Dixon/Meek Family History

WELCOME!

This site features the history of the Dixon/Meek family as recounted by Lois Dixon-McGaddye.

How To Use This Site:  Use the Menu on the far right to navigate to each page.  
Pictures: Click on pictures to see a larger version.
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Family members are welcome to send suggestions, info, pictures and other family documents via email to Lois at DixonMeekHistory@gmail.com

Part 1: Introduction

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Tbe following presentation was made by Andrew Dixon, on behalf of his Aunt, Lois Dixon McGaddye on Oct. 8, 2016:

Hello, my name is Andrew Dixon.

I am here to represent the Dixon family. My Aunt, Lois Dixon McGaddye was unable to be here in person, but I gladly accepted the invitation to speak on her behalf.

Aunt Lois sends her regards and would like to thank Ms. Munshuree Martin and all of the Board Members and staff of the Emma L. Minnis Junior Academy for this opportunity.

 When Aunt Lois reminisced about her family's time at this school, she shared a passage of Scripture that summarized the importance of the Christian education they received.
   From Proverbs 22:6, the King James Version reads as follows:
   "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

   My Aunt Lois is the only surviving member of the Dixon family. She dedicates this presentation to her parents, Gardner and Edessa Dixon, who were too modest to tell their own story.

  In my brief discussion, I will relay Aunt Lois's fond memories and how early Christian education was not only a firm foundation for, but also congruent with their home training.
    These two environments shaped the Dixon children as adults for service to others and to pass along to their children.
   First, we'll begin with a look back at how the Dixon family made their way to Louisville.

Part 2: They Met at Tuskegee

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    Aunt Lois’ parents, Gardner Lewis Dixon and Edessa Meek met on the campus of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute.

    Both were students of the great scientist, Dr. George Washington Carver.  The school was founded by Booker T. Washington on July 4, 1881 and became Tuskegee University in 1985.

 Aunt Lois’ son-in-law,  Dr. Anthony Daniels, “Tony” as he is lovingly called, found Edessa and Gardner in the 1920 Tuskegee Yearbook. Edessa was listed as a commencement speaker and Gardner played in the senior class orchestra and on the varsity football team.

    In their Senior Class Census, which published their ambitions, Gardner wrote, “To be a Violinist” and Edessa, “To Go to Africa,” which she would fulfill a few years later…more about that in a moment.

   The couple graduated in 1920: Gardner with a degree in Carpentry and Edessa with a degree in Teacher Training in Home Economics.

 Less than a year after graduation, they were married on March 27, 1921, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

   A few months later, they would take an overseas trip that would forever change the course of their lives and firmly establish their faith as Seventh-day Adventists.

Part 3: Africa

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  Less than a year after the Dixons were married, Gardner was offered an exciting job opportunity.
   My grandfather received a two-year contract to serve as a carpenter and engineer, to help build stores in Africa for the U.S. firm known as the African Union Company.

   On May 13, 1922, the Dixons set sail from New York City, for a two month journey to the Gold Coast of Africa, as it was called at that time, and now Ghana.

(Pictured: Ship's travel schedule and menu.)

(Pictured: The Gardner's 1922 Passport.)

    Soon after arriving in Africa, her parents were shocked to learn that the company that employed them had gone bankrupt. They were left without money and a means to return home to the U.S

  Aunt Lois recalls her parents pointed out that, “They soon realized only God  could provide a way to get them back home.  They were already Christians, but the desperate situation encouraged them to increase their Bible study, prayer life and dependence on God.
     In doing so, God helped them to understand and accept the fact that Saturday is the true Bible Sabbath.
    There is a possibility that they may have been influenced by Seventh-day Adventist missionaries who were in the area. While still stranded in Africa, they kept the Sabbath to the best of their knowledge. They promised God that when He got them back home safely, they would find a Sabbath keeping church.”

  
   “My mother miscarried twins while in Africa, which may have been a blessing,” Aunt Lois explained. “Some of the villagers were superstitious. My parents were told the villagers might not have understood how a woman could have two babies at one time.

   They might have labelled her, an ‘Evil Woman’ and might have killed her. My parents believed God allowed her to miscarry.”
    Aunt Lois recently learned that her maternal grandmother, who was my great-grandmother, gave birth to twins, who as toddlers, died after some type of accident.” 

   Twins run in our family as Aunt Lois is not only the mother of a son, but also identical twin daughters.

     The Dixons were stranded in Africa for four years. On October 5, 1924, their first child was born in Accra. They named him Lucian, after his paternal grandfather, and his middle name, Meek, was his mother's maiden name.




(Extra Material not included in the Oct. 8, 2016 presentation--Gardner Dixon's 1924 letter to the U.S. Govt. requesting help):

Part 4: The Louisville Years

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  After four years of appealing to the U.S. government, family and friends, the Dixons were able to secure passage aboard the S.S. Cedric back to the U.S.

 Here’s a picture of a July 1926 passenger list, with their names listed:

  Upon their return, they lived for a short period with Gardner Dixon’s parents in West Virginia, and worked as high school teachers before moving to Louisville in the 1930’s for better teaching opportunities afforded to African Americans. Their move to Louisville was during the Great Depression and wide-spread discrimination.

   My grandfather was a Woodwork Instructor at Jackson Street Jr. High and Davis Trade School in Louisville. He retired as a carpenter from Fort Knox Kentucky.
    The carpentry degree Gardner Dixon earned in 1920 encompassed far more than what we would consider carpentry today. Engineering was also part of the coursework.
   With an emphasis placed on self-sufficiency, Booker T. Washington put a curriculum in place for students to leave Tuskegee with the ability to teach, grow and sell their own food and build things. Gardner and Edessa Dixon did all of that and more.

   Aunt Lois writes, “My parents felt that God lead them to Louisville.  Always aware of His love and protection, they found a Sabbath keeping church as promised. Elder Mallory studied with them, baptized them, and they became dedicated Seventh-day Adventist Christians. I recall as a little girl asking my mother, ‘Mom, why do you love Jesus so much?’ She smiled at me and said, ‘because He has done so much for me.’  Now, after all these years, I understand what she meant.”
 

 My grandfather, “Papa Love,” as he was called, built two income generating properties to support his family. The first, located at 1041 South 34th Street in Louisville, was a large house that contained five apartments that they rented.
 
   He also built an apartment above their garage for the family. They lived in the garage apartment so that the Dixon children could attend church school during the school year.

  Gardner also built a second home, made of bricks, in nearby Eastwood, Kentucky. The Dixons used the ample land on this country property to build a tennis court, as well as grow and can their own food. They also had an orchard on the property.




   My grandfather taught his sons as they assisted him in the building of each house, he also taught them how to make home repairs, repair cars and to play the violin, as he did.

 After the birth of their second child, Relyea, Mother Dixon ended her public teaching career to care for their growing family. She continued as a Sabbath School teacher for many years while also providing a child care service in her home for working mothers.
    My grandmother also drew upon her Tuskegee training to provide sewing and crochet lessons to people in the community.
  Aunt Lois says that her clothes were made by her mother for many years.


(Extra material not included in the Oct. 8, 2016 presentation):
   Aunt Lois recalls, “My parents held several church offices as Sabbath School Superintendent, Sabbath School teacher, etc., but for many, many years they were church treasurers. Each Sabbath after sunset, they and the deacons would remain at the church and count the incoming money for that Sabbath. My father, “Papa Love,” as we called him, would carry the money in the bag and safely place it in the car. My mother faithfully sat beside him as he drove them home.

   

This was a serious undertaking, for this is "God's money." Carefully and prayerfully they would make their way home.  

One Saturday night my father stopped at a drug store. He left my mother alone in the locked car with the church's money.
      As he came out of the drug store a strange man followed, pulled out a gun and demanded the money. I know they were praying as their guardian angels kept them calm in this stressful situation. Strangely the money had disappeared as they looked every place in the car.
      The stranger appeared defeated and returned inside the drug store. My parents thanked God for His protection as they drove home.  The mystery money re-appeared. With Jesus’ protection and guidance, the money had slipped under the seat of the car where no one could have possibly found it. God protected the money and their lives.
      They never forgot His goodness.”
 

Part 5: Children of Magazine Street

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    The Dixon children: Anath, Luke, Relyea and Lois were enrolled in school at Magazine Street.
   Aunt Lois recalls that her favorite subject was science and she enjoyed reading, but not math. She also remembered daily Bible study classes and events such as Missionaries that would visit and talk about their journeys.
   She appreciated the love and care shown by teachers such as Ms. Grace Custard, Ms. Zeola Bell Germany, and Ms. Katherine Takecare and others.        



 In this picture from the school, you can see my cousin, Kevin Dixon, Anath's son, in the plaid shirt.

   Aunt Lois remembers Ms. Emma Minnis as an excellent private piano teacher of the Dixon youngsters, their grandchildren and many other area children. Ms. Minnis discovered my Aunt’s ability to sing, gave her voice lessons through high school and encouraged her to continue voice lessons in college.

   Ms. Minnis encouraged and followed the careers of her students.
   As seen in this picture, she attended the Dental School graduation of Anath Dixon, the fourth of the five Dixon children.

   All of the Dixon children benefited from their Christian education as they went on to serve others.  Aunt Lois points out that, “Jesus is our example in life; therefore, being others oriented is our purpose.”
     ——————
  With the importance of keeping Jesus first, and with His help, they learned how to identify their strengths, develop them and overcome their weaknesses.
    ——————

 Here we see a picture of the Dixon children as young adults, when they were featured in the 1970 anniversary booklet for Magazine Street.
    I’ll conclude with quick bios of the Dixon children to illustrate how their early Christian education, coupled with musical training from Ms. Minnis, resonated throughout their lives of service to others.

   Lucian Meek Dixon, known to the family as Dickie, was born in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
   He joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from High School in Louisville. Upon his honorable discharge, he attended and graduated from Ohio University with a Fine Arts degree.








    Uncle Dickie owned a photography business, which took photos for weddings, bar mitzvahs, church events and newspapers, such as the Call & Post in Cleveland.
   He was also a talented musician who played flute and piccolo for the Cleveland Letter Band, and the 122nd Army Band of the Ohio National Guard.
   He retired from Cleveland State University and was survived by Marjorie, his loving wife of 37 years and his step-son.

     Relyea Meek Dixon, known as “Meekie”
was a research biochemist.
  He met his wife of 40 years, Dr. Marguerite Anderson, at Emmanuel Missionary College, now Andrews University. Their union produced two children.

    Uncle Meek served in the Army and after his honorable discharge, he completed both a BA and BS degree at Roosevelt University and attended graduate school at Illinois Institute of Technology.  He spent his distinguished professional life as a Biochemist in the Chicago area.
   He was a dedicated servant of God who served as a Sabbath School teacher, Superintendent, Deacon, Elder and Treasurer at Morgan Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chicago.
   Uncle Meek, played the violin, and like his siblings, was a master pianist, who composed love songs for his lovely wife.

    My father, Dr. Gardner Luke Dixon, who was given his father’s first name, was a man of many skills, and talents.  He was a dedicated father, physician, accomplished musician, master bridge player, author, pilot, and student of several languages. He also had a love for golf, tennis, basketball, and volleyball.
    In 1950, dad graduated Valedictorian, from Central High School, here in Louisville and from the University of Louisville in 1954.

  In 1958, he received his doctor of medicine degree from Loma Linda University, married Sheila Ramsey and they later had a daughter and two sons. They were married for over 12 years. Sheila died on July 18, 2016.
     He was blessed with another daughter with Sherry Sales, his companion until his death.
   During the Vietnam War, he served in the U.S. Navy as a ship physician. He learned to fly before joining the Navy, and became instrument rated, which is a higher level of pilot’s license that permitted him to fly in any kind of weather. He went on to own two private planes.
   Dad operated a medical practice in Nashville, TN and there were times when he would use his planes to fly-in patients from different cities, for treatment at no cost. Dad taught me how to fly and you can see my picture, from the Tennessean newspaper, from an article about me as young pilot.
    My father performed house calls until he himself became ill, often receiving food for payment, or receiving no payment at all.
   Dad served as the Minister of Music, pianist, and soloist at Riverside Chapel Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tennessee.  He started the “Messiah Choir,” a church based choir, which he directed for over 20 years, and served as director of the Nashville Messiah City-Wide Choir.

   Dr. Anath Meek Dixon, was named after “Anath,” the Father of Shamgar from the book of Judges in the Bible: (Judges 3:31; Judges 5:6).
  Uncle Anath graduated from Louisville’s Central High School.  He received a B.A. degree from Bellarmine University. He met the love of his life, Marilyn Holder, while playing piano and organ at her church.

   They were married for 56 years until his death. Their union produced five children: two boys, two girls and one son, deceased.
  Anath earned a Doctor of Dental surgery degree from Meharry Medical College, and had a successful career as a well respected dentist in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
  Like his brother Luke, Anath loved to fly and owned a Cesna 152 airplane.  A sports enthusiast, he played tennis, ping pong, and golf tournaments throughout the U.S.

      My Aunt Lois Dixon McGaddye, whose first name is Edessa, after her mother, is the youngest and the only surviving member of the Dixon family.
       She was married to Dr. James Clifford McGaddye, a dentist, for 54 years. They met at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. From this marriage came one son and identical twin daughters. Uncle Jim died on February 13, 2014.
        Aunt Lois received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Washington Adventist University, then Columbia Union College.
        She has had a distinguished nursing career in Public Health, Private duty, College Health and in Psychiatric nursing with the Department of Veteran Affairs.  She earned one of the Department's top honors, the "Super Nurse Award.”

     My Aunt was blessed with my grandfather's ability to sing. She used her soprano voice as a soloist in high school and college. Her children proudly recall their mother singing for many weddings through the years.
      She was also the pianist in Seventh-day Adventist churches in Washington, D.C., Maryland and New Jersey.
    Aunt Lois now resides in North Carolina near her twins.

    She states, “I am blessed to have so many fond memories of my four brothers—especially Luke and Anath, who were closer to my age. They taught me to play marbles, croquet, tennis, ping pong and basketball.
Every Sunday morning, I would walk between them to Mrs. Minnis’ house for piano and voice lessons.  We had a healthy competition in learning to play the piano.
 As we got older, I enjoyed flying with them as they served as the pilot.
   Anath built my very first computer, sent it to me by mail and gave me lessons by phone.
    Although they lovingly teased me, I always felt secure in their unconditional love all of my life.
    It is indeed a great challenge to be the only one remaining. Like my parents, my faith in God and resiliency keep me going.”

   In closing, Aunt Lois sends her regards and thanks you again for this opportunity to share how her family was blessed by the Christian education they received from this school.