‘Peppy’ busy serving up goodies, lots of smiles

They call her “Peppy” and once you meet her you will understand how she got her nickname. Evelyn “Evie” Dobratz, of Hutchinson ,just turned 98 in April and has the energy of a teenager. She is active in her church, lives in her own apartment at Evergreen Apartments, exercises regularly and makes sugar cookies and peanut brittle for her family, friends and the blood mobile on a regular basis. “Kindness is becoming at any age,” she said. Evie came from a German family and had two sisters and one brother. She was born in Stanley, N.D. and lived on a farm in an area where oil mining has taken over the territory. She had to learn to cook at a young age because her mom died when Evie was only 16 years old, and she had to help with the cooking and cleaning chores. She married Art Dobratz on Feb. 17, 1939, at Peace Lutheran Church of Hutchinson, and they had two children, Robert and Margaret. She became a 4-H leader when her children became involved with the organization. She was the assistant cook for seven years at the McLeod County Fair 4-H stand. She did anything. One day she made 48 pots of egg coffee. She also belonged to a home extension group in the community named High Neighbor Club, where she learned how to make peanut brittle. When the children went to school, Evie worked for Kennedy’s Dept. Store, a local dentist and the Smart Shop selling 18-hour bras and girdles for 12 years. She became a charter member of the Burns Manor, which was built in 1965. Her husband, Art, died in 1982. She now has seven grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. She never misses the Wednesday Bible study according to Marlys Palmer, a friend of Evie. “She lightens up the room when she walks in,” said Palmer. “Absolutely the nicest person you will ever meet.” Why does she make sugar cookies and give them to people that are celebrating a birthday or aren’t feeling well? “It makes people feel happy,” Evie said. She has a special recipe for her sugar cookies. Then she bakes them and freezes them to save for special occasions. When the blood bank comes to town she delivers dozens of cookies for the helpers and donors. She also donates cookies and peanut brittle to the church for its Christmas fundraiser. Besides making cookies to make people feel better, Evie goes by a philosophy of five rules in our lifetime: “We must work on faith, hope, love, patience and trust”, she says.