On March 13, Truman and Colleen Dixon celebrated 76 years of marriage.
Colleen Archer first met Truman Dixon when she was a senior in high school at Checotah. Colleen’s family had moved back to Checotah from California after the war and Truman was fresh out of the Marines.
“I saw this pretty girl walking after school and I offered her a ride home,” Truman said. “It was only about six blocks but I just had to meet her.”
Both Colleen and Truman had mutual friends, so they decided to go on a double date together.
“Since I owned a car I seemed to be the popular guy. So we grabbed our best friends and went on a double date to a football game in Stillwell and we’ve been going to games together ever since.”
Of course Truman is a familiar face at all the Wildcat games. He coached basketball for 35 years at Checotah and led the CHS Basketball Boys team to the school’s first Boys State Championship in 1969.
“I loved coaching and I still love watching the Wildcats play. Of course my biggest blessing has been having my wife by my side all these years,” Truman said.
Colleen, who worked in special education at Checotah, is also grateful to still live in the same home at 207 Indianola that they moved and added on to all those years ago.
“I think we’ve had an interesting life,” Colleen said. “We’ve raised three kids and now have 12 grands and 22 great grandchildren. Plus all the kids from school still know where we live and they come get Truman and take him fishing, and hunting and to the games. I guess all those years of feeding them peach cobbler and dumplings paid off. I always said we raised a village from the front yard to the refrigerator.”
Colleen is thrilled that so many of the kids she had in school, Sunday School and Boys Scouts, reached out on social media to wish them a “Happy Anniversary” this past week.
“We’ve always had such a special bond with our former students and I like keeping up with them on Facebook and in person when I can. The ornery little boys were my favorites. I guess because I had only brothers and helped raise them. Back then you were always cooking, canning, cleaning and sewing. You took time to care for each other. So now we have a lot of grownup kids in their 60’s and 70’s that are willing to do anything for us because we were a safe place for them years ago. It’s all about building a good foundation. That foundation is so important for children to thrive and build upon to have good, productive lives.
“It’s hard to believe how quickly the years go by though. I still remember the preacher who came by way of a tractor to marry us. Now Truman is 98 and I’m 91 but I’ve still got my mind and my mouth that talks faster than I could ever write. I think we have kept our priorities right for all these years though and God has honored us for that.”
The Dixons have seen a lot of changes in Checotah in the past 76 years – from dirt roads to paved roads and all kinds of technology in between. However, Colleen seemed to have the best advice for the younger generations to hear.
“I learned so much from older people when I was a little girl – how to cook, clean and everything in between. So maybe the best thing these young folks need to do today is to learn to listen to their elders because we know what we are talking about. We learned to listen and work together to accomplish our dreams over the years and though we may not have been rich, we have been blessed.”
