Harold Johnson came to California in 1947 with a dream!  After serving as a company commander in the Army Corps of Engineers and working in the family construction business, Irving Construction and Wrecking, “Hap” Johnson decided that California was the land of opportunity.  He came to California with his wife, $35.00 in his pocket and an old Buick.  He worked as a carpenter at first, then after obtaining his contractor’s license, built custom homes.  He went to work for William P. Gressen, the largest commercial contractor of the 1950s where Hap quickly rose to the position of Vice President.  After working for Gressen for 14 years, Hap decided to start his own company, Near-Cal Corporation in 1964.  Near-Cal started out as a small company building commercial retail centers, restaurants such as Denny’s and Coco’s along with numerous savings and loan buildings.