Wally Johnson's design for a collapsible fish box was a bust, but the resourceful inventor quickly converted his brainstorm into a business success as a portable pet kennel.
Johnson, who sold Kennel-Aire dog kennels, exercise pens, pet barriers for cars and other accessories throughout the world from a St. Paul storefront, died Feb. 27 at his Florida retirement home. He was 90.
A local memorial service will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 17 at Centennial United Methodist Church, 1524 W. County Road C2, Roseville.
The former Pine City resident was an avid fisherman who in the 1950s had an idea to use heavy steel and wire mesh to create a collapsible fish box that could be attached to a boat and dropped into the water to allow anglers to preserve their catch. It didn't prove to be an economic success, but it did give rise to the dog kennels, said his brother Dennis, of Golden Valley.
After returning to his garage workshop where he designed a few prototypes for collapsible dog kennels, Johnson chose the name Kennel-Aire because, unlike many kennels on the market at that time, his designs allowed air to pass through them, making it easier for pets to breathe and stay cool. He took out advertisements in prominent magazines such as Field & Stream and Outdoor Life, and orders began to pour in. To handle the booming business, he opened a store at Snelling and Como Avenues in St. Paul, sold by direct mail and developed other products. Eventually his merchandise was manufactured in factories in Mountain Lake, Minn., and Ottawa, Kan.
"He was mechanically handy and had a natural aptitude," Dennis said of his entrepreneurial brother.
Wally developed his curious mind as a student at Pine City High School. As a student, he formed a six-piece band, Wally Johnson and his Swing Kings, and played clubs and dance halls in east-central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In the summers he led sing-alongs at Glacier National Park and in 1939 the tenor sang at the World's Fair in New York, a performance that was broadcast on television to an auditorium audience, Dennis said.
During World War II, he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and built air bases in Bermuda, Trinidad and the Azores.
When he returned to Minnesota, Wally and his wife, LaDon, sang together with church ensembles and the Sheik's Sextet at Sheik's Cafe and other venues in the Twin Cities. He ran Kennel-Aire for 25 years until he sold the company in 1981.
Wally was an early member of Muskies Inc. and often spent time fishing in Canada with his brothers. He also was "an excellent golfer" and longtime member of Midland Hills Golf Club in St. Paul where he also did some landscaping, Dennis said.
In Florida, he lived in the retirement community of Mariner Sands, where he led the effort to build a chapel and organized the chapel choir, his brother said.
In addition to his brother Dennis, Johnson is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, LaDon, of Stuart, Fla.; a sister, Ann Hansen, of Roseville, and one other brother, Donald, of Minnetonka.
