John Olson worked as a sawyer. John, who was born in Norway in 1880, was the only one of the two living here when the 1900 Census was taken.

Most of the workers who constructed the Minnesota Capitol belonged to unions. While a specific union affiliation has not been found for Green, most stone workers were organized in St. Paul at the time the Capitol was built. However, there was controversy over whether workers operating relatively new stone sawing machinery should be members of the unions containing artisans who worked with hand tools and power chisels. So, it's unclear whether Olson belonged to a union during the building of the Minnesota statehouse.