Open house
Representatives of the Huber and Weinstein families and brewery president Gary Olson will attend a party in celebration of brewery employee Ron Johnson's 50 years at Minhas. The party will be an open house at the Browntown Civic Center from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday.
BROWNTOWN - Since 1845, the brewery currently known as Minhas Craft Brewery has been a Monroe landmark. But since 1967, the brewery has had its own marker, this one named Ron Johnson.
Johnson, a 68-year-old Browntown resident, began working at the brewery 50 years ago when he was 18.
"I started on the 15th of June, 50 years ago," Johnson said. "They'll say I started on the 17th of June, but that's not right."
Johnson said Joe Huber, who was then the owner of the brewery, hired him on June 15, 1967, when Johnson was in the process of repairing his car.
"He asked if I wanted to work for him," Johnson said. "I said 'when do you want me to start?' He said 'yesterday.'"
But Johnson didn't begin work until he finished the car repairs two days later.
Since then, the brewery changed ownership six times, and Johnson served in a war and started a family.
Three years after he started work at the brewery, Johnson joined the U.S. Air Force, flying F-4 Phantom jets in New Mexico and California before joining the Vietnam War in Da Nang in 1971.
Johnson served for 10 months in Vietnam, but the effects of the war would last for far longer, as he was exposed to the carcinogenic herbicide called Agent Orange.
In December of 2016, Johnson was diagnosed with lung cancer determined to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange. He is currently on medical leave from work and undergoing treatment but plans to return to work "when my breathing is better."
Johnson was similarly confident in his job after the war. After returning to America, he returned to the brewery as if he'd never left.
In 1978, he married his wife, Helen, and the two had three children in the four years that followed.
During his 50-year career, Johnson saw the brewery undergo countless changes even beyond the several ownership changes.
"Everything's bigger now," Johnson said. "We didn't have a lab back then; before we just had a brewmaster and an office and we only made three different brews."
Johnson noted that the rules at the brewery are stricter now. An old tradition saw departing college students engage in water fights at the end of summer, spraying each other with hoses - until one student decided to hose down then-owner Fred Huber.
"Somebody called that in to the police as a riot," Johnson said. "The water fights ended after that. Nobody ever saw the kid again."
Johnson also experienced tragedy at the brewery when, in 1993, his coworker James Bisegger was killed in a tank explosion. Johnson had left the room to get a drink when mounting carbon dioxide pressure in a tank reached catastrophic levels, causing an explosion that killed Bisegger instantly.
Johnson also narrowly avoided financial ruin on several occasions, particularly when the brewery temporarily closed for bankruptcy in 1981, two weeks after his wife gave birth to twins. Johnson said the brewery wasn't closed for long, but the timing was frightening for the young family.
Although the work could be hard - Johnson recalled working 14-hour days on some occasions - he said he enjoyed the camaraderie with his coworkers.
"Those first guys I worked with - they were good folks," Johnson said.
Now, Johnson is concentrating on getting back on his feet and getting compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for his cancer. Once he is recovered, he wants to return to the brewery as soon as possible.
"I almost didn't work there," Johnson said. "But it's a good thing I did."
Johnson, a 68-year-old Browntown resident, began working at the brewery 50 years ago when he was 18.
"I started on the 15th of June, 50 years ago," Johnson said. "They'll say I started on the 17th of June, but that's not right."
Johnson said Joe Huber, who was then the owner of the brewery, hired him on June 15, 1967, when Johnson was in the process of repairing his car.
"He asked if I wanted to work for him," Johnson said. "I said 'when do you want me to start?' He said 'yesterday.'"
But Johnson didn't begin work until he finished the car repairs two days later.
Since then, the brewery changed ownership six times, and Johnson served in a war and started a family.
Three years after he started work at the brewery, Johnson joined the U.S. Air Force, flying F-4 Phantom jets in New Mexico and California before joining the Vietnam War in Da Nang in 1971.
Johnson served for 10 months in Vietnam, but the effects of the war would last for far longer, as he was exposed to the carcinogenic herbicide called Agent Orange.
In December of 2016, Johnson was diagnosed with lung cancer determined to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange. He is currently on medical leave from work and undergoing treatment but plans to return to work "when my breathing is better."
Johnson was similarly confident in his job after the war. After returning to America, he returned to the brewery as if he'd never left.
In 1978, he married his wife, Helen, and the two had three children in the four years that followed.
During his 50-year career, Johnson saw the brewery undergo countless changes even beyond the several ownership changes.
"Everything's bigger now," Johnson said. "We didn't have a lab back then; before we just had a brewmaster and an office and we only made three different brews."
Johnson noted that the rules at the brewery are stricter now. An old tradition saw departing college students engage in water fights at the end of summer, spraying each other with hoses - until one student decided to hose down then-owner Fred Huber.
"Somebody called that in to the police as a riot," Johnson said. "The water fights ended after that. Nobody ever saw the kid again."
Johnson also experienced tragedy at the brewery when, in 1993, his coworker James Bisegger was killed in a tank explosion. Johnson had left the room to get a drink when mounting carbon dioxide pressure in a tank reached catastrophic levels, causing an explosion that killed Bisegger instantly.
Johnson also narrowly avoided financial ruin on several occasions, particularly when the brewery temporarily closed for bankruptcy in 1981, two weeks after his wife gave birth to twins. Johnson said the brewery wasn't closed for long, but the timing was frightening for the young family.
Although the work could be hard - Johnson recalled working 14-hour days on some occasions - he said he enjoyed the camaraderie with his coworkers.
"Those first guys I worked with - they were good folks," Johnson said.
Now, Johnson is concentrating on getting back on his feet and getting compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for his cancer. Once he is recovered, he wants to return to the brewery as soon as possible.
"I almost didn't work there," Johnson said. "But it's a good thing I did."