According to an email from Brad Johnson, his mother, Dorothy, lived in Henryetta in the early part of the 1900s. Her father, Steven Brooks, was the station master for the Frisco Railroad here but, because of the Depression, they moved away to Illinois when she was 16.
"They left everything, their home and most their belongs to start new life up north," said Johnson in his email.Until the family moved, his mother was involved in high school activities and even played basketball. She apparently was a standout because she was 5'10", slightly smaller than her 6'4" brother.
"Being from a staunch Baptist upbringing Dorothy was always surprised that her mother let her play basketball for the Henryetta Hens because of the uniforms. 'My goodness wearing shorts and a tank top in public!', she would say."
Right after high school she went to work as an art director for the Rock Island Park District.
After working at the Park District she worked nine years as an assistant for Doctors Lachner, Durr and Robb. From there she moved on to Dallas where she went to work for Dreyfuss and Sons, a department store designing store front window displays.
Unfortunately she was denied entry into the United States Navy in January 1943 due to her allergies. But luck was on her side. Her cousin had a radio talk show in Dallas and one day her guest was a Women Recruiter for the Marines who also had bad allergies. Her cousin set her up for an interview with the recruiter and she was inducted in the Marine Corp Women’s Reserve.
Her basic training was at Cherry Point NC. She was then transferred, for a short period of time, to North Island California and finally to El Toro, the Marine air station.
On August 11th 1944 she was promoted to Corporal and by Sept. 5, 1945 she was given her final ranking of Staff Sergeant.
It was too bad what happens next. According to family lore, her mother always seemed to get sick right when Dorothy finally got away from home. Dorothy was the youngest of the three children and was the one her mother always wanted her to come home. As the story goes, her mother faked falling down the stairs so she called her pastor who in turn contacted the Red Cross. Somehow they arranged an emergency discharge for Dorothy. Dorothy thought she was going home on just a leave but when she got home she found out that she had been discharged. She loved the Marines, she loved the people she worked with but all that came to a sudden end. She never got the opportunity to say goodbye to her fellow Marines. Why say goodbye when you think you are only going to be gone for a couple of weeks.
Now back home, taking care of her mother, she got a job at Swanson and Maiwald Architects and Engineering. She was hired as a secretary but took it upon herself to take up Architectural Drafting and Lettering. One on the big projects she worked on was the Quad Cities Airport.
Finally on May 9, 1952 she resigned and got married to Marshall Johnson. Their wedding was on the 17th of May 1952.
Dorothy’s brother John Brooks who was born in Tarrant County Texas but who also grew up in Henryetta had become the Franchise owner of the Northern Illinois Tastee Freez chain. His wife’s brother was the one who started the Tastee Freez chain. I don’t remember the names but could look them up.
After my father worked 25 years at International Harvester, my parents decided that they did not want their kid to grow up in Chicago. So John, my mother’s brother arranged for them to take over the Tastee Freez in Marengo IL.On May 7 1959 they opened the store. 18 seasons later they both retired in 1976.
Johnson said he is coming to Henryetta around May 30 to connect with the town his mother described in those stories told to a young child.