Dr. Anna treated the Indians for all types of illnesses and accidents, often giving directions for medication using a form of sign language, or giving instructions by using the position of the sun in the sky. At one time, they put the beads around her neck and made her an honorary member of the tribe.

"Doc Anner" went to some of the deepest and darkest reaches of the county, and one tale tells of two men coming to her door one night and asked her to come and tend to a sick woman. She didn’t know either of the men, but followed them to their boat, went down Taylor Creek, into the main part of Lake Okeechobee, and on into the mouth of the Kissimmee River. The water was rough and she became concerned the small vessel would sink. They finally went ashore somewhere along the banks of the river, and she went into a cabin where a woman was laying on a bed of boards propped up on four boxes.

She soon delivered a baby which quickly died. For several hours, the good doctor thought that the mother would also die. She laid the baby down to tend to the mother, and it was attacked by rats. Dr. Anna spent the rest of the night warding off the vermin, and tending to the mother.

At daylight, the men returned and made a small box, for the infant. They buried the baby and then returned the good doctor back to her home. Several days later, the husband of the woman appeared at her door, paid Dr. Anna’s fee, told her he had been on the lake fishing, informed her his wife was doing well, and left. What was it like growing up in Okeechobee in those early days? Dolly Darrow painted a vivid word picture of those days when she appeared at the Historical Society meeting back in 1978.

Dolly recalls their household as busy and very active, consisting of animals, a rather mischievous brother, her Swedish grandmother, a wide variety of patients, and some most interesting hired help.

One of the first pets gained a rather unsavory reputation in the community. Dr. Anna took in the runt of a litter of pings that had been roaming the neighborhood: a starving, bug-infested animal that even its owner didn’t want. After Dr. Anna washed it, cleaned off the red bugs and ticks. "Piggy" became a pet in the Darrow household.

South, by the old Raulerson home, there stood a boiler for sugar cane. As the cane boiled, the skimmings were taken from the top and discarded. After a while., these skimmings fermented, and "Piggy" was a frequent visitor who delighted in partaking of this intoxicating feast. Very often, the Darrows say Piggy arrive home totally inebriated, squealing and staggering every step of the way.

A watchdog goose soon left the family circle when he developed the habit of attacking every wagon and driver that passed by, knocking hats every which way.

Cats and dogs found themselves a warm, loving home with the Darrow clan. A dog by the name of Ol’ Sport provided an interesting evening for Dolly and her mother. Aroused by an earsplitting din, the two ladies went into their pharmacy to see what was apparently destroying the store. Upon entering, they discovered the noise emitting from Raulerson’s store next door in that area where the post office as located. Upon further investigation, Dolly discovered that a cow had entered the post office and Ol’ Sport was doing his best to evict the unwelcome guest, but was also removing the interior of the store and the post office as well.

Dolly attended school during her years in Okeechobee and holds the distinction of receiving the very first high school diploma awarded in the community. As a member of the graduating class of 1920, Dolly was class valedictorian in a class whose total size was four.

During the three years they lived in that community, "Doc Anner’s" fame spread as she was called on several times to "doctor" members of the Ashley Mobley gang, at some location on the piney woods. They would come to get her, and her daughter said she never questioned, but answered the call each time.

In 1924, the family moved to Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Roy died not too long after the 1926 hurricane, and his wife continued to practice medicine for 47 years. Following her retirement, she and Dolly moved to Coral Gables and she took up painting as a hobby. Much of her subject matter was of those early days in "Tantie" and some of the remarkable and unusual people she encountered here.

Dr. Anna was a most remarkable woman who left an imprint on all she came in contact with. A brilliant, courageous woman who was ahead of her time.