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- Tags: Kenneth Landon's Childhood 1868-1943
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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."
Kenneth Dated Often Before He Went to Wheaton
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's Father's Cars
Kenneth recalls his father's first car, how his father started driving before being told how to stop the car and had to drive round and round for hours until he ran out of gas. He eventually learned to drive and fell in the practice of buying a new…
Kenneth Was Afraid the Train Would Hit Him
At age three Kenneth thought the train was going to run him down when it swerved as it came into the station. He took off, running out of the station and then home. Nobody could catch him, so the family had to have the train held until Kenneth was…
Kenneth Played Follow the Leader as a Boy
Kenneth, then six years old, played with a group of boys aged four or five a game called "follow-the-leader." He led the group to jump out of a first story window, then a second story window, and finally from the attic. Two of the boys wouldn't jump…
Kenneth Would Go Swimming and Get Punished
At age twelve Kenneth would play "follow-the-leader" at a swimming hole in French Creek. His mother didn't want him to be swimming at the river, so he would always manage to come back home with everything dry. But his mother always knew and would…
Kenneth Fell Down the Chimney
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 Used to Eat Necco Wafers
Kenneth loved Necco wafers--the old, large size ones--and he would eat two after breakfast, two before lunch, two after lunch, and three after dinner. His brother Bradley would steal some if he found them.
French Creek
French Creek would freeze during winter and people could ice skate on it six to twelve miles. In the spring the ice would break and back up against the bridges and back up the water in turn, causing flooding in the town. People enjoyed it.
Stinky Altenburg
One of Kenneth's friends was Stinky Altenburg. His sister became one of the prostitutes in the town, but the other sisters were very proper. Kenneth and Stinky and other friends would hang out in town very often. Stinky became a successful lawyer.
Kenneth's Early Work on The Railroad
Kenneth took a job at Erie Railroad at about age fourteen. His could have been turned down because of his weak physical appearance, but because Brad was his father the foreman took him on. Kenneth recalls working in the storehouse, driving truck.
Kenneth Gambled in His Youth
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.
Miss McCabe Kenneth's Sunday School Teacher
Miss McCabe, Kenneth's Sunday School teacher, wanted all her boys to become preachers. One day she announced that Theodore Borrel was going to become a minister and asked Kenneth why he didn't want to become one. Shortly after, two of Theodore's…
Kenneth Got Hand-me-down Clothes
Boies Penrose, the governor of the state, had a son with many garments he no longer needed. For many years these were passed on to Kenneth.
Sunday Afternoon Walks
Sunday afternoon walks were an institution. After church you would have a heavy dinner and go for a walk as a family and call on somebody. Children were not allowed games or anything like that. In the evening you would go again at church.
Kenneth and Some Friends Caught a Snake
The area where Kenneth and his family lived was infested with black snakes, and often the kids would find them curled up in their clothes at the river where they used to go swimming. One day one of the children caught a six-foot snake for the Barnum…
Kenneth's First Experience with the Dentist
Kenneth recalls his first visit to the dentist. It was for an extensive work including multiple teeth removal and filings. The dentist wouldn't tell Kenneth, who was 7 or 8 at the time, what he was going to do, so Kenneth refused to cooperate. They…
Kenneth's Tonsils Dissolved
Kenneth interjects to explains that he is one of few people whose tonsils simply dissolved. The doctor had told him that he needed to have them removed, which Kenneth didn't want to do, and fortunately at a later visit the tonsils were nowhere to be…