As a young boy, Kenneth used to travel by train to New York, using his pass and spending time with his aunt Maude. He enjoyed riding the ferry, the street car, and the horse trolley across the city. Aunt Maude was his great favorite.
The Landons had returned to Chicago and Kenneth was out one night, speaking at a church. He was on his way back when he ran onto a middle-aged lady and began talking with her. The two were well into the conversation when they suddenly realized that…
Kenneth loved Necco wafers--the old, large size ones--and he would eat two after breakfast, two before lunch, two after lunch, and three after dinner. His brother Bradley would steal some if he found them.
Kenneth recalls his time in Wilkesboro visiting with Uncle Henry and several of his cousins. Henry was a Colonel and Kenneth enjoyed going around with him because people were friendly and respected him.
While at Princeton Kenneth received the visit of his father, Brad, and the two traveled to visit Brad's brother, Ed. He was a bachelor living in the old house, and Brad would do anything he asked, at Kenneth's amazement.
Margaret reads a letter to her mother telling her that Kenneth's visit to the passport office was not fruitful because her birth certificate wasn't worth anything. The letter explains to her mother what needed to be done so that she can get proper…
Kenneth was a good preacher who had mastered the techniques of preaching. He never wrote his sermons and learned very early how to hold an audience. He was so comfortable with his audience that Brad wondered where he had gotten it.
At age three Kenneth thought the train was going to run him down when it swerved as it came into the station. He took off, running out of the station and then home. Nobody could catch him, so the family had to have the train held until Kenneth was…
The brothers were actually quite close. Kenneth gave him a fine clothes brush once, and an expensive watch he had won playing craps at the railroad shop. Margaret remembers how, when she first met Kenneth, he would talk often of Bradley, and warmly.
Kenneth was close to his mother and inclined to care for her. She was often sick and Kenneth would help her out, doing massage therapy using something called Viavi salve. He remembers buying his mother a new muff and fur piece and charging his father…
Kenneth was given money from the church to pay the note off on his car and take it with him to Siam. Mrs. Ridgeway presented Kenneth with the gift and tried to make a speech, but she began to weep instead. Other people in the congregation began to…
While at Princeton Seminary Kenneth had trouble with Robert Dick Wilson's daughter, Ann, who kept writing him letters, apparently in need of some type of counseling. Kenneth answered only the first of her letters.
In March Kenneth was still looking for a church to lead. He recalls receiving letters from two of the churches he had written to, but there were no firm promises yet at this point.
Kenneth joined a literary society, the Baltonians (Margaret was in the Aeolians). He prepared a musical program for the society. Each society had its own hall.
Kenneth reads from his journal about a two week evangelistic meeting he was planning. He wrote Dad Hall, a prominent Episcopalian evangelist, who agreed to be the speaker. Kenneth then informed the church of the plans.
Kenneth tells how he was saving money for marriage while pastoring the church in Columbus, NJ. He figured he could get up to $600 by the spring, which would give him enough money for his wedding in June
Kenneth tells about his decision to go into mission business and to do so rapidly. This upset Margaret, but it was Kenneth's way of doing things, and it will always be thoughout his life. He reads about his visit to New York to talk with people on…
Kenneth attended the annual banquet although he was sick. He attended his classes as usual, went to the banquet and ate, sang, and felt better. Princeton didn't have Greek societies but eating clubs with very real social function.
Following Bradley Jr.'s death, Brad Sr. wanted Kenneth to have a life-transforming experience, so he took the whole family to Gull Lake Bible Conference where Kenneth met Charles Blanchard, then President of Wheaton College. That encounter led to…
Kenneth worked as an usher at football games and sold tickets in his first two years at Princeton. He remembers a Harvard fan who once found himself on the wrong side of the stadium and would cheer for Harvard from the midst of a crowd that was…
At age fourteen, Kenneth worked with the Erie Railroad and got used to lifting heavy things in a storehouse, which quickly built up his upper body muscles. He worked various kinds of jobs before working in the blacksmith shop, where he learned to…