Memories of my grammar school days came flooding back to me as I stepped inside the Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum in Logan, Ohio. It houses more than 4,000 antique and new pencil sharpeners collected by the Rev. Paul A. Johnson.
When I was in the first grade in 1953, at the beginning of the school year, everyone was given four yellow pencils. That was a big deal to a bunch of 5- and 6-year-old kids. In kindergarten, we used crayons for drawing. But first grade with pencils and a sharpener meant we were like the cool, big kids in the upper classes.
Every morning, we lined up in front of the blackboards, clutching our pencils in a death grip. Our teacher, Miss Haley, would shove a pencil into the metal wall-mounted sharpener. With wide eyes we watched as she turned the handle. We heard the grinding sound of the pencil being devoured by that sharpener.
Kids today know mostly electronics: iPads, cellphones, laptops, and PCs have taken the place of pencils and sharpeners.
But their legacy lives on in Ohio.
It all started in 1986 when Johnson retired from his ministry duties. His wife, Charlotte, gave him a Christmas present of two metal pencil sharpeners shaped like antique cars. She hoped the gift would give him something to tinker with, and he would collect a few more. From 1986 until he passed away in 2010, Johnson collected 3,469 sharpeners. Added to this are 1,000 sharpeners donated to the museum by the family of Frank Parades, another avid collector.
Johnson set up the sharpeners in his backyard garden shed. Somehow, people found out about his odd collection. He gave free tours to anyone who stopped by. He assembled the sharpeners (there are no duplicates) into groups of animals, sports, tanks, antique cars and trucks, cannon, slot machines, and musical instruments such as pianos and harps. The list goes on and on.
Disney is well represented here, with sharpeners depicting Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy. There’s a special group in center court: Barbie. Here she is in her ballet slippers and tutu. Barbie in her party dress, Barbie in her bathrobe, and several Barbie telephones in different shapes and shades of pinks and blues.
After Johnson’s death, Charlotte gave the collection and the garden shed to the Hocking Hills Tourism Association. It was placed next to the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center.
Via email, Audrey Martin, deputy director of the Hocking Hills Tourism Association, had this to say about the museum: “Visitors are always wowed by the breadth of the collection, which never fails to transport them back to their childhood, regardless of their age. We have had families drive from as far away as Texas, specifically to see the museum. And, people from around the world have stopped in as part of their visit to the Hocking Hills area.”
Over the years, the garden shed started to show wear, so the powers that be at the Hocking Hills Tourism Association decided to close the museum for two years and do a complete gut job. New walls, ceiling, roof, and floors were installed. The museum is also now accessible for people with disabilities.
Museum-quality glass was used for shelves and cabinets, offering better viewing, no glare, and special ultraviolet components to keep the sun from damaging anything. The world’s only pencil sharpener museum reopened in January 2024.
Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum
Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
13178 State Road 664 South
Logan, Ohio 43138
740-385-9706
Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center
Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
13178 State Road 664 South
Logan, Ohio 43138
740-385-9706