Debby (Swinney) Dilks of Sibley has book signings set in Daviess County for her recently published book, “Miss Kansas City Kitty: Doris Markham’s Story.” The book covers the life of the author’s mother and her family from 1912 through 1948 in Jameson and Kansas City.
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The book signings will be held at the Jameson Lions Club from 1-3 p.m. on March 21 and at the Pattonsburg Senior Center from 1-3 p.m. on March 28.
Dilks is the daughter of the late Martin and Doris Swinney of Pattonsburg. She attended Pattonsburg school and graduated from Jameson R-3. In 2017, she retired from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Computing and Engineering after 33 years.
The university chose to recognize Dilks with an award that is now named after her, The SCE Debby Dilks Award for Excellence in Organization Advising. Her work with the robot team also inspired the school to recognize her with two additional honors. The robot team has been renamed The Debby Dilks Robotics Team, and the new robot lab will be called the Debby Dilks Robot Lab.
Upon her retirement, Debbie said that her main goal was to publish a book about her mother’s experiences growing up in Jameson and working in Kansas City in the 1930s and ‘40s. “My mother believed in me and my writing, wanting me to write the book while she was alive, but I just wasn’t able to do that. On Jan. 24, 2020, I accomplished that goal and finished writing the second book about her life,” said Dilks. The second book covers her mother’s life from 1949 to 2009 with more of Jameson and Pattonsburg.
Doris Markham’s story takes you back to Kansas City in the 1930s and 1940s as well as rural Missouri living at the turn of the twentieth century. Doris’s escapades include three marriages and a dozen boyfriends. This book is based on a true story of one spirited country girl’s struggles to survive in Kansas City when it was a wild town with illegal gambling, speakeasies, gangsters, barbecue, and jazz.
Doris’s story is a love story; actually, it’s several love stories, mixed with drama and comedy. People described Doris Markham as a pistol, a free spirit, and stubborn. She could be called an early women’s rights activist because she often said, “What’s right for the goose is right for the gander.”
Dilks says she has at least four more books with a historical flavor that she plans to write in the future.
“Miss Kansas City Kitty: Doris Markham’s Story” is available through Barnes and Noble online, Amazon, and Dorrance Publishing Bookstore. It may also call 1-800-788-7654, or by email [email protected].