Dorothy Binney Palmer
[5] Palmer went to Wellesley College where she participated in plays such as "The Tempest",[6] "Trail of Lonesome Pine", and "Princess Far Away",[2] and she was praised for her acting and dramatic ability.
[9] Later that year Dorothy and her sister Mary Binney were written up in the paper for besting two men while setting a swimming record in Stamford, Connecticut.
[13] Dorothy and George arrived in Bend, Oregon in February 1912 a honeymoon that had taken them to New York, Central America, San Francisco, and Portland.
[11] Dorothy established the home as a social gathering place in Bend, and threw parties with music, dancing, and skits; she founded the local Glee club and raised funds for people undergoing cancer care.
[19][1]: 28 Dorothy and George then moved to Rye, New York,[20] where they built a house without blueprints which included a jungle-themed guest room painted by the artist Isabel Cooper.
In the book, David describes playing like a pirate during the voyage, going to different islands, crossing the equator, and investigating animals.
[28] In 1926, George Putnam took their son David on an expedition on the Effie M. Morrissey that was led by Robert Bartlett and headed to the east coast of Greenland.
[1]: 39–41 Dorothy was able to sail as far as Brigus, Newfoundland,[29] and there are photos of her, George, and David in the archives of the Hagley Museum and Library.
[35] After Earhart returned to the United States she stayed with Dorothy and George in their house while writing her book, 20 Hrs.
[1] The 1997 publication of Whistled Like a Bird shares the letters which detail Dorothy's thoughts on the relationship over the years.
[1] In 1929 Dorothy moved out of the house she shared with George Putnam in Rye, New York in the middle of a party that he was hosting,[39]: 205 and left for Reno to establish residence,[40] and then filed for divorce under a 'failure to provide'.
[43] A 1929 article in the Daily News noted that it was not clear if George Putnam's travels on the Morrissey played a role in their divorce.
[48][49] Dorothy subsequently built a house in Fort Pierce, Florida that would come to be known as Immokolee which is listed on the United States' National Register of Historic Places.
[50] Immokolee had a large pool[51] which Dorothy would open up for meals and swimming to Navy men during World War Two.
[51][4] During a financial crisis in Fort Pierce, she put up Immokolee as collateral as reserve against money needed by a local bank.
[1]: 196–201 Starting in the late 1930s, Dorothy began spending time in North Carolina in the region of the Blue Ridge Mountains called Soco Gap.
[65] While in Florida, she helped organize the Fort Pierce Garden Club in St. Lucie in 1931,[18] and served as its president for 24 years.
[64] She also managed an 80-acre orange grove,[61] and hosted bird counts at her house while serving as the head of the local Audubon Society.
