Saugerties native Dorothy Frooks was a suffragette, military figure, author, and lawyer. She began her public speaking career as a young suffragette, delivering speeches at age eleven. During World War I, she recruited over 30,000 men for service and was awarded the American Patriotic League’s gold medal for her efforts. Frooks served as Chief Yeoman in the Navy and later in the US Army’s Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) office during World War II. She became the first woman lawyer for the Salvation Army and introduced free legal aid for those in need. She also lobbied for the creation of a “poor man’s court” and helped pass the first Small Claims Court in New York City. Throughout her life, Frooks was a passionate advocate for liberty and justice, fighting for the rights of children, widowed mothers, and various other causes.