Burton Store & Afton reunion

George Kennington "tending store" at the Burton Store Branch at Freedom. There he met Ada Kimball, his first wife, standing to the left.

Back row l-r: Dorothy, Forrest, Art, Gordon, Craig, Gene. Seated l-r: Gwen, Cliss, Carol. Audine, Helen, Colleen.

Children of George, Ada, and Martha with their spouses gather in Afton during the 1990's at a Reunion.

A Fine Spring Day

Standing left to right : Molly K. Lowe, Jen L. Gardner, Ida K. Jensen, Martha W. Kennington. Seated: Mary C. Lowe.

At family get together - two sisters, a sister in law, and two nieces - perhaps somewhere on the west side of the valley? My guess on the date is sometime around 1918 when Jen became a Gardner and Mary Call became a Lowe. Martha would have been married about 5 years.

I have a cute story on Jen. When she was elderly and in the care facility in Afton, we visited. She was questioning why she was still there, why she couldn't pass on. I patted her hand and said, "Well Jen, it's probably your genes." She gave me a look and said, "Jeans? Jeans? I can still fit in my Jeans!"
Jen was quite the character. Von told me about her sitting on her porch shooting the coyotes off the hill behind her house as an old woman. That's spunk!

Brigham City Reunion

Thanks for the great reunion! The setting was beautiful; Peach Days were fun. We enjoyed getting together with cousins and Gene, Colleen, and Dorothy - missed those who couldn't make it and hope to see them next time. Little kids keep growing up!

Mike and I tallied up a rough estimate on the way home and believe there were about 75 folks there.

The next reunion is in Star Valley in 2012.

We're building a contact file with name, phone number, email and physical addresses for all cousins. If you'd like to put your name in (and any part of the information) please email me at kkhamblin@gmail.com. It'll be kept confidential and only dispersed to family.

Thanks again for all the effort getting us together.

On the porch of the Red Brick House

Front Row: Gene, Ruth Craig, Clarice, George. Back Row: Grandma Martha, Bev, Cliss, Gwen, Garth.

Family life paused for a moment on the porch of the red brick house. Here we see a slice of the Kennington world around the time their father, George passed away.

Bev was probably still in high school, Cliss was married with two kids, Gwen and Garth were attending college, and Grandma Kennington must have wondered what the future held in store for her family.

It reminds me that the houses aren't the important part of life; the family is the lasting thing.

Pres. Kimball said: "It is important for us to cultivate in our own family a sense that we belong together eternally, that whatever changes outside our home, there are fundamental aspects of our relationship which will never change." (CR October 1974, pg. 61)

By the way, does anyone know of a picture of the whole family together before George passed away? That would be neat to see.

The Old Kennington Home... Then and Now

Photos courtesy of Clarissa Kennington Merritt (Top) and Grosjean Photography (Bottom)

A couple of views of the old red brick home on the north side of Swift Creek. The George Kennington family traded over to this acreage about 1930. They lived there until 1943. George's brother-in-law, Oz Low built the house and is shown with his children in the upper photo. The Valley's own Burger King now sits just next door to the south.

Reunion Reminder

Peach Days are coming to Brigham City and so are the Kenningtons!

Hope you're all planning on the George Kennington Reunion on the 11th.

Our family is excited to see everyone, catch up on the news and enjoy the festivities.