Jon's Frat Life

Fall term my senior year, two fraternity brothers & I shared an off-campus apartment. Maybe it was to be better able to study....I'm not sure. There was a fold-down bed & I slept on an Army cot in the 'galley' kitchen. When Halloween arrived, and we didn't want to be bothered all evening, we posted a sign on the front door (at child height): "Little Johnnie is sick and cannot go out; if you'd like to share a piece of your candy with him, he would love that." (We got some in the bag we left out, but the wonderful part was hearing the kids read the sign and deciding whether to share with Little Johnnie!)

     At the end of Winter term that year, I decided to 'retire' from my job as Head Houseboy at the Pi Phi  sorority house, and live in and eat meals at the Theta Chi fraternity house. It was a certain amount of change from what I had been used to for most of the past four years, that is, working and eating in sorority houses. If I ever had a cholesterol problem, it may have started that Spring term. 

     Somebody at the head of the table was in charge of "manners" and would send the "bank," imposing an immediate fine, down to whoever was committing the infraction. We didn't toss chicken bones over our left shoulders, but it was something different than the sorority houses, where the servers (houseboys) wore white shirts, black ties, and white jackets.

     During at least part of my time at the Theta Chi house, when a "brother" got "pinned" to a girl (short of engagement, but close), he was "Trunked." That is, he was physically placed into a coffin-shaped box, probably stripped to his shorts, smeared with honey or syrup, and covered with feathers. We, that is, the rest of us, then transported this unfortunate soul (in an old and beat-up hearse) to the living organization of the young lady to whom he was "pinned," and the tradition was that her "sisters" would rescue him away from us.

Medieval?.....at the least!

jl

Also, in the picture, the one with the hose is Dan Williams, future VP (for Administration) of the UofO. They were 'hosing down' some graduate student, or senior, who I think is either being held or is bound. Dan is there from kitchen duty....thus, the apron.

jl