International headlines were made on February 24, 1970, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City when the first quintuplets were born using fertility drugs. After two months, on April 27, 1970, when Bill and Peggy Jo Kienast brought home their new family of five-some to Liberty Corner, New Jersey. So, what’s been happening to the Kienast quintuplets since? The Mr. Local History Project wanted to dive in a bit at the history of this moment in Liberty Corner history, but also to update all the international followers who remember Amy, Sara, and Abigail. Ted (Edward), and Gordon (William) (ASATG).
News of their arrival made the front page of the New York Times, and they and their parents were pictured in newspapers and magazines worldwide.
Background
The quintuplets were the first American set of surviving quintuplets to be conceived through the use of fertility drugs. They were born to parents who had previously conceived two other children through the use of the fertility drug Pergonal. She was part of an experiment aimed at overcoming the risk of multiple pregnancies from fertility drugs. She had spent several weeks at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center when the quints were born six weeks prematurely.
The first 12 hours were critical to their survival. They ranged in weight from 3lbs-4 oz. to 4lbs-6 oz. Three were suffered from hyaline membrane disease
Before the quintuplets were born, Peggy Jo was 30 years old, and her husband Bill was 38, and they lived with their two older children – Meg, who was almost 4, and John, who was one-and-a-half – in a small two-bedroom home on four acres at 247 Mine Brook Road in Liberty Corner, New Jersey.
The family’s need for a larger home led the Somerset and Morris Home Builders Association to offer free, speedy work on an addition to the Kienast home.
The entire community supported the effort, including the Somerset and Morris Builders Association, individuals, and members from the Bernardsville Junior Woman’s Club, the Liberty Corner Fire Company Auxiliary, the Liberty Corner First Aid, and Ridge High School Key Club.
Birthdays Birthdays
Reaching out to the local community, a few local stories were posted. Sue Rankin, a local resident, told us she remembers them well. “I was 10 when they were born and begged my mother to have quints because I thought 5 babies would be great! Glad to hear they are all well!”
“I remember skipping school (the only time I did) to go to the ticker tape parade for the 1986 World Series Champion Mets, and Sara, and I think Abby came with us. Good times,” according to Andrew Basset, a fellow schoolmate.
“My mom was a nurse and a volunteer on the Liberty Corner First Aid Squad. I remember that she volunteered to help the family when the babies came home from the hospital. She went to the house and fed, diapered, and rocked them,” said Kathy Smith Gayda.
Television
The Quints’ first television commercial was made in mid-1971 when they were about 18 months old. It was for Ecolo-G, a phosphate-free detergent. Additional commercials followed – for Keds Super Champ sneakers, filmed at a Connecticut Zoo in 1972; Eastman Kodak film shot at the Essex Hunt Club in Gladstone in 1973; Hold Cough Suppressant and the March of Dimes Babies health charity in 1975. They also appeared in print ads for Gym Dandy playground equipment.
Another commercial featured the quints with Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of President Richard M. Nixon. Eisenhower traveled with Secret Service agents to the Kienast home on Sept. 5, 1973, to film a promotion for the National Prevention of Blindness.
Tragedy
Despite the money made by making commercials, the family began having financial problems. Peggy Jo became a working mother, landing a job with the Turpin Realty Agency. Bill Kienast had struggled to establish two chemical businesses, and in 1983, the family would have had their home foreclosed upon if not for the intervention of a local industrialist.
A foreclosure was avoided, but two years later, the home was again listed for a Sheriff’s Sale. It was briefly lost in August 1983 before Milton Petrik, a New York philanthropist, stepped in and paid $96,000 that the Kienasts owed to three banks. In 1984, Bill Kienast committed suicide by carbon monoxide inhalation.
Graduations
All five—Amy, Sara, Abigail, Ted (Edward), and Gordon (William) Kienast—had the honor of graduating Ridge High School in Bernards Township in June 1988. Abby wanted to be an interior designer. Sara wanted to study broadcast communication. Amy wanted to study political science, live abroad, and maybe go to graduate school. Gordon wanted to be an architect. Ted wanted to make a fortune on Wall Street. Most of all, they craved normality for the first time.
College Bound
The kids summed it up by saying that after 18 years of that annual ritual with the media, it was time to separate, spread their wings, and head off to college.
No more soupy ice cream cakes from photographers eager to get a good picture. No more frosting from television crews. No more spotlight. No more living in a fish bowl.
Amy Kienast summed it up for the 5.
It was happy to note that upon graduating from Ridge High School in 1988, all five took the path to getting a college degree. Happily, they all graduated. Sara graduated from Loyola College, New Orleans. Amy graduated from Loyola in Chicago. Abby graduated from Kean University, Union. Ted graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University. And finally, Gordon graduated from Brandywine College in Delaware.
Latest Reunion
The latest public reunion for the group was in 2018 at the 30th reunion of Ridge High School.
Today, the quints – Sara, Amy, Abigail, Ted and Gordon Kienast live in different parts of the country, as do their two older siblings, Meg and John, and their mother.
- Amy: Amy has a son and daughter and resides in Virginia, where she teaches as a substitute.
- Sara: Sara Kienast Davis, a video producer and writer who now lives in Florida with her husband and two grown sons.
- Abigail: Abigail is a customer service professional and married mother of a grown stepson who still resides in New Jersey.
- Ted: Ted also resides in Virginia and is a regional sales manager for an irrigation company.
- Gordon: Gordon works in customer service and resides in New Jersey.
None of the Kienasts have had multiple children at the same time.
If you wanted to know who the FIRST surviving quintuplets were, it was the Dionne family.
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My son was friends with Gordon and he came for an overnight at our summer cottage on Greenwood Lake. He was a very sweet boy and his parents were just great. I remember feeling so sad when they lost Bill. I’m happy to hear they are all doing well.
Karolyn Burger Nilsen
Those who were privileged to be invited to any of the birthday parties will never tell! So too we’re the endless “barn”parties when we were in high school and college….
I was lucky to have been in a Keds sneaker commercial at Old MacDonald’s farm with all 5 of them. They were so little! They were probably 3, and I was probably 8 or 9. One of my favorite commercials I was in.