Sanders County Ledger - Your Best Source For Sanders County News

School reunions often include celebrations of 50 or even 60 years. Getting to 100 is a major milestone. On Saturday, the Dixon School celebrated 100 years of educating students. Hundreds of graduates, teachers and community members joined the celebration.

The day kicked off with a pancake breakfast at the senior center, put on by the local firemen. About 20 classic cars and trucks gathered on the lawn near the basketball court for a car show.

Joyce Decker Wegner is a retired Lake County Superintendent of Schools. From 1993 to 1996, Wegner also served Sanders County schools while their superintendent, Ted Kato, was undergoing cancer treatments. That time included working with Dixon School.

The school building was built in 1919, but Wegner said the school's history is much longer. She did two presentations of the school's history during the centennial celebration. The first was attended by about 50 people, including some whose grandparents had attend Dixon School. Wegner has been working on a project researching the history of Lake County schools since 1992. "I had to retire to finish it," she joked, adding that she retired in 2006.

The first public school was established in 1903 in Dixon in an old storage building for the Northern Pacific Railroad. The school grew and had its first graduating class in 1918, then the new building was constructed in 1919. Wegner said that that winter temperatures were well below zero. The school had no furnace and the inkwells froze, making penmanship lessons impossible.

Wegner detailed the school's history throughout the decades. In 1940s, the girls' basketball team was still playing on just half the court. And in 1935, the school superintendent made $167 a month.

Dixon has a high school until 1978, when the high school became part of the Charlo School District, which remains today. The school now serves almost 70 students in grades K-8, with 16 preschoolers. Principal Krista Anderson said the school had a jump in enrollment this year, as last year they had just about 50 students.

"It's so heartwarming to see all the people showing up to celebrate with the community," said Anderson, who is in her fifth year as principal for Dixon School. For many years, the school didn't have a principal, instead a head teacher. In more recent years, the principal has also served as a part-time grant writer for the school. "I love this small school," Anderson said, "I get to be in the classrooms every day."

Mark Faroni spent 30 years on the staff of Dixon School, as a principal and teacher. He retired, but continues to work part-time at the school. He said the kids keep him coming back. "I love the kids. It's great in the little communities, the school is the hub." He said the staff forms strong relationships in a small school. Faroni was happy to see so many people at the centennial celebration. "A lot of people traveled a long way to be here."

Annie Wooden

CELEBRATING the Dixon School's centennial included lining Highway 200 for a parade.

Amy Burland was principal at Dixon School for three years. At a table full of old school photos, Burland found a photo from 1996, when she was the kindergarten teacher. Burland now works at Salish Kootenai College, and one of the students from the 1996 kindergarten photos is now at Burland's college.

Barbara McCrea spoke at the end of Wegner's historical presentation. Her parents, Fritz and Della Wipplinger, attended Dixon School and Della later worked at the school. McCrea said her family had a kid at Dixon School for 59 years. McCrea was a cheerleader when she attended Dixon School.

The centennial celebration included a parade down Highway 200, games for kids throughout the day, a bison dinner at the senior center and a dance in the school gym. The parade included a float of Dixon students depicting the school from the early years to the present years. The float was driven by Charlotte Morigeau, who recently retired from the school after more than 30 years. Theresa Morigeau, a 1951 graduate of Dixon School, served as the parade grand marshal.