Druthers was widely used in the west (at least Arizona and Utah east to Texas).
The word was in print by 1875 (Webster's Collegiate). They define it as "free choice," probably as good as any.
The pol-cor assessment of Al Capp characters is off the mark. I have never met anyone from the South who didn't enjoy Lil Abner. My wife (from North Georgia) got most upset when she temporarily lost a dog-eared copy of one of the Lil Abner books. Most of the cartoons are still in print, and will remain so for a long time to come. And here's a tip o' the hat to Barney Google as well! We have mostly lost the vernacular of the 19th and early 20th Century, and are, I think, the poorer for it. Capp's version of the speech of the Ozark-Appalachian area was imaginary in part, but enough is there to give us a feel for the language of the time.