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Memories of Golde Dicks Markham (1996) Golde Markham Dicks 79/125

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Gussie Dicks McCall was the youngest daughter of Uncle Joe Dicks and his wife,

Aunt Annie Ward Dicks. Gussie was one of my life-long friends. Uncle Joe had'loaned Reid
Dicks money for his medical school training in Atlanta. When Reid graduated' from medical
school, he and his wife, Dolly, lived in Dowling Park where Reid practiced medicine. Uncle
Joe and Aunt Annie frequently visited Reid and Dolly, and they always asked me to go along

to be company for Gussie. I was about 18 then. I always enjoyed those trips.
I can remember the first time I saw Gussie. I went with Ma and Pa to spend the day
with her family who owned a big white two-story house. The staircase banister around the

porches, upstairs and downstairs was made of fancy carved wood. They had five girls, and
they were all married except the youngest, Gussie. The girls were Margie, Elsie (“Ell”),
Alpha (“Sam”), Mildred, who died, and Gussie.

Big houses like Gussie’s, with a second story and a banister, fascinated me. I loved to
straddle and slide down that bannister. Gussie and I played upstairs-^at my suggestion, I’m
sure! Evidently they were just using the downstairs at this time since the only family mem­
bers living there were Uncle Joe, Aunt Annie, and Gussie.

Gussie and I used to play with a discarded baby buggy. We took turns pushing each
other down the center of a wide hallway--our so-called “racetrack.” We were a little too big
to get into the baby buggy—especially me—and11 was three years older than Gussie.

One time Aunt Annie suddenly appeared in the hall and saw me pushing Gussie in the
buggy. Thank goodness it was Gussie’s turn to be in the buggy instead of mine. Aunt Annie
told Gussie that she was too big to be riding in-the buggy. If I had been in it, there’s no
telling how she would have reprimanded me because I was, and always have been, as big as

an ox. Aunt Annie was kind and soft-spoken, though.

In 1919, when I was 11, Pa hired an elementary school teacher during the summer

who knew enough music to teach me to play the piano. She wasn’t literally a music teacher,
but Pa wanted me to play gospel songs so I could play for church programs. Many churches
didn’t have any members who could play an organ or piano.
After twelve weeks of classes, I could play the organ at our church. After more prac­

ticing, I could pick up a song book and play everything in it. About that time, Florida,

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