Learn about Dorothy

Dorothy Elizabeth Wolfe (Southard)

born: May 11, 1916 in Hopkinsville, KY

parents: James Alvin Wolfe & Bess Lander Hopson (Wolfe)

siblings: none

childhood residence: 303 Bryan Street, Hopkinsville, KY

childhood games: hide and seek after dinner (used the street light at the front of our house for home base), hop scotch, roller skating, tricycle, jump rope, and dolls. Dot always had a kitten. Jim always had a dog for the whole family.

Dorothy grew up in a household full of adults. There were her grandparents (Meredith Shellcross & Betty Lander Hopson), her parents (James Alvin & Bess Hopson Wolfe), and her aunt ("Aunty", Mary Hopson McCollum). Every summer, the circus came and had a beautiful parade through town. There also was a county fair each summer. Dorothy's parents always took her to the fair. Her mother entered handwork and won blue ribbons. There were picnics for the 4th of July and sometimes fireworks. Dorothy can't remember Trick or Treating as a child. Her dad did cut a jack-a-lantern pumpkin for her each year. There was no such thing as a "tooth fairy". By the time she was a teenager, she would go with her friends to a log cabin in the country to tell ghost stories. Her mother helped her give a Valentines Party each February. Skating was a big recreation. At Christmas, there was always a fire in the dining room fireplace and a tree. Her dad would magically send her letter to Santa up the fireplace by catching it in the fire's draft. Vacations were trips to visit family. Dorothy would ride the train to Nashville, Tennessee to see her Wolfe 1st cousins.

Travel: Trips by train were made to Nashville, Tenn to spent a week with first cousins. In Nashville, Dot & her Wolfe cousins got around on a trolley car.

Once she went to high school, football & basketball games were her big entertainment. There were lots of parties planned by her parents or those of her friends. There were hay rides, skating parties, and moonlight lawn parties. After high school, she stayed at home and attended Bethel Women's College for two years. Then she was off to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky.

education: Virginia Street School, Hopkinsville High School, Bethel Women's College, and the University of Kentucky. During summer breaks from college, Dorothy worked as a social worker. Another summer she worked in an architect's office.

career: Long time educator with 30 years in public schools. Dorothy taught for two years in Bedford, Ky. She transferred to Louisville in 1942 and taught six years at Barret Junior High in the old Louisville City Public Schools. When she married John, she stayed home for ten years. Once she returned to the classroom, she taught 7th grade for two years at Eastern High School and then transferred to Waggener High School to teach typing, accounting, and shorthand to juniors and seniors. She also taught typing and business classes in the afternoons at Louisville Collegiate. Dorothy retired in 1980 with 30 years experience.

hobbies: quilting, gardening, sewing, canning her garden's yield, & ceramics. Dorothy made Christmas stockings for everyone in the family. She made teddy bears and baby quilts. Betty has a bear that Dorothy made from John's wool pants. She made baby quilts for each grandchild and is working on one now for her great granddaughter, Emma.

married: John Blackburn Southard Sr on June 20, 1946 at the First Baptist Church in Hopkinsville, KY

children: John Blackburn Southard Jr (8/19/47 - August 2008) & Elizabeth Ann Southard (Stokes) (1950)

grandchildren: Leslie Ann Stokes (1977), Amy Elizabeth Stokes (1980), John Willard Southard (1980), James Robert Southard (1982), and Joseph Michael Southard (1985)

great grandchild: Emma Jane Southard (2008) and Olivia Leigh Southard (2010)

honors: Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, President of Vacation Bible School at Middletown Baptist Church, member of Middletown Homemakers, member of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), Trinity Presbyterian Church Women's Circle secretary

died: