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.
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…
Margaret digresses from the main story to tell of the time when Adelle, in her old age, had to move in with her daughter Betty.Adelleﾠhad only a small pension form Wheaton College, and when her sight began to fail it was clear that she could not…
Margaret tells stories about her mother's childhood. She went to a German school when she lived in Franksville. In Somers, she had a friend, a half Indian girl with a European father, who had been rejected by her tribe. That girl was Adelle's best…
Grandmother Mortenson was very active in the church. Margaret remembers her as a very warm person with little education. She died the summer of the Mortensons' trip to Stony Lake.
Margaret recalls the last summer of her dad's life. It was a happy summer because of an evangelistic tour he had with Mr. Park in Michigan. He died suddenly, while the rest of the family was in Stony Lake. He was burried in Somers, Winsconsin.
Margaret's father's funeral was held in Uncle Chris' house in Racine, Wisconsin. The burial was in Oakwood cemetery in Somers, Wisc., where several family members had been buried. Later in 1953 Margaret's mother Adelle had A.D.'s body moved to…
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 was born very early in the morning, and her parents were choosing names for their meaning. Her name, Margaret, means pearl. Dorothea means "a gift of God." Julia (which means "soft hair") was named after the girl's grandmother and her…
Adelle approved of Kenneth's desire to go into the mission field. She said she and her husband had always prayed that one of their children would become a missionary, and it looked as if Margaret was going to be the one.
Margaret tells how at age 19 or 20 her mother, Adelle, felt a strong urge for mission. It seemed to Adelle that there was no way to fulfill her desire, since there had always been someone who depended on her financially. Margaret tells of other…
Margaret realized she had upset Adelle, her mother, with her lack of interest in mission. She later wrote to tell her that she now felt better about going into mission.
Margaret asked her mother to get a letter from the board of her church testifying to her good Christian character. The letter was to go the mission board for her application to become a missionary.
Margaret wrote to her mother about a book by Arthur Judson Brown. He was expressing his point of view, and there were many differences in opinion, especially between men and women. They discussed with other missionaries about getting into the field.
Kenneth had a tailor in town making clothes for him. He needed suits for every day of the week in Siam. The tailor was a Jew, and so was Kenneth when it comes to byuing cothes, says Margaret, so the two of them got along fine. Margaret reads about…
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 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…
Margaret rehearses the dates of the Landons' journey to Siam. They left Wheaton May 16, 1927, and arrived in Bangkok July 4, 1927. She gave dates, times, and places they traveled through between Wheaton and Bangkok.
John Eakin asked the king to give a speech in English, and he replied that he could do so if Eakin would give a speech in the Siamese langugae. Eakin was just beginning his time in Siam, but he managed to have a speech written in perfect Siamese. At…
Margaret reads a letter in which she tells about Ah Chuan's baby, who seemed ill at the time when a baby in the same home had just died. Ah Chuan was concerned that his own baby might die of the same illness as the other baby. She also tells of Ah…
Margaret finds her record of the story of McKenzie wanting to serve Prince Damrong the # 1 tea. She gives the exact prices for each kind of tea that McKenzie's boy had found. In the end McKenzie bought a half pound of the best tea that was available.…
There were several New Year celebration in Siam. First the foreign New Year on January 1, then the Chinese New Year in February, and finally the Indian New Year celebration in March. The Indians had a grand time with their celebration. It lasted two…
The whole year in Siam was filled with holidays, to the amazement of the Landons. The Thai enjoyed holidays and had incorporated foreign holidays into their calendar. They could stop working and have a wonderful time. They just loved Christmas, not…