ABOVE: On Saturday (Aug 24th), one day after his 100th birthday, Norlyn Dossey takes in the surprise he had waiting for him at Friendly Town in Danville’s Lincoln Park; a memorial building of the Conoco station he and his brother Marvin ran, on the northeast corner of Vermilion and Seminary, from 1955 to 1966. (While the worker on the left is believed to be John Campbell, the worker in the John Jansky painting of an old photo on the right is not known.)
This past Friday, August 23rd, Danville resident Norlyn Dossey turned 100 years old. And on Saturday, a surprise awaited him at Danville’s Friendly Town in Lincoln Park. He found a new building among those at the refurbished youth safety educational facility, dedicated to the memory of the Dossey Brothers Conoco Service Station that he ran with his brother Marvin, from 1955 to 1966, on the northeast corner of Vermilion and Seminary. And numerous family members were there, awaiting his arrival.
Norlyn Dossey arrives for his birthday surprise at Friendly Town.
Marvin passed away in 2012. But Norlyn not only has just hit the century mark, but he also just had his driver’s license renewed. Norlyn’s son John Dossey, former Pekin Police Chief and current Pekin City Manager, told us that being contacted by Police Chief Christopher Yates, and asked to be just part of the newly refurbished Friendly Town, is quite an honor.
AUDIO: He asked for a picture of the old Dossey Brothers Conoco station from the 1950s. I got a text message, and said I’d like to dedicate this to him on his 100th birthday. I just have to give Chief Yates a lot of credit for this. Because he had a vision, and he’s bringing community together. And he included our family, and we really appreciate this.
(1st Picture) Norlyn Dossey’s granddaughters Megan Robertson, Lauren Ludlow, and Nora Lynne Carley. (3rd Picture) Norlyn Dossey’s sons John and Van share memories.
When Norlyn Dossey arrived, family members were lined up blocking his view from something. When they stepped away, he saw a duplicate of the 1934 Ford Coupe that Dossey Brothers had sponsored for vintage racing competition, at the old fairgrounds off East Voorhees Street. He said the whole thing was pretty amazing.
AUDIO: Oh, it’s a tear dropper, a tear dropper. It brings back a lot of memories. I’m very fortunate to be 100 years old and remember all this stuff.
(1st Picture) Chief Yates greets family prior to Norlyn Dossey’s arrival. (2nd Picture) Norlyn Dossey while serving with USMC. (3rd Picture) The inside of the Conoco garage at Friendly Town houses the facility’s vehicles.
Norlyn Dossey still lives in Danville, off Denmark Road. He’s a USMC World War II Veteran. And he’s also remembered in Danville as chief engineer for the old WDAN television station for over a dozen years, not to mention being instrumental in bringing cable TV to Danville. His son Van Dossey, who came up from Alabama for Norlyn’s birthday, fondly remembered the days of his father dedicating himself to both WDAN Television, and the Conoco station.
AUDIO: He had to be at WDAN at 4 AM in the morning. He worked until 4 PM in the afternoon. Home for a quick hour nap, eat some dinner, and then he ran the station from 6 PM to midnight. He did that for how many years, I don’t know, but he did it on two hours sleep. And I’ve watched it myself, and it amazes me how he was able to do that for so many years.
Chief Yates shares thoughts with John Dossey and Norlyn Dossey.
Police Chief Christopher Yates says he owes a lot of thanks to those in the community that continue to give to both specific events like these and to Friendly Town overall.
AUDIO: Apparel Unlimited did the sign. John Jansky helped with the illustrations. Jenna Worth was out here coordinating a lot of stuff; just a lot of people doing a lot of little things to put it all together. And this is the least we can do to honor both Norlyn and Marvin both.
(1st Picture) Ray Shaw and Jim Chittick share memories.
As for the story behind the car; it was a duplicate of the 1934 Ford Coupe built by Terry Quick for his father Gene Quick to race. Terry raced it after Gene had a stroke. Then, as far as getting the duplicate goes, Terry’s long time friend Ray Shaw was there with the story.
AUDIO: We went to Bloomington, Indiana; and bought this car. We went down to buy a different car for a different purpose. He spotted this and had to have it.
His friend Jim Chittick took the story from there.
AUDIO: It looked like a water can when we first started. It had 1,000 holes in it. Terry repaired every one of them.
Terry Quick was unable to be there Saturday, as he was out of town at a hot rod show.
