Dora Elizabeth Whatley was born in Palo Pinto, Texas, on December 20, 1897. She was the first child born to Cephas Vachel Whatley and Narcissa Isabella Abernathy Whatley. She was named for her two grandmothers – Ladora Aletha Gilbert Abernathy and Elizabeth Taylor Whatley. She grew up and lived in Palo Pinto until she married.
Many of her childhood memories centered in and around the old Abernathy Hotel in Palo Pinto. She and her siblings – Mary Emma Whatley, Joe Brooks Whatley and Viola Frances Whatley (who Papa always called “Baby”, all had an ideal childhood – tales of playing out in the wild, being afraid of gypsies who drifted into town, picking berries, biking, playing with dolls, going out on hikes, reading – and as they grew older both Beth and Emma began writing and thoroughly enjoyed photography, which they referred to as “Kodaking”. (As a consequence our family has many beautiful old photographs to share.)
She received her early education in Palo Pinto and then moved to Weatherford, Texas and boarded with her Aunt Ida and continued her education there in preparation to teach school. She was an Editor of the Melon Vine, her school annual and continued her love of research and writing. As she got older, she began to love poetry and the creative process in that work.
She wrote of meeting Angus Robertson - ”Reading Mollie Make-Believe and deciding to play her letter-writing game myself…writing to the All Story Magazine about this and about poems I’d liked and the surprising results of that historic letter…answering letters pouring into the little Palo Pinto post office by dozens and even hundreds from all over the U. S. and foreign countries besides…reading a letter from Angus Robertson, Jr of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which stood out almost startlingly among the hundreds – the only one from a young man that I answered though there were many.” They corresponded for 3 romantic years then finally met on April 18, 1918 and were married 4 days later. During their marriage they had 3 children, Rosemary, Donald and Roddie.
“Mama Beth”, as she was called by all of her grandchildren, sold many stories and poems to magazines and newspapers over the years. Her most famous work was a book entitled “Blue Bonnet Children”, published in 1945 – a collection of poems illustrated by her dear friend Jean Macdonald Porter.
Things I remember about her – she loved to make birthday cakes that looked like a beautiful woman with the skirt being made of cake and into the hole in the center of the cake she stuck a doll then iced it all to look like a belle in a beautiful full skirt. She made marbled cakes, usually pink and white for the skirt cake. She chewed Dentyne gum, used Tangee lispstick, always had Tums around and wore Evening in Paris perfume. She was a great cook and we loved driving to her house from Irving about once a month. We loved her so.
Many of her childhood memories centered in and around the old Abernathy Hotel in Palo Pinto. She and her siblings – Mary Emma Whatley, Joe Brooks Whatley and Viola Frances Whatley (who Papa always called “Baby”, all had an ideal childhood – tales of playing out in the wild, being afraid of gypsies who drifted into town, picking berries, biking, playing with dolls, going out on hikes, reading – and as they grew older both Beth and Emma began writing and thoroughly enjoyed photography, which they referred to as “Kodaking”. (As a consequence our family has many beautiful old photographs to share.)
She received her early education in Palo Pinto and then moved to Weatherford, Texas and boarded with her Aunt Ida and continued her education there in preparation to teach school. She was an Editor of the Melon Vine, her school annual and continued her love of research and writing. As she got older, she began to love poetry and the creative process in that work.
She wrote of meeting Angus Robertson - ”Reading Mollie Make-Believe and deciding to play her letter-writing game myself…writing to the All Story Magazine about this and about poems I’d liked and the surprising results of that historic letter…answering letters pouring into the little Palo Pinto post office by dozens and even hundreds from all over the U. S. and foreign countries besides…reading a letter from Angus Robertson, Jr of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which stood out almost startlingly among the hundreds – the only one from a young man that I answered though there were many.” They corresponded for 3 romantic years then finally met on April 18, 1918 and were married 4 days later. During their marriage they had 3 children, Rosemary, Donald and Roddie.
“Mama Beth”, as she was called by all of her grandchildren, sold many stories and poems to magazines and newspapers over the years. Her most famous work was a book entitled “Blue Bonnet Children”, published in 1945 – a collection of poems illustrated by her dear friend Jean Macdonald Porter.
Things I remember about her – she loved to make birthday cakes that looked like a beautiful woman with the skirt being made of cake and into the hole in the center of the cake she stuck a doll then iced it all to look like a belle in a beautiful full skirt. She made marbled cakes, usually pink and white for the skirt cake. She chewed Dentyne gum, used Tangee lispstick, always had Tums around and wore Evening in Paris perfume. She was a great cook and we loved driving to her house from Irving about once a month. We loved her so.
Dora Elizabeth Whatley was born in Palo Pinto, Texas, on December 20, 1897. She was the first child born to Cephas Vachel Whatley and Narcissa Isabella Abernathy Whatley. She was named for her two grandmothers – Ladora Aletha Gilbert Abernathy and Elizabeth Taylor Whatley. She grew up and lived in Palo Pinto until she married.
Many of her childhood memories centered in and around the old Abernathy Hotel in Palo Pinto. She and her siblings – Mary Emma Whatley, Joe Brooks Whatley and Viola Frances Whatley (who Papa always called “Baby”, all had an ideal childhood – tales of playing out in the wild, being afraid of gypsies who drifted into town, picking berries, biking, playing with dolls, going out on hikes, reading – and as they grew older both Beth and Emma began writing and thoroughly enjoyed photography, which they referred to as “Kodaking”. (As a consequence our family has many beautiful old photographs to share.)
She received her early education in Palo Pinto and then moved to Weatherford, Texas and boarded with her Aunt Ida and continued her education there in preparation to teach school. She was an Editor of the Melon Vine, her school annual and continued her love of research and writing. As she got older, she began to love poetry and the creative process in that work.
She wrote of meeting Angus Robertson - ”Reading Mollie Make-Believe and deciding to play her letter-writing game myself…writing to the All Story Magazine about this and about poems I’d liked and the surprising results of that historic letter…answering letters pouring into the little Palo Pinto post office by dozens and even hundreds from all over the U. S. and foreign countries besides…reading a letter from Angus Robertson, Jr of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which stood out almost startlingly among the hundreds – the only one from a young man that I answered though there were many.” They corresponded for 3 romantic years then finally met on April 18, 1918 and were married 4 days later. During their marriage they had 3 children, Rosemary, Donald and Roddie.
“Mama Beth”, as she was called by all of her grandchildren, sold many stories and poems to magazines and newspapers over the years. Her most famous work was a book entitled “Blue Bonnet Children”, published in 1945 – a collection of poems illustrated by her dear friend Jean Macdonald Porter.
Things I remember about her – she loved to make birthday cakes that looked like a beautiful woman with the skirt being made of cake and into the hole in the center of the cake she stuck a doll then iced it all to look like a belle in a beautiful full skirt. She made marbled cakes, usually pink and white for the skirt cake. She chewed Dentyne gum, used Tangee lispstick, always had Tums around and wore Evening in Paris perfume. She was a great cook and we loved driving to her house from Irving about once a month. We loved her so.
Many of her childhood memories centered in and around the old Abernathy Hotel in Palo Pinto. She and her siblings – Mary Emma Whatley, Joe Brooks Whatley and Viola Frances Whatley (who Papa always called “Baby”, all had an ideal childhood – tales of playing out in the wild, being afraid of gypsies who drifted into town, picking berries, biking, playing with dolls, going out on hikes, reading – and as they grew older both Beth and Emma began writing and thoroughly enjoyed photography, which they referred to as “Kodaking”. (As a consequence our family has many beautiful old photographs to share.)
She received her early education in Palo Pinto and then moved to Weatherford, Texas and boarded with her Aunt Ida and continued her education there in preparation to teach school. She was an Editor of the Melon Vine, her school annual and continued her love of research and writing. As she got older, she began to love poetry and the creative process in that work.
She wrote of meeting Angus Robertson - ”Reading Mollie Make-Believe and deciding to play her letter-writing game myself…writing to the All Story Magazine about this and about poems I’d liked and the surprising results of that historic letter…answering letters pouring into the little Palo Pinto post office by dozens and even hundreds from all over the U. S. and foreign countries besides…reading a letter from Angus Robertson, Jr of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which stood out almost startlingly among the hundreds – the only one from a young man that I answered though there were many.” They corresponded for 3 romantic years then finally met on April 18, 1918 and were married 4 days later. During their marriage they had 3 children, Rosemary, Donald and Roddie.
“Mama Beth”, as she was called by all of her grandchildren, sold many stories and poems to magazines and newspapers over the years. Her most famous work was a book entitled “Blue Bonnet Children”, published in 1945 – a collection of poems illustrated by her dear friend Jean Macdonald Porter.
Things I remember about her – she loved to make birthday cakes that looked like a beautiful woman with the skirt being made of cake and into the hole in the center of the cake she stuck a doll then iced it all to look like a belle in a beautiful full skirt. She made marbled cakes, usually pink and white for the skirt cake. She chewed Dentyne gum, used Tangee lispstick, always had Tums around and wore Evening in Paris perfume. She was a great cook and we loved driving to her house from Irving about once a month. We loved her so.
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