Browse Items (1041 total)

Kenneth recalls the time when, at age 2, his baby buggy took off down the hill at full speed, his mother rushing down and sweeping him up, and how later on they both enjoyed reading a book about a baby riding in a baby buggy. Listen to audio…

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Once, Kenneth was in a Chinese cookshop to get some cookies, and elephants and the mahout were nearby. As he was holding his cup in his hand, all of a sudden a great big trunk came sliding in over my shoulder and sucked up my cookies. They all just…

Kenneth explains the origin of his middle name, "Perry", which he got from a "collateral" relative, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. he sings a song about the Commodore and recalls how, at age thirteen, his father took him to see the great picture on…

Kenneth explains the "tragedy" of his mother's misnaming at baptism, when the minister named her "Mary".

Kenneth tells about his mother's family and his frequent train trips to Brooklyn to his mother's home. Margaret gives the birth dates for Kenneth's parents and for each of their children.

Kenneth tells about his father's love for his wife (Kenneth's mother) and intimacy problems in their marriage.

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Kenneth tells the story of his gold ring with the two diamonds and how his grandfather first owned and used it.

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Kenneth and Margaret talk about Kenneth's father's military career and his death.

Kenneth tells about family celebrations and recalls a Thanksgiving celebration at which Uncle Billy gave magnum champagne to his mother and how she did not know what to do with it and so poured into in a pitcher.

Kenneth tells about his father's courtship with Mae, how he had a problem falling asleep unexpectedly and how he used whiskey to stay awake. Mae eventually referred him to a doctor for treatment.

Kenneth tells about the home of his mother, where she would visit often very early in his childhood.

Kenneth tells about his birth, how his father and a friend were negligent in letting his mother struggle alone upstairs giving birth to him, and how she expressed her anger to get the men's attention.

Kenneth recalls the life of his father, Bradley William Landon his birth, youth, and physical appearance. He was a very influential person in the Erie Railroad and a very brilliant chemist, well-known throughout the United States. He tells of the…

Kenneth's father, Brad, was always after Ed (the other uncle of Kenneth besides Henry) to shape up. Brad and Henry were so successful that Ed just looked around and decided that it wasn't worth the effort, so he stayed home most of the time (in part…

Henry Landon, Kenneth's uncle, was a very bland person, a politician type, and very likable. He always knew what was going on and how to adjust to it. He was a very able civil engineer. (The clip contains some side information about the Landon…

Kenneth's father was of puritan congregational background. He rarely gave presents to his children, not even at Christmas (which he did not believe in). Kenneth tells about his shock when, following his marriage he discovered that his wife's…

Margaret tells about her family and describes their physical characteristics. She begins with her grandfather, Laurids Jurgen Moeller Mortenson, from Denmark. He managed to come to the US and attended Garrett Biblical Institute. Upon graduation he…

Margaret's grandmother Dorthea Bergersdatter came from Norway and settled in Chicago, staying with the Bassett family. She had a beautiful soprano voice. She attended a small Scandinavian church in Evanston, IL, where she met Margaret's grandfather.…

Maragret's father, Annenus Duabus Mortenson (A. D.), was born April 7, 1875. He started working very early to support the family because his father was preoccupied by his inventions and travels. A.D. may have not finished high school, but he was an…

The parents of Margaret's mother, Adelle, came from Norway to Wisconsin, where Adelle was born in 1877. The family later moved to Minnesota for farming, and then back to Wisconsin (in the Kenosha area). Adelle went to school and had excellent…

Thorina Chrisina married in 1876 and migrated to the US in 1883 with her two children and her mother, following the death of her husband and one of her children. They settled in Racine and Trine invested money in the business of her brother, Laurids,…

Adelle liked keeping little souvenirs, like a ball of homespun yarn kept in a little bag and a note that said it was a yarn spun by her mother. She also kept souvenirs of her recreational moments, like the program of one of her quartet's song…

Adelle and A.D. got engaged in 1901 and married in 1902. Adelle wore a handmade dress andᅠA.D.ᅠa cutaway. They had a very modest wedding, with very few people attending. They lived in Somers, Wisconsin.

The newlyweds, Adelle and A.D. stayed at the Mortensens' house in Somers, WI, and A.D. had to bike to Racine for work. He had a special bike with a flanged wheel that he could ride on the railroad track into Racine, a distance of about ten miles.ᅠ

Margaret tells about the first time her mother Adelle saw a motorcar. It was in Racine, and the whole town had rushed into the street to see it. When it came a woman was riding it gaily.ᅠAdelleᅠwas disgusted to see it, because no respectable girl had…
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