Rick Dickinson was a freshman at William Penn College (now University) in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1971 when he spotted fellow freshman Rae Ann McLean on campus. “I was so attracted to her,” Rick, now 71, said. “She was cute.
So I asked a friend of hers to ask her if she would go out with me. I was painfully shy back then.” But it wouldn’t be that easy for the Sabula, Iowa, native to get a date with the girl from Marion, Iowa.
“I said, ‘If he wants to go out, he can introduce himself to me and ask me himself,” said Rae Ann Dickinson, now 70. So Rick stepped way out of his comfort zone. “I don’t recall if I sucked it up and asked her out that day, but it wasn’t long,” he said.
“That first date was Parents Weekend.” “So he had to meet my parents on the very first date,” Rae Ann added. As an added bonus, Rick also met Rae Ann’s dog, a Schipperke named Evie.
But it was what happened after her parents and Evie left that had Rae Ann hooked. “I was a mess after they left,” Rae Ann said. “Because I was alone.
But (Rick) was very kind and walked me back to my dorm and gave me a sweet kiss. And I was sold.” But Rae Ann was serious about her studies as an education major, and a full-blown romance wasn’t on her agenda.
Rick was a business and history major, and the pair shared a sociology class together. “I would see him in class,” Rae Ann said. “And I would think, ‘No, you’re here to go to school.
You need to just stick to business.’ But it didn’t work.” Rick cleaned carpets to save for an engagement ring.
“I was Mr. Deep Clean cleaning carpets for $20 each to save up for a ring,” Rick said. The couple got married on Aug.
3, 1974, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Marion, just a few weeks before Rick began his senior year. “(Rae Ann) was the smart one,” he said.
“She graduated in three years.” The couple recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. They have two daughters — Sara Lynch and Katy Wethal.
They also have seven grandchildren. Rick and Rae Ann laugh about the less-than-stellar beginning of their honeymoon. “I was supposed to make reservations at what was then the Iron Man Inn in Iowa City,” Rick said.
“I sort of got preoccupied, and by the time I actually tried to make the reservation, there were no rooms. So we spent a beautiful night at the Howard Johnson’s.” “But we did have a beautiful dinner,” Rae Ann added.
After that, the couple spent some time with Rick’s parents in Sabula and enjoyed time on the Mississippi River. Sara, of Dubuque, said the river is her parents’ favorite getaway place. “They love going on the river together,” she said.
“There’s something about being on the river that my mom says is so peaceful and it just takes all of her cares away.” During Rick’s senior year, he was head resident of the freshmen men’s dormitory, which included living quarters for the couple. Rae Ann got a job on campus in the admissions office.
After Rick’s graduation, they moved to Sabula, where Rae Ann taught in the East Central Community School District. Rick got a job with A.C.
Nielson before becoming an adult probation officer in the corrections sector. “It was an interesting beginning career,” he said. After five years, Rick began a career in industrial sales.
“I traveled a great deal,” he said. “I was a road warrior. And then much to Rae Ann’s credit, she tolerated my love for public service.
” Rick served on the Sabula City Council for a time, and as a Jackson County supervisor. He was elected mayor of Sabula at the age of 23, the youngest mayor the community had ever had. He served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995, representing District 34.
Since 1995, Rick has been the president and CEO of Greater Dubuque Development Corp. For 13 years, Rick and Rae Ann lived as commuters, maintaining homes in both Dubuque and Sabula, where Rae Ann was still teaching. Despite the unique lifestyle, Sara remembers her parents were always present.
“Dad did travel a lot,” she said. “But they were just a really great team. Whether he was on the road or not, it always felt like he was in the house.
” Rae Ann spent her career in education teaching second- and fourth-graders in Sabula. She retired in 2009 after 34 years. She is currently working with the Dubuque Community Foundation and Aspire Academy on a program to help children, particularly those with dyslexia, to become engaged, enthusiastic and competent readers.
Public service is something that has been ingrained in the Dickinson family. “When I was growing up, we would go to church every Sunday morning,” Sara said. “When we would get home, my mom would make omelets and there would always be random people at the table.
There was always an open table for people to come and talk.” Sara said she remembers a happy childhood. “At the end of the day, the biggest piece is that they always made us feel very loved and very welcome,” she said.
“Even now, they say, ‘Our door is always open. You can always come home.’” Rick and Rae Ann have kept their home in Sabula, where family often gathers.
One of their greatest joys is watching their grandchildren run through the woods and paddle the river the way Rick did in his childhood. “It was a Huck Finn life,” Rick said. “I knew every slough, every backwater, every overhanging tree.
” The Dickinsons don’t subscribe to any special keys to their 50-year partnership, but their mutual admiration might just be the only key they need. “He’s just a gentleman,” Rae Ann said. “He’s very kind, and he’s always been very respectful of me and has put me first.
You kind of grow up together and you get to know each other really well.” Rick said they have their disagreements, but overall, they’re like two peas in a pod. “I’ll say, ‘Don’t treat me like a second-grader,” he said.
“And she’ll say, ‘Don’t treat me like an employee.’ She was an educator for 34 years, and she’s still teaching me. It’s been a 53-year ride.
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