The population of Pekin, Illinois was about 2,000 people when I was growing up. My sister and I had our chores like any and all kids do. We would help harvest vegetables from 80 acre farm that we had just a few miles outside of Pekin. Mostly we would gather the strawberries from 1 acre that my dad had set aside just for the strawberry patch. With our hard work came the best of rewards. The love and bond of a family working together, Fresh strawberries and honeycomb from the bees on our farm. I'm very lucky to be able to look back on it now as it still makes me smile. There were many trees and my father would cut some of them down and sell the cord wood locally for folks to burn during the cold winters. I remember with a smile of times that my mother, my sister and I would sit around the piano and sing, sometimes for hours taking turns playing the piano. I can recall the time when my father bought an old bus that we all turned into a camper . . Dad kept the bus out at the farm and we could stay there occasionally. We could even cook and sleep in the bus, and my dad connected a generator to it so we would have lights in the evenings. . Dad was very handy with stuff like that and even taught me a few things. He was an electrician and in our home in the city ,dad had a little shop downstairs where he would do some woodworking and repair things. If my dad were alive now he would be 103 years old. It was only me and my sister growing up in our house. I didn't have any brothers. I sometimes wonder about that as my dad taught me things that would normally be reserved for a son. When I was in 7th or 8th grade my dad taught me how to be an electrician. He taught my sister and I how to drive a car and even check the fluids, tire pressures and just overall maintenance of our car. Replace the battery? I could do that too!
My mom was a stay at home mom and cared for us girls. She would help us with our homework and fill in the gaps of lifes little lessons that you won't find in a book. I had trouble in my primary or grades school i guess you would call it. Reading and writing posed a bit of a challenge for me. I enjoyed reading and writing but something was just not quite right. I guess dyslexia was not really something that was diagnosed back then for children that were struggling at Lincoln Elementary School. It wasn't until my college years that I recieved help from a math professor. I was directed to a counselor that helped me with my Dislexia and from then on I maintained a B average all through college . Once again I feel very fortunate as I almost flunked out of Edison Jr. High School because of the challenges put on me by dislexia. Looking back, I'd have to say that the business classes and the medical training saved me from ending the prospect of furthering my education. When I left High school most everyone that knew said that college would not be for me. Boy were they ever wrong!
Northwestern University, PhD Psychology North American College, Security and Police Illinois Central College, Fire Science, EMT, nursing
I went into the Army a year after graduation and they said that there were too many women in the Army. Hmmm.. Go Figure! So I ask you whats a girl to do? You join the Air Force And get your Wings! The Air Force provided me with opportunities that a girl from Pekin Illinois wasn't going to get on her own so I took full advantage of it. I earned my Pilots certificate in 1968 and I also worked as an observer for Search and Rescue. Not to be bored and working with a goal in mind it was more Nursing and Medical Technician classes in college while I was stationed in Chicago with the Air Force.
I was a CW4 when I started my medical training and on my last day before graduation I was watching the "Nightingale" come in to the airstrip with the wounded from Vietnam. It was a C-9 McDonnell Douglas Aircraft that was first rolled out in 1968. It is the only aircraft in the Air Force inventory specifically designed for movement of litter and ambulatory patients. I can remember an Air Force Major asked if I could help with the unloading of the patients from the "NightingGale" as they were short handed. That was an experience I will never forget. The very sight of the red cross on the tail was a symbol of hope, care and relief to servicemen and women at home and abroad, in time of war and peace. My heart went out to those guys. All of this was happening in the 70"s
Shortly after my discharge from the Air Force, I again found myself at the doors of a higher learning institution. This time it was Illinois Central College. I was attending Pre Med classes and continued nursing with EMT. Utilizing my education thus far and a desire to help others, I decided to join the Civil Defense Fire Rescue. I spent 4 years with them with a year off in between during the late 70's and early 80's. During the mid 80's during the "Big Hair " rock band era I became a FireFighter for Schaeferville Fire Protection District. 1984 was another good year. It also happens to be the same year that a great honor was bestowed upon me. I was named as the FireFighter of the year and awarded as such. Being the only female on our Department made this award all the more special.
You have to picture this in your mind as you read about something that sticks with me to this very day. I wound up as an engineer for our Fire Department,when a little bet took place. Chief didn't think I could drive the engine. What he didn't realize is that I already had my CDL from Tennessee. So in order to drive the engine, all I had to do was take the written test for the state of Illinois. Needless to say, you should have seen my Chief's face! He lost the bet and he then proceeded to train me as to all the ins and outs of our tanker truck. Now the tanker that he put me on, was going to come into play that very weekend.. And as luck would have it , Fire dispatch (my husband at the time) gave the call for a Mutual Aid. It was a brush fire that had made its way to a barn. We were called in to assist. There wasn't any hydrants close enough to lay line so the tanker was needed. That was my job, so I'm headed to the scene,right!? Siren blaring, lights were flashing and all is well. The "calvary" is coming and Louise Thornton is at the wheel! Cars are pulling over as they see me coming in the Tanker. "This is great" I'm thinking to myself right up until I'm less than 4 blocks away. Shit! I cant get through! I'm so close, I can see where I need to be! Its right there where all the smoke is. So I make a wide turn, start 'off roading' to the scene climbing a steep grade in this heavy truck. I stepped on the gas and suddenly my truck turns into "the little engine that could!" The motor was screaming as the wheels were spinning and I arrived on scene. Whew!
Chief says to me, "Louise, I could hear you coming a mile away!" The barn was a complete loss sorry to say but its just one of those things that I keep in my memories of being back in the day. :-)
So now its Labor day weekend 1989 and I'm driving our Ford F-150 from Illinois to Phoenix. Reminiscent of the Beverly Hillbillies, its just me and my daughter in this F-150 with a camper shell and loaded with all our possesions. It was very slow going what with having to stop and resecure the canopy, windy conditions and letting the truck cool down at night. It took 4 long days to get to Amarillo Texas, to pick up my husband who was waiting at the airport. All the while my daughter and I were being assisted by motorists and law enforcement alike. We were a full 24 hours late for meeting my husband so he had called the Police and had an APB (all points bulletin) put out to be on the lookout for us in our truck.
Crazy thing was is that while we were being assisted, none of the cops ran our plates and so they never knew about the APB. I have been living and working in the desert southwest ever since that crazy weekend. .
After the relocation to Phoenix I continued to gain more college credits by attending Hi Tech Institute for drafting. Sadly my vision began to deteriorate. Despite my gradual sight loss I continued to learn and began to do my drafting on the computer. I would build my drawnings up with lego's. Not far behind that was when I attended North American College, and graduated with securty/police training. All through the years I have been taking psychology and I managed to finish in 2005. Thanks to Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. Where I was doing my research , everyone got together and submitted all the needed information and requirements for the work that I had completed to Northwestern and I recieved my PhD.
Legally blind now in 2009 I am unable to drive. I utilize the light rail and bus systems in Phoenix in order to get around. The blindness is caused by MS and keeps me in my wheelchair most of the time. As you can probably guess that copeing with my disabilities was another opportunity to become positve. I've never been the "Woe is Me" type of person and would not allow MS or the wheelchair or even blindness compromise my life. Whats a girl to do?!
I ended up working with fire prevention and started to teach preschoolers the Learn Not to Burn program. All of the C.E.S. were a little bit jealous shall we say because I had a way with the smaller children. I have been in a wheelchair for about 10 years now and I am still educating people in fire safety and the ADA ( Americans with Disabilities Act) law. I was a Commissoner for the Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues and I became a contractor for the City of Phoenix doing street and accessability inspections.
I don't consider myself disabled but physically challenged so many others. I have been truly blessed with an inner drive to make something of myself all these years. So if you are ever in Phoenix and would like to say "hello",I am currently working with the Hall of Flames Museum. I conduct the tours of the antique trucks and we have Hall of Honors that comemorates the FireFighters that have fallen in the line of duty. Thank You for reading my story and if you want to be friends, you can find me on my FireLink page.. Have a great day and stay safe.
Click the Logo to read even more and see some great pictures. Thank You again. -Louise Thornton
I ended up working with fire prevention and started to teach preschoolers the Learn Not to Burn program. All of the C.E.S. were a little bit jealous shall we say because I had a way with the smaller children. 