Anniversary celebration that spans the decades

Mary Lou Montgomery
24 minutes ago
3 min read

Wallace H. Dixon was editor of the Hannibal newspaper, the Home Protective Record. Source: Hannibal Courier-Post, Feb. 1, 1912. Newspapers.com

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

The lasting commitment and life-long companionship of an aging Hannibal couple were celebrated by friends and family on the evening of Dec. 28, 1941, at the home they owned, 2105 Spruce St.

On that evening, Wallace H. Dixon and Sarah Taylor Dixon were the guests of honor at a surprise party marking their 54th wedding anniversary. The guest list was tantamount to a who’s who of Black Hannibal during the years wedged between the two world wars.

Wallace H. Dixon was a long-time educator, the oldest son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom in 1857. Sarah Taylor Dixon was the daughter of the Rev. Spencer Taylor, pioneer Methodist Episcopal minister, who established the Taylor Chapel M.E. Church (still in operation) in Sedalia in 1866.

The Dixons relocated to California after World War II in order to live near their daughter, Thelma, who previously taught at Hannibal’s Douglass School. Wallace H. Dixon died in 1947; and Sarah Taylor Dixon died in 1948. They are buried at Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, Calif.

The party

The 1941 gathering took place inside the large living room of the Dixons’ home which they had owned since circa 1920; the house was constructed near the beginning of the 20th Century in Richmond’s Addition.

The party was hosted by the Dixons’ boarders:

Frank and Lucille Morrison;

Miss Jennie Smith, their housekeeper;

Miss Elva Clary; and

Dr. W.C.Conway Jr., (1889-1966) a dentist, who located his practice in Hannibal in May 1928. (In 1937 he had his offices in the old Fox Building, located at 1631 Market Street.)

Party goers

Frank Lewis sang “Love’s Old Sweet Song,” accompanied by Mrs. Gladys Lane Porter.

Others attending the anniversary party, according to the Jan. 10, 1941 edition of the St. Louis Argus newspaper included:

Mrs. H.M. Porter, her daughter, Miss Aileen Grant, and Miss Zephyr Lane of St. Louis. These are the nieces of Mr. and Mrs. Dixon.

Others present were (addresses obtained via the 1937 Hannibal City Directory):

Dr. H.B. and Hullsee McMechen, 1217 Church.

Mrs. Maud Hubbard, 1911 Spruce St., wife of Arthua Hubbard.

Prof. Martin A. Lewis, principal of Douglass School, and his wife, Nellie, 216 S. Arch.

Rev. C.A. Long.

Rev. Samuel Wright, pastor of the Paris Fork Methodist Church, New Bloomfield, Callaway County, Mo.

Bertha A. Roberts, wife of George E. Roberts, undertaker, 1104 North St.

Mrs. Allie P. Thurston Estill, wife of Lawyer Estill, and step mother of O.E. Estill, long-time Hannibal educator. 1252 Essig.

Mrs. Katherine Barnes, wife of Harry Barnes, 1250 Essig.

Mrs. Jethro (Mabel) Moore (1898-1995).

Miss Pinkie Rivera, live-in housekeeper for Waity T. Fortune, 615 Bird.

Daisy M. Brown, 807 Hill St., whose husband J.T. owned a transfer business.

Carl Morris.

Frank L. and Mrs. Minnie Morrison.

Rev. C. Lopez McAllister, 204 N. Eighth, pastor of the Eighth and Center Streets Baptist Church.

Early years

The Dixons were married Jan. 12, 1887, at the home of the bride’s mother, in Lincolnville, Mo. At the time, Wallace was principal of the colored schools at Warrensburg, Mo.

His educational career continued in Palmyra, where he served as principal for the colored schools there.

By 1914, they were living in Hannibal, where Mr. Dixon went to work as superintendent for the Masonic Home at 4210 Market, and also served as an editor for the Home Protective Record newspaper.

During that era, and for a number of years to come, he worked at the Bluff City Shoe Factory.

Their daughter, Thelma, taught for a time in Joplin, then returned to Hannibal, accepting a teaching job at Hannibal’s Douglass School.

In 1920, the Dixons were living at 2105 Spruce Street, where, two decades later, the anniversary party was held.

House history

The house itself was located on a double lot, south side of Spruce, Lots 5 and 7, Richmond Addition, three doors to the west of Hayden Street. (The house was torn down in recent years.)