The Oxford Experience
by: Marshall Elizer
Excerpt from his unpublished manuscript:
Ruminations of a Nonagenarian:
Memories of a 90 Year Old, 1946 – 2002
I came to Emory out of World War II to teach summer school in early June of 1946. Having been employed in March of 1946 by Dean Virgil Y. C. Eady as a “Utility Mathematics Instructor” for the sum of $2,200 per annum, I was assigned a couple of courses in high school algebra along with plane geometry for the summer ($500 extra was paid me for summer teaching). Emory at Oxford curriculum in 1946 consisted of high school subjects plus freshman and sophomore college courses. Emory College, established at Oxford in 1836, moved to the Atlanta campus in 1918, left the buildings, and such equipment no one wanted, on the Oxford scene for the Emory University Academy (EUA), a prep school designed to hone scholars for Emory University. Having taught in public schools of Georgia for ten years prior to entering military service in 1941 – 1945, I was accustomed to administering disciplinary measures when necessary. Discreet corporal punishment on rare occasions was deemed to be in order.
The fall of 1946 witnessed ex-military personnel enrolling in colleges in large numbers – and so it was in Oxford. There were 312 enrollees and most of them had been in uniform just a few months earlier; a Major in reserves, several pilots of fighter planes, and an ex-carrier pilot were among them. An ex-pilot who was married, living off campus with his wife and three children, bought a surplus military plane to fly off a “make-do” airfield some five or six miles north of Oxford. He was killed in an accident in this aircraft in the spring of 1947.
This was a time of transition and adjustment for faculty and students. The dormitory regulations were set up to control young high school boys and were supervised by a faculty member for each segment of dormitory space. Pierce Hall was a science building that had been converted into a dorm. It had three stories with a faculty family on each floor. Haygood Hall was built for housing students in 1912 – a three story structure divided into sections by fire walls. A faculty family lived in each section, with three stories. My wife, Fran, two little girls, and I lived on the bottom floor of Section D, Haygood Dorm, in an apartment improvised by a plywood wall making a passage between two student rooms and the toilet facilities, originally provided for first floor students. Thus, students on the first floor had to use the second floor shower and commode. Being a “proctor” was part of the deal in my being employed at Emory at Oxford; that is, in addition to the $2,200 for teaching from August to May, I was to supervise students for room and board for my wife and myself. My two year old daughter did not get her meals in the dining hall. We lived under this arrangement until Christmas, 1950. What is now “Dooley’s Tavern” was the kitchen, and the floor above was the dining hall for the student body and supervising families. The dining hall was attached to Haygood Hall by an enclosed hallway.
The fall of 1946 witnessed ex-military personnel enrolling in colleges in large numbers – and so it was in Oxford. There were 312 enrollees and most of them had been in uniform just a few months earlier; a Major in reserves, several pilots of fighter planes, and an ex-carrier pilot were among them. An ex-pilot who was married, living off campus with his wife and three children, bought a surplus military plane to fly off a “make-do” airfield some five or six miles north of Oxford. He was killed in an accident in this aircraft in the spring of 1947.
This was a time of transition and adjustment for faculty and students. The dormitory regulations were set up to control young high school boys and were supervised by a faculty member for each segment of dormitory space. Pierce Hall was a science building that had been converted into a dorm. It had three stories with a faculty family on each floor. Haygood Hall was built for housing students in 1912 – a three story structure divided into sections by fire walls. A faculty family lived in each section, with three stories. My wife, Fran, two little girls, and I lived on the bottom floor of Section D, Haygood Dorm, in an apartment improvised by a plywood wall making a passage between two student rooms and the toilet facilities, originally provided for first floor students. Thus, students on the first floor had to use the second floor shower and commode. Being a “proctor” was part of the deal in my being employed at Emory at Oxford; that is, in addition to the $2,200 for teaching from August to May, I was to supervise students for room and board for my wife and myself. My two year old daughter did not get her meals in the dining hall. We lived under this arrangement until Christmas, 1950. What is now “Dooley’s Tavern” was the kitchen, and the floor above was the dining hall for the student body and supervising families. The dining hall was attached to Haygood Hall by an enclosed hallway.
Haygood was heated with steam radiators in each room and hallways, as was the dining hall and kitchen. This steam was generated by a low pressure boiler, located under Section A of Haygood. An underground steam line ran from the Haygood boiler to Pierce Dorm, with a branch to Allen Memorial sanctuary. During the spring and fall seasons, it was at times difficult to regulate the temperature in the dormitory rooms. The heat was either “on” or it was “off.” There was no such thing as thermostatic control of radiators, so quite often it was too hot or too cold. Unfortunately, communication between the authority in charge of facilities and those living in dorms and using classrooms and offices, was less than desirable.
My wife Fran was pregnant with our second daughter, Marcia, during most of 1949. There being no hospital in Covington at that time, arrangements had been made for the birth to take place at Crawford Long Hospital, Atlanta. The road to Crawford Long was a long 40 miles over a two lane highway with a 90 degree turn in Lithonia. [The construction of] I-20 was 13 or 14 years to come. Traffic was really not a problem, for auto makers had not caught up from the delay [caused by] WWII, and cars were scarce. At long last, the time arrived: December 3, 1949, around 5:00 p.m.
I understood that there would be no heat in Haygood during the Christmas holidays of some two weeks, so I frantically purchased a portable kerosene heater to keep my newborn from freezing. The kerosene heaters of that time were quite dangerous, subject to flaring out of control and, at best, giving off noxious odors and deadly gasses when used in closed rooms. Fortunately, heat did remain on over the holidays and the Elizer family, and others living in Haygood, were toasty warm. Certainly, this matter had a great deal to do with my resolve to go ahead and build my own home to live in.
My wife Fran was pregnant with our second daughter, Marcia, during most of 1949. There being no hospital in Covington at that time, arrangements had been made for the birth to take place at Crawford Long Hospital, Atlanta. The road to Crawford Long was a long 40 miles over a two lane highway with a 90 degree turn in Lithonia. [The construction of] I-20 was 13 or 14 years to come. Traffic was really not a problem, for auto makers had not caught up from the delay [caused by] WWII, and cars were scarce. At long last, the time arrived: December 3, 1949, around 5:00 p.m.
I understood that there would be no heat in Haygood during the Christmas holidays of some two weeks, so I frantically purchased a portable kerosene heater to keep my newborn from freezing. The kerosene heaters of that time were quite dangerous, subject to flaring out of control and, at best, giving off noxious odors and deadly gasses when used in closed rooms. Fortunately, heat did remain on over the holidays and the Elizer family, and others living in Haygood, were toasty warm. Certainly, this matter had a great deal to do with my resolve to go ahead and build my own home to live in.
Emory College was established for the education of young men and the accommodations in all the buildings constructed on campus prior to the 1960’s indicate their erection was for “men only.” As early as the 1920’s, some local girls were admitted to classes, but not until 1955 were living quarters provided on campus for women. No rest rooms were in any buildings on campus other than Seney, the Library, Williams Gym, and, of course, the men’s dorms. Makeshift toilet facilities were provided for women only in Seney and in the Library.
Until the middle fifties, there seemed to be some question as to whether EAO would continue to function as part of Emory University. Little money had been provided to maintain the buildings left by Emory College in its move to the Atlanta campus. Over this period of nearly thirty years of low maintenance, the entire campus was in terrible shape – roofs were leaking, paint was peeling, holes were appearing in inner walls. The third and the fourth floors of Seney Hall were used for storing junk and worn out furniture. The last building erected on campus had been Haygood Hall in 1912. The philosophy of “make do” was prevalent: “When it breaks, fix it!” There seemed to be little effort to keep it from breaking!
Until the middle fifties, there seemed to be some question as to whether EAO would continue to function as part of Emory University. Little money had been provided to maintain the buildings left by Emory College in its move to the Atlanta campus. Over this period of nearly thirty years of low maintenance, the entire campus was in terrible shape – roofs were leaking, paint was peeling, holes were appearing in inner walls. The third and the fourth floors of Seney Hall were used for storing junk and worn out furniture. The last building erected on campus had been Haygood Hall in 1912. The philosophy of “make do” was prevalent: “When it breaks, fix it!” There seemed to be little effort to keep it from breaking!
Old Pierce Dormitory was razed in 1959 and a newer building, but obsolete in style even then, was built in its place – Dowman.
Dean Eady reached retirement age of 68 years in 1966. He had been in ill health during the sixties due I think in large measure to the stress he was undergoing to keep EAO open and healthy.
Until around 1960, it was not considered necessary to have a night watchman on duty. Some of the night watchmen were an asset to students. John Lovern, retired from many years in the U.S. Army, was a huge person, gentle in nature, and inspired confidence among students – one they could lean on in the night. Charlie Autry was another of these unusual people. There were other types, though, that were given a hard time. Once such was called “Deputy Dawg” who liked to show his pistol strapped on his belt inside the holster. He really was not a vicious person. He liked to drive around the Quad with his lights off, trying to catch pranksters. It seems that Deputy was somewhere around the southern end of Dickey Dorm when he heard voices near the fish pond. What prevailed upon Deputy to deliberately fire his gun in that direction is not known. Candler Hall was in the line of fire. The bullet went just a few feet over the fish pond and passed through glass over the entrance to Candler Hall. Deputy was terminated the next day.
Dean Eady reached retirement age of 68 years in 1966. He had been in ill health during the sixties due I think in large measure to the stress he was undergoing to keep EAO open and healthy.
Until around 1960, it was not considered necessary to have a night watchman on duty. Some of the night watchmen were an asset to students. John Lovern, retired from many years in the U.S. Army, was a huge person, gentle in nature, and inspired confidence among students – one they could lean on in the night. Charlie Autry was another of these unusual people. There were other types, though, that were given a hard time. Once such was called “Deputy Dawg” who liked to show his pistol strapped on his belt inside the holster. He really was not a vicious person. He liked to drive around the Quad with his lights off, trying to catch pranksters. It seems that Deputy was somewhere around the southern end of Dickey Dorm when he heard voices near the fish pond. What prevailed upon Deputy to deliberately fire his gun in that direction is not known. Candler Hall was in the line of fire. The bullet went just a few feet over the fish pond and passed through glass over the entrance to Candler Hall. Deputy was terminated the next day.