Salina Post proudly presents Flashback Friday in partnership with the Smoky Hill Museum. Enjoy a weekly tidbit of local history from the staff at Salina Post and the Smoky Hill Museum as we present "Salina-Flashback Fridays."
By SALINA POST
“There is a definite belief that women on the force in the role of regular, routine police work are worth their hire.”--Erb J. Gunn, Historiography Paper, Salina Police Force, 1954.
Dorethea LaFollette worked at the Salina Police Department for 21 years. Acting Chief Howard Wickersham hired LaFollette, reporting for duty on September 4, 1943. LaFollette was the first woman to serve in the Salina Police Department.
LaFollette grew up in the Kansas communities of Manhattan and Utica. She graduated with a degree in Industrial Journalism at Kansas State Agricultural College. LaFollette’s first job was teaching Spanish at Utica High School, located in northwest Kansas.
In the mid-1930s, Dorothea maintained the bookkeeping for the city clerk's office and water department. During this time, LaFollette often filled-in as Manhattan's police matron, another word used to describe a woman in a municipal police department who has charge of detained women and children.
LaFollette's position as a matron led her to work at the Manhattan Police Department as a desk sergeant in 1942. For the next 21 years, LaFollette worked for the Salina police department earning the rank of Lieutenant.
LaFollette was an active member of the Kansas Business and Professional Women’s Club and other groups promoting the status of women. Under a medical disability, she retired in 1964.
Several supportive chiefs recognized the efficiency of LaFollette’s work and the importance of the female on the force. The addition of LaFollette to the Salina Police Department represented a departure from standard police procedure at the time, as it was not commonplace to have female officers.
"There is a deep feeling of satisfaction in having helped someone over the rough spots."
- Lt. Dorothea LaFollett
Find out more about LaFollette's story and the legacies of other remarkable Salina women at the Smoky Hill Museum's newest exhibit titled, "Step up to the Task" running from April 12-Oct. 5
All exhibits at the Smoky Hill Museum are free to the public.