Herbert Kendall’s Chickens Herbert Kendall purchased the cotton
mill property in the spring of 1922 Set up
his hatchery; also built a house and lived on the property Hatched
eggs to sell baby chicks, sold poultry for frying and roasting Conversation in Sept. 1997 with daughter,
Helen Kendall Jenson, about her childhood and her father’s chicken business
Recorded and transcribed Opened
the file to get information for the article (now 24 years later) Found
information I had overlooked and which made me curious Besides Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds and
Plymouth Rocks, Helen said her father raised some “fancy chickens”
– she named some breeds she could remember Looked for information about them [fact
checked] Ancona [an-cō’-na] – [a city and seaport in Italy]
Originated in Italy, a popular breed 1851 – imported from Italy to England; refined
and bred for their markings
1888 – imported from
England to America
Description – petite, roosters 5˝ to 6˝ lbs; hens
about 4˝ lbs. Black with white
speckles When it molts, it
grows back more white feathers than before.
When a hen is 3-5 years old, she’ll have more white on her feathers than a
young pullet.
Temperament – not
sociable; flighty, skittish; not good at setting on eggs to hatch them Egg production – good egg producers, large
white egg
Cochin [kō-chin’] – Originated in China
Exported to Britain and
America in the mid 1800’s
Description – One of the largest breed of
chickens; roosters weigh 11 lbs; hens 9 lbs
Plentiful feathering; covers not only the body but also its legs and feet
making an already large bird
appear even larger
Comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns Comes
in both standard and bantam sizes
A
slow growing meat bird, and was considered one of the best breeds for making
capons. [one of
products Kendall sold]
Temperament – A broody breed [like to set on their
eggs to hatch them]
great mothers; often used as foster mothers for other breeds, even turkeys and ducks.
Egg production –
lay large light brown eggs; very cold hardy and considered a good winter
layer. Their
tendency to want to brood multiple times a year cuts down their total egg
production. Black
New Jersey Giants
Developed in New Jersey in the 1880s by crossing several of the large, dark
Asiatic breeds
Description – They were an exceptionally heavy chicken making them good for
meat production
Black plumage has a green sheen, the eyes are dark brown,
All black except for yellow skin showing on the bottoms of the feet Egg production – Good egg production; brown eggs Continues to lay eggs through cold weather. Also good for meat
production
Conclusion
These were more than “fancy chickens”
While the daughter saw “fancy chickens,” her
father was making some sound business decisions. He selected some breeds that were good layers and some
that were good for meat production He needed both for a successful business
And Also --- Tree Planting Project on Lincoln Highway West to
Kearney Hatchery March 30, 1932 – a plan to beautify the road west of the city The Cosmopolitans
planned a Tree Planting Project It
was to be a George Washington Memorial - in observance of
the Bicentennial celebration of the first president Club members provided elm trees to be planted by
Industrial school boys
Boys would also water and care for the trees
Because of the nearness of the canal to the
highway on the north side, they were all planted along the south side.
Some method of
beautifying the North side of the road might be planned later by the club or
some other organization. [no plans or action was ever reported]
April 9, 1932 - it was reported that over 100 trees had
been planted on the south side of the highway