by Linda Heistman

— Part two —

In 1945, the war was over and at the age of 18, Dorothy Walker was working in a plastic making company called Diemolding in Canastota.

She enjoyed taking pictures, so her first paycheck helped her buy her very first camera.

It was a Kodak Brownie Box Camera (127 size), and it cost $1.78. 

Dorothy still enjoys taking a camera with her and catching shots.

She has taken a lot of pictures during our Senior Health, Activity and Recreation Program (SHARP); and you may have noticed her name on some of the photos in The Weekly Adirondack.

Dorothy also worked as a typewriter bar inspector.

She had to make sure that they weren’t bent or flawed in anyway.

She says she always enjoyed working in her various jobs.

When Dorothy became pregnant, she had to quit her job because back then they would not allow a pregnant woman to work.

As a wife and mother, Dorothy’s work became her family and home; and doing babysitting for other children in her home.

She says she was always home with the children, always there when they got off the bus.

They lived on the south end of Oneida Lake, so her children had to ride the bus to Canastota School.

Dorothy has a daughter and two sons, each about 2 to 2 1/2 years apart.

She now has four adult granddaughters.

She also had a grandson whom she lost in 1996 when he was only nineteen.

He had gone out swimming alone in the Atlantic Ocean and drowned after getting caught in the undercurrent.

When asked how schools today differ from when she went to school, Dorothy said, “It is scary. I am thankful I don’t have children in school. They are pushing them so hard…it doesn’t make sense.”

Later, she added, “Politics and education scare the daylights out of me.”

Dorothy moved to Old Forge on August 1, 2011.

She says that she visited Old Forge a lot with her family.

“Every time we had a day off we’d come up and camp here. That was our vacation.”

She says she likes it here because it is nice and quiet, but does miss the freedom to go to town when she wants to.

Some of Dorothy’s favorite hobbies are crocheting, reading, and sewing.

“But when I set up the sewing machine, I lose the table,” she says with a laugh.

Her very favorite pastime is reading mysteries.

Two of her favorite authors are Stuart Woods and J. A. Jance.

She says that Harlequin books are so predictable that she got tired of them.

Her advice to young people is to, “Live life to the fullest because life is too short.”

Dorothy enjoys going to the Senior Health, Activity and Recreation Program (SHARP).

When asked what she likes best about SHARP, she responds immediately, “The people!”

She likes to socialize and enjoys all of the activities that SHARP has to offer.

“I think we’ve had a wonderful year; I have enjoyed so much of it. You sit here all day [at home] and there’s only so much you can do. You get in with a group of people [at SHARP] and it’s so much fun,” she said.

If YOU are a local senior, you are invited to to join us. SHARP is a free program offered to all independent senior citizens from Woodgate to Raquette Lake.