Henderson (1921-2023) was born in Cedar Cove, Alabama, a mining camp that no longer exists. Her family then moved to a nearby farm where they weathered the Great Depression. She graduated from Brookwood High School in 1938.

Henderson longed to go to college and see the wide world which she knew only through her family’s radio, occasional newspapers, and the tales of her sea-faring uncles. But economic reality forced her to instead go to work at the Kress dime store in Tuscaloosa. This job, which she at first dreaded, turned out to be a door to the world for her: she met people from distant places, with different perspectives and backgrounds, and when she finally left the dime store, it was to step into that greater world she had longed to join.

 She joined the Women’s Army Corps during World War II and served as an airplane engine mechanic, post theater manager, and photo lab technician. After the war, she taught elementary school in remote Big Bend, Texas, in Northport, Alabama and in Minnesota.

Although Henderson had worked as a freelancer writing short stories and magazine articles since the 1960s, her first book was not published until she was 74 years old. She went on to publish ten books and be included in three anthologies. She won the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature and the Alabama Library Association Award – twice – and was twice on the New York Public Library’s list of Best Books for the Teenage. She greatly enjoyed making author visits to classrooms and libraries to spread her love of reading and books. She was an enthusiastic traveler and kept notes of interesting people and places she came across. The above photo shows her making a new friend in Costa Rica.

Henderson was a devoted member of TWIG and valued the interaction with other writers.

Her last book When the Wolf Camped at Our Door was published by the University of Alabama Press when Aileen was one hundred and one years old! Aileen passed away in 2023 at age 102.

In addition, Henderson had several book manuscripts near completion when her eyesight became too poor to finish them. Her daughter, TWIG member Anne Weston, plans to complete revision of these manuscripts and eventually publish them. For more information, contact Anne Weston at [email protected].