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Kenneth Loved Ham and First Used Zippers
Kenneth talks about his love for ham, which he would eat a lot and carry around in his pocket for snack. He tells about his use of zippers, which a man at an old shack had invented.
Kenneth Describes His Boyhood Fighting
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 and His Brother Made a Tree House
Kenneth and his brother built an elaborated tree house across the street from 710 Walnut St., ran an aerial to the tree house and put electrified wires around it to prevent "unauthorized" access to it. He tells how the tree house became the locus of…
How Kenneth Came to 'Love' Fig Newtons
Kenneth and his family traveled to Niagara Falls and the boys had to eat fig newtons, which Kenneth came to love very much. He would eat fig newtons in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.
Social Life During Kenneth's Youth
Kenneth talks about his friendship with the kids of the people on the Landons' side of the street and how he became a graceful dancer. He tells of dance parties they held at each other's houses and the lasting friendship that ensued. Kenneth…
Kenneth's First Job
Kenneth tells the story of his brother, Bradley, starting his "business" manufacturing ATV and hiring Kenneth (who thus got his first job) to do advertising work for him. Kenneth addressed up to 10,000 circulars while working from a phonebook. He…
The Stout Story
Mae became sick and the doctor asked that she take stout to fortify her blood. Kenneth was asked to receive the keg from the brewer when it came. The keg was delivered but Kenneth lost control of it while trying to bring it down to the basement.…
Kenneth and His Brother Fight
The Landon brothers got in a furious fight in which Kenneth's brother ran after him until he vanished away for the rest of the day. The boys were alone that day so Mae, their mother, who usually protects Kenneth could not help. Kenneth was gone for…
Kenneth's Brother was Chased Home by Orphans
Orphans chased Kenneth's brother home, threatening to beat him up. Once home, Kenneth's mother called the orphans cowards and challenged them, saying her son would beat them one person at the time. No orphan wanted to take up the challenge singly and…
Who Kenneth Thought was Most Respectable in Town
Kenneth grew up thinking that the most respectable people in town were Presbyterian and Republican, until he went to Washington D.C., where he discovered that the best people were often Democrats and from other denominations.
Kenneth Traveled to New York Alone When He was a Boy
As a young boy, Kenneth used to travel by train to New York, using his pass and spending time with his aunt Maude. He enjoyed riding the ferry, the street car, and the horse trolley across the city. Aunt Maude was his great favorite.
Kenneth Worked at the Railroad
At age fourteen, Kenneth worked with the Erie Railroad and got used to lifting heavy things in a storehouse, which quickly built up his upper body muscles. He worked various kinds of jobs before working in the blacksmith shop, where he learned to…
Kenneth's Brother Died
Kenneth tells how his brother Bradley died a year before his graduation from college. Bradley had frequent bowel troubles and their father stupidly suggested once that he used a machine in their home that operated an eccentric (that was "guaranteed…
Kenneth's Father Took the Family to Bible Camp
After the death of brother Bradley, father Brad began taking the family to Gull Lake for Bible conferences. The deal was that he would take them there and give them a vacation if they would agree to attend one of the services. Kenneth always attended…
Mae Landon's Conversation with Kenneth's Principal
Kenneth's mother spoke with his high school principal, Miss Haxton, five years after his graduation. The principal was quite surprised to hear that Kenneth was studying to become a minister--she never though that he would come to any good.
Kenneth's Career as a Boy Scout
At age twelve, Kenneth became a tenderfoot boy scout. He went to a three week long scout camp but stayed one week only--he was sick of waking up early to make bread. At the end of the first week he woke up very early to walk thirty miles back home.…
Winter During Kenneth's Youth and the Sports He Played
Kenneth learned to skate in the severe winters at an early age, at times up to twelve miles. By age fifteen he was part of an excellent hockey team and would go to other towns, including Winniped, to play. He never was able to play school sports…
How Kenneth's Father Treated the Family Pt. 1
Kenneth's father was mean to his family but nice to other people. He treated his wife and kids harshly. Mae had no pocket money and the kids had no allowance unless they worked for it. At age fifteen Kenneth confronted his father and challenge him to…
Kenneth's Bicycle
Kenneth's first bike was made of a girl bike frame and parts from several other bikes. He and his brother were to keep their tires soft lest the repair blows up. The second bike was good and had the right kind of frame.
Kenneth's Musical Side
Kenneth bought an old flute, repaired it and learned to play on his own. He went on to learn to play several other musical instruments and later on bought a new flute, which he had to sell during his unemployment years in the 1930s. He never went…
Kenneth and his Father Took a Trip to Washington
Brad took his son, Kenneth, on a visit to his older brother, Henry, in Washington D.C. Brad's first job was in Washington, so he wanted to see the city again after many years. He also wanted to show Kenneth the great painting of Commodore…
Kenneth's Wayward Youth
Kenneth recalls his father's advice against movies, cigarettes, drinking, and bad girls, and how at an early age he discovered that "all these things are probably delightful." He tells about how he began buying his own clothes at the age of fourteen…
How Kenneth's Father Treated the Family Pt. 2
Kenneth tells about his parents' relationship with each other, their fights in the middle of the night over issues of marital intimacy, probably because his father treated his mother harshly. He tells about one night when his father was weeping and…
Kenneth Was Close to His Mother
Kenneth was close to his mother and inclined to care for her. She was often sick and Kenneth would help her out, doing massage therapy using something called Viavi salve. He remembers buying his mother a new muff and fur piece and charging his father…
Kenneth Participated in Childhood Gang Fights
Kenneth tells about his childhood gang fights using beebee guns and .22 shorts in pistols. They would wear heavy overcoats and shoot at each other with these things. Kenneth sings, "In the fields and in the marshes."