Lawrence "Larry" Kinsella was born on December 8, 1944 in Fairview Heights, to Cyril and Rita (O'Brien) Kinsella.

Larry married Marilyn Adele (Nieman) at Saint Albert the Great Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois, on Friday, April 16, 1967
Three children born to this union:
Christine Kinsella/Mrs. Cissell/Mrs. M. Darrell Sullivan was born February 9, 1968;
Amy Denise Kinsella was born July 3, 1970, in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
Brian Lawrence Kinsella was born on May 2, 1979.

Larry retired in 2000 from the family business, Kinsella and Sons Construction Company. His uncle was the contractor of Saint Albert the Great Church, and there is a garden at the Fairview Heights Library named for his wife.
Larry's primary interest is Archaeology of the Mound Culture and he teaches students how the Indians lived and made their artifacts. His family Homestead with their Log Cabin was given to the city and is now an historic park in Fairview Heights.
His webpage is sawaltons.homepage.com click on megalithics.

Marilyn is a professional storyteller called Taleypo and a member of Riverwind Storytellers. She also takes after her mother in writing stories. She taught at Saint Albert the Great school and was a storyteller at The Edwardsville Public Library for many years.

Christine married Mark Cissell on September 26, 1991, at the Old Kinsella Homestead. They arrived in an Historic Wagon, pulled by a horse.
They have a baby daughter, Drew Adele, who was born in August 2004.
She was divorced in 1998.
Christine married M. Darrell Sullivan on May 12, 2001.

Marilyn's 2nd daughter, Amy, lived in Los Angeles for awhile. Chrissie and Amy take after their mother, working in theatre and enjoy collecting PEZ containers.
Brian is studying radio electronics, and sold home theatre systems for a while. Brian's working as an assistant manager at an Applebee's about 20 miles from Marilyn and Larry's homestead.

Marilyn wrote of her grandmother, Sarah Dixon, in a story called Sunday Visits.

The leprechauns and fairyfolk were out in force at the Cincinnati's Celtic World Festival. My daughter, Chrissie, and Baby Drew came with me as the music, dancing, singing and storytelling spun its magical web. As we meandered the crooked paths of old Coney Island, strands of Celtic harp, bagpipes, flutes, and drums wafted in the cool September air. Irish lasses in colorful dresses and embroidered mantels danced as their curls kept time to the music. Since the weekend was made up of snippets of memory, I have highlighted bits and pieces:
~ First things first - I went to the Celtic Imports to find "the outfit." I was immediately drawn to a Celtic Blue (is there such a color?) dress. I liked it so much I wore it the next day. Sandy Messerly surprised me with a necklace she made. Would you believe it - the blue stones matched my dress!
~ Another present! Stephen Hollen came to hear Sandy and me and presented me with one of his brooms. It has this knotty handle made of polished apple wood. I had to hide it - people wanted to buy it from me when they saw it! Thanks, Stephen. He, Sandy and I commiserated for an hour before it was time to tell (a story). There were some Oopsters that made it to the BS tent as well. It was good to see that this event gets the support of the local tellers. Sandy was on hand to answer any questions about storytelling for newbies!
~ Bardic School - A lovely combination of old school (cultural, traditional storytellng) and new school (academic topics). The listeners were "active" listeners - they laughed, they joined in, they smiled, and they empathized. Sandy told many a delightful Irish tale. Some tellers tell through body language, some through vocals, but Sandy tells with her eyes. She has these huge eyes that looks right into your soul as her words take hold. Even though Sandy wore many hats that weekend - Tent moderator, Emcee, Festival Organizer, she somehow freed herself of that as she stepped up on stage to tell her stories.
I think we made a nice mix because my stories were more "Irish-American" or "American-Irish," if you will. I told McGoogan Moves the Miighty Rock by Dick Gackenbach and Wicked John for the opening sessions. On Sunday I prefaced Wicked John by altering my "three stupid human tricks" to fit the festival. Well, I had to get those "Sassy Eyes" in there somewhere.

For my session on Saturday I gave a short geneology of the Kinsella Clan starting with a King of Ireland that is puportedly a part of the lineage and Lake O'Kinseliegh where many of the Kinsellas originated.
"William Kinsella left from Dublin in the mid 1800's to seek his fortune in America. He came to the Saint Louis area to work on a new railroad line that (still) leads eastward from East Saint Louis, Illinois. He built a lean-to and soon saved enough money to send for his bride, Anne Connely of Wexford. He built a two-story log cabin and they started a family with 12 children. The youngest, Lawrence, was willed the farm and house. He and Emily Fournie raised their family of 10 children adding a substancial room to the back of the house. The farm was left to their youngest child, Cyril who married Rita O'Brien and they raised their four children on that farm. The oldest was Larry (ah, this is where the German girl makes her mark!) who married Marilyn Niemann. He bought a couple of acres of the farm land before it was sold to the city for a nature park and built his home there. They raised three children on that land, the oldest being Christine. Christine (as most of you know by now) just had the latest addition to the Kinsella Clan - Drew Adele ..."
After Chrissie raised Drew to thunderous applause, I told Jane Yolen's The Rosechild in her honor. I also told a few family stories. One about Lawrence Kinsella's horse trading business, one about Larry called Hold On (on my website) and one about our son Brian called Corn-knappin' and Nut-knappin'.
The next day, I was going to tell some scary stories, but the listeners included some wee one's ears, so I told two Jack Tales - Jack and the Haunted House (good jumps!) and Lazy Jack (lots of laughs!). At the Wee One's Play Place I told my combo, participation story Darby, the Tailor both days.
~The Catholic Mass - Chrissie, Drew and I gave thanks for this wonderful weekend with Father Flannagan and the rest of the congregation. Now that our senses were filled, it was time to fill our souls.
~ Ater my last telling, we went back to the vendors to buy our trinkets - Sneaky Peat's was not to be missed. I wanted to buy Larry a utilikilt, since the idea of him down in a pit digging with a kilt on sent me into fits of laughter...but reason won out, he got a belt with Celtic designs on it instead. We found a beautiful carved box for Drew and a pearl bracelet with Celtic beads on it to put in it.
Okay, there were some drawbacks - no Highland games. Sandy wrote that the river was up just the day before. I still think that they could have had some dandy mud wrestling bouts! Some little critter kept biting my ankles (ouch!) Chrissie is on a no-carb diet, so it was a test of our will power to pass up the Irish pasties, Welch cookies, and English scones. We were so tired by Saturday night that we didn't have the energy to come back for the concert that night.
On our way home we stopped at Joe's Crab Shack on the Ohio River in Louisville. They gave us a table that overlooked the Ohio as the sun was setting. Awesome colors whirled and swirled in the sky and in the water! There was a balloon artist who came to our table. He also does magic and storytelling. Soon he sat down and we were trading stories. Chrissie bought a giant red rose from him.
It wasn't until the next day that I discovered that we were missing a package. The one with Drew's Irish pearl bracelet in it and a gift for my daughter, Amy. I had no idea how to reach them, but luckily I did write their name on my check register "Kilkenny." So I looked up the name up on Google.com and found "Kilkenny Creations." I called them and they had it! She is sending it my way at no charge. Now that's the luck and love of the Irish!
I guess I have to say that having Drew with us was our most treasured memory. She put a smile on everyone's face. You sometimes forget how a baby can bring out the best in people. She may not consciously remember this weekend, but tiny webs were spun that will remind her of her Celtic heritage that will stay with her forever.

Marilyn at Jonesboro

Happy All Hallows!
When I was a young lass we had something in Fairview (before it was called Fairview Heights) called "Teen Town." I imagined my older brothers going to a little village set up just for teenagers. They'd have a street where the teens in their letter jackets and Brillcreamed hair; poodle skirts and pony tails would hang out. They'd have a soda fountain and play "Rock Around the Clock." There'd be dancing, hand-holding, and a keen time.
When I got to eighth grade, rumors of the evils of "Teen Town" ran rampant. Sister Mary Anthony (aka Tony the Tiger) took it upon herself to warn the nubile girls. So, into church we marched one day and she read us the riot act. We were putting ourselves in "the near occasion of sin" category, if we so much as thought of going to that din of Sodom of Gomorrah. Why there were boys there who went to (horrors!)...public high school. (gasp)
Then the rumor mill grist turned ugly. Some of the eight grade girls had indeed lent a deaf ear to the good Sister's warning and actually went to Teen Town. I can still see "Tony" standing in front of our class, her long Adorers of the Precious Blood habit billowing from the heat radiating from her soul saying,
"It saddens me to hear that some of the girls in this class went to�Teen Town (spit erupted from her teeth as she punctuated the last two words). Put your heads down on your desk and cover them with your arms. Now, every girl that has gone to Teen Town...stand up!"
I had my head down on my desk, but I was peeking through the cracks in my arms. I hadn't gone to Teen Town, but I wanted to know who had dared to go where no "good" Catholic girl had gone before. Oh, there were the loose girls to be sure, but the true pained expression came when she discovered that the goodie-two-shoes had gone. What shame! They had let the Blessed Virgin Mary down. They weren�t stamping out the serpent but letting it in (In?�in where? I was rather naive, to say the least)! Their souls were in mortal danger of eternal damnation�
The next week I went! I couldn�t wait to see what all the hoopla was about. You can't imagine my dismay. Teen Town: boys on one side of the gym - the girls on the other. Somebody played 45's on a small record player. For the most part, the girls danced with girls during the fast numbers. Then, the occasional slow tune came on, and a few of the boys shyly walked over to the girls' side and asked for a dance. I longed for one of the "cool" guys to come over ask me to dance, to let me know that I was sooooo cool, but I was such a nerd. No one ever asked me to dance except Dennis. He was a neighborhood playmate that was also considered a fellow nerd. So, we often paired up for the last dance -
It's Three O�clock in the Morning or Harbor Lights.
Promptly at 9:00 it was over. Oh yeah, it was a scene right out of Streetcar Named Desire (a movie rayted C by the Catholic Legion of Decency) all right.
When I was a freshman in an all girls Catholic High School, I went to Teen Town's Halloween Dance. I loved dressing up and especially for Halloween. And, like Sue, I usually went as a hobo or ghost. But, this year I decided to go as a "vamp." I found a long, slinky black dress, wore a long black wig and had a see-through plastic mask that distorted my face. I carried around a lantern to give me a "mysterious" look. Eat your heart out, Elvira! Nobody knew who I was. I got some rather provocative looks from the boys. It was great.
There was another teen that dressed up as a scarecrow. He had completely obliterated his face and no one knew who he was. The awards were given out at the end. It was decided the two winners, the Vamp and the Scarecrow, would dance the last dance and take off their masks. Perhaps, this was my coming out party. Now, I'd be dancing with the coolest, the hippest teen. There we were waltzing around to It's Three O�clock in the Morning, and we took off our masks. It was Dennis!! I guess it was destiny. However, Dennis was a "public" and after a brief romance of holding hands, we went our separate ways. I ended up marrying a good Catholic boy, Larry, and lost track of my old childhood friend.
Several years ago I happened to see his obituary in the local paper. He had moved to San Francisco and was in the Navy. A pang of sadness entered my heart. I thought of Dennis and I waltzing around at that Halloween Dance. What had he thought, when I took off my mask? Was he expecting to see the coolest, the hottest teenage girl? Was he disappointed or happy to see his neighborhood sweetheart? I guess I'll never know. But I bet he remembered that special moment when we both wore masks and we both were accepted by the others as we won first place. And, now, even though much time has passed, Dennis will always have a first place in my heart.

Marilyn Marilyn

Storytellers rally around tsunami aid BY ROGER SCHLUETER News-Democrat The massive tsunami that struck Southern Asia the day after Christmas last year produced a monstrous tale of death and destruction. More than 150,000 fatalities in a dozen countries. Millions left without food and shelter. Untold billions in property destruction. Now, area storytellers are banding together to try to fashion a bit of a happier ending. On Sunday, they'll be staging "Story Tsunami" events in Belleville and Edwardsville to raise funds to aid tsunami victims. Talespinners from throughout the St. Louis area along with a special guest from Indiana will weave stories that come from the 11 most severely affected countries. They'll even be joined by several musicians for the two-hour events -- 2-4 p.m. at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows Church in Belleville and 7-9 p.m. at First Christian Church, 310 S. Main St., Edwardsville. Admission is by freewill contribution. Donations at the Shrine -- checks or cash -- will go to Save the Children and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Contributions in Edwardsville will go to the church's mission and Save the Children. Or, donations can be given to any charity of a donor's choice. The programs are part of a flood of events being organized this month by storytellers internationally. Already 19 similar programs have raised more than $12,000. Nearly 30 more from Massachusetts to Hawaii to Japan are planned with a goal of raising more than $50,000. For Fairview Heights storyteller Marilyn Kinsella, it was a case of creative minds thinking alike. Popularly known as Taleypo the Storyteller, Kinsella knew that storytellers around the world were greatly affected by the disaster because many of the tales they tell have origins in India and nearby lands. So, while thinking about what she could do to help, she ran into New York storyteller Lee-Ellen Marvin while perusing Storytell Listserve on the Internet. "She was saying the same thing as I was thinking -- wouldn't it be great if we could get something going like a day of storytelling for that region of the world," Kinsella said. Soon, Marvin was taking the lead in sparking dozens of events during February in Singapore, Canada, Japan and all over the United States. After much research, they also came up with four agencies to help: Save the Children, Oxfam, Mercy Corps and the American Red Cross. (Those coming to the events can donate to any of these agencies beforehand by going to www.storytsunami.org.) "Then, when I approached the Shrine to do this, I realized right away that they (the Missionary Oblates) already have missions there that are already in place," Kinsella said. "And, yes, they were accepting funds, too, for tsunami relief." But Kinsella's plans grew even more when she contacted Mary Lu Bretsch of Belleville, who is president of Riverwind. "She said, 'Why don't we have a second event?' so we decided to hold it on the same day in Edwardsville," Kinsella said. "And, again, the minister there was just delighted to be able to give us the facilities for the event." Each program will feature about eight storytellers from Riverwind, the St. Louis Gateway Storytellers and MO-TELL. Bretsch and Kinsella will be at both events; also featured from the metro-east will be storytelling newcomer and popular community theater actress Stephanie Rhein of Fairview Heights and Joy McLaughlin of Godfrey. In addition, Susan Fawker of southern Indiana had no rest until Kinsella allowed her to join in the festivities. Fawker is no stranger to metro-east audiences, though; billing herself as an environmental-edu-entertainer, Fawker has been a fixture at several Earth Day events at the Shrine. "And, we're all telling stories that either come from the Southeast part of Asia or stories of hope and rebuilding that say a lot about the tragedy that happened," Kinsella said. "The Burning of the Rice Field," for example, tells the tale of an elderly farmer, who neighbors think has lost his mind when he purposely sets his rice field on fire. Another, "The Tiger's Whisker," teaches a surprising lesson when a woman seeks a wise man's advice for getting along with her new husband's children. All stories are G-rated, although most will speak to the adult heart and, thus, may not appeal to children under 5, Kinsella said. "So many stories from India and surrounding regions have a lot of metaphor, a lot of imagery," Kinsella said. "They sound like they might be just a simple children's story, but when you peel off the layers, you find out it's really talking about some human condition that really kind of speaks to the soul." Contact Roger Schlueter at [email protected] or 239-2465. Who: Riverwind Storytellers, St. Louis Gateway Storytellers and Mo-Tell What: Story Tsunami, a program of stories and music from the countries hardest hit by the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake and tsunami When: 2-4 p.m. Sunday at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows Church; 7-9 p.m. Sunday at First Christian Church, 310 S. Main St., Edwardsville Admission: Freewill donation to Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Save the Children, First Christian Church mission, or charity of donor's choice Sponsors: Riverwind Storytellers and Belleville News-Democrat Information: www.marilynkinsella.org (397-1377) or www.storytsunami.org