​By Carsten Bengs
​Note: This feature is in the January TT&C 2022 issue.

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​By Larry LeMasters
​Note: This feature is in the January TT&C 2022 issue.

"I love building big machines,” Kenneth said. “In fact, the only future building plans I have are to build one of every big mining machine ever manufactured. I’d like to have a collection where the relative sizes of the machines are visible at first glance. That would be cool.”


Early beginnings
Kenneth, the third generation of Hawaiians, is directly descended from Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning queen of Hawaii.
“I’m basically three-quarters Hawaiian,” Kenneth said, “and I’m intrigued by my heritage.”
Kenneth grew up in Tenmile, Ore., about 45 minutes from the coast. While still young, he was adopted by his grandparents. And he learned woodworking and carpentry from his grandfather, Thomas Fisher, who worked in a local sawmill.
“Grandfather was a fabulous woodworker,” Kenneth said. “He could make anything from wood. He even hand-carved rifle stocks.”
Following high school, Kenneth joined the U.S. Army, where he became a light-wheel mechanic specialist.

“I didn’t do much driving,” he said, “but I was asked if I wanted to be a tow truck driver. So, I pulled everything the Army had that was smaller than an M2 Bradley.”
Following his three-year enlistment, Kenneth went to work for Henkels & McCoy Construction Company, working under his other grandfather, Garry Newlun, for a few years.

​By Jim Livermore
​Note: This feature is in the January TT&C 2022 issue.

Want to read the story?  
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