 Over time , Roddenberry sought to earn more money for his family . In 1951 , he requested permission to take a second job which he described as " of a dignified nature " ; it was as a freezer salesman for the Amana Corporation . He was turned down , but found another way to earn money . The Dragnet radio series and the 1951 television series sourced their stories from the LAPD . Roddenberry gathered stories from his colleagues on the force and wrote them up for submission to the show , splitting the $ 100 payment evenly if they sold . This extra income was substantial for the time , as he earned only $ 400 a month from the Department . The Roddenberry 's second child , Dawn Allison , was born on August 31 , 1953 . 
