He attended grade school until he was old enough to join his father in the woods as a lumber jack.

After his marriage to Alice Duesler, the couple settled in Gloversville, New York where they began a family with two children Elmer and Evelyn. John then worked as a miller, grinding corn, wheat and oats for the local farmers.

To old to serve in the military at the outbreak of World War I, John moved his family to Johnstown, New York where he worked as a weaver producing khaki cloth for military uniforms. At the close of the war, John and Alice returned to Gloversville where Alice became a home glove maker and John worked as a lining cutter for Bormans, the manufacturer of sheepskin coats. Both John and Alice retired from these positions.