Local History: "She Done What She Could Do", The Legacy of Myra Westray

Terri
6 days ago
7 min read

Mrs. Westray with glasses smiling, holding a "NEWS VIEWS" newspaper in her scrapbook. Black and white setting, creating a nostalgic mood.

As a wife, mother, sheriff, community volunteer, and high school teacher, Mrs. Myra Westray made a significant impact on the Clinton community.

"She Done What She Could Do"

The Legacy of Myra Westray

There is some question as to who was the first female sheriff in Illinois, Emma Schieferdecker of Schuyler County or Myra Westray of DeWitt County. Both women were appointed to the office when their husbands joined the Armed Forces in 1943 during WWII. As it turns out, neither can claim the distinction because Helena Dolder was the sheriff of DeKalb County for three years, beginning in 1928. It is a fact, however, that Myra Westray was the first (and only) female sheriff of DeWitt County.

Myra Mae Persinger was born near Kenney in 1918. Her father was Reed Persinger, a successful livestock broker, who married Pearl DeMent when he was just 17 and already self-supporting. Reed’s mother was Amy Howard Persinger, who descended from early DeWitt County settler Joseph Howard, and the professional baseball players, Del and Ivon Howard, were her first cousins. Perhaps this is where Myra inherited her life-long love of sports, in particular, the Chicago Cubs? Reed, unfortunately, died in 1929 after a brief illness at age 32. Pearl soon remarried, adding two step-brothers to the family of 11-year old Myra Mae and her 13-year-old sister Ada Rose.

By the time Myra Mae, as she was called then, was 10, her name started popping up in newspaper articles. She was apparently an industrious kid, frequently appearing on her school’s honor roll, singing solos at church, playing on a softball team and even working as an office assistant for the township supervisor while she was still in high school. She graduated from Kenney High School in 1936 along with 17 classmates, serving as class secretary and editor of the school newsletter. While the school did have a yearbook, it was not produced during the time she was there due to the Great Depression. Myra Mae and her friend Opal Miller (later Holland) were the only two who attended school in the same class for all 12 grades. They were both trim redheads and great friends.

Black-and-white photo of Kenney Community High School Class of 1936. Features 15 students' portraits with names. Formal attire.

In that era, a four-year scholarship to attend an Illinois teacher’s university was awarded to a graduate of any high school with a total enrollment of less than 100 students. Upon the recommendation of her principal, Myra received one of those scholarships, and she entered the Illinois State Normal University (as ISU was then known) in the fall of 1936. There she excelled, majoring in English and writing for the Vidette, the college newspaper. By her junior year, she had earned membership in the honorary societies Sigma Tau Delta and Pi Gamma Mu. For some reason, she did not return to ISNU for her senior year. Instead, she joined the work force as a secretary in the county treasurer’s office in Clinton. Before long, the names Myra Persinger and Kenneth Westray start showing up together in the newspaper attending various social functions around town.

Kenneth Westray was born in Kentucky but came to Clinton with his parents when he was just two. As Ken grew up through the school system, he became quite the athlete, often the star player on each team he was on. Baseball, basketball or football – all brought him recognition, but it was his ability on the football field in college that got him two seasons with the Chicago Bears. By 1936, he was back in Clinton and, after a couple different jobs, he began a career in law enforcement with the DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office. On June 5, 1940, Kenneth Westray and Myra Persinger were married in a Methodist church in St. Louis, Missouri. They set up housekeeping in Clinton and were both soon involved with various local committees and social functions. In 1942, Ken ran for Sheriff and won, then they moved into the 9-room living quarters in the east end of the jailhouse.

Historic building with trees in front, labeled "De Witt County Jail, Clinton, IL." The setting is serene with well-maintained greenery.

Not long after Ken and Myra were married, Ken registered for the draft, and in August of 1943, he was called to duty. Having taken over as sheriff the previous December, Ken was less than a year into his term. He appointed Myra to step in as acting sheriff in his absence, and that was unanimously approved by the county board of supervisors. Myra began her role as sheriff on August 20, 1943, and hit the ground running. In her first three days in office, there was a major traffic accident each day, one being a fatality.

Mrs. Myra Westray smiling in a floral skirt holds keys, standing by a barred window. Headline reads "Crime Wave Is Likely To Hit This Town."

As one might expect, a woman becoming sheriff in a traditionally male role made headlines. Pictures appeared in area newspapers of Ken pinning on her badge, which she did wear while performing her official duties, and Ken showing her how to use a pistol, which she never wore on duty or ever fired. One picture, however, “went viral” as we might say in today’s vernacular. It depicts Myra standing in front of a jail cell, keys in hand, badge in place, with a pistol on her hip. It was the photographer’s idea to include the sidearm, which was probably the detail that got the photo published in countless newspapers all across America, from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Port Angeles, Washington, plus a dozen or so papers in Canada. Most of them bore the header “Jill Jailer,” but the one published in the Buffalo (New York) News bore the rather insulting line “Crime Wave Is Likely To Hit This Town.”

While people may think of the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer of the county, their primary responsibility is that of administration. They oversee their deputies, review reports, manage the department budget and make sure the public’s expectations are being met. Myra’s intelligence and organizational skills were more than adequate for the position, and she also responded to the scene of certain crimes and participated in their investigation, which included a fatal knifing in 1945. By the end of her first six months, she had watched over 21 women and 106 men housed in the jail. The county soon provided her with a red Buick complete with lights and siren.

The 5 Feb 1944 issue of the Chicago Daily News did a pictorial of Myra meeting with her deputies, overseeing the departure of local prisoners headed to federal prison and at the scene of a burglary that occurred on a local farm. She also had write-ups in the August 1944 edition of Glamour magazine and the 13 Feb 1945 issue of Stars and Stripes. Throughout her tenure as sheriff, Myra continued to be active in the community, participating in numerous church and fraternal club functions.

Kenneth Westray was discharged from the Army and returned to Clinton in March of 1946, resuming his duties as sheriff until his term expired in December. Claud Barrett took over as sheriff, and Ken and Myra moved out of the jailhouse until Ken won another term in 1950. Back to the jailhouse home they went, this time with two young daughters in tow. Knowing he would be leaving the sheriff’s position again in December of 1954, Ken began the lengthy process of becoming a postmaster in January that year, and he was finally awarded that position September 1, 1955. He continued as Clinton Postmaster until his retirement in 1973 and then died in 1976.

Mrs. Westray writing on chalkboard, another at desk working. Black and white photos with text "Dedication Choice," "Myra Westray." Professional setting from the 1977 Clintonia yearbook.

Meanwhile, Myra added a son to their family and busied herself with child rearing and continued community involvement. This did not mark the end of her professional career, however. She attended three summer school sessions at ISU to finish her teaching degree and embarked on her teaching journey in the fall of 1961. Ironically, her first classroom assignment was third grade at Kenney Grade School, the same building where she had been a graduating senior 25 years earlier. By now, Kenney students were attending Clinton High School, and the Kenney building was used for grades one through eight. The following fall, she was hired to teach English at Clinton High School, and there she remained for the next 27 years. In 1977, the Clintonia (Clinton High School yearbook) was dedicated to Mrs. Westray.

Throughout her life, Myra participated in a variety of sports and community organizations. She was a member of Clinton Country Club, where she played golf and bridge. She was a “die-hard” Cubs fan and also followed Bears football and Illini sports. She raised money for the YMCA, Boy Scouts and other worthy causes. She was a member of the Elks Club, DeWitt County Republican Women’s Club, Clinton Methodist and later Presbyterian Churches, American Legion Auxiliary, the National Education Association and Clinton Retired Teachers Club. She was proud of her nearly three years as DeWitt County Sheriff and maintained membership in the Illinois Sheriff’s Association for the rest of her life.

Over the years, local papers would revisit the phenomenon of Myra’s tenure as lady sheriff. She kept a scrapbook of those days and showed it to her new students each year.

Myra Mae Persinger Westray died 19 Jan 2013 and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Clinton. While she was teaching, she had been tickled by a student who wrote of the English Tudor family, “They done what they could do.” When she retired from teaching in 1989, her peers integrated that quote onto a congratulatory plaque, perhaps leaving a life goal for us all:

She done what she could do.

Sources

Ancestry.com

Newspapers.com

Illinois Sheriff’s Association at www.ilsheriff.org

vwarner.org

Leafless tree drawing above text "DeWitt County Genealogical Society" in elegant font. Monochrome with a simple, formal design.

Terri Lemmel was born and raised in DeWitt County near Kenney. Upon completing her education at Clinton High School, she lived in Bloomington for several years before returning to Clinton in 1990. Her interest in genealogy was piqued in the mid-90s when she found unidentified obituaries in her late grandmother's scrapbook that family members could not identify. While she initially dabbled in the subject, it wasn't until her retirement in 2018 that she jumped in with both feet. Terri joined the Genealogical Society and has been serving as its President since 2022. Research is a passion of hers, and there are lots of interesting stories to uncover! You can find Terri in the DeWitt County Genealogical Society room at the Vespasian Warner Public Library every Thursday completing research and helping others with their family and local history research.

To learn more about the DeWitt County Genealogical Society, feel free to reach out to them via phone at 217-935-5174, email at dewittcgs@gmail.com, their website, or their Facebook page.

The Vespasian Warner Library, located at 310 N. Quincy St. in Clinton, IL, features an extensive collection of local history and archives. To learn more, visit our Local History Page on the website or stop by in person! We are always excited to showcase our local history resources and discuss DeWitt County's local history.

Until Next Time Library Friends!