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Dorothy Clora Lathrop was born in Fountain, Shawnee County, Indiana to
Nancy Johnson and Robert Bruce Lathrop in 1891. Robert Bruce Lathrop
was a veteran of the Civil War and evidence of this service became some of
Dorothy's most prized possessions. Dorothy had her father's original
discharge papers from the 63rd Indiana Infantry, two daguerreotypes of her
father, and a cannon shot her father retrieved from the trunk of a
tree that was meant to hit him.
Dorothy
moved to Lone Pine, Inyo County, California in the 1930s. She
quickly put her college education to good use in the schools of Inyo
County. She was later elected the Inyo County Superintendent of
Schools for four consecutive terms. After retiring from her
educational career she became involved in the operations of the Eastern
California Museum in Independence, serving as its Director and President
of its association for many years. It is in this capacity that
she worked to preserve the history of the area in so many ways over so
many years.
Dorothy
loved Eastern California and specifically Inyo County with a passion that
cannot be sufficiently described in words. She adopted the
Owens Valley as the true home of her heart and we honor her for
her valuable contributions. It is due to the dedicated
work of Dorothy Clora Cragen that the story of Eastern California has
taken its righteous place among the greatest sagas of the building
of our nation.
From
the Banks of the Wabash to the Owens River Valley: a story of the life of
Dorothy C. Cragen by Candy (Slater) Ross
"About
the Author" - from the jacket of "The Boys in the Sky-Blue Pants"
Dorothy
Cragen Honored at Museum Banquet - January 1967
Dorothy
Cragen dies at age 92 after life as educator, historian and writer -
January 1984
Family Tree of
Dorothy Clora Cragen at RootsWeb's Worldconnect Database
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