News: Granton - Grandparents of the Year (Dix - 1982)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Dix, Ott

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 9/2/1982

Granton-Lawrence and Helen Dix (Grandparents - 1982)

Lawrence and Helen Dix, rural Chili, were named winners in a contest held this past month to select the grandparents of the year in the Granton area.

The contest was sponsored by the Granton FFA Alumni and the couple was nominated by their grandchildren, Cindy and Carrie Dix, children of Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Dix.

The Dix children submitted an essay on why they wanted their grandparents selected as someone special. They said: “They are a super pair of grandparents. They seem to know what it was like to be young and to get into trouble.

“Grandma Dix is a teacher in Sunday School and sings in the church choir. She plants a big garden and gives more produce to others than she keeps for herself. She plays cards with us and even makes Kool-Aid for us. She goes to Memorial Home in Neillsville to play her accordion and sing to the folks once a week.

“Grandpa Dix has always got time to talk and tease. I help him with his chores, and he plays catch with us. He works on the church grounds to keep it clean and neat.

“They come to our ball games and cheer us on. Everybody loves my grandma and grandpa. Now don’t you think they should be honored?”

Working for 46 cents an hour in the paper mills in 1942 and living in close quarters in the city made Lawrence of rural Chili happy to return to the farm and make it his life’s work. He was born one mile south of Nasonville and graduated in the Depression yeas from Marshfield High School.

In 1937, Lawrence married the former Helen Ott of Nasonville. For five years he worked in the paper mills at Nekoosa, but work became monotonous, and his wife liked living in the country. After farming for three years in the Nasonville area, they purchased 160 acres, five miles northeast of Granton. They paid $7200 for the farm with interest at the rate of four percent. At that time only 67 acres were under cultivation, but when they semi-retired there were 120 acres open on the farm. With grub hoe, as and horses, the Dix’s made this farm into one of the most productive in the area. In addition they ;purchased several neighboring farms to make the farm into 254 acres.

The couple started with 24 cows and two horses, “Bell” and “Babe”. The Dix’s semi-retired in 1968, milking 60 cows. They had replaced “Bell” and “Babe” with two large tractors and a whole line of modern machinery. The University of Wisconsin tabulated their records and at that time their figures showed they had the lowest purchased feed cost per cow in Clark County.

The couple ae the parents of three children, Larry, Jr., who farms just east of their place; Donavon, Port Edwards; and Rodney, on the home farm. They have eleven grandchildren.

The Dix’s are members of the Grace Lutheran Church at Nasonville.

As a young fellow, Lawrence was a baseball pitcher and had an offer to try out for professional ball. He preferred to farm. His hobbies are fishing and hunting with his Beagle hounds. He was a state director on the Equity Board for three years. In 1968, he was honored at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee as one of Wisconsin’s outstanding farmers.

Helen has shared in these honors with Lawrence and has been a partner for 45 years. She loves to Dance, to knit and to play her accordion. You’ll find her donating her services all the time. However, Lawrence cleans his own fish.