Born in Hollywood, California, Jane Dods is the daughter of a New Zealand sheep farmer who crossed the Pacific to visit his brother, an extra in “oaters” (horse operas). “Dad’s first job was grooming horses for the 20th Century Fox polo team,” Dods explains. “Then he got on the team as a player. Mom’s family put on musicals in their home, and dad’s brother was a singer — that’s how Dad met Mom. By the time I was born, in 1935, my father was head of film editing at 20th Century Fox.”
Dods had a comfortable childhood in L.A., though her mother was a “motion picture widow” due to her husband’s work schedule. “When I was 18, I tried running on my school’s 440 yard track,” Dods recalls, “but I was kicked out. They didn’t think women could do track. It wasn’t until 20 years later, during the running boom, that I learned I could run a marathon. I used to run about three marathons a year.” Dods has a large collection of age-group ribbons and trophies for 5K, 10K and marathon races. In 1978, she was a founding member of a gay running group, the Los Angeles Frontrunners.
She worked in the recording industry in L.A., but was eventually driven away by increasing traffic. She moved to Eugene in 1990 and worked part-time as a secretary with a temp agency. “I came to Eugene at age 55 and retired at 60,” she notes. “Traveling was and is my big love. Before the pandemic I took at least one big trip every year. I’ve been to all seven continents, picked apples in Tasmania and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. I spent my 81st birthday in Antarctica, waddling with the penguins on the 21st of December, the longest day of the year!”
This year she celebrated her 89th birthday in Eugene on the 21st of December, the shortest day of the year. A local group that plays a role in her life is the Talkie-Walkies, an informal gay social club that meets on Wednesday mornings at Alton Baker Park and makes its way to the Fifth Street Market for coffee and conversation. “Some of us walk, some talk, and some do both,” she adds. “We also get together for plays, concerts and Ems games. Our fearless leader Jerry keeps us all together.”
Dods’ book Jane without Tarzan, Adventures of a Single Woman can be purchased online.