(This article first appeared in the print edition published Feb. 28)
There was music on Friday, Feb. 23, at the birthday party for 103-year-old Anna Dixon of Henderson.
In fact, she played it herself on the Baldwin piano in the dining area of Redbanks Regency Apartments.
She could do that because she taught herself to play when she was only 7 years old and spent years playing for church services at Corydon Church of God in Christ, weddings, small concerts and other occasions. She stays in practice playing her favorite genre of music— gospel.
Wearing a silver tiara and a custom-made black T-shirt imprinted with pink letters that read “Stepping Into My 103rd Birthday with God’s Grace and Mercy,” Dixon was going strong as party guests were served cake and punch.
But she admitted being a little bit worn out by all the festivities leading up to her birthday. There have been plenty of events with her at the center of attention.
Dixon said the celebration started a few days early. She received visits from television reporters representing local stations WFIE, WEVV and WEHT, and she was mentioned by Lester Holt on the NBC Nightly News.
“I’ve been going this week. I’ll need some rest from all this,” Dixon said, noting that she’s looking forward to things being a little quieter. “I do like to be by myself and think.”
On Feb. 23, she celebrated with friends and family members, including some who drove in from Chicago to surprise her.
Another surprise came a day earlier when about a dozen 3-year-olds — 100 years younger than Miss Anna — from Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center came by for a visit with handmade birthday cards and lots of questions.
The children gathered at her feet as she sat in a special chair framed by pink balloons and a banner announcing her birthday. They wanted to know whether she’d ever been to outer space, if she’d had toys when she was their age and whether she had a cell phone. There were cupcakes for everyone arranged in the shape of 103.
Dixon said she thinks the key to her longevity is being active.
“Don’t just sit,” she said.
The trim centenarian exercises a lot and tries to stay away from excess salt and sugar.
She drove her own car until a couple of years ago. Before her little dog Jimmy died, she would go for a walk with him two or three times each day and they would go out on outings together.
But after she outlived him, she decided the expense for car maintenance and insurance didn’t seem practical compared to the amount she was actually driving.
Anna Tapp Dixon grew up on a Corydon farm in a family of 10 children. There she learned how to garden, sew and can.
“My mother canned anything you can put in a jar,” she said, noting that she still cans things like jams and jellies.
When World War II began, she moved to Chicago where she continued to live, and she worked in hospital administration for many years. She moved back to Corydon in 1973 to help care for elder relatives, and worked at Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center.
She got married for the first time at age 50. She’d first known George Dixon as a school classmate, and they were married for 30 years until he died in 2008.
“I have seen a lot of change,” Dixon said, offering some advice for living a good and productive life.
“Don’t pay attention to all the garbage around you,” she said, mentioning gossip as one example. “Just leave those bad things alone.”
