Corrie Lee Dicks charms listeners

Welcome.

Now just suppose you yourself are seated on a church bus headed to somewhere; I can’t remember. Happily, we are all friends/acquaintances chatting about one thing or another.

Throughout the day one mellow-toned voice kept most of us entertained with her quips making me wish I had a pen and paper in hand. Interest peaked once her knowledge of Barnwell and Dunbarton’s history became the focal point of conversation. Yes, Corrie Lee Dicks was charming her listeners as her encyclopedic knowledge and quick wit began to captivate her audience.

There is very little that I myself know about this lady. Her mother, Mrs. Gordon, was our third grade teacher in Barnwell in 1949. Midway through the school year, our teacher remarried; then, we were told to call her Mrs. Cheek (actually, light dawned when I realized that ladies could have more than one husband, but just one at a time!) So, you see, I knew almost nothing about her daughter, Corrie Lee.

When this bus trip concluded, I called Larry Price, Corrie Lee’s son-in-law, saying that I would really like to interview this multi-talented lady and know more about her life. Since Larry wanted to capture this visit on film for the Dicks family, Corrie Lee pleasantly agreed to help us out with this undertaking.

Now, starting at the beginning, Corrie Lee was born on August 31, 1931, in Aiken County on Carpenter Row. She enjoys saying, with a twinkle in her eye, her daddy was on the chain gang. However, he was actually captain of the chain gang. Later on, he bought Stringfellow Grits Mill which he ran until his health failed. It was here that Corrie Lee became fascinated with sharpening millstones. With her hands, our friend demonstrated how to grind grits using a hammer and a pick. One stone turns while one stone remains stationary. Today, she can still demonstrate how this skill is perfected.

Following her daddy’s death, Corrie Lee and her mother moved about spending much of her youth on her grandaddy’s farm which was divided with one half in Aiken County; the other, in Barnwell County. Mrs. Gordon taught her daughter in the 4th and 5th grades in Wagener before moving to Williston.

“Daddy died when I was 12 years old; grandaddy, two years later, so mama and I moved to Barnwell and boarded with Mrs. Louise Lightsy on Porter’s Corner which is now Collins Park.

(Hold it! Perhaps now is a good time to inject this bit of info. Interestingly enough, this huge white home located at the corners of Main Street and Marlboro Avenue was bordered by an impressive copen where the local maids would perch to cradle the fussy infants or just babysit. At any rate, Barnwell’s Dr. Porter was a druggist and a notably avid hunter. It just so happened that he and his close friend, Dr. Samuel Mudd from up north, would look forward to the hunting season. According to Corrie Lee, Dr. Mudd was the physician who set John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg following his leap from the balcony at Ford’s Theatre after having shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln. Interesting, eh? At any rate, Dr. Porter and Dr. Mudd were indeed pals!)

“Our next abode was ‘The Teachery’ located on Marlboro Avenue between the Peacock and Easterling homes. (Today, these homes are identified as the Walker House at 9636 Marlboro Avenue with Chad Grumbling next door at 9608.) Upstairs, at this boarding house, were six rented rooms each with a sink or lavatory used for sponge baths; the complete bathroom was at the end of the hallway. We ate all of our meals on a large dining room table at the Easterling home. Our boarding days were numbered once Mama bought a house on Perry Street,” Corrie Lee concluded.

One interesting fact of yesteryear needs to be mentioned at this time: The Teachery’s renters were not limited to only those associated with the school system, and this brown stucco house was later owned by our friend Jimmy Reece and his family. Wasn’t his daddy the lead mechanic at Grubbs Chevrolet on Main Street? Thought so.

“With Mama teaching, I attended Barnwell schools. My junior year, Jean Stevens and I were co-captains of the basketball team. The following year I was the captain. My class was the first to graduate having twelve years in the Barnwell School System. That was in 1949,” our friend offered.

Early on, it was quite evident that this young teenager was multi-talented and actually one of a kind. After taking just two lessons, it was Mrs. Nonie Vincent, our local piano teacher, who informed Mrs. Gordon that she need not bring her daughter back for any more sessions because, “the child can play anything that she can hear. Hers is a God-given talent!”

Upon reaching her 16th birthday, Corrie Lee would drive by herself to Augusta, Ga. to sing at WRDW radio which was located upstairs in a hotel on Broad Street. She was accompanied on a piano or guitar. To her delight, over the years, she would sometimes be on hand to hear Brenda Lee “Little Miss Dynamite” sing in person. This memory remains an all-time favorite of hers.

Also, during Corrie Lee’s senior year, she and Horace Dicks began dating. Coach Harold Sewell allowed Horace to return to school mainly to play football. The romance continued.

On the church bus, laughter filled the air when Corrie Lee said that she was actually a good shot with a rifle. “Horace said that he had found the girl to marry because she could shoot, and they would never go hungry!” Before long, they wed.

At first, Horace was a volunteer fireman; however, he soon became chief of the Barnwell Fire Department. Just letting you know that Corrie Lee was the first certified female whose job was to man the office when there was a call. Never doubt that our lady didn’t have her moments during training especially when scaling the ladder and rescuing a man from a flaming building. She literally bounced his bottom down each rung of the ladder while keeping a firm grip on his belt. This Barnwell gal was never a spectator, but forever a participant in one way or another. (In those days, the Barnwell Fire Department was paid $5.00 per call.)

There were times in Barnwell when homeless people were struggling just to get by; they were sleeping on the ground. Our friend used her talent for crocheting plastic bags together and inserting matting to keep these unfortunate folks from sleeping on the bare, damp ground. Her willingness to ease the troubles of the less fortunate said a lot about her character.

Horace and Corrie Lee had four children. Billy was born in Dunbarton while Barnwell was the birthplace of Rose Ellen, Lynn and Tony. These children inherited their parents’ love for people, their generous giving natures, and various talents with writings, artwork, musical abilities, and their interest in recording and preserving history, especially that of their family.

Family portraits don the walls in the Dicks home on Patterson Street. Corrie Lee’s artwork dresses up tote bags, framed pictures plus anything “paintable” or crochetable. Her yard is host to countless varieties of flowers. At nine decades plus one, our lady can readily name each flower and shrub while rendering a little background history on its origin.

It was their daughter, the late Rose Ellen (Rosie) Price, who suggested that her mama crochet lap robes or shawls for the shoulders of church goers to be placed at each end of the pews in the First Baptist Church. Sometimes the air conditioners are just a little too cool for the elderly. This undertaking has served the parishioners well while yielding sweet memories of their origin.

There is no doubt about the fact that Corrie Lee Gordan Dicks is a walking encyclopedia regarding far more various subjects than can be named here. Today, our friend’s time is spent sharing her knowledge and appreciation of life with others through her artwork, her musical accomplishments, and her contagious smile.

With Corrie Lee’s Barnwell years now being available for family on film, I was anxious to discuss her recollections of Dunbarton. Somehow time had slipped away all too quickly. Her vivid memories of the Dunbarton days will be saved for books yet to be penned.

But do let me share this with y’all: This 91-year-old lady of Barnwell continues to be admired while driving herself to church, singing in the choir, and sharing her God-given talents with everyone.

Corrie Lee Dicks sums up her life in this fashion: “What you DO speaks so loud….that I can’t hear what you are saying.”

We all need to pay attention and learn from it, my friends.