This is Phil in the picture with your daddy. But these are the days when he would come and get me whenever I wanted him to to take me to the boat dock down on the river. Those memories and so many more or so special to me.

Mom loved your daddy very much. The picture of him isn't very good but you can see in her face how much she loved him.

This was Kenny's first band.  He had played with Dad, Jim and Charlie, but this was his first Rock and Roll Band.

L to R

Kenny Rolph, Lloyd McGlasson, Jim Rolph Jr., Elliot Green, Johnnie Dye, Charlie Carpenter, Charlie Whaley and Ronnie Perkins.

I believe this photo was take at the recreation center at Greenview Subdivision in Florence, Kentucky, just off Burlington Pike.

Happy 70th Birhday Kenny.

Love

Your sissy,
Linda

hey grandpa i know that you have ben watching over me as i am serving a mission for the curch of jesus christ of latter day saints. i have thought alot about you and your extordanary impact om my life. you are every thing i strive to be. i hope to grow up and be a loving father grandpa and freind just like you. i know that you are proud of my desion to serve a full time mission. i hope to be as loving as you were and to always have your strong faith in christ wich you had no problem showing or expresing. in the scriptuers it says alma 48 nvrs 17 (Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.) i konw that my grandpa was unto moroni and that the devil himself shakes at the faith that he has. and i can only hope and pray that one day i will have grandpas faith love charity meakness and all other christ like atributes that he showed through out his life. with all my love i give this memorial to my beloved grandpa my heart felt testimony. i know that christ is my savior and i know that my grandpa is living in the celestiol kingdom with god and jesus and all his beloved family members that have passed through the veil. i know joseph smith was a prophet of god who restored the true and full curch of christ. i know that the book of mormon is a true and divine witness of the everlasting gosple og jesus christ and i invite all men and woman every ware to red ponder and pray about its content and i leave a solom promise that any who do will recive a divine personal witness of the truths that it holds. i know that the bible is the word of god and will always be an example of how to live are lifes and i do so in the name of my beloved savior jesus christ amen.  i know grandpa belive in all the truths i have spoken of and that he is an example of a true man and a worthy man of god who held the preisthood and never doubted eeven on his death bed. 

with all my love elder caleb anthony sparto aka little sarge love you fore now and always grandpa i will always srtive to live how you would have me. 

For the past few weeks, you have been on my mind quite a bit.  I wish you were here to celebrate your birthday with us today, but I am selfish I suppose.  I pray that Mom, Dad, Jim, Alice, Charlie and Amy are celebrating with you!  

Each day brings us closer to a sweet family reunion.

I love you

Linda and the boys <3

This picture was taken at Renfro Valley in about 1975.  Jim Burcham, Tim McNeely, Kenny and I were in a band together and had traveled to Renfro Valley to be on the Renfro Valley Barndance. Rita Henson Valter and I had done many shows there when we were 14, 15 and 16...so Kenny and the guys helped carriy on the tradition of doing a show there ;)

Kenny played drums in the band with us.  He played so many instruments very well, so he could adapt and do whatever was needed, unlike me...I am strictly some piano and lots of guitar ;)

We had such fun in that band and played all over the tri state area.

Janice, I hope this little memory helps you know more about the picture.

Those were the days and good ones too!

Love you

Aunt Linda Brown

Remember how the cat would love to jump out of my bedroom window.  Dad used to love that!

We used to play a song, back in the day, called "What A Difference A Day Makes".  All I can think of is, what a difference a year doesn't make.  I still think of you everyday.  Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry; each memory of you evokes a smile or a tear. I miss you more than you could ever have imagined.  You were one of the "constants" in my life and sometimes I feel as if I'm lost at sea with no anchor.

All I could think of during Christmas this year, was the last one you spent with Sheila, your girls, their husbands and your grandchildren.  Little did we know it would be the last. 

I kept myself together by trying not to be selfish and realizing you were spending your first Christmas with Dad, Mom, Jimmy, Alice and Charlie for the first time in many years.. It brought a smile through tears.. I swear I felt the presence of all of you when all of our little group gathered here at my home for our get together.

Although it was the "Brown" Clan together, it was just like a "Rolph" gathering.. Lots of food, laughter and fun.  I pray we, as your family, may continue to be strong and we wait for the day when we are reunited.

My last words to you,

"I love you honey"

Your last words to me,

"I love you too sugar"

Your sissy,
Linda

This picture was taken of Kenny and our cousin Eva Carol Hollar on one of the many trips we made to Uncle Roe and Aunt Annie's home.

Raleigh Monroe Hollar was the son of Joseph Warren Hollar and Etna Ishmael Brierly and my Grandma Lillie Hollar Snapp's baby brother :)

He married Annie Mae Rolph, daughter of Alvin Menifee Rolph and Eliza Rigdon's daughter and my dad's baby sister (her twin sister was Nannie Rae Rolph Beckett).

So, I was related to Uncle Roe and Aunt Annie in two ways, which was just fine with me.  They were both precious and sweet people and I always loved visiting their home.

As you may be able to tell, I love researching genealogy.  That is why I tend to add so much detail. But,  I think it's important to know how we are all connected..it makes the pictures come to life for me :)

This picture was taken on one of our many trips across the Ohio River on the Anderson Ferry located in Constance, KY.

We always loved riding on the ferry; it was a big adventure!

The old Ford "Woodie"... Kenny may have been contemplating taking it for a drive, but I don't think he could have reached the pedals :) 

This photo was taken at the McCarty house too!

This picture was taken at Henson's farm which is now located on Stahl Road in Hebron, KY.

Our sister Alice and her husband Tom built a home on the farm next to Mr. and Mrs. Henson's house.

We had many good times there :)

I don't know if I was waving or scratching my ear :)  We were the two amigo's back then.. 

I took this picture of Kenny in front of our house at 696 Tanner Road.

Look at the smile on Kenny's face.. He got his wish after all.. A baby sister who weighed in at 9 lbs 15 oz.

He weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz. when he was born.

We were the biggest children because Mom was diabetic by the time we came along.

She said I came out ready to work.. Size 1 clothes.. and the saga continues with weight!!  LOL

When Kenny found out Mom was going to have me, he told her, "I want a baby sister".

The morning mom left to head out to St Elizabeth Hospital in Covington, KY, he reminded her, "I want a baby sister".

She said, "well honey, what if it's a boy?"

He said, "just leave it there, I want a baby sister"..

I sure am glad I wasn't a boy!!

Looks like either Kenny was a good driver or the person who parked him there for the picture was being cautious!  His wheels are turned so he wouldn't take a roller coaster ride over the hill at the McCarty house where we lived :)

The house is no longer there, but the lot is just at the top of the hill on the left heading from the house on Tanner Road into Taylorsport.

This picture is one of Kenny in his first band.. I think he was around 12 years old.

The guitar he is playing is the Gibson dad bought him, after he had polio.  We were people of simple means, but dad spared no expense on that guitar.  Back in the fifties, that guitar cost over $500.00, but nothing was too good for his son!

The little amp you see setting out front, was my dad's Gibson Amp.. I don't know whatever became of it, but it was sure put to good use on many occasions.

The thing that tickles me, as a musician, is that they had 3 guitarists, one drummer, a lead singer, 3 horn players, but not a soul on bass guitar.. I guess they were grabbing them, as they could get them :) 

A funny story about this band;  They had a manager that was into the "hip talk" of the day..he was blowing a lot of smoke and Mom with her eagle eye was hip to what he was trying to pull off...  Kenny was talking about what the guy was going to do for them.. Mom said, "you need to tell Yay Cat to take a hike".. She knew Kenny had the talent to get by on his own.. I always crack up when I remember that story..

When I was a little girl, one of my first memories was Dad building a home for us.  He bought the lot from Bill Day, put a one bedroom trailer in the back and went to work on the house.

My dad had a 2nd grade education, but he was a very intelligent man who could figure out anything he decided to do!

He worked at FH Lawson Company 5 days a week; played music 3 nights a week and worked on the house the other 4 days.  He certainly was "not" lazy, in any way shape or form.

"A picture says a thousand words" and this picture says a lot.  Our family and the Ginn family were as close as relatives can be.  My great Aunt Claudia and my mom were more like sisters, than aunt and niece.  My grandma Lillie was the oldest of the Hollar girls and Aunt Claudia came along the same year as my mom, which is very similar to Rita Henson and me.. we are like sisters.. only 2 months apart.

The Ginn boys helped dad with the house and several other good friends of dad's.  Paul McCarty wired all the electric in the house..those are the only details I can remember, since I was so young.

All I knew, was in the end, we had a beautiful home with hardwood floors and my mom kept it immaculate!  Moving into the house from the trailer, was like moving into a castle :)

I remember as Mom would clean the house, she was always singing.  I would ask her what the songs were and she replied, "songs my Mom used to sing".

We were all thankful for the house dad built and the home he and mom made for us.  I so believe in the statement, "Family First"...that is what I experienced as a child and still do to this day.

Thank you Mom and Dad for everything you did to help make your children loving, caring, kind and ethical people.  We owe it all to you..

Back then the house address was: 696 Tanner Road  Hebron, KY 

Phone number (even when it was a party line was:) Murray 9-4665 (689-4665)

For me, Uncle Kenny was so cool.  I will always remember his smile when he saw us. His smile was huge to me. Back in 2000 we were all at Uncle Charlie's house for a reunion.  I saw a couple of Janice's kids (I think that's who they were.) run up to Uncle Kenny.  He grinned and played with them.  For some reason this memory sticks out in my mind.   I also miss seeing him on facebook.   

Dad called Mom's cell phone while Mom and I were at Wal-mart.  He told us that Uncle Kenny passed away.  I thought that Mom would break down and cry when she heard the bad news. Instead she said, "My sweet Uncle Kenny."  I asked her if she wanted to go home.  She said no.  She said Uncle Kenny would have wanted us to go on.  How inspiring Uncle Kenny must have been in life, if in death he inspired Mom to be strong and go on.

I was going to post my picture of Mom and Uncle Kenny, but for some reason my computer is being mean.  :)   

I still love and use this bunk bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dad and Tony spent the summer of 2008.  This was a "GRET" task to say the least LOL.  For these were no ordinary bunk beds!  It was a standard bunk bed with a loft.  So it is shaped like an L.  Dad worked on the plans for this and He and Tony went to the "Piece of wood store" (Little Kenny's name for Home Depot) to get all the materials.  Tony has some REALLY funny stories about this and I will let him tell them.  But we spent almost every weekend up at Mom and Dad's house in Hudson Florida working on these beds.  Everyone chipped in.  Tony and Dad headed up construction, Walter (Tony's Mom's husband) oversaw construction, I stained the wood, the kids came in and out working next to their Dad and Grandpa's and Mom had the hardest job, keeping everyone safe and feeding us!  If you have ever ate my Mom's food you will know that we were on the winning end of that deal :)  The boys will have this bed forever, because it is made to withstand catagory 5 hurricane!  We had so much fun that summer and we made so many great memories.  I can't wait for Tony to post some great stories about it!  

Love and Miss you Daddy,

Your Big Girl 

Dad and I sat in this spot for about 3 hours, maybe even longer!  It was SOOOOOOOO blasted hot that day that neither one of us had the energy to walk around.  So we found a "GRET" spot in the shade with some chairs.  It was a rare find, believe you me!  We met so many people that day.  Dad and I shared our chairs, laughter and stories with many people that day.  I just loved it.  It is one of the best memories of Dad and I together enjoying something special.  He passed on the gift of Jab to me.  I can talk to anyone at anytime.  I thank him for that gift.  I have talked with lots of very interesting people in my life, that I might have walked on by, had I been shy!  

Thanks Daddy, 

Love your Big Girl!

I remember, as young children, how Kenny and I anticipated the arrival of our "Birthday Poem" from our Aunt Mae.

She fashioned each story about us personally.  The gift of words, is so powerful.  She wrote from her heart to our hearts and it meant the world to us.

As we grew older, we each had our way of telling about our life experiences and feelings. Kenny was more gifted than I.  He could write songs, poems and stories. (not to mention his "funny ones")

I only wrote songs, but am working on a "Life Journal" for my children.  We never realize what treasures these remembrances are, until we've lived a little :)

Kenny and I emailed each other for the past 14 years.  Thankfully, I saved every one he ever sent me.  We shared feelings, stories, poems and songs.. I believe that is a large part of the Rolph Legacy.

Our parents came from humble beginnings, but gave us a life rich with love. We were taught the true meaning of ethics, kindness to others, and being a person of your word. 

So, here are the words of one of just a few men I admire most in my life, my brother, Kenny. 

Crawdad Hole was a song sung by many musicians in the Greater Cincinnati Area.. Kenny and I used to get a big kick out of the way Willie Begley sang it...Thankfully, Kenny used the proper words :) 

This is one of those songs that's so old, it's difficult to remember who wrote it or recorded it first..

Well, this is Redbone's rendition :) 

After Kenny moved to Florida, he had the pleasure of reuniting with our friend, Jim Kinman.  Kenny attended Jim's jam session and played with several other musicians.  Jim sent me a DVD of Kenny playing with the band.  His kindess in doing that meant so much to me.  I wanted to share this with everyone who loved him :)

This song, "Black Mountain Rag", is an old fiddle tune; one we heard our dad play many times :)

Although Jim, Charlie, Kenny and I were guitarists, we kept the tradition of the song going by playing it on our guitars. 

Kenny was a man who stayed true to his roots all of his life.  We all loved the old fiddle tunes and Kenny would later go on to play many of them on his banjo too.  As well as a singer/songwriter, Kenny was a versatile instrumentalist.  He played guitar, fiddle, bass, drums, banjo and mandolin. Just about any instrument he picked up he was jamming on it before too long :)

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the world of music Kenny loved so much.

My story is about my grandpa blessing me along with my dad and other worthy priesthoods holders. I was nervous to walk into that meeting room where before me where 6 worthy priesthood holders waiting for me to take a seat int the chair to become a deacon. My dad was blessing me and my grandpa was also there and it felt so nice to have so humble and worthy men of god to grant me the priest hood. After i was blessed i shook every ones hand except my dad and grandpa (Kenny Rolph) and i hugged my grandpa and it was so warm inside to know that he cared enough for me and god that he would bless me with the priest hood.