On January 19 Kenneth wrote his parents to announce Margaret's pregnancy. "And Mother, if you have loads of good advice for Margaret, I know she'd appreciate it," he wrote.
Kenneth recalls the time when, at age 2, his baby buggy took off down the hill at full speed, his mother rushing down and sweeping him up, and how later on they both enjoyed reading a book about a baby riding in a baby buggy.
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Kenneth recalls the time when, at age 2, his baby buggy took off down the hill at full speed, his mother rushing down and sweeping him up, and how later on they both enjoyed reading a book about a baby riding in a baby buggy.
Kenneth recalls his time at the University of Cincinnati, Mrs. Heintzman at whose house he was living, and the seances she held for people from the university because she was a medium.
Kenneth attracted some thirty new young people who came to listen on Sunday at the church. The usual older folks in the church couldn't believe it. Some of the young people who came were females, and Kenneth tells about the challenges this creates…
Kenneth tells of how he began thinking about missions in his two missions classes at Princeton. Until now he had thought only of working in the United States. He shared the new idea with Margaret and she was deeply disturbed by it.
Kenneth bought his own clothes from Cash Smith, the man who owned the clothing store. It so happened that Kenneth was the right size to model clothes, so he made money by modeling clothes for cash on Saturdays.
Kenneth tells how on January 6 he went downtown to buy a wedding ring for Margaret. He found the one that looked right for Margaret and sent it to her, asking her to try it and see if she liked it or send it back to him if she didn't.
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…
Kenneth and his brother caused trouble in the neighborhood, including starting fires and building things in the trees, which caused his family to have to move often. He tells about how he put a girl named Martha's hair in a ink well.
Kenneth recalls his April 5 tryout sermon at the church in Columbus, NJ. He always summarized a sermon in one sentence, and if he couldn't, he would feel he didn't know what he was talking about.
Kenneth recalls dating several girls (Mabel Shirk, Mabel Poppinay, etc.) and how he always had girls. He expresses his disappointment in his early girl selections.
Kenneth told Charles Blanchard he had quit college and Blanchard proposed that he come to Wheaton College. He remembers being mostly unimpressed by Wheaton, but as Margaret walked into the registrar's office where Kenneth and his father were, Kenneth…
Kenneth's tells about his boyhood friends and fighting, how he got beaten up so often, how he developed attack strategies that made it too costly for those who could and wanted to beat him up.
Kenneth dressed up as a girl for a party, went to play baseball with his brother and a friend after the party, still wearing the girl clothes, and was mistaken for a girl by men watching the baseball game
Kenneth once went in a new house on Park Avenue and inadvertently fell headfirst down the chimney. He was wearing a big straw hat which offered some protection to his head, but still he was knocked out for awhile. Once he realized what had happened…
Kenneth talks about finishing his book sale in November 1925. His parents visited him and he took his mother for a tour of campus and to dinner while his father went his own way.
Kenneth talks about his summer after graduation from Wheaton and his beginnings at Princeton. He remembers Eddie Love and Ding Darling, two roommates who shared the room next to his.
Despite his incomplete grade in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati, Kenneth had taken so many classes there that, following his transfer to Wheaton, he was told he would graduate in three years rather than four. This was astonishing to him.
When it came to procuring a marriage license in Wheaton, Kenneth learned it could be done the day of the wedding, and that only one of them needed to appear.
Saturday was pay day and everyone would dress up and go to downtown. Kenneth would watch the men gambling and quickly learned the best way to win. He remembers gambling, playing the role of the banker and winning consistently.
Kenneth reads from his journal that on Oct. 16, 1927 his weight is 138 lbs, and he wrote to Margaret about it, joking that she now could marry him and he would look the best that he ever would.
Kenneth recalls having a hard time getting Margaret Mortenson to go on a date with him because she was the darling of all the football players. Eventually, Margaret named a date when she was free and they had their first date. Kenneth describes it as…