NORTHWEST PRESS Your Community Press newspaper serving Colerain Township, Green Township, Sharonville, Springdale, Wyoming and other Northwest Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Holidays won’t be the same without ‘Mr. Christmas’ Roy Dixon, dead at age 72 Jennie Key Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Roy Dixon’s Colerain Township home was the site of one of the largest Christmas displays in the Tristate. ENQUIRER FILE
You knew it was Christmas when the lights went on at Roy Dixon’s house in Colerain Township. His Christmas display was iconic, a can’t-miss-this extravaganza. Kids have been standing open-mouthed in front of it for decades. Christmas won’t be the same for many who made a stop at his house part of their holiday tradition. Roy Dixon died Feb. 15. He was 72. In 1978, Dixon was 32. He told an Enquirer reporter he started his love aff air with Christmas decorations as an 11year-old.
Walking out of an animated holiday display in a garage in nearby Brentwood, he told his parents someday he wanted to have a display like that. As a teenager, he helped his dad put up lights. But by 1976, he was decorating on a larger scale. It began to mushroom on Brownsway Lane, the short dead-end street that leads back to the Charles Gailey VFW Hall. There were about 20 houses line the narrow street, and when Dixon plugged in the lights, traffi c became a problem. There was nowhere to park, nowhere to turn around, but they came anyway. The year 1978 was when Dixon’s display fi rst caught the attention of local See MR. CHRISTMAS, Page 2A
Wish Lists fulfi lled after United Way, Enquirer campaign Max Londberg and Mark Curnutte Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Martaisha Thomas asked for beds and clothing for herself and her younger brother. The 7-year-old, who survived a gunshot wound to the head, also sought equipment to help with her cognitive development and motor skills. Abdul Shakir Al-Lateef wished for a reliable vehicle in order to hold a steady job. Bryce Foster also hoped for a vehicle, in her case to ease travel to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Foster makes frequent trips for medical appointments for her 3-year-old daughter, Kaysen Blackshear. They are among the eight families and individuals whose wishes were fulfi lled after a holiday campaign raised more than $60,000. The Enquirer and United Way of Greater Cincinnati joined forces for the 32nd year to promote the Wish List giving season, aiming to assist families in need. Families like Foster and Kaysen. The 2007 Ford Escape gifted to them by another family has saved time and alleviated stress. Before, Foster juggled scheduling a ride through Medicaid or taking two buses to get from their home in Finneytown to Cincinnati Children's. Kaysen was diagnosed last year with a gene disorder that causes seizures and developmental delays. Now, they're able to get everything done more effi ciently, Foster said of life with a vehicle. "We're making it to appointments on time and everything." Kyla Woods, a storyteller with United Way, said an area family donated the Escape to Foster and Kaysen. United Way facilitated the donation, including transferring the title and helping Foster obtain insurance. Foster, who hasn't met the family who donated, said she would "thank them a million times" if she encountered them. "And just try to explain to them how thankful and grateful that they donated a car," she said. Foster's wasn't the only family to receive a vehicle through the Wish List program. A Roselawn auto dealer, Terry Abrams, reached out to The Enquirer after reading the story of Al-Lateef and his wish for a reliable vehicle.
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Abdul Shakir Al-Lateef sits with fi ve of his children , from left, Amere, 11, Wisdom, 5, Amari, 8, An'marie, 6, and Knowledge, 5, last November inside the Bethany House shelter in Cincinnati. PHOTOS BY ALBERT CESARE/ THE ENQUIRER
Bryce Foster with her new vehicle, used to transport her child to treatment at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. KYLA WOODS/PROVIDED
Bryce Foster and 3-year-old daughter Kaysen at their home in Finneytown. Kaysen has a gene disorder that has led to seizures and global development delay.
Al-Lateef had been caring for the youngest seven of his and his wife’s nine children in an apartment rented by a homeless service nonprofi t. Al-Lateef ’s wife, from whom he is separated, is unable to care for the young children, twins who are 5 up to a son, 13. The eight of them are sharing a
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one-bedroom apartment in East Westwood that is rented by Bethany House Services. They were managing to live in the apartment. The problem was Al-Lateef ’s bargain-basement Suburban that ate gas, ran “when it wanted to,” and prevented him from holding a steady job. The SUV had more than 200,000 miles on it, a battery that had to be jumped to start, bad alignment and bald tires. “It makes life that much harder,” AlLateef said in December. Enter Abrams of Abrams Automotive on Reading Road. He arranged with Bethany House staff members to drive Al-Lateef to the
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car lot, where he picked out a van and received the keys. No charge. “The story touched me, and I (wanted) to help because I can,” Abrams told The Enquirer. Family homelessness and the challenges that accompany it are a growing problem locally. The year 2018 was the busiest in the 35-year history of Bethany House. It served 1,300 individuals within family units, 800 of them children. Certain nonprofi ts, including Goodwill, accept vehicle donations. "Sometimes we think (giving) has to be this huge thing, this high-level eff ort," said Woods of United Way. "But really we can all just take small steps and it can lead to a big impact. We can do this."
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