The name Bramlett is easy to find in Oxford history.
My brother, Glenn, was born in the old Bramlett Hospital. We all started school at Bramlett Elementary, on Bramlett Blvd. “Old” Dr. Gene Bramlett took care of our grandparents and young Dr. Gene Bramlett tended to our parents. When I was in an accident, and I had a punctured lung, it was Dr. Julian Bramlett who said we didn’t have a minute to waste and got up on the emergency room table and put his knees on either side on my crest and told me to “hold on son, this is going to hurt”, as he put a chest tube in me. I can still see Officer Steve Bramlett standing on the corner of Sisk Ave. and Bramlett Blvd at attention, saluting Granddaddy Cofield as we took him to St. Peter’s.
I’ve got an old photo of Granddaddy and Barnie Bramlett with over 200 bream they caught one afternoon. They had so many they ran out of stringers and had to cut some wire from a fence to string ’em and get ’em all home.
Having said all that — it’s Janie Bramlett, my 5th-grade teacher who I loved. We all did. Halfway through that school year she left to marry and start a new life. All of us kids really hated to see her go. On her last day we gave her a corsage and Dad came and took a photo of Miss Bramlett. He took this shot right outside of the old school across from the Oxford Eagle, at the bottom of the front steps in front of the bushes there. He printed us all a copy. I lost mine in a fire but was glad when Carrie Groves sent me her copy.
Janie had a passion for horses as you can see by her necklace. I was sad to learn from Chandler that Janie passed away some years ago. She was special for sure. Her son, Bobby, continues her passion and trains walking horses in Shelbyville, Ten.
John Cofield is a hottytoddy.com writer and one of Oxford’s leading folk historians. He is the son of renowned university photographer Jack Cofield. His grandfather, Col. J.R Cofield, was William Faulkner’s personal photographer and for decades was Ole Miss yearbook photographer. Cofield attended Ole Miss as well.
