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- Tags: Kenneth Landon's Childhood 1868-1943
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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…
William Bradley Landon Jr.
Bradley Landon was born on October 20, 1899. He was a ten-pound baby and he grew to be a very strong, handsome boy. He had a hot temper and would become very angry at people. He never was good with girls, so when he met Kathryn Lehrer Lindner he…
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.
When Living on Park Avenue, Kenneth Helped Lottie Price
Kenneth worked for a neighbor called Lottie Price and got ice cream or a nickel. He would also go to Mister Griffith's store and beg him for sour balls.
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.…
The Follow up To The Stout Story
Following Kenneth's misadventure with the stout spilling everywhere in the house, some older women from the church came to visit Mae, who never gave any explanation to the visitors about the smell of alcohol in the house. As soon as the women entered…
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.
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.
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…
Ray Pooks Astounded Kenneth at a High School Track Meet
Kenneth remembers Ray Pooks imposing his will at a high school track meet. He would require that the events be rescheduled so that he could participate in them all. Kenneth was amazed at this man doing everything just as he had said despite the fact…
Mrs. D'Armant Minium
Kenneth remembers Mrs. D'Armant Minium, a very buxom woman with plump arms and a voice like cream. At age sixteen she became curious about having a baby, and so she had one, and then she disposed it somehow. Mae never forgave her for the baby,…
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…
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.
Mae Landon
Mae Landon was a very elegant woman, always properly dressed, walked elegantly, with flashing brown eyes. She was not the kind of person who would bother to explain things to people (like in the stout story). She would sit very elegantly and never…
Landons Lived in a Warehouse Before Walnut Street
While waiting for their new home to be built, the Landon family lived in a warehouse for almost a year, with no proper bathroom or central heating.
Landon Boys Got Into Fights So They Moved
Kenneth started to get into fights with a number of kids and enjoyed playing with his friend Juddy. He and his brother's behavior draws criticism from neighboring families and the Landons eventually moved away to live at the edge of the town
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…
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…
Kenneth's Success in High School and His Humility
Kenneth can't remember ever taking a book home in high school. His memory was that his grades in High School were not good, but going through his records he was surprised to discover that he had excellent grades. He also tells about him learning to…
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's Irish Nurse Put Whiskey in His Milk
Kenneth tells about his infancy, how his Irish nurse would put whiskey in his milk to help him digest what he believes he could not disgest otherwise, and how his mother, on learning this, promptly fired the nurse.
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…
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 First Encounter With Corruption
Kenneth on his first encounter with graft and corruption. He was about 11 years old and went with Jimmy, a 15 years old, to a movie. The girl that was selling the tickets liked Jimmy and so gave them two tickets before she turned around to take them…
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…