When Ohio University alumnus Chris Loy was asked by his crush if she could hang a banner at his house on Palmer Street during a party in 1991, he had no idea they would be married just a few years later.
I always had a crush on my wife
but she didn't know me Loy said. So I was pretty happy when she came to ask about (hanging the banner). Here we are 15 or 16 years later happily married.
Aside from meeting his future wife, Loy was insuring his legacy another way - being one of the few houses to participate in the first official Palmerfest at OU.
The first Palmerfest was held on April 21, 1991, as what Loy said was a response to the end of Springfest, a party held on the university's intramural baseball field.
(Springfest) had been for years before. I had only experienced it my first two years. The last year they made it dry
and no one went
said Loy, who now lives in Tampa, Fla.
Loy said the next year, when he lived at 19 Palmer St., he was approached by a few neighbors to have Palmerfest, a phrase Loy said he remembers seeing first in a newspaper article.
Doug Powhida moved in with Loy in the next school year and helped carry on the tradition with Palmerfest '92.
It was just decided that everybody would buy their own kegs and have house parties
but we would have music as well
Powhida said, adding that the stage that currently exists on Palmer Street used to be constructed only of 4-by-4 feet pieces of plywood.
Powhida said that during the second Palmerfest, they tried to make changes based on experience from the year before; however, the changes were not always beneficial.
Our water bill
the first Palmerfest
was so outrageous the next month (that) the next year we decided to turn off the water to the toilets
thinking that would stop people from using them
he said. It didn't.
A story that appeared in The Post after the first official Palmerfest stated that the party consisted of 15 kegs and about 500 people in attendance. This year, more than 3,000 people plan to attend to Palmerfest, according to the fest's Facebook event.
Athens Police Department Officer Robert Filar was on duty during the first Palmerfest and said that he does not remember specifics of the events but knows the fest, weather permitting, has grown in the last 18 years.
Palmer is the biggie
