At 92 Rudy Johnson is a wonderful story-teller and certainly has many stories to tell. His memoir simply titled Rudy Johnson is now in its second printing.
After a successful regional book signing tour last fall and winter, Rudy is back for a another book signing at the Williams Lake Library on Wednesday, May 20 starting a 6:30 p.m.
Johnson’s book recounts his personal journey from the time he was born in 1922, to his arrival in Canada, and his move to the Cariboo in 1947.
The book closely chronicles the development of the Williams Lake area, and Cariboo North.
Johnson has kept a journal since age 13. He was a pilot, a prospector, a sawmill owner, a rancher as well as the force behind the construction of the Rudy Johnson bridge across the Fraser River which he completed in 1968.
Of all his many accomplishments, Johnson says building the bridge was his most notable. The government’s bridge engineer told him it couldn’t be done and that was the incentive for Johnson to prove him wrong.
He purchased a redundant bridge in Alaska, had it shipped first by water to Prince Rupert, then by train to Prince George and finally by several trucks to the site. Rudy, who was by this time quite skilled at figuring out how to accomplish what he needed done, drafted up plans for the construction of the foundation for the bridge and how he would span the Fraser River. With the help of a friend who was an engineer, Rudy was granted permission to construct the bridge.
Come out to the library to hear Johnson’s marvelous stories. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.