Dr. James Lee Dickey

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to make sure you hear it right. Now settle in, because this is a story about a man who showed up to a town that needed him, and never once let up. Dr.

James Lee Dickey. Born in McLennan County in 1893. Attended Waco public schools, then Tillotson College up in Austin.

He had his sights set on Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee — and he was well on his way — when World War I interrupted his training. That's the kind of interruption that stops a lot of men cold. Not James Lee Dickey.

He finished. Graduated in 1921. And then he came right back to central Texas, because his widowed mother was there, and so were his eight siblings who needed raisin'.

That's not a footnote — that's a man telling you exactly who he is before he's even hung out his shingle. He settled in Taylor with his wife, Magnolia — born a Fowler — and at the time, he was the only African American doctor in that city. The only one.

Now, Taylor had needs. Real ones. Dr.

Dickey looked at the local water supply and said it needed improving, and he said so out loud, publicly, in a time when a Black man doing exactly that required a particular kind of courage. Then 1932 rolled around — and into '33 — and typhoid fever broke out. Dr.

Dickey didn't wait for someone else to handle it. He headed a community effort against that outbreak himself. That clinic he opened in a house during that time?

It didn't stay small. It expanded. Grew to serve residents of the city and counties across the surrounding area.

He developed programs for infant care. He was instrumental in getting African American patients admitted to state tubercular clinics — doors that were not just closed but presumed locked, until he pushed. And his reach didn't stop at medicine.

He worked for passage of school bonds. He pushed for improvements to local schools. He led efforts for recreational facilities and federal housing.

He helped found the Taylor Negro Chamber of Commerce. He served as a trustee of his own alma mater, Tillotson College. In 1952, the Taylor Chamber of Commerce named him Man of the Year.

Think about that for just a moment — the full weight of what that recognition meant, in 1952, in Texas. Dr. James Lee Dickey and his wife Magnolia both passed in 1959.

But he'd said it himself, and the marker makes sure we don't forget it: 'To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die.' Taylor remembers. And now, out here on the road, so do you.

What the marker says

Physician, humanitarian, civil rights advocate and concerned citizen Dr. James Lee Dickey (d. 1959) had a profound effect on the quality of life in his adopted hometown of Taylor. Born in McLennan County in 1893, he attended Waco public schools and Tillotson College, Austin. Military service in World War I interrupted his training at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, but upon graduation in 1921, he returned to central Texas to help his widowed mother raise his eight siblings. He settled in Taylor with his wife, Magnolia (Fowler) (1902-1959), as the city's only African American doctor at the time. Dr. Dickey worked hard to address the public health needs of Taylor, calling for improvements to the local water supply and heading a community effort against an outbreak of typhoid fever in 1932-33. A clinic he opened in a house at that time expanded to serve residents of the city and counties in the surrounding area. He developed programs for infant care and was instrumental in admitting African American patients to state tubercular clinics. Dr. Dickey's advocacy extended beyond health care to education and civil rights. He worked for passage of school bonds and improvements, and led efforts for local recreational facilities and federal housing. He was also a founder of the Taylor Negro Chamber of Commerce and served as a trustee of Tillotson College. For his efforts, Dr. Dickey received numerous awards and honors, including distinction by the Taylor Chamber of Commerce as Man of the Year in 1952. His greatest rewards, however, came through his lasting contributions to the citizens of Taylor. As he noted, "to live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die." (2006)