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COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A former Columbus High School chemistry teacher has found the right ingredient for his retirement formula: volunteering.
"I just can't sit," Chris Dixon told the Columbus Telegram (http://bit.ly/1HVvzjl ).
Dixon, 82, who left the classroom for good in 1995, learned about voluntarism from his dad while growing up on a farm north of Lyons. His father was always willing to roll up his sleeves and gets his hands dirty to help someone during the Dust Bowl years.
He remembers when his dad helped out a neighbor whose water well had dried up.
"My dad went over and helped dig the well deeper," said Dixon, recalling that his dad carried a lantern down the well shaft to detect the buildup of carbon dioxide.
"My dad knew if the lantern went out, there wasn't enough air down there for him to breathe," Dixon said.
Dixon gets up early on Mondays and Wednesday to pick up food items donated by a Wal-Mart to the Platte County Food Pantry. On Thursdays and Fridays, Dixon delivers meals to senior citizens.
He's also involved with many groups, including the Boy Scouts, the American Legion, the Izaak Walton League, the American Red Cross Prairie Valley Chapter and the Columbus Tree Board. And he's been a member of the Retired State Education Association and has served in some capacity in the Nebraska Mathematics and Science Coalition, the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, the Nebraska Association of Science Teachers, the Nebraska Scholars Institute and the National Honor Society.
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Information from: Columbus Telegram, http://www.columbustelegram.com
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