The Kennard Family

Frank & Gladys Kennard Family in Granger

    Frankland James Kennard (Frank) and Gladys Bischoff Kennard (Gladys) moved their family to Granger in October, 1949.  Frank had graduated from the U of U law school in 1948, and was primarily employed as a claims adjuster for Hartford Insurance Company, while developing a solo law practice.  His main office was in the Darling Building on Main Street, Salt Lake City. He also created a small office at the home in Granger, which he used for his church callings and for his growing solo law practice.

    Previously, the family had lived in Hinckley, UT; Lovell, WY; Brigham City, UT; Vernal, UT; Logan, UT; and Salt Lake City (Browning Ave.), as Frank’s career evolved from high school music teacher, Civilian Conservation Corps officer, U.S. Army (World War II), and law school.  There were a few other locations along the way, especially during the war – e.g., San Diego, CA; Bremerton, WA.

 

    By October, 1949, when they moved to Granger, there were 10 children.  The three oldest (from Frank’s first wife Eleanor Scholes Kennard) were already married.  Rose and Marie attended Cyprus High School; Jim attended Valley Jr. and Cyprus High (and maybe a year or two at Monroe Elementary); Aaron attended Monroe, Brockbank Jr. (in Magna) and Granger High (part of the first entering sophomore class);  Lee attended Monroe (double sessions for 6th grade), Brockbank Jr., Valley Jr., and Granger High; Raeburn attended Monroe (double sessions for 4th grade), Granger Elem., Valley Jr. & Granger High.  Roger attended Granger Elem., Valley Jr. & Granger High, but graduated from Davis High, after the family moved to Farmington in 1966.  Joe & Royal were born during the Granger years, but completed most of their schooling in Davis County. The family’s home at 2470 W. 3500 S. was in the path of the new I-215 corridor, which forced the move to Farmington.

    Gladys’ sister Vida Black (husband Clinton Black) moved to Granger around the same time as the Kennards, living on 3500 S., 2610 W., Market Street area, and finally in Kearns.  Frank’s daughther Dorothy and her husband Oscar Hendriksen built a home at about 3000 W. 3850 S. in the early 1950s where they started their young family. (Their son Eric lives there now.)  Frank’s brother Lon Kennard (wife Irma Smith Kennard) also moved to Granger in the late 1950s, living down the street from the Hendriksens at about 2900 W. 3850 S. Several of the children and/or grandchildren from these families have lived (or still live) in Granger-Hunter after their respective marriages.

    Frank sang in the Tabernacle Choir prior to being called as a bishop in Granger; and then re-joined the Choir upon his release as stake president (after moving to Farmington.)  Many of the children and grandchildren of Frank and Lon Kennard (as well as some of their Kennard or Bischoff cousins) have sung (or still sing) in the Tabernacle Choir. Music has been and continues to be an important heritage in the Kennard and Bischoff families.

    Frank and Gladys stressed the importance of education for all of their children.  Most have college degrees, and many have advanced degrees. Their children’s careers include music teaching, accounting, elected county sheriff, medicine, law, business owners, and financial planning.  

    Frank & Gladys also taught their family faith in the restored Gospel, and encouraged faith and service in the LDS Church.  They served a mission together as a senior couple, and Frank, as a widower, served another mission at the Salt Lake Family History Center.  Most of the boys served missions in their youth, and several of the children have served as senior couples. With 70 grandchildren and “countless” great-grandchildren, no one is keeping track of all the missions served by the following generations.

    Gladys served in Primary, Young Womens and Relief Society callings.

The Primary Presidency Mrs. Shafer (Pres.)  Mrs. Kennard and the rest of the presidency. All yourngmothers with young children. 

 Frank served as a ward financial clerk, bishop, counselor to two stake presidents (Grant Bangerter and Iris Morgan), and as the first president of the Granger North Stake.  He was involved in fund-raising for the Market Street church building, and also took his family to donate labor on the site. Prior to that “new” building’s completion, the family attended church in the old chapel at 3200 W. 3500 South.

The Frank Kennard home on 3500 South was purchased from the Winder family, and included a beautiful two-story frame home, a big tree-lined yard, a large garden area, a barnyard with a chicken coop style barn, and a pasture of about 4 acres.  (Total 5 acres.) Early on there were chickens, but those gave way to a milk cow. (Always a Jersey from Herm Nielsen’s dairy.) The boys raised prize-winning pumpkins in the garden, along with produce which Gladys canned. The house at first had water from an artesian well, the flow pressure being supplemented by a pump in the basement.  There were also two other flowing wells, one to water the yard, and one in the corral for water for the cow. The sewer was initially a septic tank system. Around the mid-to-late 1950s Granger-Hunter created a water/sewer system. That meant trenches along 3500 S., and a big trench from the road to the house, so the house could hook up to the local systems.  The house was heated by a coal furnace.

George Anast’s Granger Market would deliver the coal each fall, into a coal bin in the basement. One of our chores was to fill the coal hopper on a regular basis. Another was to carry the clinkers out to the driveway and smash them into small pieces for the driveway surface.

The closest neighbors all lived along 3500 South – Wendells, Medaus, Parks, Morgans, Eyres, Hills, Packards, Eskelsons.  Most of these families were related to Granger pioneer families. As subdivisions steadily filled in the farmers’ fields, the ward boundaries shrunk, and we gained new friends, without losing our old friends.  

We played in lots of open spaces:  Our own pasture with its drainage ditch full of carp, frogs, water snakes, etc.  The Hills’ fields where we played softball and baseball. Decker Lake area and the marshes nearby.  Several terrific barns and barnyards, especially the Morgan’s, and Earl Hill’s. Lots of hours playing various forms of Hide-n-Seek – Kick the Can; Becky-Becky; Run Sheepie Run.

    The old landmarks (and many of the “new” ones) which the Kennard family knew are gone.  The open fields, the farm yards and barns. Most of the old businesses. The old church, the “new’ Market Street church; the old Monroe school, the “new” Granger Elementary; even the “new” Granger High School.  Even the name of the place has changed. “I grew up in Granger” is now usually met with a blank stare.