Gregory B. Stevens

When Gregory Stevens (b. 1966) was growing up in Society Hill, the bears were bigger than they are now. Others of his generation who were interviewed made the same observation.

Greg’s parents, Dorothy and David Stevens, built a house at 116 Delancey Street. He started school at McCall’s, the neighborhood public school, but soon switched to Friends Central in Wynnewood. That required a lengthy commute by bus and subway, which Greg did not like (particularly because of the diesel fumes). He transferred to St. Andrew’s Boarding School in Delaware.

When he was not at school or commuting, he and his friends liked to ride their bicycles on I-95 when it was under construction, play baseball, fly kites, and dig around in the vacant lots (of which there were still a fair number in the neighborhood). Abandoned wells that had been converted to trash pits often contained interesting pottery or glass shards, which the boys would try to glue together. In the winter, they went sledding at Society Hill Towers, being careful to stop before colliding with cars parked at the bottom of the hill.

Greg says that, as a child, he did not give much thought to the neighborhood where he lived. As an adult, he realizes that growing up in the city made him more self-reliant; he learned how to handle himself in a city. He observes that, while cities can be intimidating, you can enjoy yourself once you learn how they work: “what’s safe and what’s not safe.” That probably includes the bears, even if they are the Three Bears sculpture in the neighborhood park.

Transcript

DS:      This is an interview with Gregory B. Stevens. The date is July 8, 2010; the location is at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the interviewer is Dorothy Stevens.

[Tape is turned off, then on again]

DS:      Gregory, tell me when were you born?

GS:      1966, April 6.

DS:      Did your parents live in Society Hill at the time?

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About the Interview

Interviewer
Dorothy Stevens
Transcriber
Cynthia J. Eiseman
Interview Location
Residence of Gregory Stevens, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Interview Date
July 8, 2010
Interviewee
Stevens, Gregory B.
Narrator Type
Redeveloper - New Construction
Third Generation
Oral History Sources