Kenneth tells of the scholars on Southeast Asia who built on his work on the region. A man named Skinner, a professor at Cornell, studied The Chinese in Thailand, and came out with his own book on the Chinese in Thailand (Chinese Society in Thailand,…
Kenneth speaks of the three books he has written. All of them were "primary studies" that had never been made before. Siam in Transition was a seminal study that all subsequent studies had to begin with, "whether they liked it or not." His second…
Kenneth's book based on his Haskell lectures, Southeast Asia: Crossroad of Religions, was published not only by Chicago University Press but also by Oxford University Press, as his two previous books had been.
Kenneth gave a dinner for the people in the department of religion at the end of his Haskell lectures. People came and they chatted for a while before Kenneth invited everyone to have dinner. He had prepared for it the best he could, but still he had…
Kenneth was invited to give the Haskell lectures because A. Eustace Haydon, his doctoral supervisor, was retiring and wanted Kenneth to succeed him. He told Kenneth that he will never forget him, and went on to tell how he would prepare for his class…
In 1947 Kenneth was invited to give the Haskell lectures at the University of Chicago. It was one of the six most prestigious lectures in religion and philosophy in all of the US. A week before the lectures he loaded his material and came to Chicago…
When Kenneth was a student at the University of Chicago under A. Eustace Haydon, he was "a very conservative Calvinist" and Haydon was one of the two leading humanist philosophers in the U.S. Kenneth would challenge Haydon's premises, which Haydon…
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.
Brad would visit Kenneth and Margaret in the city, but would always leave his car at the edge of town and ask Kenneth to come pick him up (he was afraid of driving in the city). His visits were marked by snide remarks and usually ended in a difficult…
Brad was amazed at how Kenneth and Margaret had made a living. He was especially amazed at what Kenneth was doing as professor of philosophy, then when he entered the government, and when Margaret soldAnna and the money began to flow in. He couldn't…
Peggy tells of the birth of her new sibling. She also recalls the house-hunting process in which, when they found their house, they simply knew it was the right one!
Peggy tells of finding out that she was to have another sibling. Margaret was shocked to find that Peggy and Bill were quite excited at the prospect of a new baby.
Peggy tells of the summer of 1942 in which the Landons moved to Washington. Margaret would join them a little later, as she stayed behind to take care of the moving and packing.
Peggy tells of the time the Landons lived in Indiana. She tells of the house they lived in and recalls the mahogany desk which she remembers her mother sitting and writing.
Margaret recalls a story of the Well's fine set of sterling silver. When the Japanese invaded Thailand, they had to flee. Wells, at the time, was a headmaster at a boy's school in Chiang Mai. Teachers at the school snuck out and secretly buried the…
When the Japanese invaded Thailand, many Westerners fled. Thomas Byrd, the British Consul General in Chiang Mai at the time, was one of these fleeing. Margaret recalls the story that Byrd was in a car while others were walking, and upon passing a…
Kenneth tells the story of the Landons' bulldog, Candy, that Kenneth bought when he was going to Earlham College to make an impression on campus. The dog was very emotional and had an unsual way of greeting visitors, making a mess that Margaret had…
Because of Kenneth's unusual path, the OSS has always claimed him as one of their founding members, though he never was in the OSS. Kenneth believes he is one of those shadowy people in their minds who probably was one of their secret agents all the…
Kenneth's book, The Chinese in Thailand, was bought up by the Japanese, and people and organizations could not find copies for themselves. Years later, at a meeting in Washington, Kenneth met a Japanese Intelligence Officer who had come to meet him.…
Kenneth talks about his experience leaving the OSS for the BEW, when the OSS tried to keep him from going. The experience served him well years later when he left the State Department for the White House staff in the 1950's. There was an…
Kenneth comments on how much the family's life had changed over the past few years. He had expected to spend his life as a Presbyterian minister, but then he couldn't get a church, so he became a professor at Earlham, and expected that he would spend…
Peggy was sixteen at the time Kip was born, and she'd come home and help with the baby. She was going to Wilson High School. So was Bill. Carol was ten and attending school at Alice Deal Junior High. One night, Kenneth collapsed when he and Carol…
When Kip was born, Kenneth said, "This boy and I are going to get acquainted." It was impossible to find anyone to come into the home and help. He took annual leave for two weeks, brought Margaret and Kip home from the hospital, and took care of both…
The Free Thai movement developed simultaneously among Thai students in Britain and the United States. It was under the direction of the Thai Legation in Washington and probably under the principal military attachés in Britain. Kenneth explains how…