What was once a small university town has increasingly grown for the past 19 years, now enrolling just over 18,000 students on their Oxford campus and housing 20,865 Oxonians.
Just an hour outside of Memphis, you will come across the town of Oxford, Mississippi. Established in 1837, it has grown to become a prominent and well-known town in the South. Over the years, it has grown in tandem with the University of Mississippi and their Ole Miss Rebels.
Oxford prides itself in their welcoming personalities and Southern hospitality. In addition to the warm welcomes, the town is plentiful in culture. Deemed a haven for artists, musicians and writers, Oxford is not short of an inspiring atmosphere. The university brings a plethora of students and along with them have come great changes. For students and residents alike, it is a common topic of conversation in the small Southern town.
To understand how residents of Oxford feel about the changes that have occurred and are occurring, I researched Oxford and its prominent residents. This is where I found Maralyn Bullion and her astounding legacy that extends throughout Oxford and Ole Miss.
Born and raised in Oxford, Bullion attended the University of Mississippi from 1940 until her graduation in the spring of 1944. Mrs. Bullion was the first woman to be elected Student Body President in 1943. Her experiences are unlike most and her descriptions of the town and University are fascinating.
While Ms. Bullion was growing up, Oxford was a “sleepy town” where everyone knew each other. The Square was the center of activity and on Saturdays, townspeople came to do their grocery shopping and “it was packed, even more than on football weekends now,” Old men played checkers in front of the courthouse and farmers from the “county brought products to town to sell from the mule drawn wagons.” Bullion mentioned. During this time, “there were no bars,” she said, “as alcohol was not legal.”
When asked if she missed anything about the town, Bullion explained the community atmosphere is beginning to disappear and is “sorry that it is a custom that has gone the way of many good things.” At one point in time, there was an unwritten rule that “everyone spoke, said hello or hey or hi, whether we knew the person or not.” Although she believes both Ole Miss and Oxford are moving in a positive direction, it is a somber feeling that the loss “is in the spirit of community and neighborliness.”
While attending Ole Miss, the tuition was just over $50 and “most of the women were not preparing for careers.” Mrs. Bullion explained that “our goal was to become appealing to a man who would marry us.” As a result of World War II, many of the women realized they would need to work and “this was the beginning of the building of the path to where women are today.” The student body decreased to about 700 students because of the war.
“Three ASB presidents in a row lost their lives,” and added that “seeing the ROTC men marching took on a whole new meaning.” Much of the efforts of the existing students were directed to helping the country by having bond drives and saving metals.
At a time when war was dominating lives, Bullion said things were pretty normal at Ole Miss despite the war. The Student Union was the center of activities, and students often sat on the steps of the Lyceum. In between classes, friends would sit and “drink a Coke from the machine in the Lyceum or eat a candy bear we had bought from Blind Jim.”
My next stop was interviewing people at the Beacon. A local icon that has been in existence for as long as anyone can remember, the Beacon is the gathering spot for local residents. The place doesn’t look like it has changed since it was built, but this is what keeps bringing back the same customers.
At the Beacon, I ran into James Wright. After finding a booth and ordering a water, I approached a group of older men. Although two of them weren’t too thrilled with the idea of answering some questions, Wright provided me with more than enough responses to understand the changes that have occurred over the years in Oxford and Ole Miss.
“I attended Ole Miss in 1962,” Wright said, “and after the first month, it integrated.” He explained that he was there in the midst of the riots and experienced what has become important history of Ole Miss.
Wright grew up in Oxford and hasn’t left. “It was a little small town, we rode our bicycles until 9 or 10,” he said. “No one cared and no one got in trouble.” Although the town has grown immensely since then, Wright believes that most of the changes have been for the better and Oxford is becoming a nice, modern city. Wright mentioned that the only downside to a growing community is that outsiders are moving in and trying to “run our city,” and he added that “If they don’t like it, they can go back where they came from.”
Wright was a student at Ole Miss during a critical part of history, so I felt that I should ask if there was anything he misses about the town or university that no longer exists. After asking, all three men answered in unison, “We miss Colonel Reb.” He doesn’t like the Black Bear and believes that Ole Miss will “get him (Colonel Rebel) back one of these days.”
He added that the first African American athlete that attended Ole Miss on scholarship told him “personally that he came here to play for Colonel Reb.” Wright explained that you can’t erase history and Colonel Rebel is a defining aspect of the University of Mississippi.
While meeting with one of my professors about a class, I met Melinda Valliant, also a professor at the University of Mississippi. She moved to Oxford in the seventh grade and has lived in Oxford ever since, except for a few years spent in Dallas and Atlanta. Graduating from Ole Miss for the first time in 1988, Valliant has seen Oxford and Ole Miss change quite a bit.
I asked Valliant if the changes that have been occurring are bad or good and she had a mixed response. “Some developments have really changed the feel of Oxford and in my opinion, have not been a good idea particularly in keeping the small town feel,” she said but added that the growth of the University “is good especially from a financial standpoint.”
Attendance at Ole Miss has been greatly increasing for years, and will continue. Valliant believes the growth is beneficial to the University, but mentions “that managing the growth is necessary.” She said with the vast growth of students, faculty has not been increased, at least in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management, and this means “we can’t provide the same level of contact with our students” they once had. In order to keep with the influx of students, changes need to occur within the academics of the University.
Like many residents who have seen the town and university change immensely over the years, Valliant remembers when Oxford was “smaller, less traffic, less building in general and much more green space!” The first condo development was built when she was a junior in high school and the changes that have resulted since then have “driven property values and retail shop costs up which benefits some and hurts some.”
The town is growing alongside Ole Miss and Valliant regards the growth as taking away from the small town feel that Oxford is struggling to hold onto. When asked what she misses most about the town that no longer exists, Valliant replied “being able to walk around the square and know most everyone you pass.” Despite the drawbacks the town and university are facing currently, she says that she would never move because Oxford is home and “it is a wonderful place to raise kids.”
As my last interview, I chose Mrs. Elizabeth Stookey, a 2003 graduate of the University of Mississippi. She encouraged me to visit Ole Miss in my senior year of high school and because of her persistence, I am now a student here. Stookey’s love of the University and Oxford has never disappeared, and regularly visits. She pointed out that there is “something so special about the campus, the people, the town,” and added that she “had a great experience at Ole Miss and am a huge champion of the education that I have received.”
Although Stookey currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri, she explains that Ole Miss and Oxford will always hold a place in heart no matter what changes occur because “Oxford was, and still is, very charming.” She pointed that while in college, Wal-Mart was still in the Oxford Mall, there were very few, if any at all, chain restaurants, and The Gin and Forresters were the places to be for a night out. Even with the changes, Stookey believes that “Oxford is doing the best they can with the circumstances given.” Furthermore, she mentions that the Square has managed to maintain “its uniqueness and southern charm,” but adds that if you were to venture to other parts of town “people who have not been back since graduation would probably not recognize most parts of the town.”
Ole Miss student enrollment was around 16,000 when Stookey attended and since then, it has increased to 24,000. I asked if she thought the immense growth would be detrimental to the University and she asked, “How big is too big?” In her opinion, it is hard to determine if the growth is positive or negative simply because there are benefits and downfalls to both. “It’s a fine line,” Stookey said, “The University first and foremost must maintain excellence in academics, provide resources to students, faculty and staff and expand at a rate that they are comfortable with.”
The changes that have resulted over the years are controversial topics of conversation, but it is difficult to understand if they have had a positive or negative effect on the town and University. Despite varying opinions, the University of Mississippi will continue to grow, and as a result, Oxford will follow in growth.
But for now, we must remember that “there is something so special about Ole Miss and Oxford that can bond complete strangers with a nod of a head and a ‘Hotty Toddy.’”
Lindsey Andrews is a HottyToddy.com staff reporter and can be reached at lnandre@go.olemiss.edu.
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