He tuned the pianos at Loyall High School, sang and played guitar, and worked as a cashier at the Harlan Appalachian Regional Hospital Gift Shop.
Normally, most people would not consider these gifts/skills worthy of amazement. However, you might change your mind if you considered Arthur Johnson was blind.
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| Arthur Johnson tuned our pianos |
I don't recall him using any device to determine the correct pitch, so I imagine he also had perfect pitch. I'm guessing though and don't know for sure.
As much as his piano tuning impressed me, his job as cashier flabbergasted me.
I spent hours over my early years waiting in the lounge for one of my parents to visit someone upstairs in the patient area. Kids weren't allowed on the floors in those days. So, I sat downstairs and watched Mr. Johnson as customers came up to him and made their purchases.
At least he didn't see me sitting there staring at him for hours.
I never understood how he knew from touch what a person had chosen. Or how much it cost.
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| Making change |
Dad said he never made a mistake. I don't know about that for sure. I do wonder, though, how many naughty boys tried to fool him. I'm sure there are some stories there.
Arthur Johnson's ability to live above his blindness motivated me to not give up just because I don't have all my faculties or the resources to easily become successful. We all need to resolve to overcome roadblocks to fulfilling life's successes. Or our dreams.
If you grew up in Harlan County, did you know Arthur Johnson? Do you have any stories about him? I'd love to hear your memories.
*The photo of Arthur Johnson (above) first appeared on a historical site. I have no idea where it originated. If you know, please tell me in the comments. I'd like to give credit to the photographer.
I knew this man he had a room in A Kelly's hotel .my brother worked there and he helped clean his room .one day I seen him walk down the street from the hotel and to the new stand where he bought a new paper .So I am thinking he's falling being blind I had seen him a lot at the hospital .making change and all. So I fallowed him back to the hotel. I was thinking all the time a blind man don't need a news paper well me and my brother in law went up to his room and found him feeding that Daley enterprise into a machine that was punching little what looked like holes He was a very nice man and show us how he could read that paper with hid fingers be runner them over the holes .and he was reading faster than I could keep up with two good eyes
ReplyDeleteI knew him my whole life and went to church with him. He also tuned our piano at home. He was an amazingly talented person. He would remember your voice and greet you by your name after you spoke to him. My whole family loves him dearly. He’s greatly missed.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent a lot of my childhood at the hospital due my daddy's illness, I, too, was amazed at his abilities. When I would go up to the counter and hand him my money, he handled all of the merchandise. I often wondered how he could tell the difference.
ReplyDeleteI Know Carl Johnson that's what we all called him at the hotel and sorry to say but that hotel was actually a hotel across from the old railroad Depole he lived in apartment 202 hotel room and I lived in 201 I known him for almost 3 years he come in we would say hello and how are you today and he would say I'm fine thank you and one day I tried to fool him and I failed. I watched him put a key in the door and he didn't fumble I followed him through Harlan he made Square turns at the red lights he knows when it was time to go crossed I followed him to the clothing stores and then I left him I don't know where he went and when he told me on the bus we rode the bus from Harlem to Cumberland that he would stay with the woman in Blair her name was Vegas Chapel and that's about all I can remember at this time but we called him Carl Johnson and he could play anything don't care what kind of music it was. and I never seen a male go in his room to clean it was an older woman Ruth Kendall and I worked at the Harlem Workshop Bob Middleton was my boss I did caning on chairs that's all bye
ReplyDeleteI was friends with Arthur and his friend Charles Hamlin (if I remember correctly) in 1977-1979, when I worked at the Harlan ARMC hospital. They would take me with them as they crisscrossed KY going to different music venues. Arthur would take me on sightseeing trips, telling me when to turn and which road to venture down. My time with him was an absolute blessing. Occasionally, I’d ask him if he’d like to go to church with me, and he, always responding, “Nobody’s going to tell me where to sleep Sunday morning!” He “took” me up to Jess Patterson’s home so I could buy one of his legendary dulcimers. Arthur was such a profound and gracious man, one I’ll never forget.
ReplyDeleteTo the writer of the article, Karen, you wrote, "I don't recall him using any device to determine the correct pitch, so I imagine he also had perfect pitch. I'm guessing though and don't know for sure." Piano tuners that tune by ear, such as Arthur did, will use a tuning fork to set one initial note, normally that note being A 440. Once they get that one note in tune comparted to the tuning fork, then they will use various other intervals and play it with the in tune A 440. They will count the beats that this interval produces. There are standard beats for a given interval. This would tell them if the note (comparted to the one they know is in tune) is flat or sharp or right on pitch. So it is a matter of mathematics that piano tuners that tune by ear use. Other piano tuners use an electronic tuner, with the best being one of the Peterson strobe tuners. The strobe tuner will show whether a given note is flat or sharp or right on pitch. So you can see, this is not a matter of a person having perfect pitch, it is a matter of hearing the beats and counting them based upon the given interval. Hope this helps. KC in TN
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