My Dear Classmates of The Carver High School, Class of '65,

 

In May 1963 my life changed forever.  My family moved from Memphis to Chicago, Illinois leaving behind my beloved Carver High School band, classmates, friends and extended family.  In my 16-year-old sadness, I thought it was the end of everything.  In actuality, it was the dawning of a new day, offering new and different experiences.

 

So, here's my story:

 

My parents, Hazel Johnson Dixon of Memphis, and my father, Oscar Dixon of Evansville, Indiana, met and married in Detroit, Michigan.  They had four daughters, "the Dixon girls" - Cheryl, Ingrid, Janet, and Lynn. In 1955, when I was in third grade, the family moved to Memphis to be near my mother's family.  We lived in Memphis from 1955-1963.

 

My father, an Indiana native, was a truck driver.  He never adjusted to life in the South under Jim Crow laws.  He was a labor organizer who was constantly battling with the powerful Teamster's Union for better working conditions for black truck drivers, who when driving across the country could not eat at the restaurants, use the bathrooms or stay in the motels along the highways.

 

My sisters and I all attended and loved Carver: Cheryl, Class of '63; Ingrid, Class of '65; Janet, Class of '66; and Lynn, Class of '68.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By 1963, after being black-listed in the trucking industry for not keeping his mouth shut, my father was unemployed, and our family struggled financially.  My father had had enough of the racism and second-class citizenship of the South.  He announced that he was going to Chicago to look for a job, housing, and better opportunities for his family.  He found those things and came back to get us.

 

So, on Cheryl's Graduation Day from Carver in May 1963, he packed up our car (like the Beverly Hillbillies), and as soon as she marched out of the Carver Gymatorium (remember that?), we marched into that car and onto a very long drive to Chicago, Illinois.  We became a part of the Great Migration of black families from the Jim Crow South to Northern and Western cities.  We were sad and in mourning.

 

We had to leave everything we loved; family, friends, Carver, our beloved Carver Band and Maestro Rankins, Mrs. Jacqueline Knight, Mr. Thompson, and more.  I would have been a Junior in the fall.  I had been at Carver since 7th grade.  I was devastated. It felt like nothing could replace the people and things we loved about Memphis.  And nothing ever did.  But, we learn, and we move on.

 

Well, all's well that ends well.

 

In Spring 1965, as you were graduating from Carver, I graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago.  In only two years at Hyde Park, I never had another band experience like Carver's, or a homeroom teacher like Jackie Knight, or friends like many of you.  My Carver memories will forever be with me because they helped shape me.

 

I went on to have a blessed and successful life.

 

While in college, I married a Chicago basketball star, Greg Carney.  We went through college together at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.  We have two children, Tony (Greg Jr.), and Staci. In 1973 our marriage went the way of many young marriages.  We got divorced.  I became a single Mom of two very young children.  I raised them alone into successful adults.  I never remarried.

 

I devoted my life to my family and my career. I earned three degrees and I built an extensive career in public education while raising my children. I earned a Bachelor's degree from Wichita State University in 1970, a Master's degree in 
 Educational Administration from Chicago State University in 1982, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Illinois in 1998.

 

I spent 46 years in K-12 public education.  I served as a teacher, school principal, district administrator, staff development specialist, and Executive Director of Leadership development for Chicago Public Schools.  I served as Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for Anderson Community Schools near Indianapolis, Indiana, and I served as Deputy Superintendent of Boston Public Schools in Boston, Massachusetts.  Finally, in my career, I was President of the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward), and I graduated from the prestigious Broad Superintendent's Academy in 2007.

 

My family is my everything.  My parents have both passed into eternity.  My sister Cheryl, (Class of '63) passed away in 2015.  Sisters Janet and Lynn both live in the Chicago area. They are both retired educators.

 

My son, Tony, is a single Dad, raising his 5-year-old daughter, Riley on his own.  He is the General Manager of Denver Sports Properties at Denver University.

 

My daughter, Staci, is a former basketball player (Purdue University, and WNBA Cleveland Rockers) and college professor in Sports Administration.  She is married to Eric and is now stay-at-home Mom to Sydni (13) and E.J. (Eric Jr.) - (6).

 

My son-in-law, Eric Studesville, is the running backs coach for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.

 

Leaving Memphis was one of the hardest things I experienced, but it taught me to be open to new opportunities and blessings.  Consequently, I have moved and lived in several cities and I have now traveled to visit 6 of the 7 continents.

 

Currently, I am retired and living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I followed my grandchildren here after moving from Chicago to Denver to be with them in 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am living my best life and loving it.

 

Since retiring (again) in 2016, (I was sort of retired but spent 2008-2016 working as an educational consultant), my time is focused on doing "whatever I want!"  Many of my activities are focused on family, health, and wellness. My hobbies are reading, going to the movies, going to the theatre, and traveling.  I go to the gym for water aerobics and Zumba 3-4 days a week. And, I participate in social media.  I really like Facebook because it allows me to keep up with friends and family all over the country.

 

 I spend a lot of my time trying to be the best grandmother I can be.  I spend my time doing things with Syd, EJ and Riley and their parents.  Sometimes that involves traveling to where they are.  I go to school activities, school plays, Spelling Bees, basketball, football and soccer games, Disney, spring break vacations, fall break vacations, museums, holiday activities (from Pumpkin patches to Halloween parades, and visits to Santa).  We've been to caves and we've been to hot springs.  We've been to amusement parks and we've been to mountaintops.  Fall break 2017 we took a cog train to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado! Last December we all went to Disney World!

 

I also spend a great deal of time at NFL football games, or maybe I should say professional sporting events.  My son, Greg, was a Marketing executive for the Chicago White Sox and The Chicago Bulls and Vice President of Marketing for the Denver Broncos over a period of close to 20 years.  My son-in-law, Eric, is currently the Running Backs coach for the Miami Dolphins.  He also coached for the Chicago Bears, the New York Giants, the Buffalo Bills, and the Denver Broncos.  They won Super Bowl 50 in 2015.  In following both of their careers, I have had access to their lifestyles and the world of professional sports in major league baseball, the NBA and the NFL.  It's a stressful but interesting lifestyle that I have been able to personally experience as I support my kids and their careers.

 

The other important part of my life is world travel.  I love traveling to the places that we studied and read about as students.  I am now seeing them with my own eyes.  I have been to Egypt (the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx), China (the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors), Dubai (tallest building in the world), Australia (the Great Barrier Reef), Fiji, Spain, Italy, France, Malta, Amsterdam, South Africa (Nelson Mandela's prison cell), and Brazil (Christ the Redeemer on the mountaintop).  I love being a world traveler.  I just returned last Thursday, October 4th, from a 14-day trip to Venice, Rome and Pisa, Italy, and a 7-day cruise of the Greek Isles.  What a trip!

 

I am so impressed with the way the Class of '65 has stuck together as a family. When the Carver Class of '65 did a class trip to Chicago, I was able to help host and hang out with the group.

 

I will be forever grateful to all of you, Memphis and Carver for the friendship and memories.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ingrid Dixon Carney, PhD