Phyllis Ann (Mrs. R. Keith) Lawton was born in Emporia, Kansas to Bowmer Q. and Ruth Ann Spangler Hughes. Her father worked for thirty years as a linotype operator for William Allen White's Emporia Gazette. As a reviewer for Reader's Digest, White received several books each year, which he kept and gave as Christmas presents to children of his employees at the Gazette 's annual Christmas ball. Phyllis received inscribed books from White on these occasions. While in high school, she was hired by White as a high school news reporter and street reporter with the Gazette, for which she also occasionally served as a proof reader and a substitute society reporter.
From the guide to the Phyllis A. Lawton collection, 1915-1951, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)
