Originator of “Share Your Christmas” located
December 30, 2020
Former Cassville resident, Dottie Davis, was instrumental in the formation of Share Your Christmas in Barry County.
Sheila Harris
I received an email from reader Darrell Ledenham in response to the “Share Your Christmas” article in the December 16 issue of The Barry County Advertiser. His comments merit this follow-up.
“Dorothy “Dottie” Davis, formerly of Cassville, was the person responsible for initiating Share Your Christmas in Barry County,” Ledenham said. “She was a great lady.
“We worked together when she was the Volunteer Coordinator for the Department of Welfare (which later became the Division of Family Services), located in a tiny office owned by Bill Hailey, just south of Taco Bell,” he said.
Her job was created, Ledenham recalls, only in counties that wanted to give it a try.
“Dottie was the only person I know of to pull it off successfully,” he said.
Davis’s close friend, Jan Stockton Bishop, of rural Washburn, says Dorothy Davis won an award one year for being the “Best State Volunteer,” although she doesn’t remember exactly what year that was.
“She was always coming up with new ideas for helping people,” Bishop said.
Darrell Ledenham says he went to work for the Division of Family Services in 1973. He thought Share Your Christmas was getting underway at that time, although Davis’s daugher, Nancy Burgess, thinks the program began in 1969, her sophomore year in college.
“Dottie and her husband Bill were members of the United Methodist Church in Cassville at the time, and the church allowed her to use their facility for Share Your Christmas,” Ledenham said.
“Dottie was involved in numerous county projects, including Crosslines, Second Act and Camp Soaring Hawk,” he continued.
After Davis’s husband passed away in 2000, she relocated to Springfield to be near her daughter.
Nancy Burgess says her mother is now 94 year old and resides in a nursing home in Springfield. She recently recovered from COVID, but due to memory lapses was unable to be interviewed.
We applaud Mrs. Davis for her work in Barry County and for the ongoing success of her labors.
I received an email from reader Darrell Ledenham in response to the “Share Your Christmas” article in the December 16 issue of The Barry County Advertiser. His comments merit this follow-up.
“Dorothy “Dottie” Davis, formerly of Cassville, was the person responsible for initiating Share Your Christmas in Barry County,” Ledenham said. “She was a great lady.
“We worked together when she was the Volunteer Coordinator for the Department of Welfare (which later became the Division of Family Services), located in a tiny office owned by Bill Hailey, just south of Taco Bell,” he said.
Her job was created, Ledenham recalls, only in counties that wanted to give it a try.
“Dottie was the only person I know of to pull it off successfully,” he said.
Davis’s close friend, Jan Stockton Bishop, of rural Washburn, says Dorothy Davis won an award one year for being the “Best State Volunteer,” although she doesn’t remember exactly what year that was.
“She was always coming up with new ideas for helping people,” Bishop said.
Darrell Ledenham says he went to work for the Division of Family Services in 1973. He thought Share Your Christmas was getting underway at that time, although Davis’s daugher, Nancy Burgess, thinks the program began in 1969, her sophomore year in college.
“Dottie and her husband Bill were members of the United Methodist Church in Cassville at the time, and the church allowed her to use their facility for Share Your Christmas,” Ledenham said.
“Dottie was involved in numerous county projects, including Crosslines, Second Act and Camp Soaring Hawk,” he continued.
After Davis’s husband passed away in 2000, she relocated to Springfield to be near her daughter.
Nancy Burgess says her mother is now 94 year old and resides in a nursing home in Springfield. She recently recovered from COVID, but due to memory lapses was unable to be interviewed.
We applaud Mrs. Davis for her work in Barry County and for the ongoing success of her labors.
