the Dominica Marketing Board. During his last years on island, Johnson served as President of the Dominica Association for Industry and Commerce. Major Johnson migrated to the United States where he later earned his DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) from California Coastal University. While in the United States Johnson has remained dutiful to Dominica by serving in the leadership of the South Florida Association of Dominicans (SOFAD), a civic development-oriented organization. SOFAD once brought the local WCK bouyon music band to a US tour. He is the author of an exquisitely written part memoir/part motivational text Retool or Rust (Dr. Lyndon Earle Johnson, Xlibris Press, 2007).

“We are surrounded by unlimited opportunities for self-education. The real challenge is our personal response to this exposure, and our passion to get ahead in life.”