Mrs. Stevenson, the wife of the president of Princeton seminary, was taking interest in the Landons. She invited Margaret over for tea and asked that she stayed the whole afternoon. Margaret found herself among women more formally dressed than she…
Kenneth and Margaret entertained the clique, a group of young people that Kenneth had organized. Kenneth and Margaret tell about the sermon contest at Princeton that all students had to participate in before the faculty. Kenneth didn't know he was in…
In February 1926 Margaret was very sick and Kenneth had to care for her. He would cook, iron their clothes, and provide her with various kinds of care. It turn out that the sickness was in fact the symptoms of her pregnancy.
Margaret tells about her eighth grade graduation and her receiving of a medal from dad and mom. She describes other stuff she received from other people. She tells about her time after the graduation ceremony.
Margaret's mother kept a lot of memorabilia. On a small program for children's day at church, which her mother kept Margaret found written the date of her baptism: June 12, 1904, a short time before her first birthday.
Margaret recalls her beginnings at Wheaton, the first people she met, her first impressions of the campus, registration and classes she took, and the network of friends that began to shape.
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.
Margaret's birth certificate was registered in Kenosha County. When she went to Siam with Kenneth in 1927 she had to send for her birth certificate. It was then that she discovered that it read "Female Mortenson." Adelle had to go to the Wheaton…
Margaret's birth certificate came and was wrong about her date of birth and her name. Adelle had to provide an affidavit about the right information. The passport office kept the original documents.
Margaret reads from her diary about her decision to take a bath every day, hot summer days when she played softball, her practice of violin, and her mom's return from the hospital.
Margaret's favorite doll was Daisy, the name it had when she got it. It was made by the company where her father worked. The company published three different advertising journals, and Margaret owned the journal in which Daisy was first advertised.…
Margaret's earliest memory is of no significance but quite vivid. She recalls that at eighteen months old she was standing at a door looking in, with a window to her left, and before the window was a table with a red-check cloth on it. She was…
Margaret reads a letter to her mother in which she describes her work in the library and what she earned. She tells of her expenses and asks her mother to pray for her so that she would earn more.
Within six months Margaret's family moved to Evanston and she continued Kindergarten there. There she had her first "disgrace" in school: she couldn't say the days of the week, unlike everybody else in her class
By February 1905 the Mortensons had moved to 1642 Washington Ave., Racine. Margaret and Kenneth visited the area and discovered that Washington Avenue was largely commercial. but 1642 was still there. That house is where Evangeline was born.
A.D. took a job in Chicago for additional income to support his family. He later found a house in Evanston and the family was able to move to the city. In 1969 Margaret and Kenneth visited the house and photographed it.
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…
The Mortensons moved and took over a boarding house on Dempster St. That was when Margaret started kindergarten, and she remembers walking across a railroad track to school. Her sister Evangeline was adorable and everyone liked her, including the…
Margaret tells about her family's road trip to Michigan in the summer of 1923. Three tires blew up during the trip. They had to spend the night at the Gales home, the family of Alex, who used to date Margaret. He tried to reconnect with Margaret, but…
Another habit of the Mortenson family was family visits. They visited Grandmother often and many other members of the extended families. They visited people on both sides if the family.
Margaret tells the story of her family attending a Methodist summer camp. She wandered into a dining tent at the camp and, without her parents knowing it, had a meal. They had to pay for the meal, which they thought was too expensive and so Margaret…
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
Margaret reads the first letter she received from Kenneth, wishing her Merry Christmas. It was a very brief note, written on "the most beautiful letter paper" Margaret ever had in her whole life.
Margaret recalls her first kindergarten project, a turkey cut out of paper and colored, and a sailboat cut out and put on a piece of paper. She also gives the names of her school teachers from kindergarten to eighth grade, and remembers one who was…
Margaret tells about her friendship with Lois McShane and the group of close friends that formed around them. She recalls their parties and other get-togethers/events. Some of the boys in the group dated Margaret.