Bipeds of Brookland: Margaret Johnson

Bipeds of Brookland: Margaret Johnson

Margaret Johnson learned of a tap dance program called  ‘Seniors on the Move’ and thought, “I would like to try it, because I always had two left feet. You had to be 65 or older before you joined, and it was stressless. The teacher is 91 years old.” She started practicing once a week a year ago. “Last Thanksgiving I had enough confidence to perform for my family.” She has performed with the group of seniors four times in Retirement homes and schools in Maryland.

Ms. Johnson was born in DC, but lived for a while in New Orleans with her husband who was a professor. They came back to DC when he took a job with the federal government. They bought a house in Brookland in 1969. She worked as a medical technician at  Georgetown Hospital then stayed home to raise her four children. They all sang with the National Children’s Choir formed by Judith St. Aubin, “who formed a choir by going around to all the local schools in the city and signing kids up. She proved she could take anybody and make them part of a choir. We traveled all ove:, to Massachusetts and Maine, and to see the Pope and President Nixon.” Ms. Johnson went as a chaperone when they traveled to sing in Rome, Paris, and London.

“I miss everyone who used to be here.  A lot of people moved away when they couldn't stay in their houses any longer. I am blessed because I can still do that. We did not want all that development right around the corner because it is a real stable neighborhood. But in a way it's good, because it brought a lot of young families. They add something to the neighborhood too. Now we like the places around the corner.  We didn’t like Colonel Brooks being torn down. We used to go there a lot to eat and celebrate birthdays. We’re big on birthdays.”

Bipeds of Brookland: A weekly series introducing the people who make Brookland their home, one step at a time.
Article and photo by Tom Sabella.