V. Earl Dickinson, a former state delegate who was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, enjoys a busy life in Mineral, where he tends to his properties and spends time with family. He's active in Louisa politics and a historical group. MSN

Dickinson looks across the back yard of his home in Mineral. Over the past year, he has battled heart trouble and cancer, but says he's 'feeling fine.' MSN

Even in retirement, former senior legislator isn't living a life of leisure

By CHELYEN DAVIS

Date published: 12/28/2004

Supposedly, V. Earl Dickinson retired a few years ago.

Sure, he stepped down from the Virginia House of Delegates seat he'd held for years.

But if the word "retirement" conjures up images of rest and relaxation and puttering around a garden, Dickinson is anything but retired. At 80 years old, he's still going strong.

He still runs a cattle farm in Spotsylvania County, still lives with his wife of more than 50 years in a house they built ages ago in Mineral. He spends a lot of time visiting children and his nine grandchildren, and is trying to put together a list of his various real-estate holdings for them.

He goes to football games--what's the good of being chairman of the House Appropriations Committee for years if you can't still get box seats to a University of Virginia football game every now and then? As of a few days ago, he hadn't decided yet whether to attend the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3.

Dickinson is co-chairman of the Louisa County Democratic Party, a distinction he shares with his former legislative aide.

He's been named chairman emeritus of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

He's an active deacon in Mineral Baptist Church, and participates in the Lions Club.

And he serves on the board of directors of the Mineral Historical Association, helping the town of Mineral earn state recognition for its historic significance.

Clearly, retirement hasn't slowed Dickinson down.

Neither have health problems; over the past year, Dickinson has battled heart trouble and cancer, for which he's still undergoing treatment.

"I'm feeling fine. I have had no side effects, and I've been feeling wonderful, so I'm hoping that's half of it," Dickinson said in a recent interview. "I'm staying real active, and just hope I can keep going. I keep the same old pace, but I go to the doctor too daggone much."

Dickinson retired in 2002, after 30 years in county and state government. Before he left the legislature, he led the House Appropriations Committee, a powerful post that helped him secure funding for numerous projects in his district and the Fredericksburg area.

Dickinson's patronage of Mary Washington College once led legislative wags to dub it "Earl's College." Mary Washington College's baseball team plays in V. Earl Dickinson Stadium. Both Piedmont Community College and Germanna Community College have buildings named after him. There's even a street named after Earl.

But Dickinson retired after Republicans redrew his district in June 2001 to include heavily suburban Henrico County and cut out many of his old constituents. While Dickinson was a conservative Democrat, he was still a Democrat, and the Democrats had lost the majority in the House.

He had to share the Appropriations Committee chairmanship with a Republican. By the next election, Republicans were predicted to win (as they did) enough seats in the House to end the power-sharing agreement. That would have booted Dickinson down to the position of the committee's ranking Democrat.

"The last elected Republican would have had more seniority than the most senior Democrat," Dickinson said of the situation. "I figured it was time to go out up on top."

That doesn't mean he doesn't miss the hurly-burly of the General Assembly.

"You don't get involved in something, the process, that many years, that you don't miss it," he said.

To reach CHELYEN DAVIS: 804/782-9362 cdavis@freelancestar.com

Date published: 12/28/2004