I Am The Heavy Artillery: Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past

One ancillary byproduct of my research into the 1917-1918 subject matter of the previous blast from Heavy Artillery was discovering a treasure trove of photos in the Miami University digital collections (found here) of Oxford and Miami University from the 1950s. This period of local history has long held appeal to me. My folks, newly wed in 1955, moved to Oxford that same year when Mr B enrolled as a G.I Bill freshman in the fall of '55.

Many of the 1950s-era photographs in the (online) M.U. digital archives revolve around miscellaneous football games and homecoming. To wit, Homecoming 1955;

Is it too late for me to post a 21st century snowflake trigger warning?

#sorrynotsorry

Below, two scenes from behind the old football field (at Main St & Patterson Ave);

These two photos from homecoming (above) appear to depict the deconstruction of parade floats. A portion of the old 9-hole Miami University golf course may be discerned in the distance. The area at the upper left is today occupied by McKie Baseball Field at Hayden Park.

Pax Americana selfie!

Three photos (below) from 1956 of an unspecified engineering class;

Freshman picnic, 1956;

What fine, respectable looking Eisenhower Administration-era young ladies. Not a single dream catcher tattoo or septum piercing to be seen anywhere!

Now, back to the action!

One of Miami's great old dormitories, Reid Hall (demolished to make way for the Farmer $chool of Bizniz), can bee seen peering over the Miami Field student section.

Now, back to the action!

Bring back the three-man backfield!

You know who loves football? Kids. (Because they're too immature to know, yet, that baseball is a far better sport.)

M-I-C... see you real soon!

K-E-Y... why? Beats me.

But another place you could find ol' Mickey Mouse in 1956 was the funny pages;

That dude might have been me, circa 1956. Sporting shades. Reading the funnies. Reading the baseball box scores. Checking the race charts from River Downs. Football game? Where?!

In 1956 the Cincinnati Redlegs finished the season with a 91-63 record, good enough for a 3rd place finish and just 2 games behind Walter Alston's N.L. pennant-winning Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers. Those Dodgers boasted a lineup of Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Don Zimmer and pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. The '56 Rhinelanders roster featured a number of all-time Cincinnati favorites; Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson, Gus Bell, Wally Post and the Ol' Lefthander Joe Nuxhall.

Post game in Oxford, time to grab a cup of coffee or lemonade;

Crew cuts. Suits. Makes one yearn to revisit those halcyon days of yesteryear.....

.....wait one cotton pickin' minute! What the what?! Come on bro! Not cool. And totally non sequitur. Borrowing anachronistically from Sam Wyche; You live in Oxford, you don't live in Oxford [Mississippi]!

In 1957, Miami's star athlete was the great Wayne Embry photographed here making a hook shot at old Withrow Hall;

Dig the old school "key."

Bert Guenther models the Redskins' 1957 baseball uniform;

That, boys and girls, is a classic baseball uniform.

The 1957 Homecoming King and Queen [or somebody] rode into Miami Field in the back of a new-for-1957 Edsel;

Now, back to the action!

Homecoming 1958 was a rainy day;

The raindrops didn't stop the droptops from rolling down Main St towards Miami Field!

The large brick building you see in the background is old Tallawanda [sic] Hall, home to Tuffy's and Tuffy's famous toasted rolls. Tallawanda [sic] Hall stood at the intersection of Main St & Tallawanda [really sic] Rd. Mr B was a frequent patron of Tuffy's during his undergraduate years.

The student section was jam packed;

The digital archives for 1959 feature quite a few photographs of Miami's (new?) "computer center;"

That massive system had the calculating power of three abacuses. Abaci? Ab... uhh... abi... hmmm... abby something. #abbynormal

Also found in the collection are photographs of the uptown businesses from Christmas '59. Some few of the storefronts or business names might ring familiar with you Townies;

Later this corner locale was the location for Al & Larry's. Then Attractions. Then 45 East. Next? Probably some hipster doofus dive.

Roy Young's College Shop! Mr B shopped there back in the day. As did I, having purchased a couple of then-de rigueur rugby shirts there in the mid 1980s. Roy Young's College Shop also sponsored Mr B's bowling team, back in the 1960s.

Jack's Corner Men's Wear was another place Mr B shopped. The building was itself razed long ago.

Mr B didn't seem to recall this barbershop. Posted her only for the reflection of the water tower in the window.

This commercial structure with its distinctive entrance nook still stands today on West High St. Virtually directly across the street....

.....at a location identified in more recent times as Godfather's Pizza and Phan-Shin, the George H. Kyger & Sons Chrysler Dodge Plymouth dealership before it relocated to College Corner Pike. I'm stunned and amazed by the presence of a curbside gas pump! The building in the photograph at right still stands today.

Ball of Oxford is, for modern eyes, the only recognizable business name here. Z-Tronics sounds cool.

Here's another instantly recognizable storefront for Townies of a certain age. The sidewalk-level facade has been redesigned in recent years. Notably the large panes of glass have been removed.

The digital collection contains several photos of off-campus houses and fraternities being decorated for Homecoming;

In 1959, these scholars were looking to put Homecoming opponent Ohio University into orbit!

The '59 cheerleading squad looked, perhaps not un-coincidentally, like the Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers.

[Don't stop me if you've heard this before] Now, back to the action!