Doree the Poet

Between 1937 and 1942 Doree wrote a series of poems which were kept in a slim "Autographs" book. The poems were illustrated by her mother.

By Dave

Apr 24, 2020
Doree’s Poetry Book (click to enlarge; use arrows to page through)

When we were kids we went on lots of car trips with our parents. These ranged from simple one-hour trips to Annie & Grandpa’s place in Costa Mesa to an annual drive down to El Centro, a desert town east of San Diego. One year we drove to Indiana!

Whatever the length of the trip, I hated it. I would get carsick, and if not that, I was restless and bored. I would fight with my sister. To help us survive the car trip we had singing, always led by Mom. Sometimes Dad would join in – usually not.

Our hit songs were “I’ve Been Workin’ on the Railroad,” “Down by the Old Mill Stream,” “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain,” and “My Darlin’ Clementine,” which my sister hated.

Reading these poems, I can see where Mom got the idea of singing in the car!

The illustrations and printing in this poetry book are definitely the work of Annie (Mary Martin, my grandmother), but I guess that the poems were from Doree’s imagination.

The picture above is from 1942, when Doree was 11 years old, and wrote the last pages of this book.

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