Mayesville woman plans museum in honor of Bethune

Randy Burns / The Item Elizabeth Dixon looks at a portrait of Mary Pinder, the first student enrolled at the first school established by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.

By RANDY BURNS
Item Staff Writer
rburns@theitem.com

By next summer, Elizabeth Dixon hopes she will have to move out of the house she has lived in since 1972 to make room for Mary McLeod Bethune. Dixon is working on establishing a museum honoring the famed educator, a native of Mayesville.

Located on the corner of S.C. 154 and the Mary McLeod Bethune Road in Lee County, about two miles from Mayesville, the museum will contain artifacts, documents, photos and memorabilia donated by family and friends, Dixon said.

"I have given two years of my life to this project," Dixon said. "I am not going to quit now."

Dixon said she is fulfilling a promise she made to God when she became seriously ill about three years ago. At that time she made a commitment to give back to the people of Mayesville and to pay tribute to the legacy of the late Dr. Bethune, who grew up a couple of miles down the road.

"God gave me this vision," Dixon said. "He told me what he wanted me to do. I said Lord, 'I can't do this by myself'. When I woke up from the dream, I saw this name on the wall. I shut my eyes and opened them again. The name was still on the wall."

The name on the wall was that of the Honorable Ernest Finney. Dixon eventually followed God's will, she said, and paid a visit to Finney. Finney and his wife, Frances, encouraged her to follow the dream.

It wasn't long before Dixon established the Mary McLeod Bethune Museum Development Association. Serving on the non-profit agency's board of directors are the Honorable Ernest Finney; W.M. Jefferson, former mayor of Mayesville; Dr. Ugo Okerkee; Dr. Billy Clowney; and Fred Ellison.

Serving as ex-officio members are Frances Finney; Rep. Grady Brown, D-Bishopville; and Albert McLeod Bethune, grandson of Mary McLeod Bethune.

"I'm just now making the connections we need to make," Dixon said.

Bethune's grandson has pledged to donate artifacts for the museum, Dixon said.

Dixon said she also hopes to work with other agencies who are also dedicated to honoring Bethune's memory, including the Lee County Section of the National Council of Negro Women, which operates the Mary McLeod Bethune Park.

"We are going to be more than a museum," she said. "We are going to have activities for the people of our area."

On Tuesday night, Dixon and the association sponsored a formal dinner at the Imperial Restaurant for seven Mayesville area youngsters, five girls and two boys, ranging in age from 5 to 9 years. The young people demonstrated what they had been learning in their social etiquette classes taught by Frances Finney and sponsored by Dixon and the organization.

"We hope to have more of this," she said.

Dixon, who serves as executive director of the Mary McLeod Bethune Museum Development Association, is refurbishing the barn to provide classes for furniture upholstery and drapery designing for the unemployed.

"I have talked to a few who want to take these classes," she said. "We want to be able to train young people and young adults to become entrepreneurs all in the spirit of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. We want them to be self supporting."

At some point, Dixon said, her organization must focus upon generating revenue.

"Right now, we're spending money and not raising it," she said. "We need a grant writer. We need grants, donations and fundraisers."

Dixon said the association plans to acquire the property she owns to locate the museum.

"I would like to donate the house to the association," she said. "But I am not in position to do that. The plan is for the association to buy the house."



Contact Staff Writer Randy Burns at rburns@theitem.com or (803) 491-4533.