Leon Kennebeck has made more than 8,700 rosaries.
By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
One of many purgatory rosaries Leon Kennebeck has made. Praying with one of these rosaries begins with the black beads, then moves through lighter shades until reaching the white beads.
Leon and Donna Kennebeck have lived in a home on Lake Panorama’s main basin since August 2003. The home was custom built, based on plans Donna drew. The couple moved to Lake Panorama from their farm near Willey in Carroll County.
Leon was raised in Carroll County, and Donna was raised in nearby Ida County. They met for the first time 64 years ago in Arcadia at a dance.
“It was polkas and waltzes,” Donna says. “The guys were on one side of the dance floor, and the girls on the other side.”
This past August marked 61 years of marriage for the couple. They have nine children, with six girls and three boys, 33 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. The family gathers each year at Lake Panorama on three holidays — Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Leon grew up helping his father with the family farming operation. When he was a high school sophomore, his father became ill and he left school to farm fulltime. When he and Donna married, they moved to an old farmhouse near the family farm.
After more than 40 years of farming, Leon’s hips started to give him problems. He couldn’t get the farm work done, despite help from his sons, who already had jobs elsewhere.
That’s when the Kennebecks decided to retire from farming. They moved to Lake Panorama and became active members of St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Panora.
Leon was able to return to a hobby he loved but couldn’t do as a farmer. That was fishing for crappies, which bite best in spring and fall, when farmers are busy with planting and harvest.
Getting settled into their new home took time and kept Leon busy for a while.
“But once I had the yard work done, I didn’t have anything that kept me physically busy,” Leon says. “When you farm, there is always something that needs to be done. Here, I didn’t have enough things to do to fill my days, and I developed anxiety.”
This handmade stand sits on Leon Kennebeck’s desk in his workshop and was created by Donna Kennebeck’s brother. It displays a variety of rosaries Leon has made over the last 19 years.
Donna decided to order a rosary making kit anyway. It took Leon a few hours to complete his first rosary.
“I made that in November 2005. Once I got the first one done, I didn’t want to quit,” he says. “Now it takes me about an hour and a half to make one rosary.”
A rosary is a physical string of beads used mainly in the Catholic faith to guide Bible-based prayers. The most common rosary has 59 beads.
Beginning with Leon’s first rosary 19 years ago, he has used a desk calendar to track each one he’s made. On Oct. 9, his total was 8,707 rosaries.
“One of my sons asked me once if I’d ever thought about what distance my rosaries would cover if I laid them end to end. Each rosary is about 36 inches long, which means I’ve made about 5 miles worth of rosaries,” he says.
In his early days of rosary-making, Leon was able to buy most of the beads, chains and other pieces needed from one main company. In recent years, it’s become more difficult to find what he needs. Donna does online searches for specialty items, and a couple of friends sometimes join the hunt.
A bonus room over the garage is where Leon does most of his rosary-making and where his supplies and completed rosaries are stored. He tries to keep a few rosaries on hand at all times in case he gets a special request or sees a need.
Usually, the beads Leon uses come on a strand of about 55. Once the beads are separated, he inserts a pin with a loop into one end of the bead. Then he uses pliers to make a loop on the other end pf the pin.
“I’m sort of fussy about making that loop into a circle,” he says. “I don’t want to just bend it over; I want to turn it into a circle.”
Leon donates almost all of his rosaries with many being taken by priests or others to people living in Haiti, India, Ghana, the Holy Land and numerous states across this country. He has given rosaries to many friends and family members, often as gifts for special events such as confirmation and weddings.
Each of the couple’s children received a wall hanging with the word Faith across the top, and a sterling silver rosary attached below.
Each of the couple’s grandchildren receives a set of two sterling silver rosaries as a wedding gift, one with white beads for the bride and black beads for the groom.
“Often, our granddaughters will entwine theirs into the flower bouquet they carry in the wedding,” Donna says.
Leon has made many purgatory rosaries.
“It’s made like an ordinary rosary with different colored beads,” he says. “Think of a loved one who has died when praying with this rosary. You start off with black beads, then lighter shades of gray, then beads without blemish. You are praying that person to heaven.”
Leon had a request from a priest in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, for 1,000 purgatory rosaries.
“I was able to get those made in 11 months,” he says. “That’s the most I’ve ever made in one year. I never charge for my time making a rosary.”
In May 2012, the Kennebecks donated 33 acres of their farmland in Carroll County to the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Mission. This now is the site of Domus Trinitatis, a Catholic retreat center. Leon donates purgatory rosaries to the retreat center, which are sold to raise money for the costs of expansion and upkeep.
Sometimes people ask Leon to repair a rosary, often one a family member finds in a drawer after the loss of a loved one. He also gets special requests, such as creating a rosary using birthstones of family members.
“I’m always happy to help,” he says. “I work on my rosaries almost every day. I want to be doing something productive. To me, making rosaries is a calling, and a special ministry. It’s not a hobby; it’s a mission. I’ve had people ask me to make jewelry, and I say no. That’s not what I want to do. I want to make rosaries. Saint Padre Pio says the rosary is our weapon for these times.”
Leon also wants to catch fish, especially crappies in the spring and fall.
“I often catch the daily limit of 25,” he says. “I also like to fish for catfish, for the struggle. But if I go down to the lake and the fish aren’t biting, I just go back to the house and work on my rosaries.”