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Page 1: Our story 2013

45

th Anniversary - Homecoming 2013

Epsilon Upsilon Chapter

Of

Our Story

A-PDF Merger DEMO : Purchase from www.A-PDF.com to remove the watermark

Page 2: Our story 2013

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BELOW: HUGH SHIELDS AWARD #6

Back Row: (L-R) Tom Calhoon - Northern Division President; Travis Rockey International President. Front Row (L-Ri) Ryan Till, Josh Counselman, Keenan Hamilton, Casey McGuire, Karl Grant, Brandon Stewart����Jason Long. Columbus OH; Northern Division Conference, January 2013

��1

Brotherhood begins

A Humble Start�� The founding of the Marietta College Chapter of Delta Tau Delta seems to have been an undertaking fraught with pitfalls and earmarked for failure. A handful of motley undergraduates with no permanent home, scanty finances, and no strong organizational structure attempting to found a vital and enduring brotherhood now seems a sure recipe for failure. But reminiscing on those exciting and challenging days, I see that what we may have lacked in material objects we compensated with boundless enthusiasm, great hope, and an intense desire to succeed. We worked hard, we played - perhaps too hard, but our failures never daunted us nor did our successes lead us to lethargy. Yes, we were proud of those early accomplishments, but we were aware of our shortcomings and strove to always be better.

Bill Havens ’69 [1978] *year of written contribution

~

Field Secretary Doug Croth of Indianapolis, Ind., center, a graduate of the University of Toronto, representing Delta Tau Delta Fraternity at the nationalization of Marietta College’s chapter. At left is president of the Crescent Colony, Tom Robinson, a senior from Marietta, and at right, Bill Havens, vice president, a senior from Burgoon. Marietta Times

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One of the First Marietta Delts, Joe Kirby remembers

In the Fall of 1966 I pledged Beta Delta Epsilon, the smallest, certainly least prestigious fraternity at Marietta. It was a pledge class of three; myself, Nick Miles and Ned Ives. The pledge party was memorable; Willie Warner’s crummy apartment, the cinematic achievement known as “The Undertakers Dream” and ouzu [a Greek liqueur] “depth charges.” Who would drink that stuff, never mind mix it with beer? The hangover was even more memorable. ΒΔΕ only minimally harassed their pledges although during “hell week” we did have to wear large cardboard cutouts of our pledge pins and suffer the rigors of the Bag Baker Memorial Walk. I also recall fragments of the ΒΔΕ ritual; esoteric stuff about Plato’s cave-dwellers watching shadows on the wall. I guess Nick, Ned and I were the last ΒΔΕs. Just call me Uncas. The fraternity at the time was in the process of “going national” and eventually became the crescent colony of ΔTΔ. Since we were the “98-pound weakling” of the greek scene, the Delts must have had their doubts. We did have the scholarship thing going for us. We needed to expand our horizons if we were ever to become a full- fledged chapter. For Homecoming, we built our first float with Marc Nevas as chief engineer and architect. The Delta Queen was a good effort, but that paddle wheel never worked right. The next year, our bi-plane won the float trophy and the following year, our Spanish galleon was a pinnacle of the float building craft. It rocked, it rolled and the cannons fired smoke. Take a pom-pom, dip it in paste, stick it in the chicken wire. Who says a college education is overrated? Still, we needed more than floats and grades. We needed pledges. Ken Kavula did more than any person to make that happen. In the Spring of 1968, he was a man on a mission. He browbeat us, he cajoled us, he organized us. Ken prepared the best pledge week party of all time. It was a riverboat theme and Cecil Boyd’s Banjo Band was incredible. At the end of the week, the Marcolian headline read “Delts Pledge Nineteen”. Overnight, we had literally doubled in size. We also gained a certain amount of respect on campus. Most importantly, we became eligible for full chapter status as Delts. We had good parties, particularly Spring and Fall picnics. As I recall, a favorite spot was called Goose Creek. The farmer let us party there as long as we picked up our empties. I certainly won’t forget diving into Goose Creek, which may have been all of three feet deep and hitting my head on a rock. Luckily, Bill Havens noticed I didn’t come up. Thanks

again, Bill, may you rest in peace.

~Joe Kirby, ‘70 [2008] ��47

Epilogue: Today, the President's house, Erwin Hall, and the MacMillan house at 213 Fourth Street are the only campus buildings remaining from the days when a loyal 20 year old Delt named Charles Martin attended Marietta College. For a college student trying to start a new fraternity chap-ter at a campus located directly on the border of a newly fractured nation, his timing was...unfortunate. Charles Martin's efforts were soon swept away by events over which he had no control, but he deserves our recogni-tion for his efforts - even in the worst circumstances.

1 Now West Liberty University. A Delt chapter has never been re-established there. West Liberty Academy was a hybrid of a modern college-prep high school/junior college. Fraternity chapters were established at 'academies' with the expectation that the young men who joined them might help establish chapters at "proper" colleges and universities once they transferred to obtain their degrees. 2 "Prime" indicates this was the first chapter to bear the Gamma designation. In the early years when a chapter closed, its greek-letter designation was simply reassigned to a new chapter at a different school. Some early sources refer to the West Liberty chapter as Beta Prime, although early chapters were often ranked by their strength rather than their chronological addition to the Fraternity. 3 Delt history publication Sing to the Royal Purple makes passing mention of a West Liberty student (unnamed, but clearly Charles Martin) who attempted to estab-lish a Delt chapter at Marietta - but it mistakenly attributes his failure to do so to his enlistment in the Union Army. 4Thornton's role at Morgantown may have been more as an instructor than a student. -Also: Marietta College in the War of Secession 1861-1865, by Thompson & DE Beach, 1878.

Confederate Military History, by Gen. Clement A. Evans, 1899. John Russell Thornton Collection, Delta Tau Delta Archives The Rainbow of ΔΤΔ, Vol. XXVIII. January, 1905.

West Virginia and Its People, Vol. III, by Miller & Maxwell, 1913. Marietta College Library Special Collections - With thanks to Linda Showalter. -And for the completists among us, take no notice of the following: A Pioneer College: The Story of Marietta, by Arthur G. Beach, 1935. This comprehensive history of the College's first 100 years mentions Charles Martin directly. However, he is stated to have been "killed in service to the Confederacy" during the Civil War. This egregious error negates his documented military service and long involvement in Parkersburg business & civic affairs -and it overlooks his pub-

lished obituaries from 20 years earlier.

Charles Martin’s resting place, Mt Olivet Cemetery, Parkersburg WV

ca. 1894

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CHARLES CARROLL MARTIN BIOGRAPHY, CONTINUED

On February 20th, 1861 he wrote a letter to John Russell Thornton, a fellow Delt from West Liberty who had transferred to Monongalia Academy in Morgantown

4. The letter focused mainly on Martin's attempt

to start a Delt chapter at Marietta College and it illuminates two notable elements: A great enthusiasm for the Fraternity on the part of its author -from the very earliest years of the Fraternity's history, and the date it was written. The early months of 1861 are remembered as the "Winter of Secession"; seven southern states had already seceded; Jefferson Davis had been inaugurated as President of the Confederacy two days earlier; Abraham Lincoln (elected the previous November) was inaugu-rated just twelve days after the date of this letter.

At Marietta College highly partisan student debate topics that winter included "Resolved—that South Carolina ought to be kicked out into the ocean." Marietta found itself on the US border when Virginia seceded in April and MC students began leaving school to join the cause, Charles Martin among them. Following his own political sentiments, he enlisted as a private in the 46th Virginia battalion (cavalry) CSA, which later consolidated with the 26th Virginia. With this command Martin was identified until the close of the war, but portions of his service were passed as a Union prisoner. In the summer of 1862 he was captured and sent to Camp Chase in Columbus, OH. He was part of a prisoner exchange in 1863 and re-joined his command. In the summer of 1863 he was again captured and forwarded under guard to Camp Chase, but en route he made a daring escape from the window of the toilet room of the railway car, and rejoined the Confederate army in safety. Later that year he participated in the battle of Droop Mountain, and soon afterward he was promoted to the rank of second Lieutenant of the VA 26th caval-ry. He participated in numerous severe engagements of the cavalry in the Shenandoah valley in 1864, with notable courage and fortitude. Among the battles in which he took part are Martinsburg, Shepherd-stown, Monocacy, Front Royal and several others. In the Spring of 1865 he was on a brief furlough when the army of Northern Virginia surren-dered. He did not return to Marietta, but settled in Parkersburg where he became engaged in business. For several years he conducted a retail grocery business, and later entered the wholesale trade. He was prominent in municipal and general politics, serving one term on the Parkersburg city council.

Charles Carroll Martin died in 1915 and is buried in Mount Olivet Ceme-tery in Parkersburg.

��3

Founding Member Ken Kavula Explains the Chapter's Creation Beta Delta Epsilon was founded in the spring of 1966 after a call was put out by Dean of Students Walter Hobba for men interested in starting something new. Rush had just finished and my best buddy Tom Robinson and I had decided early on not to pledge. We had formed a fairly large social group of our own, including my wife-to-be, Natalie, and we were spending a lot of time at Tom’s house –yes, he was a hoopie, and so was Natalie. Tom’s mother was a teacher, and Natalie’s father was Marietta College history professor, Dr. R. L. Jones –a formidable individual. We had huge group dinners and watched Marietta on the GE College Bowl as it rolled to victory after victory. Nat’s sister was on the team as well. Mark Schickler was my roommate; his future wife Patti Palotta was the Italian chef supreme who kept us all fed. Nat pledged ΑΣΤ and really enjoyed her experience, so when the opportunity presented itself to “go greek”, Tom and I -and a few of our friends immediately took to it. At the initial meeting, Dean Hobba told us that the letters ΒΔΕ came from the letters of the three national fraternities that they were hoping to attract to campus –“Β” (ΒΘΠ); “Δ” (DKE); and “E” (ΣAE). We had an initiation ceremony in an old house [later used by ΑΤΩ and TKE; since demolished] directly across from Dorothy Webster Hall, and that became our first meeting place. The red carnation became our flower and we immediately went out looking for pledges. My roommate Mark Schickler, and another close friend, Bill Havens, became our first two official pledges that year. We elected officers, took pictures and did what we thought a fraternity should. Mark and Bill activated as ΒΔΕs before we went home that summer, and I was appointed Rush Chairman by Chapter President Gregory Maloof. We came back in the fall and moved into our new house at 507 Putnam St. Our first job was to try and furnish the place so we could attract a pledge class. During this period, Natalie and I were getting serious and I gave her the first - and only - ΒΔΕ lavalier. With the place looking pretty good we set out to attract new pledges. We held spaghetti suppers -I cooked- and, when it was over, we got a pledge class! It was the smallest on campus, but we were growing. Rob Weidenfeld came from this class as well as Bruce Miller, who really helped the house through some rocky times in the mid-1970s [as Chapter Advisor]. CONTINUED

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....Cracking the Books We studied hard and won the first trophy in our [trophy] case. We were to win that thing quite a few times and it became a blessing and a curse when we became known as the smart guys –“geek” or “nerd” was not in the vernacular at the time. A lot of us were in the college band and I was a member of the MC singers, so one of our early purchases was a very old upright piano which joined a salvaged study table in the dining room at 507 Putnam.

....Delta Tau Delta Meets Marietta College We were busy interviewing potential national fraternities and being interviewed in return. [Among them] Delta Tau Delta seemed serious, and in early 1967, we became a Crescent Colony of ΔΤΔ. We settled into campus life and began to work toward our installation. [There was] a Delt old-timer (he was 65 or 70) from Ohio University who would visit us on a regular basis to see how things were going. We began the 1967-68 year in an optimistic mood. I was Rush Chairman again and we had attracted the interest of a large group of freshmen men. We continued our spaghetti dinners and as the first semester ended, we knew we were going to pledge a class which would about double the size of the house. The scholarship trophy was again ours. We worked hard and began final preparations for the installation We had decided that my future father-in-law Dr. R. L. Jones would be a good faculty addition to the house –and he was, in his own special way, honored, pleased, and proud to be included. CONTINUED

Steve Critchlow with his priorities in order.

��45

A Biography of Charles Carroll Martin, the first Delt at Marietta College

Epsilon Upsilon's closest Delt neighbors are among the oldest chapters in the Fraternity: Bethany; West Liberty (inactive); Ohio U (inactive); WVU (inactive); Washington & Jefferson, etc. Considering Marietta's proximity to ΔΤΔ's birthplace at Bethany College it is curious that a Delt chapter wasn't attempted until the 1960s. Except there was a VERY early attempt to estab-lish a Delt chapter at Marietta. In 1861. Marietta might have become home to one of the Fraternity's oldest chapters, were it not for a tidal wave of his-torical circumstance - in spite of one young man's sincere efforts. This is the

story of The First Delt to attend Marietta College: Charles Carroll Martin.

West Liberty Academy1 in Virginia (now West Liberty University, WV)

was the closest school to Bethany College, and was the logical choice for the first expansion of Delta Tau Delta. Gamma Prime

2 Chapter initiated just

13 men during its short existence there. One of them was Charles Carroll Martin, a native of Wetzel County VA (now WV). As the men of Gamma Prime chapter transferred to other institutions to further their education, it was hoped that many of them would establish Delt chapters at their new schools

3. Charles Martin transferred to Marietta in 1860, taking residence in

North Hall (a dormitory located about where the Administration building now stands) and he soon began to look for a way to start a Delt chapter.

LEFT: John Russell Thornton (in 1893) RIGHT: Philip G. Bier (in 1864)

The first Delt at Marietta College,

CHARLES CARROL MARTIN (in1870) b. 1840, d. 1915

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1 John Russell Thornton, a Delt from West Liberty who transferred to Mononga-lia Academy. In The Good Delt, Thornton is shown to have received a letter from Rhodes Sutton (a boyhood friend from Pennsylvania) in which Sutton re-ported his successful initiation into ΔΤΔ - a crucial moment in the Fraternity's survival (February 1861). Sutton's letter to Thornton was written the same week as this letter from Charles Martin.

2 Monongalia Academy was located in Morgantown, Virgina (now West Virgin-ia), and was a precursor to West Virginia University. Monongalia's first Delt chapter appeared in 1860, but each closing and re-opening resulted in a new chapter designation. WVU's permanent Delt designation finally became 'Gamma Delta' (currently inactive). 3 “ere this”: before; previously. 4 The high regard for John Russell Thornton held by many Delts is explained by several letters sent to him in 1861 from former West Liberty Delts who were by then scattered on different campuses. In all of this correspondence there are similar complaints regarding Bethany's extreme slowness in sending out materi-als for establishing new Chapters. Given the rapidly unfolding political develop-ments nationally, the impending closure of the Bethany chapter, and a disas-trous fire at Bethany which destroyed much of the founding materials - it is un-derstandable how Martin's request was overlooked (or missed altogether).

5 The other fraternities at Marietta in 1861 were Alpha Sigma Phi (Delta Chap-ter) and Alpha DiGamma (a local fraternity which lasted 60 years). Marietta's first fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta (Eta Chapter) had closed in 1859.

6 "Fine Blue Stock": An expression referring to the color blue (not "blue blood"); blue is traditionally associated with virtue.

7 Philip G. Bier was a student at West Liberty. Both Bier and John Thornton transferred to from West Liberty to Monongalia, where Bier was initiated by Thornton; both were founders of the first Delt chapter there. Charles Martin and Philip Bier would find themselves on opposing sides of the coming conflict. Bier became a Captain of the 12th West Virginia Infanty (Union); he was killed in the Battle of Cedar Creek, Shenandoah County PA in late 1864. In 1883 the Philip G. Bier G.A.R. Post [union veterans] was organized in his memory.

8 Harding W. Kuhn was another Delt from West Liberty. In spite of the per-ceived gravity of his health in this letter, brother Kuhn was reported to be living in Charleston WV in a 1905 issue of the Rainbow.

9 "Pocket full of Rocks": Derived from the biblical story of David vs. Goliath, this expression refers to the great things one can accomplish with the humble resources already available to him.

ENDNOTES FOR CHARLES MARTIN’S LETTER TO JOHN THORNTON

��5

....Installation: Saturday November 23, 1968 The weather was beautiful, and the guys from the chapter at the University of Cincinnati [including long-time Chapter Advisor Robert Ferguson] assured us we had nothing to worry about. We had spent the last month or so building the ritual items and, needless to say, were very interested in how it would all fit together. I got dressed in my tuxedo (in those years we all had tuxedos and wore them pretty often to formals), and greeted some of the original ΒΔΕs that had graduated and were returning to campus. When the time came, we marched to the administration building where the ceremony took place. What a proud and emotional moment for all of us. That evening we had a grand banquet at the Club Continental across from the Lafayette Hotel. I can still see everyone gathering in the front of the room for the official Delt photo and proudly singing Delta Shelter. The evening finished and I took Natalie back to her dorm, but I didn’t want it to end –neither did my good friend Bill Havens. We walked back to the Club and ended up at the bar, where Bill played piano and I sang as long as they kept our glasses full. What a night!

....Dr Robert L. Jones The Delta Tau Delta Robert L Jones Prize is awarded annually to any Marietta College student who achieves the highest scholastic standing while a member of the freshman class. The prize was established in 1970. In 1975 it was renamed to honor Dr Robert L. Jones, who retired that year after teaching history at the College since 1938. Dr Jones was the only faculty member initiated at the chapter's installation in 1968.

Ken Kavula, ’69 [1999]

~

Marietta Times

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A Founding Member’s Definition of Brotherhood From the first days of ΒΔΕ, the local fraternity that would later become Epsilon Upsilon, the concept of brotherhood was quite clear. Our idea of brotherhood in 1966 centered on an acceptance of young men of integrity who would do more than just participate in Chapter activities. They would also commit themselves to support and encourage each other and to work for the betterment of the greater college community. In those first years we pledged athletes and scholars, musicians and geologists, writers and biologists, teachers and economists. We did not pledge men because they were — or were not — white, black, asian, Christian, Jewish, gay or straight. But all of those “types” did become brothers and all added their individual strengths to the solid foundation of our Chapter. I am proud of our Chapter’s history. [I am proud of] the Chapter’s continuing academic excellence and accomplishments in the community. But I am especially proud of the commitment to our most important tradition: The ideal of a brotherhood that is never compromised by labels, that accepts a man for his worth, respects him for his efforts and values him for his contributions.

Bruce Miller, '70 [2006] ~

The list of founders from the Installation program, November 23, 1968

BDE alumnus Steve Newton returns to Marietta to receive his Delt “shingle”.

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In conclusion I hope that the Chapters of the �û��û��Society may go forth to the

four winds as thick as rain drops from the heavens, and multiply in proportion of

running rivers. That is, popular and well conducted ones, and Societies that have a

respectable number of members and their pocket full of rocks9.

P.S. Enclosed you will find a “Description” of the Speakers chosen from the Jun-

ior and Senior classes. C.C.M.

�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B

Original letter from Marietta College student Charles Carroll Martin to his Delt brother from West Liberty, John Russell Thornton. See endnotes on the on following page.

��������������I remain

Yours respectfully,

Chas. C. Martin

Marietta, Ohio

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Brother Thornton1,

It was with much pleasure that I learned that you had got a Chapter of the

�û��û�s Society at your Institute2. I now wish you abundant sweep with it

henceforth and forever.

I am going to start one here as soon as the Constitution arrives, which will be

next week, and would have had it going ere this3 had they got my letter at Bethany

in due time4. But what we have lost in numbers we hope to make up in time. There

are already two other Societies here5, and I expect this will kick up h--l when it

gets out, as they are not looking for such a thing and will consequently be taken

unawares. I have repeatedly refused to join them, although good ones, preferring

to stand or fall with �û��û����

We do not expect to do much this term, but will roll on in the next, for our quota

of the unchosen. Give my respects to all the �û��û�s in Morgantown, although I

don't know them by sight - I know them as members of that Fraternity in which

there is no guile, and of the Fine Blue Stock6.

Does Phil Bier7 belong? I hope he does. I believe Phil would make a good

member, taking him where he has not so many old enemies to oppose him. Write

soon and let me know all about Matters and things &c. I heard some time since

that Hard Kuhn8 was not expected to live.

CONTINUED

Marietta College, O.

Feb 20th, 1861

Mr. Thornton,

Morgantown, Va.

The First Delt At Marietta College

��7

The Help I just missed being in the group that was installed in 1968 . I was a first semester freshman and the Delts were rushing me. They knew I was looking to earn a little extra money so I ended up working the banquet as a busboy with Bob Kubota, another future Delt. I nearly had a mishap at the banquet that could have ended my college career. As we were gathering up the dishes afterwards, the waitresses were stacking all the plates on trays, and stacking them so high they were unstable. I was walking by the head table when a half-full gravy boat started sliding off the tray headed straight for the dean of men. He could see it was coming his way but things were happening too fast for him to do much. Fortunately, another busboy was right behind me, saw what was happening, made a dive at the gravy boat (which was in the air by that time) and knocked it to the floor. Thanks to him, there was no gravy on the dean and I got to finish college. Ron Rees, ’72 [2013] ~

Note the mistaken use of “Upsilon” instead of “Epsilon” in the letter above. It’s possible that Hobba’s secretary mis-heard the dictation being given. Hobba’s job revolved around the mens’ organizations on campus; the error is probably not his.

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The Epsilon Upsilon

experience College Life -1960s I showed up on Marietta’s doorstep in the fall of 1966. In those days freshman had to wear beanies and large signs proclaiming their place of origin. In addition, we were required to carry a wastebasket, a ruler and gum at all times. Upon demand, we provided upperclassmen with gum or a rendition of the college hymn. If a freshman could not accomplish these tasks, the wastebasket was placed on their head and struck repeatedly with the ruler. Freshman hazing went on for a week. Life was a little different in those days. Freshman women had to be in their dorm by 10:00 p.m. on weeknights and they had lights out at midnight. Wednesdays were “date night” so they could stay out until 11:00 p.m. or midnight. In loco parentis [“in the absence of parents”]…now there’s a term you don’t hear much anymore. I guess the college figured there was nothing they could do about the men. We had no curfew, although we had to wear a jacket and tie for dinner. There were several places of interest in Marietta. Mound Cemetery and the hill across from Douglas Putnam hall were popular spots for the lads to drink if they could get an upperclassman to buy some hard stuff for them. Afterwards we could go into town and act like fools. The club scene was pretty limited; Pinks Hideaway and some dive down by Front Street. For drinking beer, Pops was the place, although I liked the Stein Haus because I was 17 and they weren’t fussy about ID. In the winter of 66-67, Pops burned down while the entire campus watched. Tragically a firefighter was killed. ~ Joe Kirby, '70 [2008]

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….The ‘Becky Thatcher’: Drinks, food & live entertainment

….Parsons Hall (1961-2012) and -and- ….Timblin Hall (1966-2003) Twin dormitories Par-sons and Timblin ran along 7th Street. ‘Penitentiary-style’ architecture at its finest; the new dormi-tories are an improve-ment.

In 2010, she was sold upriver. Then this happened.

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….Dawes Memorial Library It was pretty upsetting to see the bulldozer crashing into the library. The library memorialized MC alumnus Charles G. Dawes, a former vice president of the United States [class of 1884; USVP 1925-29; also a member MC’s Delta Upsilon chapter]. He's definitely the highest-ranking office holder this college has ever produced. Now that legacy goes unmarked. Plus, I worked at the library my first semester at Marietta and in the evenings one summer. So, I got to go into all the nooks and crannies that were off limits to everyone else. ~ Shawn Selby, ‘92 [2007] From its opening in 1961 until demolition in 2007, Dawes Memorial Library on Fifth Street (opposite the administration building) served MC students and the Marietta community. Its replacement, The Legacy Library, opened in 2009. ….Traffic on Fifth Street You used to be able to drive right from the Delt house at 507 Putnam to The Fine Arts Center via Fifth Street, a regular street like any other in Marietta. I remember driving that route in my ’51 Ford while wasted on cheap wine, only to pull up to Fayerweather Hall to pick up a date, only to spill my guts in the parking lot and pass out. The road that was once Fifth Street is now the gorgeous MC campus mallway. ~ Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] By 1986, Fifth Street between Putnam and Butler (including the remaining private homes in that block), was fully acquired by the College. The street was permanently closed to traffic, and the houses were demolished.

��9

Now, an Established Chapter When I arrived on campus in the Fall of 1968, Epsilon Upsilon Chapter was an established fact, and ΒΔΕ only a part of the new Fraternity’s heritage. Thus, those of us who pledged in the Spring of 1969 knew only Delta Tau Delta. Yet, we were privileged to know the brothers whose dedication and perseverance created not just a new fraternity, but rather, a very special one. It was only after graduation that I realized what it was that made our Fraternity something special. Aside from the fact that most of us (myself included) were somewhat flaky, there was something very genuine about ΔΤΔ. Like any group of people brought together we had our share of disagreements, factionalism, and conflicting ambitions. None of this ever prevented us from having a good time nor from supporting one another when times got tough.

Left: Chapter Advisor Bruce Miller ‘70 hangs out with the chapter, 1975

Below: A rush party spills out onto Putnam Street, 1975 Photo collection of Bob Peterson, ‘76

Michael C Stein, ’72 [1978] ~

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Turbulent Times & The Burning of the College Bookstore I remember the burning of the college bookstore, which used to be directly across from the house at 507 Putnam Street. This happened at about 4:00 a.m. [Thursday, May 7, 1970]. After the sirens woke us up, I remember sitting on the front stairs with Ron Rees & Greg Hanson smoking Marlboro reds watching the fire, half-awake, mumbling phrases of the times like “wow, man…check the flames.” This was a Vietnam War protest instigated by a female college student who had founding ties to the College. She [and her associates] set the old bookstore on fire (the old wooden building was going to be torn down, but this fire certainly completed the process). I don’t remember the charges against the parties, but this was one of many protests that happened on campuses during [the Vietnam War era] -yes, even at MC. Look closely at composites of the 1968-1971 years and notice the headbands, peace buttons, etc. - real reflections of what was happening at the time.

The Ugly Man Contest was a fundraiser. Each of the candidates had a collection can to take to the basketball game. The winner was determined by who collected the most money. My candidacy was during the Vietnam War and we wanted to make a political statement. Marc Nevas was an ace with makeup and also an anti-war activist. Marc suggested that the ugliest man on any campus was the Army Recruiter. So I shaved off my beard and Marc made me up to look like “Death.” I wore an Army uniform and a sign around my neck that said ‘US Army recruiter’��

~ Ron Rees, ‘72 [2013]

Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] ~

��39

����������I was in the first pledge class after ΔΤΔ went national in the fall of 1968. Unlike most people, I had never visited campus until I started college. I had an image in my mind of what a dormitory would look like, and my first view of Douglas Putnam Hall was a huge disappointment. It was in terrible shape. There was one TV lounge in the whole building and it was pointless to try to use it. Perhaps partially because of the disrepair, residents felt free to abuse the building even more. I lost two doors in the first semester of my freshman year. One was broken down and the other was lost to a small fire fueled by Right Guard [aerosol deodorant]. In those days the college had a 3-point grading system- an “A” was 3, a “B” was 2 and a “D” was the same as failing a class. The Dean of men (Dean Hobba) had told everyone that the college had accepted too many students and that there would a number of people flunking out. My recollection is that 42 people in DP flunked out at mid terms. Due to this grading system there were a number of people who had a “0” GPA. I was one of the few on my floor to make grades to pledge, and I felt fortunate to have a chance at respite in the Delt house at 507 Putnam. It was an easy walk up the hill from DP. ~ Ron Rees, '72 [2008]

I had the pleasure, the first day I walked on campus, to be moved into Douglas Putnam hall. "DP" as we called it. I say pleasure because it was great! I was all the way on the fourth [top] floor, in an enclosed corner at the end of a hall that we called "the ghetto". We really had our own little world there, no oversight, no real rules; we really did break about every rule imaginable. I have a million stories, some not fit to tell! In 1981, most of our Delt [pledge] class met in DP. We kind of formed a bond, and helped solidify the house with our membership, since there were probably less than ten members at the time. To this day these are some of my most special friends. When they tore the building down, I felt a large piece of myself had died. I loved the crusty old place, have incredible memories, and wish it was still there to welcome new students. ~ Mike Malone, ‘85 [2008]

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In 1969, it was surprising more guys weren't flying out of windows given the amount of drugs in the dorm. Nixon had paraquat sprayed on the marijuana fields, so mescaline and other hallucinogens were the drugs of choice. Douglas Putnam Hall was ‘freshman central.’ The place could -and did- empty out in seconds as fast as the latest news could fly. "Panty raid!" or "Pop's is on fire!" would get 400 men on the march at any time of day or night. Once we were out, it took a while to get us back, occasionally [requiring] police presence. Douglas Putnam Hall had its share of heroes. Tom Robertson, an RA my freshman year, gave his life in Vietnam. He was pretty good with a bull whip, and could snap a cigarette out of your hand if you let him. Like all dorms, Douglas Putnam Hall had a TV lounge with its special breed of denizen. On Saturday nights after closing time or girls curfew, Marietta TV offered "Chiller Theater". I never went to the lounge so much to watch the program of goofy flicks, but to listen to the comments of the spectators -which ranged from the inane to the hilarious. A different crowd would inhabit the lounge during prime time; I remember one guy keeping meticulous records of casualties during the show Combat. Based on his analysis of killed and wounded, the Allies should have won WW2 sometime in 1942. Saturday morning also had its audience, with Road Runner being a particular favorite. I lived in a small central wing, a cluster of four rooms just off the main staircase. Most days and nights there was a card game or BS session going. I recall we progressed from Hearts, to Whist, to Bridge over the course of freshman year. It was quite a crew; I think 2 out of 8 ended up graduating. Felix Carpenella, a friend from 1st floor central served as Green Beret medic in Vietnam. Living in Douglas Putnam was an unforgettable experience. You know what? I'm happy I lived there. ~ Joe Kirby, ‘70 [2008]

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The bookstore burned the Spring of '70 a day or two after Kent State shootings of war protesters [Monday May 4, 1970]. I was a freshman at the time. We were in finals and I was studying for a history final that late night/early morning (Murdock's American History) and I hated the class, so the best part about the bookstore fire was that finals were canceled for the rest of the year and I didn't have to take the history final. Campus events included the largest hunger strike in the country in reaction to the Invasion of Cambodia [Spring 1970]. Several brothers participated. Ten days on crackers and water, yum.

There was quite a bit of unrest at the time due to the Vietnam War. There were lots of demonstrations at the time culminating with the expulsion of the MC student body president. I had a t-shirt with a big red fist imprinted on it. My mother threw it out when I got home.

Joe Mester, ‘73 [2008] ~

Gregory Hanson, ‘72 [2008] ~

Lance Koved, '71 [2008] ~

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The Marietta Delt Family Tree

...From roots to leaves

When a young man joins a fraternity chapter, usually in his freshman year, it is common practice among fraternities for their pledges to pick (or have picked for them), a Big Brother.����The purpose of having a Big Brother is to help the pledge navigate through his membership development period until he formally joins, or initiates into, the fraternity. This Big Brotherly guidance often can continue throughout the new member’s first year.The nature of a fraternity chapter is that of a second family. And Big Brother-Little Brother relationships serve to create “mini-families” within the larger chapter family.

Delta Tau Delta provides this kind of experience for its members. And the Marietta Delt Chapter has been doing it since it was founded in 1966 as a local fraternity called Beta Delta Epsilon. ����In the spring of 1966, 14 men formed the ΒΔΕ local fraternity. As the founders of ΒΔΕ , they did not have Big Brothers, nor did they have pledge periods. But most of them became the heads of their own ‘family’ lines that continued through ΒΔΕ, becoming a Crescent Colony and then a chapter of ΔΤΔ. Two of these family lines have stretched on for over 30 “generations,” that is, the addition of a new members to a family line during a Delt’s time as an undergraduate.

The founding members of ΒΔΕ are Tom Robinson ’69, Steve Newton ’66, David Dessen ’69, Albert Mason ’68, Gregory Maloof ’69, Charles Baker ’67, William Warner ’68, Marc Kattelman ’69, Peter Rosenberger ’67, Franklin Hirsch ’69, Mike Rothman ’67, Lee St. Clair ’67, Joseph Cohn ’69 and Ken Kavula ’69. Of those original 14 men, four did not have

Little Brothers: Steve Newton, Charles Baker, Peter Rosenberger and Joseph Cohn. Three Founders’ family lines came to an end after one generation: David Dessen, Albert Mason and Marc Kattleman. Founder Mike Rothman’s line came to an end after three generations, in 1974, with Richard Gelger. Founders Gregory Maloof and Franklin Hirsch’s lines lasted 4 generations, with Maloof’s ending in 1971 with Jack Decker, and Hirsch’s in 1974 with Joseph Vogel. Founder Lee St. Clair’s line lasted 5 generations, ending in 1975 with Robert Burns. So by 1976, the Marietta Delt Chapter had 3 family lines still active, descending from Founders William Warner, Tom Robinson and Ken Kavula. Of these 3, the Warner line came to an end, after 10 generations, in 1982, with Brett Burkey and

Kevin Brigham. By 1983, the Chapter was left with 2 remaining family lines: the Kavulas and the Robinsons. cONTINUED

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….Douglas Putnam Hall

Originally a furniture factory, Douglas Putnam Hall, located at the corner of Putnam and Seventh Streets, was used by Marietta College as a dormitory for freshmen men until 1987. During the initial demolition of DP Hall, the giant wrecking ball bounced off its thick 19th-century brick walls like a frisbee. Determined efforts to remove the outdated structure finally prevailed�� I lived in Douglas Putnam Hall for count 'em three years. One year as a freshman, and two years as an RA. It was a great place. As I recall the house mother was Mrs. Stewart, who was a very nice lady -always had cookies for the RA meetings. Douglas Putnam was a little bit different when you first showed up at Marietta. In 1966 the other two men’s dorms were brand new, modern looking, and DP of course was a repurposed red brick factory. Freshmen felt a bit like Oliver Twist showing up at the work house. I recall people telling me that it was at one time a Cheer factory and thinking "it doesn't look like they made soap here.” It took a few days to figure out they were saying it was a chair factory. New Englanders had to make linguistic adjustments to the Ohio Valley. The decor was completely institutional - worn green carpets complemented with brown walls. Old metal bunk beds with lumpy mattresses and well-worn study desks rounded out the room decor. Most rooms had large, double-hung windows with wide ledges for extra seating. This was convenient, if you lived on the first floor and didn't like doors. In fact, freshman year, a guy even fell out a fourth floor window and lived to tell the tale (it was Spring and the ground was soft).

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Gone - but not forgotten haunts ….Brownie's ….those “all-nighters” we lived through together, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, cramming for finals, and eventually going to Brownie’s for a few bags of doughnuts. Ted Smith, ‘71 [1978] Brownie's Do-Nut and Pastry Shop at 258 Front Street was a long-time Marietta institution. Surviving well into the era of corporate chain shops, Brownie's was popular with students looking for a late-night fix of pepperoni rolls or an early morning bag of "do-nuts". A major flood and then a fire were enough to force permanent closure in 2004.

….The Keg Room/Tally Ho/Pastime Lanes

The Tally Ho restaurant and its adjacent bar, The Keg Room at 211 Second Street, were popular enough with Delts by the mid-1980s to be considered (if only by Delts) an annex of the Delt house itself. A spacious corner booth in the back seemed always to have room for one more person -no matter how many people showed up. Imagine the Algonquin Round Table - with slightly less wit. The Pastime Lanes bowling alley upstairs was somewhat quieter. ~ Dave Broome, ‘88 [2008]

Jim Rosenberger, Jim Martinez, and Mike Conaty strike out

at Pastime Lanes, 1985

Where delts have tread

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...Dominant, dormant, then dominant again

From the outset, the Robinson Family has been the strongest in numbers, overall. ��In the early years, the line benefited from Tom Robinson having three LBs.. One of these 3 branches, headed by Eric Gough ’74, lasted 2 generations. A branch topped by Steve Fox ’70 ran for 5 generations. As for Robinson’s 3rd LB, Gordon Turner ’71, his branch is

still active today, having run for nearly 30 generations, as of 2012. All current undergrad “Robinsons” descend from this LB of Tom Robinson.

Over 200 MC Delts are in the Robinson Family, which in addition to thriving in the 1970s at the expense of other family lines, also made up the majority of the Chapter during most of the 2000s and through the early 2010s.��������But the line faced some ‘quiet’ time from the mid-1980s through to the turn of the century. Robinson numbers dwindled, and the number of major branch lines dropped to two. While never in real danger of dying, 2 Robinson branch lines survived the end-of-the-century decline of the Chapter.����Despite having gone into that period of Chapter decline as the weaker of the two, the Robinsons emerged with a vengeance. The Robinsons splintered into several still-active branches, having added over 100 men to their family (about half of its current total) since ‘01. In terms of numbers & active branches, the mid-to-late 2000s Robinsons mirror the late-’70s/early-’80s incarnation of the family.

...From majority to near-extinction, yet still holding on As for the Kavulas, the story of that family line is the opposite of that of the Robinsons.����The Kavula line progressed, slowly but steadily, pretty much adding just one Brother per year to the line until ‘75, when Joe Matheny ’75 added 4 LBs, although 3 of the 4 branches would last no longer than one more generation. Except for Matheny’s LB, Jim Neel ’77. His branch splintered in two, with the 2 lines (Stephen Marino ’80 and Peter Denio ’78) adding more generations and splintering further along until the Marino branch came to an end with Doug Stewart in ‘90.����During the

the early ‘80s, the Warner line came to an end. The Kavula family was able to benefit from decreased competition, as well as from the numerical decline of the Robinsons that ran from the mid-’80s through the turn of the century.����This was the Kavula ascendant period. During this time, Kavulas outnumbered Robinsons 3-1.����But the late-’90s decline of the Chapter resulted in all Kavula branch lines dying, except for the Chris Goebel ’87-Mike Conaty ’89-Gary Hritz ’91-Shawn Selby ’92 branch line.��The entire Kavula line survived in Trevor Brown ’01, the lone Kavula after the graduation of Jason Strawsburg in ‘00.����Brown ended up getting 2 little brothers, J.J. Nekoloff ’03 and Brian Dobis ’03, which resulted in a re-

splintering of the family into 2 major branches, both still active today.�� Unlike the Robinsons, who have thrived since the Chapter’s resurgence, the Kavula numbers have remained small, comprising no more than 25

CONTINUED

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percent of the Chapter since the line’s near-death experience in ‘01.����In numbers, the Kavula clan counts around 140 men, about the total of the Robinsons. The Kavula Family also boasts a 30-generation run, as well.

...O Brother, where art thou? Even though Big Brother-Little Brother lines represent ‘family-by-oath’, there have been examples of real-life brothers in the EY Brotherhood. ��Bruce Miller ’70 welcomed his brother, Rich Miller ’74, as an EY

brother. Bruce Miller was an LB of Founder William Warner. Rich Miller also joined the Warner line. In fact, Rich Miller is Delt-related to older brother Bruce, as Bruce’s Great-Great-Grand-LB. Another such situation involves the Neels- Rick Neel ’73 and his brother, Jim Neel ’77. The older Neel is a

Robinson, and the younger Neel is a Kavula, thus no EY relationship between them,����A 3rd case of EY brothers is that of Trent Elliot ’01, and his half-brother, Tanner O’Conner ’15. Like the Neels, they are unrelated within EY. The most interesting brother-brother pairing is that of Founder Ken Kavula ’69 and his brother,Robert Kavula ’78.��As with the Neels, Ken is,

well, a Kavula, but younger brother Bob is a Robinson. Bob had 7 LBs. With the ending of the competing Robinson branch 1998, all Robinsons since claim descent from Bob Kavula. So,we are all Kavulas now!

~ Shawn Selby, ‘92 [2013]

507 Putnam Street After I pledged, I was informed that there were mandatory study nights at the house for all pledges. I initially thought this was a joke since I never expected a fraternity to be this serious about studying. But ΔΤΔ routinely won the Scholarship Cup in those days -and it was not a joke. It seems hard to imagine now, but there was a pinball machine in the basement that was 5¢ a game. Even at that price, half the revenue from the machine (that was the deal from the machine’s owner) was enough to buy a new TV after a year. There was also a soda machine that charged 10¢ for a bottle of Coke. Chapter treasurer Murray Talasnik, figured out how to break even selling beer in the machine. A couple rows in the machine were reserved for beer. We bought cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon in returnable bottles for $4.80 or 20¢ a beer. The beer would be loaded with each row alternating one empty bottle then one full one. Put in a dime, pull out an empty bottle, then put in another dime to get your full one. We only broke even by using returnable bottles and Murray always worried we would break some of the bottles. He would walk around the house sometimes gathering up empties to make sure they weren't broken. I got to move into 507 sophomore year and, although it was a little shabby, it looked like a palace compared to DP Hall.

~ Ron Rees, '72 [2008]

The online EY Big Brother board can be found at www.mariettadelts.org, under “Brotherhood” or directly at http://mariettadelts.org/brotherhood/big-brother-board/

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mother that Otis wasn't really dead (he's an accomplished actor), she decided the dead body needed to be put on ice and promptly pored a nice sized bucket of ice down Otis' pants. Because he is a consummate professional -and because we weren't letting him off that table - Otis had to endure a rather cold ride back down the hill to the house before he was able to relieve himself (luckily, this time, not on my printer). I'm sure there are other stories out there. Of course, there aren't any stories about me...no matter what Otis or anyone else says.

See “Otis” (actor and former chapter President Timothy J. Cox) in the upcoming film A Good Marriage, among other projects.

Campus Martius Redux

Senior Week 2010. The Delts remaining in the house were acting in a typical scholarly fashion and erected a pillow fort. This erection took place in the chapter room, using up a good deal of the house's furniture to build. "Fort von Beer" took up about a third of the chapter room (it didn't actually have any alcohol in it). “CR", the Resident Director for 4th Street [residences] used this as an excuse to exercise his massive thirst for unfair disciplinary procedures. On Wednesday of senior week, all 6 Delts living in the house were evicted, unable to return. This senior class had a great reputation, including two speakers at graduation (one of them the student body president), a head RA, [among] the highest grades on campus -all involved members of the community. A number of faculty and staff speaking up for us may have helped prevent any actual sanctions. CR, as it turns out, violated all sorts of regulations. With a good number of the faculty on our side (including outgoing senior Jordan Stryker's mother), as well as higher-ups in the Student Life office, CR found himself in a few "meetings" the following week. CR, a former football player employed by the college as a RD ended up leaving the college almost immediately after this.

~ Christopher Law, ’10 [2013]

Matt Dole, ‘01 [2008] ~

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"Last Rites" for Outgoing Chapter Presidents

...“RIP” Ted Smith All the brothers knew that during the summers I worked for the largest funeral home in Columbus (with thoughts of becoming a mortician). We always needed different concepts for parties…and one time a party theme was lacking, so I said "Hey, how about The Ted Smith Memorial Mortuary Masquerade?". Obviously this would take some work, but what fun when we pulled it off. I was laid out on the large work table…in the front room at 507 Putnam all overdone with makeup - just “floured big time” - I was more than ashen. On the walls were pictures of me with black banners & wilted flowers and funereal music playing in the background. My pledge brother, Steve Fox, was in the front row of seats, just in front of my head and weeped incessantly until all came to “pay their respects”. Rabbi Joe Doniger wrote and delivered the fabulous eulogy which included something about each and every brother. At the conclusion of his “powerfully touching message” some brothers slid me head first into a garbage can (at the head of the table) which had painted on the side in dripping blood red paint “DEP IS DEAD”...my nickname in the house was “Dep” [actual name Deppen Smith]. At this point, the party music came on and the beer flowed and flowed. The party had started. This theme took excellent teamwork to coordinate and all of the brothers made this come off without a hitch.

...“RIP” Tim Cox No one who was around in the late 1990s has more stories than Tim Cox, who is now an "accomplished" actor in New York (sorry for the quotes...I just can't accept that my roommate is getting positive reviews in the New York press). “Otis” (his pledge name) could have a whole chapter in this booklet, but [regarding] presidential funerals, I thought I would share his. Its an easier topic than delving into the time he took a leak on my computer printer. Apparently, Hewlett Packard printers and American Standard urinals look very similar early in the morning after St. Patrick's Day - but I digress. Otis had a Viking funeral. After a beautiful eulogy affording Otis all the respect he deserved (none!), black-robed brothers lit up tiki-torches and loaded the table top holding Otis onto our shoulders and walked down Fourth street, up Putnam and turned onto Fifth, stopping at the ΧΩ house. What a sight. After convincing the house CONTINUED

Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] ~

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There were countless times when we climbed up thru the narrow passage in the attic to get to our top sun-deck. What a great place for drinking -and drooling over the Chi Omegas in their 2-piece outfits sun-bathing on their deck. Always a great time!

Built in 1914, the house at 507 Putnam Street was acquired by the College to help accommodate an increased student body population as well as an enlarged greek-letter community: Three new sororities and three new fraternities between 1959 and 1968; among them, only the

Delts remain today. The house was sold by the College in 1984 for $29,000. Front hall of 507 Putnam in 1975. Bob Peterson ‘76 collection.

Ted Smith, ‘71 [1978] ~

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Building Brotherhood -1971 It was a dark and stormy night. That’s the way Snoopy always starts his novels. In this case it was true. Mid- January, cold, snowy and drunk. That was the setting for the end of our "Help Week." We had already taken our fraternity exam and initiation was right around the corner. Just this final thing to do…The [Chuck] Bag Baker Memorial Walk. “The Walk": It took me many years to realize that it was designed to build brotherhood, and it really did. It also built friendships; I still feel very close to all of those guys. At any rate, the walk was actually a scavenger hunt, where the actives went around town and hid empty pop bottles. Each of the bottles contained a clue to find the next bottle. Al Morrison, Randy "Awk" Williams, Andy James, Darrell Pritchard (he had already activated but missed the Walk when he was still a pledge), Patty Ritchie (my girlfriend and later one of our original Little Sisters), and me. That was the group that headed into our story. As I remember, there were about 24 of those bottles that night. At midnight, we took the clue to find the first bottle and our bottle of vodka screwdrivers and headed out into the snowstorm. As the night went on and we found our bottles crisscrossing the city-and got our bottle refilled by the active assigned to keep track of us, Joe Mester. We had a great time -and occasionally had to help each other find our way. I remember many things about that evening, but the one that really stands out to me is laying in the middle of the road making "snow angels" with my big brother, Darrell Pritchard. The actives had hidden those little Coke bottles all around; from the College campus, to Mound Cemetery, to the Hospital, to the college boathouse on the West Side (that’s where we made the snow angels, coming off the Washington St. bridge), and many other places. It caused us to walk around town for 3 or 4 hours looking for bottles. When we woke up later in the morning, we got ready for initiation, and took our place as activated members of ΔΤΔ. A big day. But, the one I remember best…was the night before.

Rick Neel was one of the first guys I met when first I wandered into 507 Putnam to check out the Delts. His unprovoked and irreverent insults towards a perfect stranger (think small-town Don Rickles) were among the things that convinced me the Delts were worth a second -and a third look.

Rick Neel, ‘73 [2008] ~

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

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Hello Kitty ....A Morbid Sense of Humor After we had nationalized, some of us had a great idea…let’s freak out Alpha Gamma Delta. [We] got a formaldehyde jar with a cat’s head -with mouth wide open. A group of us got it to our house, boxed it, and wrapped it with beautiful paper and ribbons. There was a note attached to “The Alpha Gams with love!…Please open ASAP”. We set the box on their doorstep [then located at 219 4

th St],

rang their bell and hid in bushes nearby. You should have heard the screams. We took off. ....In the Name of Science (mostly) The cat's head was from my Comparative Mammalian Anatomy Class. I was going out with Diane Maher (from ΑΓΔ) at the time -and also, the Delts and the ‘Gams’ did a lot of things together. Ted Smith came to the bio lab with me during a Saturday for some lab make-up time I needed. With his mortuary experiences and fascination with those types of things, Ted wanted to see the cat dissection I was doing that was near completion. Since it was at the end of the year there were no more labs scheduled and when I was finished with the cat, it was ready to be sent for disposal. We decided to cut the head off and [send it] it to the Alpha Gams. I was told that when they pulled out the plastic bag with the cat's head from the box, one girl started to freak out and started crying (something to do with her cat at home recently passing away). The Gams found out who sent it and my name was “mud” with them for a long time.

��������������������������������

Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] ~

Joe Mester, ‘73 [2008] ~

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....Opportunity Presents Itself That evening we learned that many other students were unhappy with D.M.'s "inevitability factor". Delta Tau Delta was an exception to numerous rules in those days. One of them was that 507 Putnam didn't house enough people to warrant food service. Those who lived in the house had a choice of cooking their own meals, or making other arrangements. Three of us, Dave Barker, Geoff Dean and I ate dinner at the ΣΣΣ sorority on Fifth Street. That night, completely unplanned, Geoff and Dave sat at one end of the long dining table and I at opposite end. As the food was being served I casually asked, just loudly enough for the 20 women at the table to hear, "So Dave, you think Ed's got a chance of winning?" Without missing a beat Dave responded, "I don't know, we don't have much time 'til the election.” Of course, everyone wanted to know what we were talking about. When, with unbelievable sincerity, Geoff added, "Ed just doesn't think it's right for D.M. to run unopposed," one of the Tri-Sigmas responded, "I don't care who he is, I'll vote for him." The race was on. By Tuesday evening students still weren't certain whether Ed Holmes was a hoax, but just in case, D.M. declared that if he didn't receive a majority of the votes he wouldn't take office. On Wednesday, the people spoke with their ballots, and luckily, he didn't have to keep that promise. D.M. won, but considering he was running against a phantom his majority was less than impressive. In a 3 1/2 day campaign, Ed Holmes got 41% of the votes, on write-ins.

....The rest of the MC greek commuity: "OWNED!" The incident so angered the student "powers that be" that even though it was one of the events of the year, the only mention of it in the '76 Mariettana was in the ΔΤΔ blurb [below]. The campus was “punked” and the greeks were pissed. Mission accomplished!

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

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Little Sisters Whether girlfriends, study companions or simply friends of the chapter, the presence of students of the opposite gender has helped enliven many (actually, all) Delt social events. For several years, young ladies could become official “Little Sisters” in an initiation ceremony similar to that of pledges. Official duties were handed to the young ladies, usually involving preparation for upcoming social events. Some were sorority members, some not. Some were girlfriends (and some would later become spouses). In an effort to streamline chapter operations, the undergraduates decided in 1986 to discontinue the Little Sister program.

"The Senior Mug Club” For most of the 88-89 school year, the five Delt seniors (me, Dave Frick, Bob Simerlink, John McMenamin, Mike Conaty) opted to slip away from campus for dinner every Friday rather than eat with our brothers in the dining hall. We didn’t say anything about it to anyone, we just started doing it. We went to a place called The Port (before and since has been called many things). The Port was a townie bar with an older crowd, but they had a decent happy hour buffet, that was FREE. For a month or two, no one really noticed we were missing dinner. Eventually, someone noticed that we all showed up at the house together around 7pm, and that we had obviously been drinking. By this time, though, it had developed into a private party we called the Senior Mug Club, and we had Michelob Dry labels, peeled clean from the bottle and folded lengthwise in half, as

our “tickets“. I still carry mine in my wallet, and I know Mike did for many years and still may. I contend we became closer over that year more than any other as we shared a few hours, just between us, each week.

Jon Hartshorn, ‘89 [2007] ~

Delts and Little Sisters, 1980

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Chapter Advisor Robert G. Ferguson: Ferg Roast 2013 University of Cincinnati, 1970. Gamma Xi chapter of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, initiate #936. Husband, father of four and Marietta legend. Did you know one of the EY founders from Marietta—Tom Robinson?

RF: I certainly knew who he was. He graduated from Marietta High in ‘65; I graduated in ‘66. My connection to the college itself started well before that. As a kid I caddied for the college president, Frank Duddy. My father played golf with him. What was your Delt undergraduate experience like at Cincinnati?

RF: With over 120 guys, we had formal meetings even during the summer. At ΓΞ we took the ritual seriously, if you couldn’t remember your lines, you were out of the ritual performance. My actual brother, Bill Fer-guson [ΓΞ ‘71] is older than I am. When he was named in the bid session, I said he could be a Delt only if I could be his big brother, and he was! How did you feel upon learning that a new Delt chapter was colonized in Marietta—your home town?

RF: I was excited about it. Wayne Sinclair, who became president of ΔΤΔ from 1986-88 was then a Delt undergrad and IFC president at WVU; he came to Marietta to help out with rush. UC Delts performed the installation ritual and I [had a key role] in the ritual ceremony. Delts from Case Western did the Rite of Iris; Delts from OH and WVU also per-formed elements at the installation. Interesting bit of trivia: The under-graduate vice president from ΓΞ, who would normally have had a signifi-cant role in the ritual was unable to come to Marietta because he was busy with intermurals at UC. The “vice president” who performed his role at the EY installation was someone else—another UC Delt who per-formed the role in his place. You’re closing in on 40 years as Chapter Advisor for Epsilon Upsilon. Did you think you’d be doing it this long?

RF: This started out as a ‘side career’. It all started in 1975. I got a call from then-Chapter Advisor Bruce Miller who was moving back to Connecticut. I had gotten married the year before, so Bruce felt that since I was going to be around for a while, maybe I could be EY’s CA for “a couple of years.” Well, a ‘couple years’ has turned into nearly 39. I had no manual, no formal initiation for CAs like there is now. You could say I became the common-law CA for Epsilon Upsilon. But, coming from UC, I had a feel for how a chapter should operate. One of the very first times I put my foot down was in response to EY’s “brownie mix ritual,” where pledges would have brownie mix, eggs, sugar and water dumped on them by the actives. Not only was it messy, it was hazing. Another ‘no-no’ was the ‘Bag Baker Walk’ which was a scavenger hunt/big brother hunt.

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....Occam's Razor Now for the hard part: Marietta is a tiny school. Why are the only people who know this guy in the Delt house, and why are we helping him? Like Occam's Razor, the simplest answer was the best (and the most believable). Ed had just transferred from Denison University, in central Ohio. He was a Delt there and very active in student government (BTW: There was no Delt chapter at Denison). When he heard that D.M. was running unopposed he said he would give it a shot even though he knew the chances were slim. No one had seen him before because he was living with his aunt and uncle out on Greene Street just past the interstate. How could this not be the truth? Ed needed someone to speak for him during his frequent absences from campus. For that, once again, my little brother Matt Sutko stepped forward. A Poli-Sci major, and excellent debater, Matt had his spiel/platform together almost before our party (oops, I mean “planning session“) broke up for the night. This was Saturday night. The polls would open on Wednesday. We had a candidate, a cover story and a spokesman. It was time for the mighty Delt political machine to swing into action! On Sunday, Matt Sutko & crew created a huge banner announcing Ed Holmes' write-in candidacy for president with Matt as his running mate for V.P. They hung it across the front of Andrews Hall. I'm not sure who they bribed to pull this off, but it remained there until election day. On Monday the campaign started in earnest. There was only one hole in our plans that could sink Ed's legitimacy, the student files in the Admin. building. Luckily, another fine brother, Shea McGrew, had some pull with a relevant administrator...his mother, Louise, worked in the Records Department. That morning Matt and I let her in on the gag. Once she understood that D.M. would win regardless, she put Ed Holmes' name on a manila folder and placed it in the appropriate file drawer. If over the next few days anyone came to inquire whether Ed was a student at the college, she agreed to look in the drawer and respond "Yes, I have a file for him." We Delts could also tell those who challenged us, "If you don't believe me just check the Records Office." We were ready to face the voting public.

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“Ed Holmes” for Student Body President ....Student Activism Morphs into Classic Pranks It was the Spring of 1976, and student council elections were only days away. By the mid-70s the student activism [which] younger brothers may have heard about was long over. U.S. involvement in Vietnam had ended, disco music was on the rise, and no one gave a rat's patootie about "getting involved" in student government, or any other serious distraction from books and beer. The part that matters: Only one guy (not person - guy) was running for Student Body President. “D. M.“ was backed by TEФ fraternity and a few other houses, and we Delts didn't particularly like him. A number of us spent that evening in the newly completed attic common space (it was fun while it lasted), and complained at one another. "How can we let him run unopposed?!? Someone's GOT to run against him!" The only guys who were willing were myself and Bob Peterson, both seniors and ineligible. The group of 6 or 7 of us regarded one another through squinty eyes, and applied our altered consciousnesses to the problem. The answer soon became clear. Well, actually one of us just blurted out a nutty idea for a laugh: "Why don't we run someone who doesn't exist?" The idea did get a good laugh, but the more devious of us saw the brilliance of the proposal: D.M. would no longer run unopposed. He would be caught completely off guard, and take days to figure out what was going on (Ashton Kutcher would have been proud, if he'd been born yet). We could have a great time stringing the campus along for a few

days, making fun of an institution that never had a lot of relevance to most students anyway. Most importantly, no one had to give speeches, answer questions about his platform, and be humiliated when he lost, or worse yet, have to serve as President if by some chance he actually won. Perfect! So who is this mystery guy, what's his name? He had to sound like a good, old Ohio boy...someone with integrity, who you could trust...just the sort of straight-arrow you'd expect to run for student body president on sheer principles. We settled on "Ed Holmes". ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������CONTINUED

VOTE FOR ED!

��19

Bob and Ginny Ferguson dining out with some Epsilon Upsilon alums at a MC Homecoming, late 1990s.

You have always kept your role as Chapter Advisor distinctly separate from any socializing with the undergraduates. Is that your rule, or a Delt rule?

RF: It was always my rule, but it has since become standard for Chapter Advisors. You simply cannot be the undergrads’ “drinking buddy.” I only made one exception to this–when EY was about to win its first Hugh Shields Award. I knew they were going to win it, but the undergrads didn’t. I told them at the conference that if EY won the HSA, I’d buy them all a round of drinks (they were all 21). That offer convinced them that they weren’t getting the HSA. Well, they did win it, and I made good on my promise. Your own family is part of the greater ΔΤΔ family, aren’t they?

RF: Everyone in my family is a “ Karnea hound.” Anyone who attends five Karneas gets a sticker with a dachshund on it that says “Karnea Hound.” We’ve had great fun with the Delts. My son Russell was a big kid- he would chase chapter president Doug Gernert around the house; son Daniel remembers sledding with the other kids on the campus hill and being invited into the shelter for hot chocolate. One time, daughter Alice was with me at the shelter -she was about six then- and we ran into a young lady coming out of the shower wearing only a towel; Alice asked ‘what’s she doing in a boys’ house?’ I got her away from there in a hurry. My son Cole even pledged ΔΤΔ at Boston U; he surprised them by showing up at their shelter wearing a Karnea ’96 t-shirt. He transferred to OSU before activating. Is a Chapter Advisor’s role to tell undergrads how to run a chapter?

RF: The undergrads have the complete authority and responsibility to run their chapter; I could run them like little tin soldiers but they would not learn a thing. I’m here to draw a line in the sand when necessary, to be in the background– but I won’t let them ‘fall off a cliff.’ This has to be a good experience for the guys, but this should be a learning experience as well. Your “un-biased” review of Epsilon Upsilon chapter would be…?

RF: The community of Marietta is a better place since there’s been a Delt chapter here. The guys hopefully learn to be involved in their own communities, wherever they end up. My father-in-law Dan Cole, past international president of the Lions Club put it this way: “Everyone owes a bit of civic rent.” Be a part of your community.

Your advice for future Chapter Advisors?

RF: Get a feel for the ‘temperature’ of the chapter, and know that the guys won’t learn anything if they are told what to do; they have to learn as they go. Be an advisor, not simply an instructor.

September 2013.

Page 21: Our story 2013

20

The Artists of Epsilon Upsilon Among various Delts who have demonstrated exceptional artistic ability are two brothers from the class of 1990. Doug Stewart and Kevin Oliphant both contributed greatly to the aesthetic presentation of the Chapter. Doug Stewart's energetic creations were found on rush materials and t-shirts. His decision to leave college during his sophomore year left us just a brief glimpse of his creativity. His lasting legacy is a piece of artwork that was not his original design: He painted the huge coat of arms on the wall of the back room at 219 4th St. Kevin Oliphant gave us the full "four-year treatment" of artistic output. Not only did the Chapter frequently call upon him for a creative touch (some of his work can still be found hanging in the shelter), the College also made use of his abilities.

Dave Broome, ‘88 [2008] ~

Doug Stewart shirt design, 1987

Kevin Oliphant shirt design, 1988

Cover designed for the alumni magazine by Kevin Oliphant in

1989. The feature story’s gloomy prediction for the greeks at MC turned out to be fairly accurate.

��29

A week after the Dean's note was sent, we visited all the houses asking their presidents if they had discussed participation with their members yet. After varying degrees of upset and frantic "What's this all about?", folks who normally wouldn't have given Matt or I the time of day, anxiously agreed to do whatever we wanted. No one asked who started this "College Bowl" thing or why the only students involved were Delts. Long story short, both Greek Councils agreed to "sponsor" the event. completely handled by faculty members, and the contest, literally, came down to the last question (I'm not exaggerating). But what made the event Hollywood-perfect was, you guessed it, the Delt team won! As I understand it, the Greek Council took control of the College Bowl and held it for a few years after that, but Epsilon Upsilon never did hold a regional Delt event. Oh, well....

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

Bob Exten admires an early scholarship trophy.

Page 22: Our story 2013

28

The “Greek Scholarship Bowl” In the Spring of '75 we'd been named a Top-20 Chapter. The following Fall we considered what we our next steps might be. Someone mentioned starting a regional ΔΤΔ competition like the annual basketball tournament held by the Ohio State (or was it OU?) Chapter. We wanted it to be something "different", but that would be supported by the administration. Eventually we settled on a Quiz Bowl. We wouldn't need to book a heavily-used facility like Ban Johnson [Field House] and our chapter would actually have a shot at being competitive. We knew this would be a huge undertaking and were afraid to just go for it without any practice. We needed a dry run, but with whom? The answer was obvious...the greeks of Marietta. Given our rep at the time, though, our odds of getting more than a few houses to cooperate were nil. If we were going to get our dry run, we were going to have to do it under different auspices. Luckily, alternatives were available. A number of us, including Matt Sutko, Bob Peterson, and I were members of Honoraria and Trustee committees, giving us unusual access to faculty and staff who would be crucial to getting rooms and resources. (Yeah, we were a regular house full of big shots!) We posed the idea to these contacts, they instantly loved it. There had been a Quiz Bowl on campus 10 years earlier. In fact, the Communications Department still had the old buzzers in a closet in case the idea ever made a comeback. They were glad to help. Now how do we get the rest of the greeks to join in? In the first planning meeting we came upon an idea: What if there was no official administrative sponsor? What if we somehow got the greeks to sponsor the bowl themselves? One of the great things about Marietta College was (and still is) the degree of access students get to faculty and staff. There are very few people whom one couldn't just walk in on if you had an issue or concern. One of the exceptions was the Dean of the College. Few students had ever seen the guy much less talked with him. A few days after our first meeting, the Presidents of each house received a letter from Dean Bosch, on his stationery, congratulating the Fraternity and Sorority Councils on their idea to hold a Greek Scholarship Bowl. Of course, none of them knew anything about it, and luckily, none thought to ask the administration for fear of appearing out of the loop. The trap was set. While other Delts worked on logistics with our faculty supporters, Matt Sutko and I took on the task of recruitment. ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������CONTINUED

��21

The First Hugh Shields Award Epsilon Upsilon won its first Hugh Shields Award in 1990. Doug Gernert was president at the time. The delegation that went to the division conference had called back to the house to tell us that we won Court of Honor, but not Hugh Shields (lies, damned lies!). Those of us who stayed behind were disappointed, but still celebrated what was then a breakthrough for us. I was the living in the triple at the time with Greg Manko and we were having a party that Saturday night in the room. I stopped the music to make the announcement of Court of Honor, having just heard it when Doug Gernert called back to the shelter that night. Our room, which was was packed, erupted in cheers. The delegation returned Sunday in time for the Chapter meeting. During the meeting, Gernert, Dan Castelli and others who had been at the conference "sprung" the Hugh Shields flag on the rest of the Chapter as a surprise! I didn't like being lied to, but I forgave them for their deception because it was just awesome the way they had hidden the flag and then surprised us with it. And then we won it again in 1992, my senior year�� The Hugh Shields Award is the most prestigious award bestowed upon a Delt chapter. Named for Hugh Shields (Beta Alpha, 1926), the first executive VP of the Fraternity, the award is given annually to the top 10 chapters. The purple and gold Hugh Shields Flag looks similar to the flag of Delta Tau Delta, but with the Greek word “protimoi” ["first among equals"] in the upper left corner. Chapters earn the Hugh Shields Award because of their outstanding accomplishments in all areas of chapter programming and operations. Chapters who are awarded five Hugh Shields Awards are given a permanent flag, which they may retire in their chapter house. The Chapter has won Hugh Shields Awards in 1990, 1992, 1993, 2008, 2011, and 2012 and Court of Honor Awards in 1975, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. The first retired Hugh Shields Flag, proudly displayed in the shelter.

Shawn Shelby, ‘92 [2008] ~

Page 23: Our story 2013

22

219 Fourth Street [By 1983] the old Delt house [at 507 Putnam] was falling apart and although it had its charms, I don't recall any real controversy about the move. Plus, the new house had a washer and dryer, which was cool. A bunch of us came back a day or so early [from Christmas break] to move. I was the first one to stay the night in the new house as I didn't have to move from the old one (moved from Parsons Hall).

Built in 1890 as a private home and later used by various student groups including AΤΩ, the house at 219 4

th Street was eventually

acquired by the College and altered extensively. Afterwards, it was used by two now-defunct sorority chapters (ΑΓΔ until 1975; AΣΤ until late 1983). The College mandated Delta Tau Delta’s move to 219 in early 1984. Florid wallpaper designs and dated furnishings met the Delts upon their arrival; over time, the undergraduates have “Deltified” the structure. As long ago as 1987, the College made clear the intention to cease using this house for any purpose. Discussions regarding the future home for Delt undergraduates at MC continue. In 2004, an Athens,Ohio-based band called Flinch shot a music video in the Delt shelter featuring their song ‘My New Ex-Girlfriend’ which included some of the undergraduates then living the house.

Tom Zotti, ‘85 [2008] ~

Chalky red paint that rubbed off on your hands and clothes; repainted light

yellow in the early 2000s.

The Shelter today

��27

Proud Misfits, mid 1970s What made the Delts such a fantastic group to be a part of in those years was that we did everything our own way, which usually put us at odds with the conventions about greeks of that time. We were by far the newest house on campus, yet we retired the scholarship cup more than any other house. We were the smallest house on campus, yet the most ethnically diverse (before "diversity" became a buzzword). Our chapter was full of guys who, in their freshman years, swore they would never join a fraternity. Put politely, most other greeks weren't quite sure we "belonged", and we loved it that way. Case in point: Our '76 yearbook picture [above]. While all the other houses that year had their pictures taken in or around their houses, we had ours taken...somewhere more interesting. What a bunch of miscreants.

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

Shenanigans, Delt style

Page 24: Our story 2013

26

The Sporting Life Where else would I have had the opportunity to be part of a brotherhood that did not win an intramural game in a major sport for three years - and sent a member to the hospital during every football game our first year? In 1969 the chapter fielded teams in every sport. Yes, we were pathetic, particularly in football and basketball, but we tied Tau Epsilon Phi in football - making up for a lot of pain, humiliation and suffering at the hands of independents, Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Upsilon. Some guys even ran cross country and lived. John DeVito was a decent tennis player; bowling might have been our best sport - I think we may have even won some Battle Axe points.

Lance Koved, ‘71 [1978] ~

Touch Football, 1967; front row: Brothers Cohn, Gough, DeVito, Lindvall, and Ives; second row: Brothers Weidenfeld, Kirby, Wolfe, Bayer, Turner, Koons, and Kavula

Joe Kirby, '70 [2008] ~

Ted Smith, John DeVito, and Bob Exten,

��23

First day in the ‘new’ house, January 1984. Brothers Buzzell and Goe-bel in front. The front porch was rebuilt in the early 2000s. Inside, new flooring and a new front staircase have been add-ed more recently. If we wait long enough, the college will have ultimately replaced or rehabbed the entire structure—and it will be the “new” shelter.

Only time will tell.

Undergrads and friends having Easter dinner in the shelter, 2013

Page 25: Our story 2013

24

Brotherhood Sustains Us, 1999 We just needed some bubble wrap and packing tape. That’s how close we came to sending the Epsilon Upsilon chapter charter back to National in the fall of 1999. I’m not even exaggerating. We were down to nine guys that fall, I think, and four of them were seniors. The chapter was bare bones and Rush Week ended with little to show for it. To this day I’m not sure how it happened. We had good guys in the house. We were active on campus and in the community. Other houses were healthy. Recruitment just didn’t ever go well. With no pledges and no solutions in sight, the questions became obvi-ous: Did we have any chance at all of surviving? How could we go on? Wouldn’t it be better to send the Charter back proactively, instead of al-lowing the chapter to die a slow, painful death? There were guys who wanted to give it one more try. There were guys who wanted to go out with dignity. I’m not sure where I stood, but either way I felt pressure to keep the chapter alive and stress from not quite knowing how. As we headed into the decisive meeting, I was given a lesson about the Delt value that “brotherhood sustains us.” We got emails, letters, vis-its and phone calls from alumni. Each of the messages was similar: “We’re here to help, we believe in the chapter and you better do some-thing to preserve the legacy of over 250 brothers!” Here’s just one excerpt, from a letter that accompanies a donation:

“Money alone cannot solve Epsilon Upsilon’s current prob-lems, but it can at least express some faith that the chapter has a future. More alumni than you realize are counting on you to continue a 31 year legacy that is in some ways best appreciated only after graduation.” CONTINUED ________________________________________________

��25

In addition to alumni stepping forward, Bob Ferguson deserves much credit for his example of leadership as Chapter Advisor. Fergie always permitted us to explore and find our own way, but he was there to make sure we didn’t get totally lost. I remember the meeting like it was yesterday. I really had no idea how it was going to go, but after much soul-searching we came away re-committed to Delta Tau Delta and to re-building Epsilon Upsilon. Alumni continued stepping forward to help. Homecoming 1999 was a watershed event that gave us undergrads the confidence that we could turn things around. In January 2000 eight alumni visited for a planning retreat. Our chapter consultant even made an unscheduled trip to help. Spring recruitment yielded five new pledges and we were suddenly energized as a chapter. The rest, as they say - is history. Each pledge class has a unique undergraduate experience. My class’ legacy is marked by pride that the charter is still framed on the wall of the shelter. Our experience might be summed up as: we sustained the brotherhood, because the brotherhood sustained us. ~ Matt Dole, ‘01 [2013] I have attended every homecoming since 1987 except two. I was shocked and surprised at the1999 house corp meeting and saw what low undergrad numbers we had. It was the only real time I felt concern for the future of the chapter. I am glad to say things turned around quickly and I remember within a couple of homecoming visits seeing great numbers and the chapter getting back on track. Nevertheless it was the only time I remember being concerned that there may not be a ΔΤΔ chapter at Marietta College in the near future. The young men that got our membership turned around should be commended!

~ Kevin Oliphant, ‘90 [2013]

Homecoming 1999. Recovery didn’t seem possible, but they did it! -To the lasting gratitude of all EΥ Delts before and since. ~ Dave Broome, ‘88 [2013]

Page 26: Our story 2013

24

Brotherhood Sustains Us, 1999 We just needed some bubble wrap and packing tape. That’s how close we came to sending the Epsilon Upsilon chapter charter back to National in the fall of 1999. I’m not even exaggerating. We were down to nine guys that fall, I think, and four of them were seniors. The chapter was bare bones and Rush Week ended with little to show for it. To this day I’m not sure how it happened. We had good guys in the house. We were active on campus and in the community. Other houses were healthy. Recruitment just didn’t ever go well. With no pledges and no solutions in sight, the questions became obvi-ous: Did we have any chance at all of surviving? How could we go on? Wouldn’t it be better to send the Charter back proactively, instead of al-lowing the chapter to die a slow, painful death? There were guys who wanted to give it one more try. There were guys who wanted to go out with dignity. I’m not sure where I stood, but either way I felt pressure to keep the chapter alive and stress from not quite knowing how. As we headed into the decisive meeting, I was given a lesson about the Delt value that “brotherhood sustains us.” We got emails, letters, vis-its and phone calls from alumni. Each of the messages was similar: “We’re here to help, we believe in the chapter and you better do some-thing to preserve the legacy of over 250 brothers!” Here’s just one excerpt, from a letter that accompanies a donation:

“Money alone cannot solve Epsilon Upsilon’s current prob-lems, but it can at least express some faith that the chapter has a future. More alumni than you realize are counting on you to continue a 31 year legacy that is in some ways best appreciated only after graduation.” CONTINUED ________________________________________________

��25

In addition to alumni stepping forward, Bob Ferguson deserves much credit for his example of leadership as Chapter Advisor. Fergie always permitted us to explore and find our own way, but he was there to make sure we didn’t get totally lost. I remember the meeting like it was yesterday. I really had no idea how it was going to go, but after much soul-searching we came away re-committed to Delta Tau Delta and to re-building Epsilon Upsilon. Alumni continued stepping forward to help. Homecoming 1999 was a watershed event that gave us undergrads the confidence that we could turn things around. In January 2000 eight alumni visited for a planning retreat. Our chapter consultant even made an unscheduled trip to help. Spring recruitment yielded five new pledges and we were suddenly energized as a chapter. The rest, as they say - is history. Each pledge class has a unique undergraduate experience. My class’ legacy is marked by pride that the charter is still framed on the wall of the shelter. Our experience might be summed up as: we sustained the brotherhood, because the brotherhood sustained us. ~ Matt Dole, ‘01 [2013] I have attended every homecoming since 1987 except two. I was shocked and surprised at the1999 house corp meeting and saw what low undergrad numbers we had. It was the only real time I felt concern for the future of the chapter. I am glad to say things turned around quickly and I remember within a couple of homecoming visits seeing great numbers and the chapter getting back on track. Nevertheless it was the only time I remember being concerned that there may not be a ΔΤΔ chapter at Marietta College in the near future. The young men that got our membership turned around should be commended!

~ Kevin Oliphant, ‘90 [2013]

Homecoming 1999. Recovery didn’t seem possible, but they did it! -To the lasting gratitude of all EΥ Delts before and since. ~ Dave Broome, ‘88 [2013]

Page 27: Our story 2013

26

The Sporting Life Where else would I have had the opportunity to be part of a brotherhood that did not win an intramural game in a major sport for three years - and sent a member to the hospital during every football game our first year? In 1969 the chapter fielded teams in every sport. Yes, we were pathetic, particularly in football and basketball, but we tied Tau Epsilon Phi in football - making up for a lot of pain, humiliation and suffering at the hands of independents, Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Upsilon. Some guys even ran cross country and lived. John DeVito was a decent tennis player; bowling might have been our best sport - I think we may have even won some Battle Axe points.

Lance Koved, ‘71 [1978] ~

Touch Football, 1967; front row: Brothers Cohn, Gough, DeVito, Lindvall, and Ives; second row: Brothers Weidenfeld, Kirby, Wolfe, Bayer, Turner, Koons, and Kavula

Joe Kirby, '70 [2008] ~

Ted Smith, John DeVito, and Bob Exten,

��23

First day in the ‘new’ house, January 1984. Brothers Buzzell and Goe-bel in front. The front porch was rebuilt in the early 2000s. Inside, new flooring and a new front staircase have been add-ed more recently. If we wait long enough, the college will have ultimately replaced or rehabbed the entire structure—and it will be the “new” shelter.

Only time will tell.

Undergrads and friends having Easter dinner in the shelter, 2013

Page 28: Our story 2013

22

219 Fourth Street [By 1983] the old Delt house [at 507 Putnam] was falling apart and although it had its charms, I don't recall any real controversy about the move. Plus, the new house had a washer and dryer, which was cool. A bunch of us came back a day or so early [from Christmas break] to move. I was the first one to stay the night in the new house as I didn't have to move from the old one (moved from Parsons Hall).

Built in 1890 as a private home and later used by various student groups including AΤΩ, the house at 219 4

th Street was eventually

acquired by the College and altered extensively. Afterwards, it was used by two now-defunct sorority chapters (ΑΓΔ until 1975; AΣΤ until late 1983). The College mandated Delta Tau Delta’s move to 219 in early 1984. Florid wallpaper designs and dated furnishings met the Delts upon their arrival; over time, the undergraduates have “Deltified” the structure. As long ago as 1987, the College made clear the intention to cease using this house for any purpose. Discussions regarding the future home for Delt undergraduates at MC continue. In 2004, an Athens,Ohio-based band called Flinch shot a music video in the Delt shelter featuring their song ‘My New Ex-Girlfriend’ which included some of the undergraduates then living the house.

Tom Zotti, ‘85 [2008] ~

Chalky red paint that rubbed off on your hands and clothes; repainted light

yellow in the early 2000s.

The Shelter today

��27

Proud Misfits, mid 1970s What made the Delts such a fantastic group to be a part of in those years was that we did everything our own way, which usually put us at odds with the conventions about greeks of that time. We were by far the newest house on campus, yet we retired the scholarship cup more than any other house. We were the smallest house on campus, yet the most ethnically diverse (before "diversity" became a buzzword). Our chapter was full of guys who, in their freshman years, swore they would never join a fraternity. Put politely, most other greeks weren't quite sure we "belonged", and we loved it that way. Case in point: Our '76 yearbook picture [above]. While all the other houses that year had their pictures taken in or around their houses, we had ours taken...somewhere more interesting. What a bunch of miscreants.

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

Shenanigans, Delt style

Page 29: Our story 2013

28

The “Greek Scholarship Bowl” In the Spring of '75 we'd been named a Top-20 Chapter. The following Fall we considered what we our next steps might be. Someone mentioned starting a regional ΔΤΔ competition like the annual basketball tournament held by the Ohio State (or was it OU?) Chapter. We wanted it to be something "different", but that would be supported by the administration. Eventually we settled on a Quiz Bowl. We wouldn't need to book a heavily-used facility like Ban Johnson [Field House] and our chapter would actually have a shot at being competitive. We knew this would be a huge undertaking and were afraid to just go for it without any practice. We needed a dry run, but with whom? The answer was obvious...the greeks of Marietta. Given our rep at the time, though, our odds of getting more than a few houses to cooperate were nil. If we were going to get our dry run, we were going to have to do it under different auspices. Luckily, alternatives were available. A number of us, including Matt Sutko, Bob Peterson, and I were members of Honoraria and Trustee committees, giving us unusual access to faculty and staff who would be crucial to getting rooms and resources. (Yeah, we were a regular house full of big shots!) We posed the idea to these contacts, they instantly loved it. There had been a Quiz Bowl on campus 10 years earlier. In fact, the Communications Department still had the old buzzers in a closet in case the idea ever made a comeback. They were glad to help. Now how do we get the rest of the greeks to join in? In the first planning meeting we came upon an idea: What if there was no official administrative sponsor? What if we somehow got the greeks to sponsor the bowl themselves? One of the great things about Marietta College was (and still is) the degree of access students get to faculty and staff. There are very few people whom one couldn't just walk in on if you had an issue or concern. One of the exceptions was the Dean of the College. Few students had ever seen the guy much less talked with him. A few days after our first meeting, the Presidents of each house received a letter from Dean Bosch, on his stationery, congratulating the Fraternity and Sorority Councils on their idea to hold a Greek Scholarship Bowl. Of course, none of them knew anything about it, and luckily, none thought to ask the administration for fear of appearing out of the loop. The trap was set. While other Delts worked on logistics with our faculty supporters, Matt Sutko and I took on the task of recruitment. ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������CONTINUED

��21

The First Hugh Shields Award Epsilon Upsilon won its first Hugh Shields Award in 1990. Doug Gernert was president at the time. The delegation that went to the division conference had called back to the house to tell us that we won Court of Honor, but not Hugh Shields (lies, damned lies!). Those of us who stayed behind were disappointed, but still celebrated what was then a breakthrough for us. I was the living in the triple at the time with Greg Manko and we were having a party that Saturday night in the room. I stopped the music to make the announcement of Court of Honor, having just heard it when Doug Gernert called back to the shelter that night. Our room, which was was packed, erupted in cheers. The delegation returned Sunday in time for the Chapter meeting. During the meeting, Gernert, Dan Castelli and others who had been at the conference "sprung" the Hugh Shields flag on the rest of the Chapter as a surprise! I didn't like being lied to, but I forgave them for their deception because it was just awesome the way they had hidden the flag and then surprised us with it. And then we won it again in 1992, my senior year�� The Hugh Shields Award is the most prestigious award bestowed upon a Delt chapter. Named for Hugh Shields (Beta Alpha, 1926), the first executive VP of the Fraternity, the award is given annually to the top 10 chapters. The purple and gold Hugh Shields Flag looks similar to the flag of Delta Tau Delta, but with the Greek word “protimoi” ["first among equals"] in the upper left corner. Chapters earn the Hugh Shields Award because of their outstanding accomplishments in all areas of chapter programming and operations. Chapters who are awarded five Hugh Shields Awards are given a permanent flag, which they may retire in their chapter house. The Chapter has won Hugh Shields Awards in 1990, 1992, 1993, 2008, 2011, and 2012 and Court of Honor Awards in 1975, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012. The first retired Hugh Shields Flag, proudly displayed in the shelter.

Shawn Shelby, ‘92 [2008] ~

Page 30: Our story 2013

20

The Artists of Epsilon Upsilon Among various Delts who have demonstrated exceptional artistic ability are two brothers from the class of 1990. Doug Stewart and Kevin Oliphant both contributed greatly to the aesthetic presentation of the Chapter. Doug Stewart's energetic creations were found on rush materials and t-shirts. His decision to leave college during his sophomore year left us just a brief glimpse of his creativity. His lasting legacy is a piece of artwork that was not his original design: He painted the huge coat of arms on the wall of the back room at 219 4th St. Kevin Oliphant gave us the full "four-year treatment" of artistic output. Not only did the Chapter frequently call upon him for a creative touch (some of his work can still be found hanging in the shelter), the College also made use of his abilities.

Dave Broome, ‘88 [2008] ~

Doug Stewart shirt design, 1987

Kevin Oliphant shirt design, 1988

Cover designed for the alumni magazine by Kevin Oliphant in

1989. The feature story’s gloomy prediction for the greeks at MC turned out to be fairly accurate.

��29

A week after the Dean's note was sent, we visited all the houses asking their presidents if they had discussed participation with their members yet. After varying degrees of upset and frantic "What's this all about?", folks who normally wouldn't have given Matt or I the time of day, anxiously agreed to do whatever we wanted. No one asked who started this "College Bowl" thing or why the only students involved were Delts. Long story short, both Greek Councils agreed to "sponsor" the event. completely handled by faculty members, and the contest, literally, came down to the last question (I'm not exaggerating). But what made the event Hollywood-perfect was, you guessed it, the Delt team won! As I understand it, the Greek Council took control of the College Bowl and held it for a few years after that, but Epsilon Upsilon never did hold a regional Delt event. Oh, well....

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

Bob Exten admires an early scholarship trophy.

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“Ed Holmes” for Student Body President ....Student Activism Morphs into Classic Pranks It was the Spring of 1976, and student council elections were only days away. By the mid-70s the student activism [which] younger brothers may have heard about was long over. U.S. involvement in Vietnam had ended, disco music was on the rise, and no one gave a rat's patootie about "getting involved" in student government, or any other serious distraction from books and beer. The part that matters: Only one guy (not person - guy) was running for Student Body President. “D. M.“ was backed by TEФ fraternity and a few other houses, and we Delts didn't particularly like him. A number of us spent that evening in the newly completed attic common space (it was fun while it lasted), and complained at one another. "How can we let him run unopposed?!? Someone's GOT to run against him!" The only guys who were willing were myself and Bob Peterson, both seniors and ineligible. The group of 6 or 7 of us regarded one another through squinty eyes, and applied our altered consciousnesses to the problem. The answer soon became clear. Well, actually one of us just blurted out a nutty idea for a laugh: "Why don't we run someone who doesn't exist?" The idea did get a good laugh, but the more devious of us saw the brilliance of the proposal: D.M. would no longer run unopposed. He would be caught completely off guard, and take days to figure out what was going on (Ashton Kutcher would have been proud, if he'd been born yet). We could have a great time stringing the campus along for a few

days, making fun of an institution that never had a lot of relevance to most students anyway. Most importantly, no one had to give speeches, answer questions about his platform, and be humiliated when he lost, or worse yet, have to serve as President if by some chance he actually won. Perfect! So who is this mystery guy, what's his name? He had to sound like a good, old Ohio boy...someone with integrity, who you could trust...just the sort of straight-arrow you'd expect to run for student body president on sheer principles. We settled on "Ed Holmes". ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������CONTINUED

VOTE FOR ED!

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Bob and Ginny Ferguson dining out with some Epsilon Upsilon alums at a MC Homecoming, late 1990s.

You have always kept your role as Chapter Advisor distinctly separate from any socializing with the undergraduates. Is that your rule, or a Delt rule?

RF: It was always my rule, but it has since become standard for Chapter Advisors. You simply cannot be the undergrads’ “drinking buddy.” I only made one exception to this–when EY was about to win its first Hugh Shields Award. I knew they were going to win it, but the undergrads didn’t. I told them at the conference that if EY won the HSA, I’d buy them all a round of drinks (they were all 21). That offer convinced them that they weren’t getting the HSA. Well, they did win it, and I made good on my promise. Your own family is part of the greater ΔΤΔ family, aren’t they?

RF: Everyone in my family is a “ Karnea hound.” Anyone who attends five Karneas gets a sticker with a dachshund on it that says “Karnea Hound.” We’ve had great fun with the Delts. My son Russell was a big kid- he would chase chapter president Doug Gernert around the house; son Daniel remembers sledding with the other kids on the campus hill and being invited into the shelter for hot chocolate. One time, daughter Alice was with me at the shelter -she was about six then- and we ran into a young lady coming out of the shower wearing only a towel; Alice asked ‘what’s she doing in a boys’ house?’ I got her away from there in a hurry. My son Cole even pledged ΔΤΔ at Boston U; he surprised them by showing up at their shelter wearing a Karnea ’96 t-shirt. He transferred to OSU before activating. Is a Chapter Advisor’s role to tell undergrads how to run a chapter?

RF: The undergrads have the complete authority and responsibility to run their chapter; I could run them like little tin soldiers but they would not learn a thing. I’m here to draw a line in the sand when necessary, to be in the background– but I won’t let them ‘fall off a cliff.’ This has to be a good experience for the guys, but this should be a learning experience as well. Your “un-biased” review of Epsilon Upsilon chapter would be…?

RF: The community of Marietta is a better place since there’s been a Delt chapter here. The guys hopefully learn to be involved in their own communities, wherever they end up. My father-in-law Dan Cole, past international president of the Lions Club put it this way: “Everyone owes a bit of civic rent.” Be a part of your community.

Your advice for future Chapter Advisors?

RF: Get a feel for the ‘temperature’ of the chapter, and know that the guys won’t learn anything if they are told what to do; they have to learn as they go. Be an advisor, not simply an instructor.

September 2013.

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Chapter Advisor Robert G. Ferguson: Ferg Roast 2013 University of Cincinnati, 1970. Gamma Xi chapter of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, initiate #936. Husband, father of four and Marietta legend. Did you know one of the EY founders from Marietta—Tom Robinson?

RF: I certainly knew who he was. He graduated from Marietta High in ‘65; I graduated in ‘66. My connection to the college itself started well before that. As a kid I caddied for the college president, Frank Duddy. My father played golf with him. What was your Delt undergraduate experience like at Cincinnati?

RF: With over 120 guys, we had formal meetings even during the summer. At ΓΞ we took the ritual seriously, if you couldn’t remember your lines, you were out of the ritual performance. My actual brother, Bill Fer-guson [ΓΞ ‘71] is older than I am. When he was named in the bid session, I said he could be a Delt only if I could be his big brother, and he was! How did you feel upon learning that a new Delt chapter was colonized in Marietta—your home town?

RF: I was excited about it. Wayne Sinclair, who became president of ΔΤΔ from 1986-88 was then a Delt undergrad and IFC president at WVU; he came to Marietta to help out with rush. UC Delts performed the installation ritual and I [had a key role] in the ritual ceremony. Delts from Case Western did the Rite of Iris; Delts from OH and WVU also per-formed elements at the installation. Interesting bit of trivia: The under-graduate vice president from ΓΞ, who would normally have had a signifi-cant role in the ritual was unable to come to Marietta because he was busy with intermurals at UC. The “vice president” who performed his role at the EY installation was someone else—another UC Delt who per-formed the role in his place. You’re closing in on 40 years as Chapter Advisor for Epsilon Upsilon. Did you think you’d be doing it this long?

RF: This started out as a ‘side career’. It all started in 1975. I got a call from then-Chapter Advisor Bruce Miller who was moving back to Connecticut. I had gotten married the year before, so Bruce felt that since I was going to be around for a while, maybe I could be EY’s CA for “a couple of years.” Well, a ‘couple years’ has turned into nearly 39. I had no manual, no formal initiation for CAs like there is now. You could say I became the common-law CA for Epsilon Upsilon. But, coming from UC, I had a feel for how a chapter should operate. One of the very first times I put my foot down was in response to EY’s “brownie mix ritual,” where pledges would have brownie mix, eggs, sugar and water dumped on them by the actives. Not only was it messy, it was hazing. Another ‘no-no’ was the ‘Bag Baker Walk’ which was a scavenger hunt/big brother hunt.

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....Occam's Razor Now for the hard part: Marietta is a tiny school. Why are the only people who know this guy in the Delt house, and why are we helping him? Like Occam's Razor, the simplest answer was the best (and the most believable). Ed had just transferred from Denison University, in central Ohio. He was a Delt there and very active in student government (BTW: There was no Delt chapter at Denison). When he heard that D.M. was running unopposed he said he would give it a shot even though he knew the chances were slim. No one had seen him before because he was living with his aunt and uncle out on Greene Street just past the interstate. How could this not be the truth? Ed needed someone to speak for him during his frequent absences from campus. For that, once again, my little brother Matt Sutko stepped forward. A Poli-Sci major, and excellent debater, Matt had his spiel/platform together almost before our party (oops, I mean “planning session“) broke up for the night. This was Saturday night. The polls would open on Wednesday. We had a candidate, a cover story and a spokesman. It was time for the mighty Delt political machine to swing into action! On Sunday, Matt Sutko & crew created a huge banner announcing Ed Holmes' write-in candidacy for president with Matt as his running mate for V.P. They hung it across the front of Andrews Hall. I'm not sure who they bribed to pull this off, but it remained there until election day. On Monday the campaign started in earnest. There was only one hole in our plans that could sink Ed's legitimacy, the student files in the Admin. building. Luckily, another fine brother, Shea McGrew, had some pull with a relevant administrator...his mother, Louise, worked in the Records Department. That morning Matt and I let her in on the gag. Once she understood that D.M. would win regardless, she put Ed Holmes' name on a manila folder and placed it in the appropriate file drawer. If over the next few days anyone came to inquire whether Ed was a student at the college, she agreed to look in the drawer and respond "Yes, I have a file for him." We Delts could also tell those who challenged us, "If you don't believe me just check the Records Office." We were ready to face the voting public.

CONTINUED

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....Opportunity Presents Itself That evening we learned that many other students were unhappy with D.M.'s "inevitability factor". Delta Tau Delta was an exception to numerous rules in those days. One of them was that 507 Putnam didn't house enough people to warrant food service. Those who lived in the house had a choice of cooking their own meals, or making other arrangements. Three of us, Dave Barker, Geoff Dean and I ate dinner at the ΣΣΣ sorority on Fifth Street. That night, completely unplanned, Geoff and Dave sat at one end of the long dining table and I at opposite end. As the food was being served I casually asked, just loudly enough for the 20 women at the table to hear, "So Dave, you think Ed's got a chance of winning?" Without missing a beat Dave responded, "I don't know, we don't have much time 'til the election.” Of course, everyone wanted to know what we were talking about. When, with unbelievable sincerity, Geoff added, "Ed just doesn't think it's right for D.M. to run unopposed," one of the Tri-Sigmas responded, "I don't care who he is, I'll vote for him." The race was on. By Tuesday evening students still weren't certain whether Ed Holmes was a hoax, but just in case, D.M. declared that if he didn't receive a majority of the votes he wouldn't take office. On Wednesday, the people spoke with their ballots, and luckily, he didn't have to keep that promise. D.M. won, but considering he was running against a phantom his majority was less than impressive. In a 3 1/2 day campaign, Ed Holmes got 41% of the votes, on write-ins.

....The rest of the MC greek commuity: "OWNED!" The incident so angered the student "powers that be" that even though it was one of the events of the year, the only mention of it in the '76 Mariettana was in the ΔΤΔ blurb [below]. The campus was “punked” and the greeks were pissed. Mission accomplished!

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

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Little Sisters Whether girlfriends, study companions or simply friends of the chapter, the presence of students of the opposite gender has helped enliven many (actually, all) Delt social events. For several years, young ladies could become official “Little Sisters” in an initiation ceremony similar to that of pledges. Official duties were handed to the young ladies, usually involving preparation for upcoming social events. Some were sorority members, some not. Some were girlfriends (and some would later become spouses). In an effort to streamline chapter operations, the undergraduates decided in 1986 to discontinue the Little Sister program.

"The Senior Mug Club” For most of the 88-89 school year, the five Delt seniors (me, Dave Frick, Bob Simerlink, John McMenamin, Mike Conaty) opted to slip away from campus for dinner every Friday rather than eat with our brothers in the dining hall. We didn’t say anything about it to anyone, we just started doing it. We went to a place called The Port (before and since has been called many things). The Port was a townie bar with an older crowd, but they had a decent happy hour buffet, that was FREE. For a month or two, no one really noticed we were missing dinner. Eventually, someone noticed that we all showed up at the house together around 7pm, and that we had obviously been drinking. By this time, though, it had developed into a private party we called the Senior Mug Club, and we had Michelob Dry labels, peeled clean from the bottle and folded lengthwise in half, as

our “tickets“. I still carry mine in my wallet, and I know Mike did for many years and still may. I contend we became closer over that year more than any other as we shared a few hours, just between us, each week.

Jon Hartshorn, ‘89 [2007] ~

Delts and Little Sisters, 1980

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Building Brotherhood -1971 It was a dark and stormy night. That’s the way Snoopy always starts his novels. In this case it was true. Mid- January, cold, snowy and drunk. That was the setting for the end of our "Help Week." We had already taken our fraternity exam and initiation was right around the corner. Just this final thing to do…The [Chuck] Bag Baker Memorial Walk. “The Walk": It took me many years to realize that it was designed to build brotherhood, and it really did. It also built friendships; I still feel very close to all of those guys. At any rate, the walk was actually a scavenger hunt, where the actives went around town and hid empty pop bottles. Each of the bottles contained a clue to find the next bottle. Al Morrison, Randy "Awk" Williams, Andy James, Darrell Pritchard (he had already activated but missed the Walk when he was still a pledge), Patty Ritchie (my girlfriend and later one of our original Little Sisters), and me. That was the group that headed into our story. As I remember, there were about 24 of those bottles that night. At midnight, we took the clue to find the first bottle and our bottle of vodka screwdrivers and headed out into the snowstorm. As the night went on and we found our bottles crisscrossing the city-and got our bottle refilled by the active assigned to keep track of us, Joe Mester. We had a great time -and occasionally had to help each other find our way. I remember many things about that evening, but the one that really stands out to me is laying in the middle of the road making "snow angels" with my big brother, Darrell Pritchard. The actives had hidden those little Coke bottles all around; from the College campus, to Mound Cemetery, to the Hospital, to the college boathouse on the West Side (that’s where we made the snow angels, coming off the Washington St. bridge), and many other places. It caused us to walk around town for 3 or 4 hours looking for bottles. When we woke up later in the morning, we got ready for initiation, and took our place as activated members of ΔΤΔ. A big day. But, the one I remember best…was the night before.

Rick Neel was one of the first guys I met when first I wandered into 507 Putnam to check out the Delts. His unprovoked and irreverent insults towards a perfect stranger (think small-town Don Rickles) were among the things that convinced me the Delts were worth a second -and a third look.

Rick Neel, ‘73 [2008] ~

Rick Dunsker, ‘76 [2008] ~

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Hello Kitty ....A Morbid Sense of Humor After we had nationalized, some of us had a great idea…let’s freak out Alpha Gamma Delta. [We] got a formaldehyde jar with a cat’s head -with mouth wide open. A group of us got it to our house, boxed it, and wrapped it with beautiful paper and ribbons. There was a note attached to “The Alpha Gams with love!…Please open ASAP”. We set the box on their doorstep [then located at 219 4

th St],

rang their bell and hid in bushes nearby. You should have heard the screams. We took off. ....In the Name of Science (mostly) The cat's head was from my Comparative Mammalian Anatomy Class. I was going out with Diane Maher (from ΑΓΔ) at the time -and also, the Delts and the ‘Gams’ did a lot of things together. Ted Smith came to the bio lab with me during a Saturday for some lab make-up time I needed. With his mortuary experiences and fascination with those types of things, Ted wanted to see the cat dissection I was doing that was near completion. Since it was at the end of the year there were no more labs scheduled and when I was finished with the cat, it was ready to be sent for disposal. We decided to cut the head off and [send it] it to the Alpha Gams. I was told that when they pulled out the plastic bag with the cat's head from the box, one girl started to freak out and started crying (something to do with her cat at home recently passing away). The Gams found out who sent it and my name was “mud” with them for a long time.

��������������������������������

Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] ~

Joe Mester, ‘73 [2008] ~

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"Last Rites" for Outgoing Chapter Presidents

...“RIP” Ted Smith All the brothers knew that during the summers I worked for the largest funeral home in Columbus (with thoughts of becoming a mortician). We always needed different concepts for parties…and one time a party theme was lacking, so I said "Hey, how about The Ted Smith Memorial Mortuary Masquerade?". Obviously this would take some work, but what fun when we pulled it off. I was laid out on the large work table…in the front room at 507 Putnam all overdone with makeup - just “floured big time” - I was more than ashen. On the walls were pictures of me with black banners & wilted flowers and funereal music playing in the background. My pledge brother, Steve Fox, was in the front row of seats, just in front of my head and weeped incessantly until all came to “pay their respects”. Rabbi Joe Doniger wrote and delivered the fabulous eulogy which included something about each and every brother. At the conclusion of his “powerfully touching message” some brothers slid me head first into a garbage can (at the head of the table) which had painted on the side in dripping blood red paint “DEP IS DEAD”...my nickname in the house was “Dep” [actual name Deppen Smith]. At this point, the party music came on and the beer flowed and flowed. The party had started. This theme took excellent teamwork to coordinate and all of the brothers made this come off without a hitch.

...“RIP” Tim Cox No one who was around in the late 1990s has more stories than Tim Cox, who is now an "accomplished" actor in New York (sorry for the quotes...I just can't accept that my roommate is getting positive reviews in the New York press). “Otis” (his pledge name) could have a whole chapter in this booklet, but [regarding] presidential funerals, I thought I would share his. Its an easier topic than delving into the time he took a leak on my computer printer. Apparently, Hewlett Packard printers and American Standard urinals look very similar early in the morning after St. Patrick's Day - but I digress. Otis had a Viking funeral. After a beautiful eulogy affording Otis all the respect he deserved (none!), black-robed brothers lit up tiki-torches and loaded the table top holding Otis onto our shoulders and walked down Fourth street, up Putnam and turned onto Fifth, stopping at the ΧΩ house. What a sight. After convincing the house CONTINUED

Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] ~

��15

There were countless times when we climbed up thru the narrow passage in the attic to get to our top sun-deck. What a great place for drinking -and drooling over the Chi Omegas in their 2-piece outfits sun-bathing on their deck. Always a great time!

Built in 1914, the house at 507 Putnam Street was acquired by the College to help accommodate an increased student body population as well as an enlarged greek-letter community: Three new sororities and three new fraternities between 1959 and 1968; among them, only the

Delts remain today. The house was sold by the College in 1984 for $29,000. Front hall of 507 Putnam in 1975. Bob Peterson ‘76 collection.

Ted Smith, ‘71 [1978] ~

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percent of the Chapter since the line’s near-death experience in ‘01.����In numbers, the Kavula clan counts around 140 men, about the total of the Robinsons. The Kavula Family also boasts a 30-generation run, as well.

...O Brother, where art thou? Even though Big Brother-Little Brother lines represent ‘family-by-oath’, there have been examples of real-life brothers in the EY Brotherhood. ��Bruce Miller ’70 welcomed his brother, Rich Miller ’74, as an EY

brother. Bruce Miller was an LB of Founder William Warner. Rich Miller also joined the Warner line. In fact, Rich Miller is Delt-related to older brother Bruce, as Bruce’s Great-Great-Grand-LB. Another such situation involves the Neels- Rick Neel ’73 and his brother, Jim Neel ’77. The older Neel is a

Robinson, and the younger Neel is a Kavula, thus no EY relationship between them,����A 3rd case of EY brothers is that of Trent Elliot ’01, and his half-brother, Tanner O’Conner ’15. Like the Neels, they are unrelated within EY. The most interesting brother-brother pairing is that of Founder Ken Kavula ’69 and his brother,Robert Kavula ’78.��As with the Neels, Ken is,

well, a Kavula, but younger brother Bob is a Robinson. Bob had 7 LBs. With the ending of the competing Robinson branch 1998, all Robinsons since claim descent from Bob Kavula. So,we are all Kavulas now!

~ Shawn Selby, ‘92 [2013]

507 Putnam Street After I pledged, I was informed that there were mandatory study nights at the house for all pledges. I initially thought this was a joke since I never expected a fraternity to be this serious about studying. But ΔΤΔ routinely won the Scholarship Cup in those days -and it was not a joke. It seems hard to imagine now, but there was a pinball machine in the basement that was 5¢ a game. Even at that price, half the revenue from the machine (that was the deal from the machine’s owner) was enough to buy a new TV after a year. There was also a soda machine that charged 10¢ for a bottle of Coke. Chapter treasurer Murray Talasnik, figured out how to break even selling beer in the machine. A couple rows in the machine were reserved for beer. We bought cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon in returnable bottles for $4.80 or 20¢ a beer. The beer would be loaded with each row alternating one empty bottle then one full one. Put in a dime, pull out an empty bottle, then put in another dime to get your full one. We only broke even by using returnable bottles and Murray always worried we would break some of the bottles. He would walk around the house sometimes gathering up empties to make sure they weren't broken. I got to move into 507 sophomore year and, although it was a little shabby, it looked like a palace compared to DP Hall.

~ Ron Rees, '72 [2008]

The online EY Big Brother board can be found at www.mariettadelts.org, under “Brotherhood” or directly at http://mariettadelts.org/brotherhood/big-brother-board/

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mother that Otis wasn't really dead (he's an accomplished actor), she decided the dead body needed to be put on ice and promptly pored a nice sized bucket of ice down Otis' pants. Because he is a consummate professional -and because we weren't letting him off that table - Otis had to endure a rather cold ride back down the hill to the house before he was able to relieve himself (luckily, this time, not on my printer). I'm sure there are other stories out there. Of course, there aren't any stories about me...no matter what Otis or anyone else says.

See “Otis” (actor and former chapter President Timothy J. Cox) in the upcoming film A Good Marriage, among other projects.

Campus Martius Redux

Senior Week 2010. The Delts remaining in the house were acting in a typical scholarly fashion and erected a pillow fort. This erection took place in the chapter room, using up a good deal of the house's furniture to build. "Fort von Beer" took up about a third of the chapter room (it didn't actually have any alcohol in it). “CR", the Resident Director for 4th Street [residences] used this as an excuse to exercise his massive thirst for unfair disciplinary procedures. On Wednesday of senior week, all 6 Delts living in the house were evicted, unable to return. This senior class had a great reputation, including two speakers at graduation (one of them the student body president), a head RA, [among] the highest grades on campus -all involved members of the community. A number of faculty and staff speaking up for us may have helped prevent any actual sanctions. CR, as it turns out, violated all sorts of regulations. With a good number of the faculty on our side (including outgoing senior Jordan Stryker's mother), as well as higher-ups in the Student Life office, CR found himself in a few "meetings" the following week. CR, a former football player employed by the college as a RD ended up leaving the college almost immediately after this.

~ Christopher Law, ’10 [2013]

Matt Dole, ‘01 [2008] ~

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Gone - but not forgotten haunts ….Brownie's ….those “all-nighters” we lived through together, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, cramming for finals, and eventually going to Brownie’s for a few bags of doughnuts. Ted Smith, ‘71 [1978] Brownie's Do-Nut and Pastry Shop at 258 Front Street was a long-time Marietta institution. Surviving well into the era of corporate chain shops, Brownie's was popular with students looking for a late-night fix of pepperoni rolls or an early morning bag of "do-nuts". A major flood and then a fire were enough to force permanent closure in 2004.

….The Keg Room/Tally Ho/Pastime Lanes

The Tally Ho restaurant and its adjacent bar, The Keg Room at 211 Second Street, were popular enough with Delts by the mid-1980s to be considered (if only by Delts) an annex of the Delt house itself. A spacious corner booth in the back seemed always to have room for one more person -no matter how many people showed up. Imagine the Algonquin Round Table - with slightly less wit. The Pastime Lanes bowling alley upstairs was somewhat quieter. ~ Dave Broome, ‘88 [2008]

Jim Rosenberger, Jim Martinez, and Mike Conaty strike out

at Pastime Lanes, 1985

Where delts have tread

��13

...Dominant, dormant, then dominant again

From the outset, the Robinson Family has been the strongest in numbers, overall. ��In the early years, the line benefited from Tom Robinson having three LBs.. One of these 3 branches, headed by Eric Gough ’74, lasted 2 generations. A branch topped by Steve Fox ’70 ran for 5 generations. As for Robinson’s 3rd LB, Gordon Turner ’71, his branch is

still active today, having run for nearly 30 generations, as of 2012. All current undergrad “Robinsons” descend from this LB of Tom Robinson.

Over 200 MC Delts are in the Robinson Family, which in addition to thriving in the 1970s at the expense of other family lines, also made up the majority of the Chapter during most of the 2000s and through the early 2010s.��������But the line faced some ‘quiet’ time from the mid-1980s through to the turn of the century. Robinson numbers dwindled, and the number of major branch lines dropped to two. While never in real danger of dying, 2 Robinson branch lines survived the end-of-the-century decline of the Chapter.����Despite having gone into that period of Chapter decline as the weaker of the two, the Robinsons emerged with a vengeance. The Robinsons splintered into several still-active branches, having added over 100 men to their family (about half of its current total) since ‘01. In terms of numbers & active branches, the mid-to-late 2000s Robinsons mirror the late-’70s/early-’80s incarnation of the family.

...From majority to near-extinction, yet still holding on As for the Kavulas, the story of that family line is the opposite of that of the Robinsons.����The Kavula line progressed, slowly but steadily, pretty much adding just one Brother per year to the line until ‘75, when Joe Matheny ’75 added 4 LBs, although 3 of the 4 branches would last no longer than one more generation. Except for Matheny’s LB, Jim Neel ’77. His branch splintered in two, with the 2 lines (Stephen Marino ’80 and Peter Denio ’78) adding more generations and splintering further along until the Marino branch came to an end with Doug Stewart in ‘90.����During the

the early ‘80s, the Warner line came to an end. The Kavula family was able to benefit from decreased competition, as well as from the numerical decline of the Robinsons that ran from the mid-’80s through the turn of the century.����This was the Kavula ascendant period. During this time, Kavulas outnumbered Robinsons 3-1.����But the late-’90s decline of the Chapter resulted in all Kavula branch lines dying, except for the Chris Goebel ’87-Mike Conaty ’89-Gary Hritz ’91-Shawn Selby ’92 branch line.��The entire Kavula line survived in Trevor Brown ’01, the lone Kavula after the graduation of Jason Strawsburg in ‘00.����Brown ended up getting 2 little brothers, J.J. Nekoloff ’03 and Brian Dobis ’03, which resulted in a re-

splintering of the family into 2 major branches, both still active today.�� Unlike the Robinsons, who have thrived since the Chapter’s resurgence, the Kavula numbers have remained small, comprising no more than 25

CONTINUED

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The Marietta Delt Family Tree

...From roots to leaves

When a young man joins a fraternity chapter, usually in his freshman year, it is common practice among fraternities for their pledges to pick (or have picked for them), a Big Brother.����The purpose of having a Big Brother is to help the pledge navigate through his membership development period until he formally joins, or initiates into, the fraternity. This Big Brotherly guidance often can continue throughout the new member’s first year.The nature of a fraternity chapter is that of a second family. And Big Brother-Little Brother relationships serve to create “mini-families” within the larger chapter family.

Delta Tau Delta provides this kind of experience for its members. And the Marietta Delt Chapter has been doing it since it was founded in 1966 as a local fraternity called Beta Delta Epsilon. ����In the spring of 1966, 14 men formed the ΒΔΕ local fraternity. As the founders of ΒΔΕ , they did not have Big Brothers, nor did they have pledge periods. But most of them became the heads of their own ‘family’ lines that continued through ΒΔΕ, becoming a Crescent Colony and then a chapter of ΔΤΔ. Two of these family lines have stretched on for over 30 “generations,” that is, the addition of a new members to a family line during a Delt’s time as an undergraduate.

The founding members of ΒΔΕ are Tom Robinson ’69, Steve Newton ’66, David Dessen ’69, Albert Mason ’68, Gregory Maloof ’69, Charles Baker ’67, William Warner ’68, Marc Kattelman ’69, Peter Rosenberger ’67, Franklin Hirsch ’69, Mike Rothman ’67, Lee St. Clair ’67, Joseph Cohn ’69 and Ken Kavula ’69. Of those original 14 men, four did not have

Little Brothers: Steve Newton, Charles Baker, Peter Rosenberger and Joseph Cohn. Three Founders’ family lines came to an end after one generation: David Dessen, Albert Mason and Marc Kattleman. Founder Mike Rothman’s line came to an end after three generations, in 1974, with Richard Gelger. Founders Gregory Maloof and Franklin Hirsch’s lines lasted 4 generations, with Maloof’s ending in 1971 with Jack Decker, and Hirsch’s in 1974 with Joseph Vogel. Founder Lee St. Clair’s line lasted 5 generations, ending in 1975 with Robert Burns. So by 1976, the Marietta Delt Chapter had 3 family lines still active, descending from Founders William Warner, Tom Robinson and Ken Kavula. Of these 3, the Warner line came to an end, after 10 generations, in 1982, with Brett Burkey and

Kevin Brigham. By 1983, the Chapter was left with 2 remaining family lines: the Kavulas and the Robinsons. cONTINUED

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….Douglas Putnam Hall

Originally a furniture factory, Douglas Putnam Hall, located at the corner of Putnam and Seventh Streets, was used by Marietta College as a dormitory for freshmen men until 1987. During the initial demolition of DP Hall, the giant wrecking ball bounced off its thick 19th-century brick walls like a frisbee. Determined efforts to remove the outdated structure finally prevailed�� I lived in Douglas Putnam Hall for count 'em three years. One year as a freshman, and two years as an RA. It was a great place. As I recall the house mother was Mrs. Stewart, who was a very nice lady -always had cookies for the RA meetings. Douglas Putnam was a little bit different when you first showed up at Marietta. In 1966 the other two men’s dorms were brand new, modern looking, and DP of course was a repurposed red brick factory. Freshmen felt a bit like Oliver Twist showing up at the work house. I recall people telling me that it was at one time a Cheer factory and thinking "it doesn't look like they made soap here.” It took a few days to figure out they were saying it was a chair factory. New Englanders had to make linguistic adjustments to the Ohio Valley. The decor was completely institutional - worn green carpets complemented with brown walls. Old metal bunk beds with lumpy mattresses and well-worn study desks rounded out the room decor. Most rooms had large, double-hung windows with wide ledges for extra seating. This was convenient, if you lived on the first floor and didn't like doors. In fact, freshman year, a guy even fell out a fourth floor window and lived to tell the tale (it was Spring and the ground was soft).

CONTINUED

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In 1969, it was surprising more guys weren't flying out of windows given the amount of drugs in the dorm. Nixon had paraquat sprayed on the marijuana fields, so mescaline and other hallucinogens were the drugs of choice. Douglas Putnam Hall was ‘freshman central.’ The place could -and did- empty out in seconds as fast as the latest news could fly. "Panty raid!" or "Pop's is on fire!" would get 400 men on the march at any time of day or night. Once we were out, it took a while to get us back, occasionally [requiring] police presence. Douglas Putnam Hall had its share of heroes. Tom Robertson, an RA my freshman year, gave his life in Vietnam. He was pretty good with a bull whip, and could snap a cigarette out of your hand if you let him. Like all dorms, Douglas Putnam Hall had a TV lounge with its special breed of denizen. On Saturday nights after closing time or girls curfew, Marietta TV offered "Chiller Theater". I never went to the lounge so much to watch the program of goofy flicks, but to listen to the comments of the spectators -which ranged from the inane to the hilarious. A different crowd would inhabit the lounge during prime time; I remember one guy keeping meticulous records of casualties during the show Combat. Based on his analysis of killed and wounded, the Allies should have won WW2 sometime in 1942. Saturday morning also had its audience, with Road Runner being a particular favorite. I lived in a small central wing, a cluster of four rooms just off the main staircase. Most days and nights there was a card game or BS session going. I recall we progressed from Hearts, to Whist, to Bridge over the course of freshman year. It was quite a crew; I think 2 out of 8 ended up graduating. Felix Carpenella, a friend from 1st floor central served as Green Beret medic in Vietnam. Living in Douglas Putnam was an unforgettable experience. You know what? I'm happy I lived there. ~ Joe Kirby, ‘70 [2008]

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The bookstore burned the Spring of '70 a day or two after Kent State shootings of war protesters [Monday May 4, 1970]. I was a freshman at the time. We were in finals and I was studying for a history final that late night/early morning (Murdock's American History) and I hated the class, so the best part about the bookstore fire was that finals were canceled for the rest of the year and I didn't have to take the history final. Campus events included the largest hunger strike in the country in reaction to the Invasion of Cambodia [Spring 1970]. Several brothers participated. Ten days on crackers and water, yum.

There was quite a bit of unrest at the time due to the Vietnam War. There were lots of demonstrations at the time culminating with the expulsion of the MC student body president. I had a t-shirt with a big red fist imprinted on it. My mother threw it out when I got home.

Joe Mester, ‘73 [2008] ~

Gregory Hanson, ‘72 [2008] ~

Lance Koved, '71 [2008] ~

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Turbulent Times & The Burning of the College Bookstore I remember the burning of the college bookstore, which used to be directly across from the house at 507 Putnam Street. This happened at about 4:00 a.m. [Thursday, May 7, 1970]. After the sirens woke us up, I remember sitting on the front stairs with Ron Rees & Greg Hanson smoking Marlboro reds watching the fire, half-awake, mumbling phrases of the times like “wow, man…check the flames.” This was a Vietnam War protest instigated by a female college student who had founding ties to the College. She [and her associates] set the old bookstore on fire (the old wooden building was going to be torn down, but this fire certainly completed the process). I don’t remember the charges against the parties, but this was one of many protests that happened on campuses during [the Vietnam War era] -yes, even at MC. Look closely at composites of the 1968-1971 years and notice the headbands, peace buttons, etc. - real reflections of what was happening at the time.

The Ugly Man Contest was a fundraiser. Each of the candidates had a collection can to take to the basketball game. The winner was determined by who collected the most money. My candidacy was during the Vietnam War and we wanted to make a political statement. Marc Nevas was an ace with makeup and also an anti-war activist. Marc suggested that the ugliest man on any campus was the Army Recruiter. So I shaved off my beard and Marc made me up to look like “Death.” I wore an Army uniform and a sign around my neck that said ‘US Army recruiter’��

~ Ron Rees, ‘72 [2013]

Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] ~

��39

����������I was in the first pledge class after ΔΤΔ went national in the fall of 1968. Unlike most people, I had never visited campus until I started college. I had an image in my mind of what a dormitory would look like, and my first view of Douglas Putnam Hall was a huge disappointment. It was in terrible shape. There was one TV lounge in the whole building and it was pointless to try to use it. Perhaps partially because of the disrepair, residents felt free to abuse the building even more. I lost two doors in the first semester of my freshman year. One was broken down and the other was lost to a small fire fueled by Right Guard [aerosol deodorant]. In those days the college had a 3-point grading system- an “A” was 3, a “B” was 2 and a “D” was the same as failing a class. The Dean of men (Dean Hobba) had told everyone that the college had accepted too many students and that there would a number of people flunking out. My recollection is that 42 people in DP flunked out at mid terms. Due to this grading system there were a number of people who had a “0” GPA. I was one of the few on my floor to make grades to pledge, and I felt fortunate to have a chance at respite in the Delt house at 507 Putnam. It was an easy walk up the hill from DP. ~ Ron Rees, '72 [2008]

I had the pleasure, the first day I walked on campus, to be moved into Douglas Putnam hall. "DP" as we called it. I say pleasure because it was great! I was all the way on the fourth [top] floor, in an enclosed corner at the end of a hall that we called "the ghetto". We really had our own little world there, no oversight, no real rules; we really did break about every rule imaginable. I have a million stories, some not fit to tell! In 1981, most of our Delt [pledge] class met in DP. We kind of formed a bond, and helped solidify the house with our membership, since there were probably less than ten members at the time. To this day these are some of my most special friends. When they tore the building down, I felt a large piece of myself had died. I loved the crusty old place, have incredible memories, and wish it was still there to welcome new students. ~ Mike Malone, ‘85 [2008]

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….Dawes Memorial Library It was pretty upsetting to see the bulldozer crashing into the library. The library memorialized MC alumnus Charles G. Dawes, a former vice president of the United States [class of 1884; USVP 1925-29; also a member MC’s Delta Upsilon chapter]. He's definitely the highest-ranking office holder this college has ever produced. Now that legacy goes unmarked. Plus, I worked at the library my first semester at Marietta and in the evenings one summer. So, I got to go into all the nooks and crannies that were off limits to everyone else. ~ Shawn Selby, ‘92 [2007] From its opening in 1961 until demolition in 2007, Dawes Memorial Library on Fifth Street (opposite the administration building) served MC students and the Marietta community. Its replacement, The Legacy Library, opened in 2009. ….Traffic on Fifth Street You used to be able to drive right from the Delt house at 507 Putnam to The Fine Arts Center via Fifth Street, a regular street like any other in Marietta. I remember driving that route in my ’51 Ford while wasted on cheap wine, only to pull up to Fayerweather Hall to pick up a date, only to spill my guts in the parking lot and pass out. The road that was once Fifth Street is now the gorgeous MC campus mallway. ~ Ted Smith, ‘71 [2008] By 1986, Fifth Street between Putnam and Butler (including the remaining private homes in that block), was fully acquired by the College. The street was permanently closed to traffic, and the houses were demolished.

��9

Now, an Established Chapter When I arrived on campus in the Fall of 1968, Epsilon Upsilon Chapter was an established fact, and ΒΔΕ only a part of the new Fraternity’s heritage. Thus, those of us who pledged in the Spring of 1969 knew only Delta Tau Delta. Yet, we were privileged to know the brothers whose dedication and perseverance created not just a new fraternity, but rather, a very special one. It was only after graduation that I realized what it was that made our Fraternity something special. Aside from the fact that most of us (myself included) were somewhat flaky, there was something very genuine about ΔΤΔ. Like any group of people brought together we had our share of disagreements, factionalism, and conflicting ambitions. None of this ever prevented us from having a good time nor from supporting one another when times got tough.

Left: Chapter Advisor Bruce Miller ‘70 hangs out with the chapter, 1975

Below: A rush party spills out onto Putnam Street, 1975 Photo collection of Bob Peterson, ‘76

Michael C Stein, ’72 [1978] ~

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The Epsilon Upsilon

experience College Life -1960s I showed up on Marietta’s doorstep in the fall of 1966. In those days freshman had to wear beanies and large signs proclaiming their place of origin. In addition, we were required to carry a wastebasket, a ruler and gum at all times. Upon demand, we provided upperclassmen with gum or a rendition of the college hymn. If a freshman could not accomplish these tasks, the wastebasket was placed on their head and struck repeatedly with the ruler. Freshman hazing went on for a week. Life was a little different in those days. Freshman women had to be in their dorm by 10:00 p.m. on weeknights and they had lights out at midnight. Wednesdays were “date night” so they could stay out until 11:00 p.m. or midnight. In loco parentis [“in the absence of parents”]…now there’s a term you don’t hear much anymore. I guess the college figured there was nothing they could do about the men. We had no curfew, although we had to wear a jacket and tie for dinner. There were several places of interest in Marietta. Mound Cemetery and the hill across from Douglas Putnam hall were popular spots for the lads to drink if they could get an upperclassman to buy some hard stuff for them. Afterwards we could go into town and act like fools. The club scene was pretty limited; Pinks Hideaway and some dive down by Front Street. For drinking beer, Pops was the place, although I liked the Stein Haus because I was 17 and they weren’t fussy about ID. In the winter of 66-67, Pops burned down while the entire campus watched. Tragically a firefighter was killed. ~ Joe Kirby, '70 [2008]

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….The ‘Becky Thatcher’: Drinks, food & live entertainment

….Parsons Hall (1961-2012) and -and- ….Timblin Hall (1966-2003) Twin dormitories Par-sons and Timblin ran along 7th Street. ‘Penitentiary-style’ architecture at its finest; the new dormi-tories are an improve-ment.

In 2010, she was sold upriver. Then this happened.

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Brother Thornton1,

It was with much pleasure that I learned that you had got a Chapter of the

�û��û�s Society at your Institute2. I now wish you abundant sweep with it

henceforth and forever.

I am going to start one here as soon as the Constitution arrives, which will be

next week, and would have had it going ere this3 had they got my letter at Bethany

in due time4. But what we have lost in numbers we hope to make up in time. There

are already two other Societies here5, and I expect this will kick up h--l when it

gets out, as they are not looking for such a thing and will consequently be taken

unawares. I have repeatedly refused to join them, although good ones, preferring

to stand or fall with �û��û����

We do not expect to do much this term, but will roll on in the next, for our quota

of the unchosen. Give my respects to all the �û��û�s in Morgantown, although I

don't know them by sight - I know them as members of that Fraternity in which

there is no guile, and of the Fine Blue Stock6.

Does Phil Bier7 belong? I hope he does. I believe Phil would make a good

member, taking him where he has not so many old enemies to oppose him. Write

soon and let me know all about Matters and things &c. I heard some time since

that Hard Kuhn8 was not expected to live.

CONTINUED

Marietta College, O.

Feb 20th, 1861

Mr. Thornton,

Morgantown, Va.

The First Delt At Marietta College

��7

The Help I just missed being in the group that was installed in 1968 . I was a first semester freshman and the Delts were rushing me. They knew I was looking to earn a little extra money so I ended up working the banquet as a busboy with Bob Kubota, another future Delt. I nearly had a mishap at the banquet that could have ended my college career. As we were gathering up the dishes afterwards, the waitresses were stacking all the plates on trays, and stacking them so high they were unstable. I was walking by the head table when a half-full gravy boat started sliding off the tray headed straight for the dean of men. He could see it was coming his way but things were happening too fast for him to do much. Fortunately, another busboy was right behind me, saw what was happening, made a dive at the gravy boat (which was in the air by that time) and knocked it to the floor. Thanks to him, there was no gravy on the dean and I got to finish college. Ron Rees, ’72 [2013] ~

Note the mistaken use of “Upsilon” instead of “Epsilon” in the letter above. It’s possible that Hobba’s secretary mis-heard the dictation being given. Hobba’s job revolved around the mens’ organizations on campus; the error is probably not his.

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A Founding Member’s Definition of Brotherhood From the first days of ΒΔΕ, the local fraternity that would later become Epsilon Upsilon, the concept of brotherhood was quite clear. Our idea of brotherhood in 1966 centered on an acceptance of young men of integrity who would do more than just participate in Chapter activities. They would also commit themselves to support and encourage each other and to work for the betterment of the greater college community. In those first years we pledged athletes and scholars, musicians and geologists, writers and biologists, teachers and economists. We did not pledge men because they were — or were not — white, black, asian, Christian, Jewish, gay or straight. But all of those “types” did become brothers and all added their individual strengths to the solid foundation of our Chapter. I am proud of our Chapter’s history. [I am proud of] the Chapter’s continuing academic excellence and accomplishments in the community. But I am especially proud of the commitment to our most important tradition: The ideal of a brotherhood that is never compromised by labels, that accepts a man for his worth, respects him for his efforts and values him for his contributions.

Bruce Miller, '70 [2006] ~

The list of founders from the Installation program, November 23, 1968

BDE alumnus Steve Newton returns to Marietta to receive his Delt “shingle”.

��43

In conclusion I hope that the Chapters of the �û��û��Society may go forth to the

four winds as thick as rain drops from the heavens, and multiply in proportion of

running rivers. That is, popular and well conducted ones, and Societies that have a

respectable number of members and their pocket full of rocks9.

P.S. Enclosed you will find a “Description” of the Speakers chosen from the Jun-

ior and Senior classes. C.C.M.

�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B�B

Original letter from Marietta College student Charles Carroll Martin to his Delt brother from West Liberty, John Russell Thornton. See endnotes on the on following page.

��������������I remain

Yours respectfully,

Chas. C. Martin

Marietta, Ohio

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1 John Russell Thornton, a Delt from West Liberty who transferred to Mononga-lia Academy. In The Good Delt, Thornton is shown to have received a letter from Rhodes Sutton (a boyhood friend from Pennsylvania) in which Sutton re-ported his successful initiation into ΔΤΔ - a crucial moment in the Fraternity's survival (February 1861). Sutton's letter to Thornton was written the same week as this letter from Charles Martin.

2 Monongalia Academy was located in Morgantown, Virgina (now West Virgin-ia), and was a precursor to West Virginia University. Monongalia's first Delt chapter appeared in 1860, but each closing and re-opening resulted in a new chapter designation. WVU's permanent Delt designation finally became 'Gamma Delta' (currently inactive). 3 “ere this”: before; previously. 4 The high regard for John Russell Thornton held by many Delts is explained by several letters sent to him in 1861 from former West Liberty Delts who were by then scattered on different campuses. In all of this correspondence there are similar complaints regarding Bethany's extreme slowness in sending out materi-als for establishing new Chapters. Given the rapidly unfolding political develop-ments nationally, the impending closure of the Bethany chapter, and a disas-trous fire at Bethany which destroyed much of the founding materials - it is un-derstandable how Martin's request was overlooked (or missed altogether).

5 The other fraternities at Marietta in 1861 were Alpha Sigma Phi (Delta Chap-ter) and Alpha DiGamma (a local fraternity which lasted 60 years). Marietta's first fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta (Eta Chapter) had closed in 1859.

6 "Fine Blue Stock": An expression referring to the color blue (not "blue blood"); blue is traditionally associated with virtue.

7 Philip G. Bier was a student at West Liberty. Both Bier and John Thornton transferred to from West Liberty to Monongalia, where Bier was initiated by Thornton; both were founders of the first Delt chapter there. Charles Martin and Philip Bier would find themselves on opposing sides of the coming conflict. Bier became a Captain of the 12th West Virginia Infanty (Union); he was killed in the Battle of Cedar Creek, Shenandoah County PA in late 1864. In 1883 the Philip G. Bier G.A.R. Post [union veterans] was organized in his memory.

8 Harding W. Kuhn was another Delt from West Liberty. In spite of the per-ceived gravity of his health in this letter, brother Kuhn was reported to be living in Charleston WV in a 1905 issue of the Rainbow.

9 "Pocket full of Rocks": Derived from the biblical story of David vs. Goliath, this expression refers to the great things one can accomplish with the humble resources already available to him.

ENDNOTES FOR CHARLES MARTIN’S LETTER TO JOHN THORNTON

��5

....Installation: Saturday November 23, 1968 The weather was beautiful, and the guys from the chapter at the University of Cincinnati [including long-time Chapter Advisor Robert Ferguson] assured us we had nothing to worry about. We had spent the last month or so building the ritual items and, needless to say, were very interested in how it would all fit together. I got dressed in my tuxedo (in those years we all had tuxedos and wore them pretty often to formals), and greeted some of the original ΒΔΕs that had graduated and were returning to campus. When the time came, we marched to the administration building where the ceremony took place. What a proud and emotional moment for all of us. That evening we had a grand banquet at the Club Continental across from the Lafayette Hotel. I can still see everyone gathering in the front of the room for the official Delt photo and proudly singing Delta Shelter. The evening finished and I took Natalie back to her dorm, but I didn’t want it to end –neither did my good friend Bill Havens. We walked back to the Club and ended up at the bar, where Bill played piano and I sang as long as they kept our glasses full. What a night!

....Dr Robert L. Jones The Delta Tau Delta Robert L Jones Prize is awarded annually to any Marietta College student who achieves the highest scholastic standing while a member of the freshman class. The prize was established in 1970. In 1975 it was renamed to honor Dr Robert L. Jones, who retired that year after teaching history at the College since 1938. Dr Jones was the only faculty member initiated at the chapter's installation in 1968.

Ken Kavula, ’69 [1999]

~

Marietta Times

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....Cracking the Books We studied hard and won the first trophy in our [trophy] case. We were to win that thing quite a few times and it became a blessing and a curse when we became known as the smart guys –“geek” or “nerd” was not in the vernacular at the time. A lot of us were in the college band and I was a member of the MC singers, so one of our early purchases was a very old upright piano which joined a salvaged study table in the dining room at 507 Putnam.

....Delta Tau Delta Meets Marietta College We were busy interviewing potential national fraternities and being interviewed in return. [Among them] Delta Tau Delta seemed serious, and in early 1967, we became a Crescent Colony of ΔΤΔ. We settled into campus life and began to work toward our installation. [There was] a Delt old-timer (he was 65 or 70) from Ohio University who would visit us on a regular basis to see how things were going. We began the 1967-68 year in an optimistic mood. I was Rush Chairman again and we had attracted the interest of a large group of freshmen men. We continued our spaghetti dinners and as the first semester ended, we knew we were going to pledge a class which would about double the size of the house. The scholarship trophy was again ours. We worked hard and began final preparations for the installation We had decided that my future father-in-law Dr. R. L. Jones would be a good faculty addition to the house –and he was, in his own special way, honored, pleased, and proud to be included. CONTINUED

Steve Critchlow with his priorities in order.

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A Biography of Charles Carroll Martin, the first Delt at Marietta College

Epsilon Upsilon's closest Delt neighbors are among the oldest chapters in the Fraternity: Bethany; West Liberty (inactive); Ohio U (inactive); WVU (inactive); Washington & Jefferson, etc. Considering Marietta's proximity to ΔΤΔ's birthplace at Bethany College it is curious that a Delt chapter wasn't attempted until the 1960s. Except there was a VERY early attempt to estab-lish a Delt chapter at Marietta. In 1861. Marietta might have become home to one of the Fraternity's oldest chapters, were it not for a tidal wave of his-torical circumstance - in spite of one young man's sincere efforts. This is the

story of The First Delt to attend Marietta College: Charles Carroll Martin.

West Liberty Academy1 in Virginia (now West Liberty University, WV)

was the closest school to Bethany College, and was the logical choice for the first expansion of Delta Tau Delta. Gamma Prime

2 Chapter initiated just

13 men during its short existence there. One of them was Charles Carroll Martin, a native of Wetzel County VA (now WV). As the men of Gamma Prime chapter transferred to other institutions to further their education, it was hoped that many of them would establish Delt chapters at their new schools

3. Charles Martin transferred to Marietta in 1860, taking residence in

North Hall (a dormitory located about where the Administration building now stands) and he soon began to look for a way to start a Delt chapter.

LEFT: John Russell Thornton (in 1893) RIGHT: Philip G. Bier (in 1864)

The first Delt at Marietta College,

CHARLES CARROL MARTIN (in1870) b. 1840, d. 1915

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CHARLES CARROLL MARTIN BIOGRAPHY, CONTINUED

On February 20th, 1861 he wrote a letter to John Russell Thornton, a fellow Delt from West Liberty who had transferred to Monongalia Academy in Morgantown

4. The letter focused mainly on Martin's attempt

to start a Delt chapter at Marietta College and it illuminates two notable elements: A great enthusiasm for the Fraternity on the part of its author -from the very earliest years of the Fraternity's history, and the date it was written. The early months of 1861 are remembered as the "Winter of Secession"; seven southern states had already seceded; Jefferson Davis had been inaugurated as President of the Confederacy two days earlier; Abraham Lincoln (elected the previous November) was inaugu-rated just twelve days after the date of this letter.

At Marietta College highly partisan student debate topics that winter included "Resolved—that South Carolina ought to be kicked out into the ocean." Marietta found itself on the US border when Virginia seceded in April and MC students began leaving school to join the cause, Charles Martin among them. Following his own political sentiments, he enlisted as a private in the 46th Virginia battalion (cavalry) CSA, which later consolidated with the 26th Virginia. With this command Martin was identified until the close of the war, but portions of his service were passed as a Union prisoner. In the summer of 1862 he was captured and sent to Camp Chase in Columbus, OH. He was part of a prisoner exchange in 1863 and re-joined his command. In the summer of 1863 he was again captured and forwarded under guard to Camp Chase, but en route he made a daring escape from the window of the toilet room of the railway car, and rejoined the Confederate army in safety. Later that year he participated in the battle of Droop Mountain, and soon afterward he was promoted to the rank of second Lieutenant of the VA 26th caval-ry. He participated in numerous severe engagements of the cavalry in the Shenandoah valley in 1864, with notable courage and fortitude. Among the battles in which he took part are Martinsburg, Shepherd-stown, Monocacy, Front Royal and several others. In the Spring of 1865 he was on a brief furlough when the army of Northern Virginia surren-dered. He did not return to Marietta, but settled in Parkersburg where he became engaged in business. For several years he conducted a retail grocery business, and later entered the wholesale trade. He was prominent in municipal and general politics, serving one term on the Parkersburg city council.

Charles Carroll Martin died in 1915 and is buried in Mount Olivet Ceme-tery in Parkersburg.

��3

Founding Member Ken Kavula Explains the Chapter's Creation Beta Delta Epsilon was founded in the spring of 1966 after a call was put out by Dean of Students Walter Hobba for men interested in starting something new. Rush had just finished and my best buddy Tom Robinson and I had decided early on not to pledge. We had formed a fairly large social group of our own, including my wife-to-be, Natalie, and we were spending a lot of time at Tom’s house –yes, he was a hoopie, and so was Natalie. Tom’s mother was a teacher, and Natalie’s father was Marietta College history professor, Dr. R. L. Jones –a formidable individual. We had huge group dinners and watched Marietta on the GE College Bowl as it rolled to victory after victory. Nat’s sister was on the team as well. Mark Schickler was my roommate; his future wife Patti Palotta was the Italian chef supreme who kept us all fed. Nat pledged ΑΣΤ and really enjoyed her experience, so when the opportunity presented itself to “go greek”, Tom and I -and a few of our friends immediately took to it. At the initial meeting, Dean Hobba told us that the letters ΒΔΕ came from the letters of the three national fraternities that they were hoping to attract to campus –“Β” (ΒΘΠ); “Δ” (DKE); and “E” (ΣAE). We had an initiation ceremony in an old house [later used by ΑΤΩ and TKE; since demolished] directly across from Dorothy Webster Hall, and that became our first meeting place. The red carnation became our flower and we immediately went out looking for pledges. My roommate Mark Schickler, and another close friend, Bill Havens, became our first two official pledges that year. We elected officers, took pictures and did what we thought a fraternity should. Mark and Bill activated as ΒΔΕs before we went home that summer, and I was appointed Rush Chairman by Chapter President Gregory Maloof. We came back in the fall and moved into our new house at 507 Putnam St. Our first job was to try and furnish the place so we could attract a pledge class. During this period, Natalie and I were getting serious and I gave her the first - and only - ΒΔΕ lavalier. With the place looking pretty good we set out to attract new pledges. We held spaghetti suppers -I cooked- and, when it was over, we got a pledge class! It was the smallest on campus, but we were growing. Rob Weidenfeld came from this class as well as Bruce Miller, who really helped the house through some rocky times in the mid-1970s [as Chapter Advisor]. CONTINUED

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One of the First Marietta Delts, Joe Kirby remembers

In the Fall of 1966 I pledged Beta Delta Epsilon, the smallest, certainly least prestigious fraternity at Marietta. It was a pledge class of three; myself, Nick Miles and Ned Ives. The pledge party was memorable; Willie Warner’s crummy apartment, the cinematic achievement known as “The Undertakers Dream” and ouzu [a Greek liqueur] “depth charges.” Who would drink that stuff, never mind mix it with beer? The hangover was even more memorable. ΒΔΕ only minimally harassed their pledges although during “hell week” we did have to wear large cardboard cutouts of our pledge pins and suffer the rigors of the Bag Baker Memorial Walk. I also recall fragments of the ΒΔΕ ritual; esoteric stuff about Plato’s cave-dwellers watching shadows on the wall. I guess Nick, Ned and I were the last ΒΔΕs. Just call me Uncas. The fraternity at the time was in the process of “going national” and eventually became the crescent colony of ΔTΔ. Since we were the “98-pound weakling” of the greek scene, the Delts must have had their doubts. We did have the scholarship thing going for us. We needed to expand our horizons if we were ever to become a full- fledged chapter. For Homecoming, we built our first float with Marc Nevas as chief engineer and architect. The Delta Queen was a good effort, but that paddle wheel never worked right. The next year, our bi-plane won the float trophy and the following year, our Spanish galleon was a pinnacle of the float building craft. It rocked, it rolled and the cannons fired smoke. Take a pom-pom, dip it in paste, stick it in the chicken wire. Who says a college education is overrated? Still, we needed more than floats and grades. We needed pledges. Ken Kavula did more than any person to make that happen. In the Spring of 1968, he was a man on a mission. He browbeat us, he cajoled us, he organized us. Ken prepared the best pledge week party of all time. It was a riverboat theme and Cecil Boyd’s Banjo Band was incredible. At the end of the week, the Marcolian headline read “Delts Pledge Nineteen”. Overnight, we had literally doubled in size. We also gained a certain amount of respect on campus. Most importantly, we became eligible for full chapter status as Delts. We had good parties, particularly Spring and Fall picnics. As I recall, a favorite spot was called Goose Creek. The farmer let us party there as long as we picked up our empties. I certainly won’t forget diving into Goose Creek, which may have been all of three feet deep and hitting my head on a rock. Luckily, Bill Havens noticed I didn’t come up. Thanks

again, Bill, may you rest in peace.

~Joe Kirby, ‘70 [2008] ��47

Epilogue: Today, the President's house, Erwin Hall, and the MacMillan house at 213 Fourth Street are the only campus buildings remaining from the days when a loyal 20 year old Delt named Charles Martin attended Marietta College. For a college student trying to start a new fraternity chap-ter at a campus located directly on the border of a newly fractured nation, his timing was...unfortunate. Charles Martin's efforts were soon swept away by events over which he had no control, but he deserves our recogni-tion for his efforts - even in the worst circumstances.

1 Now West Liberty University. A Delt chapter has never been re-established there. West Liberty Academy was a hybrid of a modern college-prep high school/junior college. Fraternity chapters were established at 'academies' with the expectation that the young men who joined them might help establish chapters at "proper" colleges and universities once they transferred to obtain their degrees. 2 "Prime" indicates this was the first chapter to bear the Gamma designation. In the early years when a chapter closed, its greek-letter designation was simply reassigned to a new chapter at a different school. Some early sources refer to the West Liberty chapter as Beta Prime, although early chapters were often ranked by their strength rather than their chronological addition to the Fraternity. 3 Delt history publication Sing to the Royal Purple makes passing mention of a West Liberty student (unnamed, but clearly Charles Martin) who attempted to estab-lish a Delt chapter at Marietta - but it mistakenly attributes his failure to do so to his enlistment in the Union Army. 4Thornton's role at Morgantown may have been more as an instructor than a student. -Also: Marietta College in the War of Secession 1861-1865, by Thompson & DE Beach, 1878.

Confederate Military History, by Gen. Clement A. Evans, 1899. John Russell Thornton Collection, Delta Tau Delta Archives The Rainbow of ΔΤΔ, Vol. XXVIII. January, 1905.

West Virginia and Its People, Vol. III, by Miller & Maxwell, 1913. Marietta College Library Special Collections - With thanks to Linda Showalter. -And for the completists among us, take no notice of the following: A Pioneer College: The Story of Marietta, by Arthur G. Beach, 1935. This comprehensive history of the College's first 100 years mentions Charles Martin directly. However, he is stated to have been "killed in service to the Confederacy" during the Civil War. This egregious error negates his documented military service and long involvement in Parkersburg business & civic affairs -and it overlooks his pub-

lished obituaries from 20 years earlier.

Charles Martin’s resting place, Mt Olivet Cemetery, Parkersburg WV

ca. 1894

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BELOW: HUGH SHIELDS AWARD #6

Back Row: (L-R) Tom Calhoon - Northern Division President; Travis Rockey International President. Front Row (L-Ri) Ryan Till, Josh Counselman, Keenan Hamilton, Casey McGuire, Karl Grant, Brandon Stewart����Jason Long. Columbus OH; Northern Division Conference, January 2013

��1

Brotherhood begins

A Humble Start�� The founding of the Marietta College Chapter of Delta Tau Delta seems to have been an undertaking fraught with pitfalls and earmarked for failure. A handful of motley undergraduates with no permanent home, scanty finances, and no strong organizational structure attempting to found a vital and enduring brotherhood now seems a sure recipe for failure. But reminiscing on those exciting and challenging days, I see that what we may have lacked in material objects we compensated with boundless enthusiasm, great hope, and an intense desire to succeed. We worked hard, we played - perhaps too hard, but our failures never daunted us nor did our successes lead us to lethargy. Yes, we were proud of those early accomplishments, but we were aware of our shortcomings and strove to always be better.

Bill Havens ’69 [1978] *year of written contribution

~

Field Secretary Doug Croth of Indianapolis, Ind., center, a graduate of the University of Toronto, representing Delta Tau Delta Fraternity at the nationalization of Marietta College’s chapter. At left is president of the Crescent Colony, Tom Robinson, a senior from Marietta, and at right, Bill Havens, vice president, a senior from Burgoon. Marietta Times

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th Anniversary - Homecoming 2013

Epsilon Upsilon Chapter

Of

Our Story