Climax Mayor Charles Hadsock, and County Commissioner Butch Mosely welcomed a nice crowd to Parker Park in Climax Saturday April 11 for the dedication of a monument in honor of Bell Dixon School and in memory of the many who helped build the school in what was and is still referred to today as the Bell Dixon community just south of Climax.

Mayor Hadsock said he was sure many had fond memories of Bell Dixon, and that the City of Climax was proud to honor Bell Dixon and the Alumni with the placing of the monument in Parker Park. Commissioner Butch Mosely also gave a welcome and stated he had been working however slightly, and somewhat slowly, with the monument committee, Richard Ganey, and Irving Jones to build the monument in the park.

Commissioner Mosley also shared memories of looking forward each school year in Climax to see who was coming up from Bell Dixon as the school only went through the seventh and sometimes eighth grades. He said due to travel, and the social media not being as it is today, folks actually didn’t know some of the children coming to town as it was called.

Mosely presented two guest speakers and alumni of Bell Dixon, Billy Phillips, and Ray Boyett. He said these gentlemen knew the real Bell Dixon. These two also became friends at Bell Dixon, a friendship that has lasted a lifetime.

While Ray dealt with the more serious educational side of the school, Billy recalled the humorous, and entertaining things, jokingly Billy said, “I was the Mayor of Bell Dixon just in-case you didn’t know.” He also stated that he loved Bell Dixon and it was more than a school. It became a community of people caring for one another. Phillips then invited Ray to come first and share his memories.

Boyett remembered his first day of school at Bell Dixon being in September of 1942, which he said the U.S. was being drawn into World War II at that time. He also recognized and expressed appreciation to alumni Jack Jones who was present, for his service as a pilot in the War, and who lost his cousin and best friend Robert Floyd Jones when he was shot down after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

He recalled the last day of school with school plays and picnic dinner on the grounds.  The teachers during that time at Bell Dixon he said were first and second grades Miss Lillie Jones. Mrs. Sue Crews from Whigham taught third and fourth grades. Mrs. Millie Jones Holt taught fifth and sixth grades, and the seventh grade was taught by Mr. John Henry Wells from Climax. The two teachers he said that stood out the most to him were Miss Lillie Jones who taught students how to spell, read, write, and some basic arithmetic, and Mr. Wells with his specialty of English Grammar.

Ray said the English Grammar Mr. Wells taught him carried him not only through high school, but through college to his doctoral degree from FSU. He said Mr. Wells required them to know what each word meant in a sentence, and what part it played in a sentence and if it was a subject, verb, adverb or as Butch added, “dangling participle.” Ray concluded that he would always appreciate the instructional educational programs he received at Bell Dixon School.

Phillips remembered some history and the lighter side of Bell Dixon. He said the brick School was built in 1924. He also recalled other teachers such as Mrs. Virginia Harrison Gibbs, Grady Lane, Mrs. Ollie Jo Cleveland, Mrs. Catherine Sanders, others remembered, Mrs. Moran, Mrs. Crumbly, and Mrs. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Andrew Avery, etc.

Billy also talked about the new lunch room; how the neighborhood built it after cutting the trees from school property, and the Lambert boys using their saw mill to saw the lumber for the building. He told how the ladies of the community came together canning and freezing vegetables to cook for the children.

He told about having coal burning heaters in the class rooms and how his first job was with the Board of Education making 18.00 per month at the young age of 12 years old. He went to school early and built fires in the heaters. He said he remembered seeing a few ghosts during that time in the darkness of the rooms.

Billy recalled Halloween and the fall when the school would have a carnival with a King and Queen, and games for the children and a cake walk for the adults. Some from the audience remember, Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys having a concert in the auditorium before they became popular.

Then as warm weather came the boys came to school barefoot. Billy said he wanted to come barefoot too, but since he wanted to walk, his Mother made him wear his only pair of shoes. “We only had one pair of shoes at the time back then,” he recalled. So on his walk to school, he said he would hide his shoes in Mr. Glenn Fewell’s fence row and pick them up on the way home. He said I don’t think Momma knew for 25 years I didn’t wear my shoes to school, after 25 years I finally told her. He asked if anyone would like to share any memories from the audience. Ray remembered his Dad Edgar Boyett helping build the lunchroom, and his Mother working in the lunch room and sending him money when he was At Berry College from her salary.

Linda Gainey Josey recalled how when Mrs. Duncan worked in the lunchroom and she picked girls to sweep and help clean the lunchroom she would save them some ginger bread with the lemon icing. She also remembered picking plums and mulberry across the dirt road. Roger Paul Kelly remembered that when he was in Mrs. Catherine Sanders’ class, she would stop classes early on Thursday as they waited for the busses to come from Climax, and everyone would rake and sweep the school yard. Joyce Bates Padgett remembered a womanless wedding and box suppers.

The unveiling of the monument was presented by Richard Ganey, and Irving Jones, the descendants of W. M. Jones, who was on the building committee in 1924 and Miss Lillie Jones the first grade teacher for so many. The monument was dedicated in honor and memory of the Bell Dixon School and its Alumni. Mr. Andrew Avery’s, Sr. son, Andrew was also at the dedication.

Reporters note: A special thank you to Carolyn Nix Harrison and Betty Knight for their assistance in taking pictures and gathering names for this article.  Correction, Richard Ganey and Irving Jones’ names were incorrectly spelled in the first article about the monument. We apologize.