Growing Up on 5th Street - "Continuing in the Neighborhood"

By Butch Hurford

As not being a good writer and not remembering like I should, I failed to mention these families, the Drennans and the Elams. Donald and Tommy Drennan and I were good friends. Donald was my age and Tommy several years younger. Donald was the kicker on the football team. The summer before our senior year Donald got his big toe in the lawnmower. He couldn’t kick but he still played and was very good. The year Augusta had a radio station Tommy announced the games and did a very good job. I loved Mrs. Drennan. She was always so good to me.

Donald & Tommy Drennan

The Elams lived around the corner from us. Donald Elam was a great quarterback. Roland was injured in a car wreck and didn’t play much football but he was ahead of his time on a bicycle. He could do things on a bike no one else could do! Roland always had extra parts for a bicycle and for a very small fee he would work on our bikes. Younger brothers Carol, Dickey and Jerry and sister Linda Jane were a big part of the neighborhood. Mrs. Elam’s grandson, Jimmy Brown, was their about also. I was proud to know all of them. Carol and Jimmy became good High School coaches. I admired all the kids on 5th street. They all turned out good, some having good jobs and some graduating from college, like Harvey, Carol and Jimmy. All the rest of us always had pretty good jobs. It always amazed me we turned out like we did, coming from our humble beginnings.

There were a lot of good athletes on 5th street that were older than me that I need to mention, the Simmons boys, John, Boots and Tom. Coach King said Boots was the fastest lineman he’d ever had. As a guard he would pull, makes his blocks, catch the ball carrier and holler “lateral”! Other good players were Dec and Rex Collins, Buster, Paul and Val Brown and Lolyd and Edgar Bottoms. Billy Ray Smith didn’t live on 5th st. but he was there a lot visiting his cousins the Simmons. A lot of people said Boots could whip Billy Ray but I’m not for sure!!!

Bobby Pomtree and Carroll Wilson

Buster Brown was one of the best athletes to come out of Augusta. He was voted “Outstanding Player” in the 1956 All Star game. Other boys that moved to 5th st. were the Pomtrees, Hershal, James Bobby and Russell. Bobby became one of my best friends in High School.