These days, the 75-year-old “Indiana Jones” and his wife, Cindy, live in her ancestral home in Antis Township, where Johnson writes short stories drawing on his wildlife field experiences, his midwestern upbringing and love of the outdoors.

He also contributes his expertise to The Pennwriters Inkwell, a local writer’s group, and enjoys helping the community any way he can.

Sharing with others and storytelling comes as naturally as breathing for Johnson, who grew up in the Midwest. He and Cindy, his wife of 43 years, moved to Altoona in 2004 and again in 2014.

In their home, a large portrait of “Max,” a Great Indian Hornbill, watches over meal preparations in the kitchen. Johnson tells the story of how Max nearly dropped a mummified partridge carcass on former Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s head as they toured the tropics building at the Minnesota Zoological Garden.

In this 1984 photo taken in Papua New Guinea, Jimi Valley, as part of the American Zoo Consortium – Collection/Salvage Operation, Johnson holds (left) a White-eared Catbird and a Common Paradise Kingfisher. Both birds were released unharmed. Courtesy photo

“I picked it up and put it under my suit coat and continued to talk. The Secret Service agent’s eyes got real big. I’m lucky, very lucky nothing happened to me because of that,” Johnson said.

“Afterwards, I pulled it out and realized the hornbill had killed it and stuck it up there. It was like he was waiting for an opportunity to make a statement.”

‘A quiet giant of aviculture’

Johnson learned servant leadership and love of exotic birds from his father. His parents, Irvin and Verna Johnson, welcomed into their home more than 600 foster children in their hometown of Anoka, Minn.

A roofer by trade, his father’s love of animals led to the creation of the Johnson Game Farm, which Johnson describes as a “small zoo” filled with deer, llamas and game birds in the mid-to-late 1960s. Johnson was about 14 years old when his father purchased some golden and silver pheasants. The care of these colorful birds led Johnson to the American Pheasant & Waterfowl Society, where he met zoo curators and bird aviculturists. By 17, he served as the society’s treasurer and knew he wanted to pursue an education in wildlife biology.

A large portrait of “Max,” a Great Indian Hornbill, watches over meal preparations in the kitchen of the Johnson home. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Like many, the Vietnam War interrupted his educational plans. He served four years in the Navy as an aviation electronics technician in Jacksonville, Fla. On his weekends off, he would hitchhike for more than two hours to Haines City to work on a game farm.

“I learned so much about breeding and caring for birds and everything else. They were a mecca — a hot spot — and people from Seaworld and Disney World would come there, and I got to meet zoo staff and curators from all over the country,” he said.

He graduated in 1975 from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology. He spent nearly 20 years as a bird curator at three different zoos: first at Jacksonville Zoological Garden in Florida; six years at the Minnesota Zoological Garden; and then 11 years at the Miami Metrozoo.

During these years, he participated in several international expeditions collecting grouse, Beluga whales and took three consecutive summer trips to Papua New Guinea for the American Zoo Consortium to collect and save birds of paradise.

He also worked on conservation projects in Peru, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Jamaica — all to help establish self-sustaining captive populations in efforts to maintain the species and further work of returning rare and threatened species back to the wild.

From the Inuit of Canada to the indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea, Johnson’s respect and affection for these people and their cultures comes through in his many stories — humorous and often at the teller’s expense, like the time an Inuit urged him to hop on the back of a Beluga whale to guide him. Johnson accidentally became lashed to the whale’s back and nearly drowned as the whale rolled repeatedly, trying to cast him off in the shallow water.

Another time, while in Papua New Guinea, his driver/guide became distraught as they passed through his enemy’s territory. The guide, so grateful for safe passage and Johnson’s kind reassurances, later presented him with a headdress and inducted him into his tribe.

Unfortunately for Johnson, the headdress was filled with “lice and creepy, crawly things.” He diplomatically wore it and then convinced the tribesman to “keep it for him.”

Johnson has achieved success in having birds copulate and produce young while in captivity during his tenure at the three zoos.

“Ron is the quiet giant of aviculture,” said James Pfarr, founder of the nation’s largest private bird collection in Florida. “He’s known for being a quiet, gentle giant that blends into the forest. He’s so rooted that everyone walks by him because he’s so quiet. (Ron) doesn’t seek attention.”

‘Foresight and insight’

Johnson and Pfarr, two longtime friends, along with Kurt Leydig, are collaborating on a four-volume book for bird breeders that covers the history of pheasants. “A Monograph of the Pheasants of the World” blends historical information, field research, taxonomy and how to apply wild habitat adaptations into captive breeding programs.

Johnson and Pfarr will offer aviculturists insight into their work at a one-day conference hosted

by the Pennsylvania Aviculture Society in State College next month.

“It’s a way for us to give back,” Johnson said, and share information before the book’s publication, which is still several years away.

Johnson has many “firsts” in the field of bird propagation and has a unique blend of knowledge, wilderness experience and “foresight and insight,” Pfarr said.

“He has the ability to have premonitions of direction. In aviculture, to be successful, you have to have a sixth sense and intuition with a very precise focus to have success,” Pfarr said in describing Johnson’s talent of seeing the birds in the wild and being able to translate what he has seen in natural settings into captive rearing.

Also on display in the Johnson home is a special portrait of Raggiana bird of paradise — the national bird of Papua New Guinea. Johnson and this particular bird of paradise had a 30-plus year association from when he saved the bird from becoming food at the local market. After a year of socialization at the consortium’s base camp, the bird went to the Miami Zoo, where he resided from 1986-92 when Hurricane Andrew destroyed Miami’s aviary. It was then Johnson rescued the bird a second time, using a box trap.

“Because the zoo was so devastated, we shipped all the birds out to other zoos,” Johnson said. “He was shipped to the San Diego Zoo, where he lived for 27 years.” More decades would pass until they were reunited three years ago. Johnson was doing research at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., when officials brought him a little jewelry box.

“They opened it up and poured the bones onto the table,” Johnson said. “On the femur was the band I had put on that bird in 1986. He is now part of the research collection at the Smithsonian and some of his great-grandchildren are at the Pittsburgh Zoo.”

Door to entrepreneurship

Hurricane Andrew destroyed the Johnsons’ home and ended his zoo career, but opened a door to entrepreneurship in Iron River in Wisconsin. They opened a bed and breakfast on their trout farm, as well as the area’s first internet coffee shop. While pursuing entrepreneurship, Johnson’s deep voice and deliberate delivery landed him a position as news director at a local radio station, where he also became the “Tropical Scandinavian” on WNXR in Indian River, Wisconsin.

His personna as the Tropical Scandinavian grew out of his Scandinavian heritage, travels in the tropics of the world and his love of cooking. He also did cooking demonstrations at aquaculture and community events.

With more than 100 recipes, Johnson hopes to publish a cookbook that combines tropical ingredients and midwestern style of cooking in the future.

From 2004-22, Johnson held various offices and positions in Wisconsin’s aquaculture industry, advancing to director and president. He also worked for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and University Wisconsin Extension.

“I visited fish farms — evaluating their operations and making recommendations for improvements, helped them with technical issues (aeration, capacity, feeding and marketing), and I assisted with regulations and laws,” Johnson said. As a University Aquaculture Extension Specialist, Johnson worked with state legislators, testified to the importance of Wisconsin aquaculture, the economic burdens impeding the industry and helped pass aquaculture laws. Through his work with the National Association of Aquaculture, his influence grew to the national level, where he “worked with congressmen on both sides of the aisle” to inform them as to the importance of domestic-raised seafood and served on the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, a federal task force to deal with invasive fish in the U.S. He received numerous awards for his service to the aquaculture industry.

When Johnson and his wife decided to move to Pennsylvania to live in Cindy’s ancestral home in Antis Township, Johnson sold his 1,000-plus book library valued at $20,000 and donated the proceeds so urban youths could learn to fish.

“We saw a need and decided this was a good way to fill it,” he said.

Once in Pennsylvania, Johnson revived his interest in raising exotic birds. He sold his 80 pheasants and is using the proceeds to further work on the pheasant monograph.

He contributes his expertise to The Pennwriters Inkwell, a local writer’s group under the leadership of Jennifer D. Diamond, who serves as Pennwriters Area 4 Representative.

“Ron has an ability to make and maintain genuine connections with people from all over. That’s what I most admire. He’s very genuine,” she said. Johnson has tapped into his vast and world-class connections to help provide guest speakers. He also helped start the Festival of Books in the Alleghenies. He also frequently helps fellow writers when it comes to portraying birds and their sounds correctly in text.

“He’s quiet, unassuming and extremely modest,” Diamond said. “I call him ‘Indiana Jones’ — he’s one of the most interesting men in the world.”

The Johnson file

Name: Ron Johnson

Age: 75

Residence: Altoona

Family: Wife, Cindy; two adult children, Bill and Tami; and four grandchildren

Education: Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.

Military service: U.S. Navy, 1969-1973, served as an aviation electronics technician in Jacksonville, Fla.

Employment: Retired from the University of Wisconsin Extension as an aquaculture Outreach Specialist, served as an administrator for U.S. Trout Farmers Association, an aquaculture outreach specialist, curator for several large zoos, zoological consultant, author, researcher

Community service: The Festival of Books in the Alleghenies, Pennwriters/Inkwell Chapter

Awards and honors: Multiple awards for his contributions to Wisconsin aquaculture