Ruth, John & Kenny Surviving the Great Depression

The photo shows Kenny Kellogg at age 3 (9/ 6/34),  on the front steps of the stucco Iowa Street 2-flat where he and his parents, Ruth and John, lived. You can see his 3rd birthday cake to the right on the ledge.   He's sporting a beret. Neither the picture nor diary entry were in Pieces of a Life.

The Great Depression was still going on, with money tight and jobs hard to find.  John was working a 7-day week and often nights as well, trying to make a go of the Sealtex business that he took over, debts and all, in July of 1934.  He fired the factory workers and his secretary, explaining that he would re-hire them in the Fall when he had the money from bandage orders. He also moved Sealtex into a much cheaper, smaller basement space.  Part of  the money coming in he set aside to pay off the bills run up by the previous owners.  He also negotiated with some of the creditors, who quickly realized that half of the money owed them  by the previous owners was a lot better than none!

Ruth's diary (age 28) reveals that she was depressed about being alone so much and, of course, the restrictions of being on so small a budget. Occasionally, she had friends in or went out, but everyone was cutting back, trying to provide a meal on a shoestring.  She and Kenny were together every day while Ruth did the housework, with Lottie babysitting maybe once a week for an hour.  It surprised me to see how little structure there was to Kenny's schedule.  He really didn't have any!  At one point, Ruth mentioned that  it was the 6th of the month and John was late with the rent. Fortunately, the landlord was Ruth's father, Jim Meredith, who knew all too well about the Depression and how much John was working.

Friday, March 22, 1935
"Spent the day cleaning & preparing for Cecile & Ted's visit tonite for supper.  She & baby came about 5.  They stayed until 9:30.

Spent most of time arguing with John to go with class Sat. to Swedish restaurant and Lawson Y.M.C.A.   No Sale with him!  Darn it.

I took Dorothy down to show her to folks -- they think she's a little doll."

Cecile and Ted Duncan were close friends of Ruth's through the Austin Baptist Church.    Their baby girl was "Dorothy."  Evidentally Ruth couldn't persuade John to go to the restaurant and YMCA with the Yomarco (Baptist adult Sunday School) class because of his working much of Saturday and also not wanting to spent any extra money.

"He Tackles Tennis, Life With Zest."

The Clearwater FL newspaper article about John Kellogg was headlined with the quote about tackling tennis and life with zest.  John had just written the short autobiography that's part of Pieces of a Life.  and apparently sent a copy to the newspaper along with the ones he sent to his children (myself and Ken) and five grandchildren.  He turned 75 three days after the article was published on Aug. 22, 1974.


I'll quote some of it, though you'll know what's coming if you've read the book.  His philosophy was written in stone.  "Not many 75-year-old men play tennis three times a week.  J.W. Kellogg does, and his arduous schedule tells a lot about the man."

" 'I hadn't played in more than 35 years, didn't have the time.  After I retired, I took lessons and it all came back, ' said Kellogg, a member of the Clearwater Tennis Club. ' "  Note:  He did play with Ken and a little with me when I was in grade school, but maybe that didn't count.

"Although his game is slower now, he plays it with the same dedication and seriousness with which he has tackled work and play all of his life.  Dedication to a goal and extra effort to 'make each job successful plus' pay big dividends, Kellogg said.  With that in mind, he is leaving his five grandchildren a double legacy:  several thousand dollars in bonds for each and the story of how one man toppled from the lap of luxury as a child, working his way from poverty to riches."

"He inched his way toward the edge of his chair.  The crow's feet deepened around his gray eyes as he recalled the first work room for his big manufacturing venture, SealTex, an adhesive bandage.  'It was a basement room next to the boiler with one window and one pigtail light.' he said, squinting at the still-remembered glare.  But the rent was only $10 a month, that was the important thing."

"It is the story of a self-made man.  It is also the story of a growing, industrialized nation and an era now almost lost in the mesmerizing hum of a computerized society.  Kellogg's father, a graduate of M.I.T. and a builder of bridges, died when the youth was about 11 years old.  Kellogg set his goal of financial security early.  He has attained that goal and is satisfied.  But perhaps the best legacy, after all, and one that any grandparent can leave, is a first-hand account of days that are gone forever. " 

Note:  It seems that Charles Kellogg, John's father, did not go to M.I.T., but he and his father did build bridges all over the eastern part of the United States.  Also, John was 13 1/2 when his father died, not 11.