Dorothy was born on July 16, 1923 in Sand Point, Idaho. Her parents, Joseph and Florence Teal, had moved to Idaho from Illinois. Her father, Joseph Teal, wanted to be a farmer but didn't have the land. Instead, he took a job managing a grain elevator in central Illinois. To better his family, he invested in a resort on a lake in Idaho. When he arrived in Idaho with his wife and children, he discovered that he had been swindled out of his money and that there was no resort. Joseph bought a boat and began delivering freight across the lake to make a living. This was during prohibition, and sometimes he hauled freight for bootleggers until he feared that the Federal Police were going to get involved. He and his family returned to Illinois and opened a small grocery store, which he and Dorothy's mother ran. This was during the days of the Great Depression and times were hard for everyone. As a young adult, Dorothy wanted to help with the war effort. One of her friends had sisters living in Los Angeles. They decided to go there and work for Lockheed, an airplane factory that made spare parts for the P-38 Lightning. Women who did this kind of "man's work" are often referred to as "Rosie the Riveter." Many women signed on for these jobs because most men had joined one of the armed services to help fight in World War II. Dorothy was at a friend's house in Pasadena when she met Dale Anderson, who would be her future husband. He was a good corn-fed boy from Roseville, Illinois. He worked for North American Aircraft, riveting the tail section of the P-51 Mustang. They began to date, and on one outing they saw a famous singer named Frank Sinatra at the Hollywood Bowl. Dale joined the Air Force and was sent to Colorado for training. He ended up in San Antonio, Texas as an airplane mechanic. When the Allies won the war, Dorothy volunteered for the Women's Army Corp (WAC). She boarded the Queen Mary for the five-day journey and was excited to learn that Bob Hope was on the ship to put on a show. Bob Hope was a famous Hollywood comedian and actor. He became even more famous for entertaining the troops during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. Dorothy was assigned to Europe and spent most of her time in Berlin and found herself assigned to the Headquarters Company, working in a beautiful former Luftwaffe building. She thought the work in the office was interesting. Once, she was called in to take the minutes of a meeting with General Eisenhower. She took the notes in shorthand and typed them up afterward. She said the General was a good and kind man. On Thanksgiving Day, Eleanor Roosevelt surprised the WACs by dining with them in the mess hall. Dorothy took a picture of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor, with her own camera. Dorothy often traded her American chocolate and cigarettes to stretch her budget because people were anxious to have them. Her service was not without its own terrifying experience. While she was in France, she was assaulted by a fellow service member. She said a prayer aloud and he heard her. It stopped him in his tracks, and he escorted her safely back to her barracks. After her service, she became reunited with Dale Anderson in Illinois, and they were soon married. These opportunities to work in a factory, travel to foreign countries and meet some important historical figures were a daring and uncommon thing for a young, Midwestern, small-town girl to achieve in the 1940s.