I know it has been a while, but a spark hit my rapidly aging, balding head, and I thought I'd just throw this out there.
I was thinking about all the tearing down of statues, and stuff, and about how morons even want to remove statues of George Washington.
It reminded me of my Great Uncle C.H. Kendall.
Uncle C.H. was an interesting cat. He was the "black sheep" of his family. They were all proper folks in the Chicago, IL area, and had started this Insurance Company called "Washington National Insurance."
Uncle C.H. (actually he was my Mothers' Uncle, so I guess he was my Great Uncle or something) was a veteran of WWI, and WWII. He got banned to the hot environs of Louisiana to run the local office in Shreveport, LA because he was such a pain to the family. He had been married 6 times, and was a constant problem to the Kendall family.
While on his assignment he met my beloved Great Aunt Peggy Newland from Mooringsport, LA. She was working in his office in Shreveport in the late 1930s, and she fell for him. I guess he fell for her, too.
She became his 7th...and LAST wife in 1938.
The Kendall family never cared for any of C.H.'s wives, but when he took Aunt Peggy back to Chicago/Evansville that was all over. As I remember, C.H. told us that his Dad, and Uncle just loved Peggy, and he was back in good graces.
Eventually he was moved back to civilization, and took Aunt Peggy with him. She never really did fit in with "High Society," but did her best to enjoy the good money that C.H. was now making, and did make a lot of good friends with the same down to earth values that she was raised with.
C.H. became the Chairman of the Board of Washington National, and when he died in I think 1968, he left Aunt Peggy in good shape financially. C.H. had actually set up a trust fund for my beloved Great Granny Laura, Peggy's Mom that provided for her well too, until she passed away at the age of 104 in 1994.
Aunt Peggy moved back to Mooringsport, LA about a year after C.H.'s death, leaving a mansion behind to come back to the old raggedy house on Caddo Lake to take care of her Mom, and even some of her siblings later on. Of course she made the old home place VERY NICE, but never flaunted her money...just gave to a lot of charities, churches, and individuals without making a big deal about it. She was good folks. And she was an EXTREMELY GENEROUS LADY.
So, how does that have anything to do with taking down statues of George Washington? Well, I remember Uncle C.H. telling me once on one of their visits down South that his Father, and Uncle named that company after their hero, George Washington. He also told me about how rough it was for them starting the Company, and how hard they had to work. It seems I remember him telling me that when the first claim was filed they didn't have the money to pay it. So, the brothers agreed that they had to get out there, and sell enough policies to collect enough deposits on them to pay that claim.
They did. And the rest is history. Uncle C.H. said it started to snowball, and that things just got better and better.
Indeed it did. The Kendall family was able to establish The Kendall College of Business at Northwestern University, and contribute millions of dollars to worthy causes. I'm honestly not sure if the Kendall College is still at Northwestern University any longer...I didn't Gooble it.
Trust me, I'm not recommending any Insurance Company. I'm just thinking back about what a rich history I've been exposed to in my life, and what a blessing it is.
I found this video:
Aunt Peggy died at the age of 99 in late 2018 just a few months before my parents did. She was fine, until she broke an ankle at her Elderly Residential Facility in Boston, near her daughters' home, and then deteriorated quickly because she couldn't move around anymore.
We had a memorial service for her at the old place in Mooringsport, LA with all of the family, and a few close friends, lead by her daughter, and son (both adopted children that loved her very much). Some of y'all that have been around Andy's Place a long time may remember the Commentor "Walt." Walt was her son. Walt passed away unexpectedly about a year ago at the age of 70. He had just retired from teaching as a College Professor in Dallas. He was SO looking forward to retirement, and was teaching his last Semester.
Ya' never know, huh?
Regardless, these are the kind of people that built America. They believed in "hard work and dedication." They were Patriots that went off to wars to preserve, and build a new way of life the world had never seen.
I just hope the Company doesn't change its' name, but who knows? In these crazy times I wouldn't be surprised at anything.
Ya' know, sometimes you just write a post that you know nobody else will care anything about. You just write it for yourself. Sometimes you write, just because you want to write something that is not a reply to an email, or putting in a Purchase Order with your Supplier, or just because you need to write. Rusty as it is, this one is really just for me.
Thank y'all for reading.
