Memories of Dixon Middle School

June 21, 2026

Memories of Dixon Middle School

MEMORIES OF DIXON MIDDLE SCHOOL

Vicki L Bishop

My column may be known as “Over the Back Fence”, but today I would like to chat about the view that I had from my front porch much of my life--a view of the Dixon Middle School.

My great grandparents moved to Dixon from rural Maries County just over 100 years ago and purchased a house roughly across from where the middle school is now located. A small plot of land is still currently owned by the family, but originally the parcel contained between 2-3 acres that now includes 4 parcels, 3 houses and a shop building.

Something else that happened 100 years ago was the construction of a high school. Prior to this all grades attended school in another building across town that was built around 1905. The high school was constructed in 1926 and separated older/younger grades and was perched on a small hill across from my great grandparents’ homestead.

A snapshot of what is believed to be from the original plans for the construction project.

Interior view of the wooden stairwell of the 1926 High School

Dixon High School

This original brick structure was three stories high, brown brick, and screamed classic Americana. It truly was an impressive structure. At that time, Dixon was a booming railroad town, and this school was symbolic of our successes.

Around 1959-60, a new high school was constructed on the south side of town, and the now ‘old’ high school became the junior high school.

Eventually, around 1968, an addition was constructed in front of the school, and a second addition was completed around 1974. Please see additional article “Memories from a Former Principal” for more details and photographs of these projects. The original gym, likely a WPA project was completed around 1939 and replaced in the 80s with a modern gym. The completion of the second addition around 1974 married the first addition, second addition, cafeteria and gymnasium to create a complete complex. Around this time, the original high school situated to the rear of the new school was demolished.

The new school was named “Dixon Middle School” at the suggestion of then principal, Jim Toner. Middle schools were a new concept, and Dixon was progressive and basically lead the charge in conforming with such ideas in Missouri’s rural school districts.

Recently the Dixon Board of Education has announced the closing of the Dixon Middle School. I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few memories and history of the school.

As previously mentioned, the first principal was Jim Toner. Mr. Toner stood about 6’7” and was a former coach. He was well liked and respected by pretty much everyone and really tried to make school about the children. He was constantly brainstorming for new ideas as well as encouraging community support.

My memories of Mr. Toner were that most of the kids did not want to mess with him. For minor punishments, a student would sit at the “Good Table” and eat their lunch along with him. A very clever name, as everyone knew the good table was for the bad kids. The good table probably dished out a dose of minor humiliation that went a long way. For more serious offenses, there was a paddle in Mr. Toner’s office that he was not afraid to use. It still resides in Mrs. Keck’s office today.

Left: Mr Toner’s famous paddle still hangs in the principal’s office of the middle school. Right: Look for the pirate! Do you remember what that means? If you know, YOU KNOW!

Mrs. Alison Keck is currently the principal at Dixon Middle School. She has been in this position for 5 years and has a total of 28 years in district.

Current Principal of the Dixon Middle School, Mrs. Alison Keck. Alison is sitting on a bench that was made from reclaimed wood left over from the high school gym demolition a few years ago. Many art projects throughout the building made use of these materials.

Other principals include Chris Hunt, Randall Hoffman, Don Fugate, Jim Brown, Mike Smith, Mark Parker and Lisa Parker. (My sincere apologies if any names were missed).

I recently visited with Alison Keck, and she gave me a tour of the school. I have personally been in and out of that school a lot of the years between being a student, a substitute teacher, my son attended there, and various sporting events. However, as they tend to do, the years have rolled by and there have been many changes that I have missed. Such as the area where the present-day office is now and the ramp that was part of the original construction. Due to ADA regulations, it was necessary to build a ramp over part of the existing ramp to comply.

A view of the original hallway of Dixon Middle School. The small lockers have been replaced with larger lockers, and an additional ramp has been installed.

We continued our way down the hall to the cafeteria. This story will not be very popular with the current schoolteachers and administration, but I am going to tell it anyway. When I was in 7^th grade, we were in the cafeteria for lunch. It was in those days right before Thanksgiving break where we were served the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Just like the seating arrangements in the classroom, the more animated students typically gravitated toward the rear of the cafeteria near the window to sit. In those days there was no built-in cooler in the rear corner, so there was a bit more seating area than now. Leaving the names of the not so innocent out of it—because they still live here, a person sitting next to me flicked a green bean at a boy sitting at the next table. He returned fire. So, a few more green beans flew and pretty soon, the green bean supply dwindled, so someone upped the ante and shared some mashed potatoes instead. That was answered with a whole piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream topping landing on top of the head of the person sitting across from me. She had not taken part in the green bean war and was an innocent bystander. Well, that just wasn’t fair so several of the girls let their pumpkin pie fly and before you know it, there was an epic food fight that the teachers had a difficult time getting under control. It was wrong and we shouldn’t have done it, but we all had seen the movie, Animal House, and I guess we thought that was normal. There was a real mess there that day. We should have been made to clean it up, but we weren’t. The students were released that day from lunch table by table until they got to the last two or three tables where they were pretty sure the problems started, or maybe just because that is where the biggest mess was. Of course, I was present at one of the tables, so I got in trouble too. I hate to admit this, but for a kid who basically never got in trouble, that food fight was big fun. The next time we returned to the lunchroom, the entire lunchroom found themselves in a seating chart. My friends were no where even close to me. All the well-behaved kids were sitting near the windows. There was no talking—it was like you might imagine a cafeteria in a monastery might be like. That didn’t just last a day or two, it went on for a while, like at least a couple weeks or a month. Eventually, that too did pass, and we were able to resume regular lunch activity, but much more closely monitored.

A view of the kitchen area from the cafeteria side in the middle school.

We continued our tour to the lower level of the building to the library and computer lounge. As you can imagine, being a writer, I got a lot of enjoyment from the library and was an aide in eighth grade. I was impressed by how the library is now adjacent to and open with the computer area. Several panels of the ceiling have been painted by students like book covers.

The Dixon Middle School Library. Notice the student artwork on the ceilings painted like various book covers.

Computer room at Dixon Middle School.

We continued down the hallway in the lower section. Most things were the same, but when I attended, a wall had been removed from one of the classrooms in order to create a double room big enough to have band class. This area had been changed back to classrooms. More art is visible on the ceiling tiles and many art projects are proudly displayed on the walls.

Middle school wall art on display. This particular piece honors various sports programs available in Dixon.

At the end of the hallway we went up two flights of short stairs with a turn in the middle. As I mentioned before, I played basketball for Jerry McPherson in seventh and eighth grades. More than use of these steps for regular school, I remember as part of his conditioning program, running these steps down the upper hallway, down the other set of steps and through the lower hallway to complete the circle about ten times each time we had practice. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was pretty exhausting.

At the top of these steps were the Iconic Dixon Middle School windows. These are actually replacement windows to the originals, as they likely were not very efficient.

The iconic Dixon Middle School windows. Left is a view from the interior, and on the right is an exterior shot from some months prior.

From there we traveled down the upper hallway which is very close to the way I remember it.

The area where the old office was located, near the cafeteria, has been converted into a conference room. Several more art projects hang on the wall that were made from the high school gym floor that was demolished in recent years. What will happen to all this great art when the school closes?

The tour of the school conjured up memories I had long forgotten. Dixon really is a great place to grow up and I considered my self blessed to have attended there. I have always missed it and for kids who lived in a factory town and didn’t really have a lot, it felt like we were rich. Much of that was due to the school and how much they cared about the kids. The school used to sponsor a movie night and have popcorn and snacks while we watched a movie in the gym. Movies were a luxury for most kids back then. I miss the awesome plays that Jeff Williams used to put on. Sledding down the steep hills in the winter. Walking home with a group of kids after a ballgame in the dark and telling ghost stories. Planning out how I was going to decorate my locker. The teachers—they were mostly great! There are so many things that I am afraid will be forgotten with its closure. For example, the area where the track is now, used to be a baseball field with a large backdrop. Bleachers used to line the hillside. An old high school that used to sit there. However, time is something no one can fight, and now it will soon be time to close the doors and turn out the lights on what was once a very innovative idea. The Dixon Middle School.

By the time I was in middle school, my family had 3 houses across the street. As the family died off two of those parcels sold and with the recent death of my last aunt, the decision was made to place the original homestead piece where the old shotgun ranch constructed in the late 1800s used to stand, up for sale. No longer will the middle school be the view for me or anyone in my family. There is irony in that timing for me but what Chris Hunt said about Bulldog Hour, also applies to the school: “It had a good life”. Goodbye old friend.