Charity begins at home

By CHERIL VERNON
The Palestine Herald

December 01, 2008 08:55 am

— For the last five decades, longtime Palestine resident Dede Kenderdine has played a vital role in the Dogwood Garden Club’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes.
And this year is no different. She will share joint duties as general chairman of “50 Years of Tradition: The Dogwood Garden Club’s 50th Annual Christmas Tour of Homes” — fitting for the garden club member who originally suggested the tour more than 50 years ago. The tour will be held this Saturday and Sunday featuring three homes and one business, The Redlands.
“I had gone to Tyler to see their Christmas tour of homes. When I went to the next meeting, I said we can do it too,” Kenderdine recalled. “We’ve done a lot over the years with the tour. It puts people into the Christmas spirit. The homeowners have been so generous to open their homes for the tours over the years and have been very tolerant of what we want to do as far as decorations.
“And the proceeds from the tours go right back to the community through the projects we do,” she continued.
Kenderdine joined the Dogwood Garden Club in 1947 after moving to Palestine in 1946 with her husband Robert L. “Jick” Kenderdine Jr.
The Kenderdines met on a blind date in Hartford, Conn. He was graduate of Indiana University and an All-American football player who had decided to go into the insurance business instead of accepting a position with the Chicago Bears for $125 a game. She had attended Briarcliff College in New York.
“A friend of mine wanted me to go on a blind date with him so we could double date,” Kenderdine recalled. “I was already going steady.
The friend said she wasn’t asking her for a lifetime commitment — she just wanted her friend to go on a double date with her.
“We married in 1940 — so it was pretty much a lifetime commitment,” Kenderdine joked.
During World War II, “Jick” Kenderdine served for 26 months as a Navy lieutenant aboard an LST ship in the Pacific Theatre. After the war, he returned to work for a Fort Worth insurance office where he traveled often to Palestine. An opportunity arose to join the Keller & Keller Insurance Agency in Palestine, which subsequently became Kenderdine Agency Inc.
“It was quite a different lifestyle,” said Dede Kenderdine of her move from the big city to the small East Texas Town, for the girl who grew up in Connecticut — two hours away from Boston and two hours away from New York City. “I remember calling my mother telling her I didn’t know how to fit in. She said ‘Honey, just make a place for yourself and be happy.’ Those are wise words and I lived it. I became a part of the community.”
Dede Kenderdine first joined Palestine’s Meleterion Study Club.
“I got a really good history lesson right away!” she said of the club.
That eventually led to an invitation to join the Dogwood Garden Club.
“At that time I didn’t know anything about gardening or flowers — except how to arrange them,” she said. “We have such a wonderful group — the spirit of the club is still the same.”
Now, her backyard is her pride and joy.
“Azaleas and camellias are my favorites,” she said when asked about her favorite flowers.
She later became a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program and helped plan Palestine’s Sesquicentennial celebration.
“Anything that we could do that would help improve Palestine, we did. My husband was involved in community affairs and felt it was important and I felt the same way,” Kenderdine said. “I believe charity begins at home.”
She also was involved in Harvey Woman’s Club and the first community concert organization.
“Beverly Sills sang in Palestine right before she became a really big star,” Kenderdine said of her time with the concert association.
Together, she and her husband had three children, nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Her husband passed away in November 2001. Her sons now run the insurance agency their father helped build.
Looking back on her life, two events stand out in her mind.
One was November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
She and her husband were in Dallas for a luncheon at the Dallas Trade Mart where Kennedy was supposed to speak later in the day.
“It was a very traumatic experience — it’s a day I will never forget,” Kenderdine said. “On our way home we were stopped in Ennis — they were stopping everybody — they searched our car with a fine-tooth comb.”
Another event she recalls was the privilege of having dinner with baseball legend Joe Dimaggio when he came to Palestine in the early 1960s. Dimaggio was here for the opening of Texize, Kenderdine said.
“I’ve had a very blessed, rich and wonderful life, though there have been heartaches,” she said. “Memories of family is what it’s all about.”
Her hobbies include spending time with her family, gardening, reading and listening to music.

Tour of Homes
The Dogwood Garden Club’s 50th annual Christmas Tour of Homes will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Business on tour is The Redlands Historic Inn, 400 N. Queen St. Homes on the tour include: 901 N. Cedar St., 201 E. Kolstad St. and 118 Aleta Dr.
Tickets for the Tour of Homes can be purchased in advance for $8 by any Dogwood Garden Club member, the Palestine Convention and Visitor Bureau located on Spring Street or the Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce located on Main Street. Tickets will be available the day of the tour at the homes and the Redlands for $10 each.
The money raised during the tour help to contribute to the Club’s district and state projects in addition to local projects.
For tickets or additional information, contact Publicity Chairman Linda Brown at 903-478-3264.

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