TShane Johnson (left) with a copy of his first book. His father, Timothy Johnson, holds a copy of the DeSoto County Historical Society’s “Recollection II,” featuring stories and the only known photograph of their great-uncle James Mitchell “Acrefoot” Johnson.
TShane Johnson walked from Orlando to
Panama City, then ran from Orlando to San Diego to raise funds to help
homeless veterans and teens long before he found out about his famous
great-uncle ... James Mitchell Johnson (1850-1922).
Known as “Acrefoot,” James Johnson over 130 years ago walked a daily 50-mile route to deliver the U.S. mail between Fort Ogden and Fort Meade before the train linked those cities in 1886. According to legend, he walked another 10 miles from Fort Meade to Bartow, where his sister lived. By staying with her family, he saved the fee for “room and board” in Fort Meade and enjoyed a visit with relatives.
Such legends have grown up around
Acrefoot, DeSoto County’s own folk hero, a giant of a man for the times,
standing 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds inside size 14
shoes that likely wore quickly. He was the third son of Elias Johnson
and Elizabeth Keen Johnson, who arrived in Fort Ogden in 1866.
Acrefoot’s brother Moses is Shane’s great-grandfather, and Shane grew up
as did his ancestors “barefoot, running in the woods” near Arcadia,
according to Shane’s book, “Hike Across America: 3,000 Miles For Your
Why,” published in 2018.
A 1998 graduate of DeSoto County High School, Shane Johnson, also a big man, is now a best-selling author and motivational speaker.
But he didn’t start that way.
While on leave while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he was a riding a motorcycle that was struck by a car. Johnson was thrown into a brick house, and the impact split his bicep and shattered his rib cage. His broken ribs sliced vital organs. He walked to a nearby fire station. Medically, he died three times, but survived and fought to recover his health. He then began a career in banking and mortgages, specializing in those products geared to veterans. One of his clients—a veteran living in the Panhandle—had to walk up to 10 miles to a bus and then ride two hours to a U.S. Veterans Administration hospital in Pensacola for treatment. That predicament inspired Johnson’s first fundraising walk from Orlando to Panama City.
Johnson endured his own rough patch, losing everything in 2008 in the Great Recesssion. He learned about homelessness for two years. And after his car was totaled in an accident, he learned to walk or run everywhere.
On his 3,000-mile walk to California, for example, his goal was 22 miles a day, because 22 is the average number of veterans every day committing suicide. He spoke in 20 cities, passed through nine states and met 10,000 veterans on his journey.
Although Johnson does encourage audiences to give respect and appreciation to our veterans, he also urges vets to take leadership roles in their community. He considers time served in the military as an investment that can be “paid back” when veterans serve as community leaders. In fact, such leadership is the subject of his second book, “Keep Your Feet Moving: 7 Principles To Get You Through The Tough Times,” published in 2018.
Now the father of four-year-old Charleston “Charli” Ridley Johnson, TShane is working on a third volume to “bring back dad the hero.” He dreams of a country in which people find fulfillment and pride in their families rather than their jobs or occupations.
His next project begins this Sept. 11 at Ground Zero in New York City and will end in Orlando on Nov. 11. This “Hike Across America 2019” will benefit the Gary Sinise Foundation’s program “Restoring Independence and Supporting Empowerment (R.I.S.E), one “which builds specially adapted smart homes for our severely wounded heroes.” Along the way and always moving, Johnson will visit military and veteran organizations, veteran-owned businesses, homeless shelters and local Rotary Clubs—as presented by the Rotary Club of Lake Buena Vista in Orlando—clear proof that family traits do pass to following generations. hikeacrossamerica.com.
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