For 62 years, Jeanette Taylor has called Neeley Avenue home. Every morning she calls for her 7-year-old Shih Tzu named Phoebe, and together they walk toward their screened-in front porch where they'll sit for hours watching students pass by.
Nicknamed "Grandma Neeley" by students, Taylor lives in one of the two residential homes left in the neighborhood, while the majority of the houses now belong to landlords who rent to student tenants. As students began moving in, former homeowners began moving out in fear that property values would decrease and new neighbors would bring noise and parties.
"I saw no reason to leave. I got along okay with the students, I knew this house, I knew all the problems in this house, and I could not replace this house for the price I would get from selling it," Taylor said. "I have never had any problems with any of the students. If a party was too loud, the next day, I'd tell them I didn't sleep and they'd just apologize and wouldn't do that again."
Littering is really the only downside to living near a large amount of college students, Taylor said. Occasionally she has to pick up broken bottles or sweep off the sidewalk in front of her house.
"Sometimes there's broken glass or other trash near or on the sidewalk," she said. "People say to me, 'When you walk and we wave at you, you don't even look up!' I said, 'I can't, I have to watch for glass!'"
While she misses the family neighborhood that consisted of potlucks and picnics, Taylor has never regretted her choice to remain living on Neeley, and each year she has formed new and unique bonds with the students around her.
"I sit on the porch and wave at them and they always wave back," she said. "They're always happy, they're always full of energy, they always stop and talk to me, they always stop to the dog because they miss their dog at home and they are homesick for them."
One student who has made an impact on Taylor is junior computer science major David Silva who visits her on a regular basis. When he returned from Iraq in December of 2008, he went across the street and introduced himself and offered to help with anything Taylor may need.
"David is an exceptional young man. We got to talking about computers one day and I told him I couldn't use mine because I couldn't see it very well," Taylor said. "He went in and fixed it and made it all black and white and the letters big enough that I could see them."
Silva has also benefited from their relationship and appreciates the time Taylor is willing to spend swapping stories and listening to him talk about classes, friends and other aspects of his life.
"She's a good person to talk to and she has lots of good stories that she's told me about her lifetime and her life in general," Silva said. "She always offers a fresh outlook on something and she's someone I can talk to whenever I need to."
Although Taylor is 68 years older than Silva, he has learned she isn't much different from the rest of his peer group.
"I don't treat her any differently just because she's older," Silva said. "We still always have something to talk about and I don't have to worry about her telling other people what I have shared with her."
Senior sociology major Annie Aiello who also lives on Neeley Avenue says having Taylor live nearby gives the street a more "homey" atmosphere that some of her friends don't get when they surround themselves exclusively with other college students.
"It brings a nice touch and a nice feel to the neighborhood. It's like all college students ... and then you have "Grandma Neeley." If you think about it, she's always been here, and we're the ones who move in and out," Aiello said. "But it's funny because when we go talk to her, she knows everything that's been going on around Neeley."
Taylor is well aware that students come and go - and has had to be cautious of getting what she calls "too close." Whether they stay for one year or three years, Taylor values the time she gets to spend with students and said she knows she is blessed to be surrounded by young adults who are willing to help her out whenever possible.
"I would say I've been like a mother figure or a grandmother figure to these students - and I like being a grandma. I used to get close to students and it would be really hard when they would leave," she said. "You just never know what's going to happen next so you gotta take the time to thank your lucky stars."
Click here to see an interactive graphic on Grandma Neeley.
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