Early Life
Keen Johnson was born in a two-room cabin at Brandon's Chapel in Lyon County, Kentucky, on January 12, 1896. He was the only son of Reverend Robert and Mattie (Holloway) Johnson. His parents named him in honor of John S. Keen, a family friend from Adair County. The Johnsons also had two daughters—Catherine (Keturah) and Christine. Robert Johnson was a Methodist minister, and the family moved often as a result of his occupation.
After completing his elementary education in the public schools, Johnson attended preparatory school at Vanderbilt Preparatory School for Boys, a Methodist institution in Elkton, Kentucky. He finished his preparatory coursework in 1914 and matriculated to Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri. He had intended to continue his studies at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, but he interrupted his studies to enlist in the U.S. Army for service in World War I.
After basic training, Johnson entered officer training at Fort Riley on May 15, 1917. In August 1917, he was appointed a second lieutenant and assigned to the 354th Infantry, 89th Division of the American Expeditionary Force at Camp Funston. He was promoted to first lieutenant on March 29, 1918, and on June 4, 1918, he was deployed to France, where he studied logistical communications at the Army School of the Line and Staff College. He remained in Europe with the American Expeditionary Force until April 1919 and was honorably discharged from the Army on October 31, 1919.
On June 23, 1917, while still completing his military training, Johnson married Eunice Nichols. Their only child, a daughter named Judith, was born May 19, 1927. Upon his return from military service, Johnson purchased the Elizabethtown Mirror with financial assistance from his father. He built the struggling paper almost from the ground up, and a competitor soon bought him out for a profit. Johnson used the profit from the sale of the Mirror to continue his education at the University of Kentucky. While a student, he worked as a reporter for the Lexington Herald. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1922. The university would later award him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1940.
After graduation, Johnson purchased half ownership of the Anderson News and served as the paper's editor and publisher. In 1925, Shelton M. Saufley asked Johnson to partner with him in a joint venture to purchase the Richmond Daily Register. Lured by the idea of publishing a daily paper, Johnson accepted. As a result of one of his editorials, Johnson was named executive secretary of the State Democratic Central Committee in 1932. He continued to hold this position and publish the Register through 1939.
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