Hyrum's historical treasure includes Ted Kindred

WELCOME TO OUR HISTORY: Ted Kindred's 100-year-old Hyrum house is nearly a museum in itself. Below is Kindred himself in his living room. / Photos by Heather Williams

By Heather Williams

November 18, 2004 | HYRUM -- "You have to do it yourself or it doesn't happen," is the advice of longtime Hyrum resident Ted Kindred.

Kindred has been a resident of Hyrum for 45 years. Kindred has been the driving force behind a number of changes in Hyrum. He said at one point he became concerned that the city never did anything for teenagers. He said that teenagers are the ones who need the attention. So one day he and his wife drove around and rounded up close to 30 kids and their skateboards, and took them to the City Council meeting. He said they wanted a skateboarding park. As a result they reserved a corner of the rodeo grounds to be a skateboarding park.

"It was the first one in the valley," Kindred said, smiling.

This is just one example of the things Kindred does to try and improve the community and have his voice heard. Another example: for years he fought for a park on the west side of Hyrum. He said everything was on the east, but now they're getting a park on the west called the Salt Hollow park.

Kindred is originally from Iowa. He worked for Solar Aircraft in Des Moines, but Solar Aircraft closed its doors in Iowa and moved to California. Kindred said he didn't want to move to California. A friend of his told him of Thiokol in Promontory, Utah. "I was fascinated," Kindred said of the 3-D machining used by Thiokol. He was so fascinated that he and his wife and six children moved to Utah.

"It was very hard to find housing at the time," Kindred said, so they leased a home in Bear River City. He said with so many people moving to Utah for Thiokol, that people generally stayed in cliques. He said he doesn't like cliques, eventually people start fighting, and he likes to get to know more people. So he and his wife began looking for a home.

Kindred said that the home he lives in now used to be a house divided into four apartments. He used the house as an example of the kind of house that he would like to buy. He said everyone told him he would never be able to buy it, the woman that owned it would never sell. Two days later it came up for sale.

"The house will be 100 years old next month in 2005," Kindred said.

When he and his family moved into the house, they were the youngest people on the block. Now he is the only one left of those who lived on the street when he moved in. He said there were only 1,900 people living Hyrum at the time, but now there are 7,000 people.

"I love the little town, the atmosphere," Kindred said.

He used to know everybody he said, but that has all changed. He said he doesn't know anybody. He knows "the old-timers, but they're all dying off," he said. However, he still thinks Hyrum has a small town atmosphere.

"I liked the history of this place," Kindred said.

Every once in a while he runs into "fun things." He said at one point everybody in Hyrum had a nickname, and he found a sheet of the names. He said that was an example of the fun things he has come across.

Kindred's love of history began as a child. He said if he had his way, he would read three to four hours a day.

"I connect things up by reading. I love books, but I don't love novels. I think it's a waste of time," he said. Looking around Kindred's home there are piles of books of all varieties, art, photography, historical places, and so on.

Because of his knowledge of his family history and that of the family who built his house and many others, he has been asked over and over again, "You gonna write a book?" He answers, "No, I guess I'll bury it all with me." He then said he has passed a lot of it to one of his daughters.

Kindred said he and his late wife loved to collect things. Among the numerous collections are a huge button collection, valentines, and post cards. Before his wife passed away, they used to attend state auctions. He recalled one instance of being the highest bidder on 17 antique napkin rings, which made quite a few of his fellow bidders lament their loss. He displays a small number of those napkin rings on his dining room wall.

"You can find most anything here," he said of his antiques and collections. Among his antiques are the numerous types of china Kindred has displayed in a large hutch in his kitchen, and another large hutch in his dining room. He said some of them were his mother's.

Kindred said he grew up in a Victorian home much like the one he lives in now, only it was bigger and built in 1855. He recalled his mother throwing large family parties. He is the youngest of two boys, and because he had no sisters he always had to help his mother do the dishes. He remembers his mother's china that served 36. He said by the time they got done with the dishes, everyone started to wake from their naps and were ready for snacks, and would get the dishes dirty again.

Kindred is the director of the Hyrum museum. He said the museum is, "Hyrum's best kept secret." However, some might argue that Hyrum's best kept secret is Ted Kindred himself.

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