About Sydney Stevens

Sydney Stevens of Oysterville, WASydney Stevens, author and historian, has a lifetime interest in the southwestern Washington region. She has always considered Oysterville “home,” although she didn’t begin to live there full-time until she was well into her forties. The Little Family to which she belonged (her name was “Little” plus there were only three of them, as she was an only child) moved four or five times during her childhood, mostly to communities within the San Francisco Bay Area. The constant in their lives was Oysterville.

Oysterville was where Sydney’s mother had grown up, where her grandparents, the H. A. Espys lived, and where she spent every summer vacation and most Christmases from 1938 through the 1950s. Changes occurred in other aspects of her life but, seemingly, never in Oysterville. Year after year she looked forward to the adventures that awaited her in the woods, on the bay, and in the little village itself. She was never disappointed.

Sydney and her husband, Nyel, live in the H.A. Espy family home across from the Historic Oysterville Church. They participate actively in the local community and Sydney devotes much of her time to researching and documenting the history and folklore of the area. “It’s a family legacy,” says Sydney whose great-grandfather, R. H. Espy was one of the first white settlers in the area and co-founded Oysterville in 1854. “I grew up listening to the old-timers tell about the early days and as the years have passed, I find myself repeating the same wonderful tales.”

Born: February 28, 1936           Newton, Massachusetts
Education: Public Schools in Alameda and San Rafael, California and Ocean Park, Washington
1957 — B.A. Journalism, Stanford University
1961 – California Teaching Credential, San Francisco State College
Career: Elementary Teacher in CA and WA 1961 – 2001
Published works include textbooks, fiction and non-fiction books, magazine and newspaper articles. Sydney has also published under the name Sydney LaRue.