It is hard to say how many school lunches we boys from Collinsville school ate together - from the third grade through senior year. But, I can say that, early on, I noticed something about how Kenny consumed his food. It was always DESSERT FIRST! When I asked him why, Kenny explained that if he ate the other food first, he might get filled to the point that he could not eat his dessert or maybe not enjoy it as much. Also, in the event of an emergency and the school lunch period was cut short, he would have, at least, eaten the best part of lunch. Therefore...Kenny believed that it was always best to EAT DESSERT FIRST.

Kenny introduced me to the game of "Dots and Boxes." If you don't know this paper and pencil game, it starts with someone placing a number of dots on a sheet of paper in a grid-like fashion. Then, two (or more) players take turns drawing a line horizontally or vertically between two dots. Gradually, boxes begin to form. When a player applies the final side to a box, that player places his/her initial inside the box. When all boxes are filled and claimed, the player with the most boxes bearing his or her initial is declared the winner. The point to this story is that Kenny loved to play Dots and Boxes and he often had a grid of dots prepared - ready for a game of wits. Kenny was very good at seeing the path to victory. It was always fun to compete with Kenny. Win or lose, he was a good sport.

I don't recall when Kenny acquired his Cushman scooter; but, I would guess it was during our junior-high school years. I do recall that Kenny's Cushman looked a lot like the scooter shown on this memory page. I also remember being a bit envious, because, of all us boys in the neighborhood who were too young to have our auto driver's license, ... Kenny was mobile; he had "wheels!"

Miss Virginia Strohm was a math teacher at Stewart High School and the four of us boys from Collinsville school were enrolled in a plane geometry class that she taught. My memory tells me that we four really enjoyed the class, as we liked the logic of the various hypotheses and theorems - and, I recall that we helped each other figure out the more difficult assignments. Along the way, Kenny and I discovered that MIss Strohm, who was a stern taskmaster of course content, would occasionally allow us to banter with her - just a bit. Long after our 1956 graduation from high school, Kenny and I reminesced during class reunions about how we could bring a flush to Miss Strohm's cheeks on a Monday morning, by (politely) asking her about her weekend and whether she had gone on a date. Kenny blamed me and I blamed him for our daring dialogue with our geometry teacher. Either way, I can attest that the two of us shared fond memories of being classmates in Miss Strohm's geometry class.

Kenny was a good athlete. He played varsity football and basketball at Stewart High School. I played on the basketball team with him and one time, Kenny "made a memory" - for me (and perhaps for others). I don't recall who we were playing; but, we had just returned to the floor from a time-out period. We inbounded the ball and either Lyman Wooten (who played a guard position) or I (at the other guard position) began dribbling the ball up the court. Unexpectedly, Kenny called "Time Out!" to one of the referees. So, the ref blew his whistle and stopped play. Both teams headed to their respective benches, which were positioned atop the edge of the stage in the Stewart gymnasium. Coach Bufler looked at Kenny with a stunned expression and Kenny asked, "Are we playing a zone or man-to-man?" I cannot recall anything else about that moment in time; but, the incident has stuck in my memory ever since. It is a one-of-a-kind memory; sorta like Kenny.

When we were in grade school, it became evident that, when Kenny found something that he liked, he stayed with it. I don't know exactly how many times he read the story about Black Hawk, the Indian chief, but, I would bet at least three times - maybe more.