Ken Landgraf, age 80, is giving back and loving it.
By SAUL RESNICK
Special to The Sun
This is another in the series The Sun is running about people who make significant contributions to the Haddonfield community.
Ken Landgraf is 80, looks 50, always smiles and is one of the most likable human beings you’ll ever run into. Once a highly successful businessman, still a big old car aficionado (with a collection to prove it), Ken is now
dedicated to giving back to the community.
“Life has been a great learning experience, with a lot of self-education, and now I love giving back to people in need,” Ken said. “The Lions Club and its many dedicated members have been great teachers for me, and I feel honored to be a member and an active participant. And I was privileged to serve as the club’s president in 1980 [to] ‘81, and now as a director.”
Ken said the club member believe in service before self and dedicate themselves to helping the blind and visually impaired, the community and the high school through their fundraisers and scholarships.
“Some say the more you give, the more you get back, and I can vouch for that,” Ken said.
Ken’s life has been full of challenges.
“I’ve been very lucky to learn a lot about hard work, dedication and people I’ve worked for and with in building businesses through trial and error, and it has served me well,” Ken said.
Ken was born in Camden in May 1937.
“My parents owned a food market in Gloucester City which they later moved to Haddonfield. I graduated from Haddonfield High, but was not a very good student. School and me were like oil and water. No mix. But while I worked for my dad in the market, 6 days a week for three years, and didn’t like it, something special happened. A very pretty young lady, Mary Dolores, was a customer. Although she was shopping for food, from the first moment I saw her, my mind turned to shopping for her. It worked, and we were both successful, and married in 1957,” Ken said with a smile.
The Landgraf partnership has two daughters and a son. Daughter Daryl has a son Liam, 14, and they live in Yardley, Pa. Their son Steven and second daughter Linda live in Arizona.
Ken’s real business experience began with ownership of two service stations with his brother Jim, but the hours were long and the rewards were minimal. He moved on to a new line of work — the world of small engines. He went to school in Wisconsin to learn about it, came back to open a shop for repairing lawnmower and motorbike engines, and the business took off. Expanding to a third location in Bellmawr, he sold, rented and repaired construction equipment and supplies used in construction.
“The business rapidly expanded, and was very demanding but highly successful, and I decided to sell it in June, 1998,” Ken said. “I’ve had no regrets since.”
But Ken’s hobbies and passions opened a whole new set of life adventures, as he bought old cars, restored them and took them to car shows all over the country with his best friend and wife, Mary Dolores. Today he has a number of vintage vehicles, and although he does less country-wide traveling, still participates in local car shows.
“I drive the seven cars I own as frequently as possible, but not all at once,” Ken said with a half smile and wink.
Ken’s major focus, however, is with the Lions Club, which he’s been a member of since 1975. He continues to push for expansion of the club’s membership, pursuing more young people, women and medical professionals. In the past year the club gained seven new members under the leadership of retired Dr. Larry Ragone and is shooting for even more.
“Recruiting new, younger members who have the same enthusiasm for service as our ‘old hands’ is vital to the club’s future and its service to our community,” Ken said.
Challenges — Ken loves them.
If you are interested in joining the Haddonfield Lions Club contact Bob Stokes, president, at (856) 429–6497 or e-mail him at robert.s.stokes@hotmail.com for further information.
