Week 37 - A Small Detail I Love - Doris Daly

My mother-in-law (Doris Ann (Daly) Conner Williams) was born December 7, 1933, in the small town of Columbiaville, Deerfield Township, Lapeer County, Michigan.  She was the oldest child of Margaret (Smith) and Kenneth J Daly. She had a younger brother Joseph and a sister Patricia. The family lived on the small 'Daly farm' that Ken and Margaret owned located on Miller Lake Road in Columbiaville. The family moved from the farm to Barnes Lake in the late 1950's.

Doris attended Lapeer County schools, and in grade school she attended Sweet School located on Barnes Lake Road, a one-room schoolhouse and then went into Lapeer for her high school years. 

Sweet School

During the school year 1948-1949 she played basketball and even received a 'most improved' special award ribbon. This was via the Girls Athletic Club. 

Girl's Athletic Club  
Lapeer, MI
Special Award
Basketball
Doris Daly
Most Improved Noon Basketball Player
Winter Season 1948-1949

Competitive varsity sports for girls were not widely sanctioned or funded by high schools prior to the 1970s. The GAC had a point system and standards they had to manage and distributed letters and awards to girls who earned them through participation. Now Mum could cook like a dream (she did do 4-H), sew just about anything (again 4-H) and her bakery items were second to none. (think Congo Bars) 

She was a dark haired, always smiling girl with big dark 'cat-eye' glasses. 

Doris and Ken 1951

But she only stood about 5'1" tall. 

So, to think of her playing basketball in High School just doesn't fit her image. The ribbon was discovered only after she had passed away in 2024, so I never asked her about her athletic prowess on the court. And she obviously never volunteered that information.

That one piece of information about her puts her in another light. She never stepped away from anything that was asked of her. She skied, downhill and cross-country, cooked, sewed, loved to go sledding and in the summer, she loved boating, swimming and water-skiing. 

This tiny piece of basketball information about her is something I absolutely love. 

Barbie

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