Sivley Street Memories

By Various

Sivley Street - Ah, such memories, especially during ice and snow storms. I am developing an entire chapter on Sivley Street in my upcoming book - Oxford Town. Meanwhile, here are some other memories of Sivley Street as posted to our email list. David Freeman

Bill Camp lived at the corner of Price Street and Sivley I believe which is only two houses down from Byron's. At the time I lived one street over on Elm. In this neighborhood were Jim and Frank Windham, Byron Ellis, Mit Hobbs, me, Elsie and Mary Beth Cooper, Marty and Hal Haney, Susan Sneed, Diane Denton, and Susan Collins. (He forgot Beverly Hickey - David Freeman.) A guy named Bill Harper who was a couple years older lived there also. Wayne Jingles aslo moved in the neighborhood a little later on. (I hope I didn't leave anyone out) We had quite a time as kids playing together. Anyway, Bill Camp I believe moved from Oxford around the 7th or 8th grade. I remember Bill Dearing for maybe one year at OHS. - Larry Christman

That was Sivley Street crowd and then we had the University crowd, I remember one Saturday we played a self-organized sport pee wee football game with helmets and pads. There were no organized sports other than Little league then. No Soccer Moms in minivans. Mitt Hobbs played along with some of all the others you mentioned. Maybe you joined forces with the Avent Acres bunch that would have added Toad, Mike Strachn etc. We had Don Davidson, Joe Sam, Sillers Hull maybe, Wayne Jingles and maybe one of the Hartin brothers John not Paul (Martha Hartin's brothers). Wayne Crockett and Bill Gates maybe ?) We got creamed I made a dirty hit on somebody and Byron and others got ticked off.

We played on the old University High field. And thinking of University High remember Ray Pennigton's antics in the locker room?

I get together with Jim Baylen here in Atlanta periodically. We eat at Manuel's Tavern. Rian Ringsrud is in Milledgeville, GA where he is semi retired had kids etc. Rian and I talked while we were in Vietnam in 1970-1971. He was in Ordnance Corps. I was in November Ranger Company of The 173d Airborne Brigade where I got paid to blow stuff up instead of having to pay for the Electrical substation that I blew up as a senior at Ole Miss. Almost didn't graduate and Beverly Vaughn's father (Don) handed me my diploma in front of the old grill. I guess they didn't want me walking at Graduation. So I never attended a graduation until I got a Master of Science in Microbiology and Biochemistry at good Moo U down in Starkpatch. I went to State after a stint in the Army where I got paid to wreak havoc among the VC and NVA for a year. Ran into Wilbur Abernathy there, he was working on a degree in Landscape Architecture and Pat Ramey Pete's sister who was working on a degree in Zoology. Carlos Teichert

Add Monnie Helms to the list of people who lived on Sivley Street. We moved there in 1964 and I it snowed a bunch for a couple of years !!! What a great place to be in the snow. I lived at the top of the hill and my Mom made tubs of hot chocolate that winter. I remember the sheer terror of sledding headfirst down Sivley and rounding the curve at the bottom of the hill, near Byron's house, and praying that there was not a car coming to smash me on Price Street! Of course, I was pretty much of a scaredy cat, so I felt pretty brave even trying that stunt. My sister Pam was three years younger than I and my brother, Johnny was 6 years younger. So we had kids of all ages gathering on that hill! Ah the good times! - Monnie Helms Varadi

Don't leave out the crabapple wars we had! Sively was once lined with crabapple trees. They fit nicely in sling shots! I have to tell this story. Several neighborhood kids took some of Harold Haneys' grapes and made some crude wine. I think all we did was mash grapes and put in a jar for a couple of weeks. When this mixture began to smell like wine, we poured it in Frank Coopers air conditioner! The smell of fermenting grapes permeated through the house! After my dad found out what we did, I couldn't sit down for a week! What made matters worse, the Coopers had out of town guests one of which was a Baptist preacher! Alverne Cooper reminded me of this escapade many times when I had her as a teacher at OHS. Larry Christman

Terry Hawkins also lived on Sivley St. He lived across the st. from Beverly Hickey. The Hawkins and the Hickeys were best of friends and were active in American Legion or VFW. Next door to Beverly was her first cousin, Dick Marchbanks (about 5 or 6 yrs. older than us). Next door to Terry were the Caldwells. Lynn was the oldest of the family. I believe she was 3 yrs. younger than us. I think Jimmy Patterson's family rented a house across from me at one time. Ann Whitehead also lived on Sivley for a little while. Dudley Dean Culley, our 7th grade science teacher, rented the basement apartment from Mr. and Mrs. Winters, my next door neighbors.

My brother, Harry, and Susan Collins' brother, Ken, were sometimes tag-alongs. In one of the snows, Harry was one of the injuried. He was sledding down Sivley and hit the curb on the curve above Byron Eliis's house and had a big cut. I remember that afterwards you could tell where he wrecked because you could see the blood in the white snow. Yuck, but true. Susan Sneed Harrison