After flying from Singapore then on to Djakarta, Kenneth tells of his encounter with General Ko Geng Hsui. At the time, the General was one of the most powerful men in the government under Lee Kuan Yew.
Kenneth tells of the background to his appointment at the State Department. There had been a number of inquiries before the call from Washington. Kenneth wasn't interested in most of them. He tells how Mortimer Graves, secretary of the Council of…
In the spring of 1942, Kenneth delivered the Taft lectures, three lectures, at the University of Cincinnati. In conjunction with that, he worked on reading in Chinese with a view to writing a book on Chinese philosophy.
Kenneth talks about how his temporary job became permanent. Several other men from the OCI, including a man named Gordon Bowles, who was a graduate of Earlham College, moved over with Kenneth to the BEW. Kenneth picked out bombing targets, locating…
Kip has been reading Kenneth's letters of the time to Margaret, who was still in Richmond, Indiana with the children. Kenneth was forever expressing concern about her health, and urging her to walk for exercise, something she loathed to do. "I just…
Kip remembers an article in the newspaper about the Landons working to put in a special new kind of grass on their terraces. When the Landons moved to 4711 Fulton Street in late 1944, there was no grass, no shrubbery, and no trees. The Landons…
Kip mentions the time when Thailand was admitted to the U.N., and a significant gift was given to Kenneth. He was involved in some way. The gift was from the family of the Thai ambassador.
For recreation Kenneth would go out to Glen Echo, up the Potomac River outside Washington, where there was an amusement park, and swim in the public swimming pool. It was very crowded.
Kenneth and Margaret make final remarks on the taping. They thank Kip for doing the recordings. Kenneth says "thank you" in Thai, and states that they have great appreciation for the records.
Kip recalls Kenneth's commenting on Peggy's boyfriends when she was in high school. Kenneth says she was very popular with the boys. He remembers her dating a young Italian boy whom her parents thought wasn't the boy for her. She decided not to date…
The Landon family eventually moves to 710 Walnut St. where Kenneth's father, Brad, would stay until 1938 or 1939. The furniture from the house would come to Kenneth and Margaret in Richmond, Indiana.
Kip notes from Kenneth's letters that he was being paid $20 a day. He started out at $15 a day, then moved up to $20. Kenneth was negotiating for more. Ernest Griffith was a man of wealth, a Quaker business type who was determined to get everything…
Margaret did not see the play until it had been playing for six weeks, she says. She went up with Kenneth and another couple. Peggy asked her mother what sort of cake she would like, and she answered she wanted a simple cake like the ones her mother…
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…
Margaret was born in the house at 8412 Highway, Somers, WI, on Sept. 7, 1903. It was in a tiny room , perhaps ten feet by ten. She stayed there with her parents, Adelle and A.D. through the winter.
At the end of the winter the Mortensons found it difficult to continue to stay in Somers, especially for A.D. to be going back and forth in the cold weather, so before the fall they moved to Racine, Wisconsin, and they stayed at 1741 Villa St. In…
Margaret's youngest uncle, Lawrence, was on the football team of Northwestern University. Her dad, A.D., began taking her to Lawrence's football games. That was when Margaret acquired her taste for football.
When Margaret was seven or eight years old she became very sick. The family doctor could not figure out what the disease was, so there was very little that could be done to help her. Suddently she had a terrible convulsion and the sickness was all…
Margaret has always been popular, a "top dog." She always had friends, always was team leader, class president, etc. It was natural to her and everybody took it for granted. In seventh grade she had her reverses: her parents wouldn't let her go to…
Margaret remembers her second grade with Miss Stevens, and her favorite song back then, "Marching Through Georgia." They always had music lesson; it was just part of life
In second grade the kids' piano lessons were from the aunt of one of Margaret's classmates, Mary Peabody. She and Margaret were companionable in an easy, relaxed friendship.
Margaret reads from a 1976 issue of The Washington Post about children's games from the past that were lost with the coming of television. She talks about games they played in childhood. She expounds on her friendship with Mary Peabody.