He Might Not Know Aleppo, But He Certainly Knows Aberdeen

You haven’t heard much from him lately, but a former Aberdonian is on the presidential ballot in 2016. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, would have been in the Central class of 1971 if he had stayed in the Hub City.

Johnson’s family moved to Aberdeen when he was in the first grade, so he attended Henry Neill School on the east side near Moccasin Creek (Larks and Foxes territory for you little leaguers).

He stayed until the eighth grade (at Simmons Junior High), when the family moved to Albuquerque, NM. “It was a shock at age 13 to move away from everything that was comfortable and familiar, so it was one of the worst times of my life, moving to Albuquerque, “ Johnson told the American News. “I felt like the world fell out from under me. … It turned out to be the best thing to ever happen.”

In New Mexico, he later won election twice as the governor of the state.

Here is an excerpt from the article that ran in the American News on Friday, July 29, 2016, by Katherine Grandstrand.

“A former Aberdeen resident is making his second run for president.

“Gary Johnson, who served two terms as governor of New Mexico, is once again the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee, this time with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld as his selection for vice president. Johnson previously ran with Judge James P. Gray of California in 2012.

"Long before running for president or becoming New Mexico’s 29^th governor, Johnson, 63, was a kid growing up in Aberdeen. He lived in town from the time he was 6 until he was 13 years old.

“I wouldn’t have traded my life for anything else,” Johnson said. “Henry Neill, Simmons Junior High, Boy Scouts, the Lutheran church, hunting, the YMCA — I think it made me the person I am today, and that’s a guy who shows up on time and tells the truth, regardless of the consequences, and that is accountable for everything that I’ve ever done. That all came from Aberdeen.”

If you'd like to read the entire interview, click here ...