RHO ALPHA CHAPTER 202 Church Street Blacksburg, Virginia 24060 FRIDAY May 27, 1977 Dear Graduates, Yes folk, this is another issue of the RHO ALPHA RAG. As the editor, I am here once again at 4t35 am on a dark Friday morning typing this letter. HOWEVER, this is a lot more fun than last time because brothers John Beach and Jim Showalter are working right along side me on this and there is no more school111 In this issue we are able to include a feature we wanted. GRADUATE NEWS. While there isn't muchiji we put it in because it is our favorite article. Most of it is excerpts from letters I've recieved since the last newsletter, because 1 enjoy reading the letters and they are a better souce of reference than my memory (or anyone else's memory) of Pig Dinner. I would like to thank John and Jim for all their help tonight, and to Don Kawecki and Harold 'Nasty' Jones for writing numerous articles between exams. And a special tlianks to the brothers'who write and visit, because this is your chapter, and especially your newsletter, and we need to hear from all of you. Fraternally, -° / •«*•»•«*«««««•»>«*#« graduate news************graduate news******************** Brad Ryffel was unable to attend Pig Dinner this year due to working on night and*"weekend shifts. However, he and Neva say hello to everyone and they are hoping to make it to Homecoming this fall. Rich and Deb Rau have bought a new home in Newark, Md., about fifteen minutes from the beach. The house is sixty-four years old and they are busy restoreing it. All brothers are welcome to visit this summer or any time. WARNINGt You must be prepared to drink plenty of beer and perhaps being handed a paint brush or hammer. Rich's new address is P.O.Box 98 Newark, Md. 21841 Phone #632-3710 Howard Canada is running loose in Richmond, and may be changing jobs, but there will be more on that later. Howard reminds everyone the three things they teach at Tech« Reading, Writing, And the Road to Richmond I Richard Vaden was in Florida for his brother's marriage, and wasn't able to make it to Pig Dinner. He says hello to everyone and will see the brothers at Homecoming if not before. Thank you for the comments on the last letter and the toast at Pig Dinner. As the letters are coming in to the chapter house in more abundance and fpequency, so shall these newsletterbebe written to spread the news. This newsletter has been a blast 1 7^1?G^/ Write soon! . / \r\nHCaSE CHAIRMANS REPORT- BROTHERS, Hopefully when you all come to homecoming next October you will notice some changes have been made around fhe house. First, Pi pledge class has had several hotdog sales and with the help of some of the older brothers, have raised enough money to build two couches for the living room. The construction is being supervised by Broth^ Stowasser who, being a fourth year student in architecture, isj^oing a fine job. Several of the little sisters are pitching in and sewing the pillow cases that go with : the couches. Soon to be built will be a matching T.V. stand and coffee table. We also plan to put carpetting in the living room . Let's hear some clicks for Brother Katacia who did a fine job of putting the carpet on the stairs. It looks great! Next are the bathrooms. The floors are going to be replaced v;ith vinyl flooring and the upstairs may need a new subfloor because water comes down through the ceiling in the kitchen. The downstairs bathroom walls need to be repaired the same way that Brother Latanf and Brother Echelberger repaired the upstairs bathroom walls last year» The kitchen will be next. The entire kitchen will be painted and fumegated. We plan to put a vinyl floor down and also want to put formica on the kitchen counter. Next is the pit-r-the FIJI landmark. But you all know all about that I(would you believe a barbecue pit?) Well, that just about concludes the house chairmans report. However, I would like to end on a special note. X am a gradu^= ating senior and will soon jvin the ranks of the graduate brothers, For this reason I feel I can' rightly say that this chapter needs your donations. We have budgeted our funds and can swing some of the repairs but not all. And we need all!! A nice looking house (inside and out) is essential to rush and if we don't impress the rushes we may not get any pledges. Frankly, I want to come back year after year for a long time to come. If the abover^reason is not sufficient for your donations, try this one. It!s your house too!!! Fraternally, \r\n, ****** UNDERGRADUATE'****3UKNER******ADDRESSES******************** DAN ROBL HAROLD JOKES WARD FOILETTB 4220 Soth Ave. Baltimore,Md.21236 1C713 Braddock Rd. Fairfax,Va.22C30 EASTER P-^OSES 3209 Greenland Ave. Roanoke,Va.24012 JOHN 3EAGH DON EAWSCKI PAUL YEKGST STEVE ROBBINS 6202 Everglades Dr JIM SHOWALTER MIKE GUILPOYLE BILL LATANE DEB-TAYLOR BILL JORDAN TIM CHECK TOM MATACIA ROBBIE PHELPS RANDY MOORE GREG ^^JRPHY ANDY STOWASSER CLIP? ROBER MIKE OBRIEN Blacksburg,Va.24060 301-256-6030 703-273-2320 703-552-4251 703-366-3846 703-256-4539 703-552-4251 110 East 39th St. Norfolk,Va.235C4 202 Curch St. Blaclcsburg,Va. 2406o 804-622-9177 703-552-4251 2051 Maiden Ln. SVi Roanoke,Va.24015 703-344-2531 804-224-5943 703-951-4635 202 Church 3t. Blacksburg,Va.24060 202 Church St A.lexandria,Va.22312 Fiji House or Oak Grove,Va.22443 32C McDonald St. Apts. E•burg,Va.24060 32.2.6 202 Church St. Blackshurg,Va.24060 E-2 Sturbridge Sq. B'hurg,Va.24060 5033 Finn Rd. Virginia Beach,Va.23455 Route 2 Meadowview,Va.24361 4832 Peachcreek Ln. Va. Bch.,Va.23455 1606 Kieth Valley Rd. C'ville,Va.. 7 Birch Hill Rd. Belniont,Mass.02178 233 Mountwell Ave. Haddonfield,NJ08033 RICK GASS STEVE DEBEVOISE STEVE HUBER KARL SOLTERER 463 Riverview Dr. Totowa,NJ 10408 Buckboard PI. Potomac,Md.20854 371 Bent Twig Rd. Warren",Pa^ 16365 5513 N. 33rd St. Arlington,Va.22207 703-552-4251 703-552-8042 804-464-9285 804-497-7713 617-484- ■0615 609-795- 0316 201-256304-469814-723703-536- 3711 7998 6928 3572 are the tenative sipmer addresses for most of us. Bill Jordan will be working in Suffolk but isn't sure where he will be stavine Paul oust isn't sure of anything. Randy will be working in Atlanfe Sil 4 Bi? ^ perman^t address cause he doesh't have an apt. ' Tim Check's home address is V ® aos';? he around; somewhere. ■ ^'illiamsburg,Va.23185 804-229-3158, in case he isn't 1 should b4 ida"IIed%0 ° ' anything related to Fiji on the outside cause ROBBIE What I Will Be Doing This Summer I will be living in Northern Va. (Fairfax) this summer with my parents. I've got a 00^ with the coimty doing odds and ends. It's not much of a 00^» it's better than nothing. I hope to find a job in one of the parks back home, but-I think the chances are pretty slim. I hope to take a two week trip to Auburn University to visit a friend down south. That should he gangs of fun. For all you that knew I was going to court four days after Prg Dinner, I was aquitted!M I'm no longer a criminal suspect (a-t least not in that case) . I hope to make it to the chapter house this summer, and maybe I 11 see a few of yo . Take care, you armadillos. Fraternally, PERGE! Wa \r\nREFLECTIONS OF A YEAR GONE BY. The academic year 1976-77 was a highly profitable one for Rho Alpha. Originally placed by many on the "Endangered Species' List," our chapter cam^ roaring back with the 'ole Fi;)i spirit that has marked our past. We initiatied eight new brothers, an increase of two over the previous year. Our Rush Program, under the tender (?) care ofvChairman Harold "Nasty" Jones finally took form. Committee's once again existed in the chapter, for the good of all. President Dan Robl and his cabinet provided leadership in some of our darker moments to turn over the reigns • of control in much better shape to the new administration xuider Paul Yengst. And, although much work still needs to be done, the firanci^ picture (thanks largely to the generosity of graduates) cleared up considerably. Here are just a few of the events that made 1976-77 a memorable year for all of us: FALL: We're in damn bad shape...the house is a mess, bills everywhere, etc. But Robl sees a light somewhere in West Virginia and leads us on...Fall Rush yields two pledges, Greg Murphy and Randy Moore. Fiji beats the hell out of the basketball league, taking the trophy for T'8...Rho Alpha shows Section Chief Bill Mattox what Purple Passion Punch is (a few of us took a refresher course, too!)...Jones tells us that the stage is set for Winter Rush...Here goes WINTER; ....!!!! We rush the HELL out of things...Beach and Phelps threaten people if they don't pledge...Rush begins to reap benefits...Karl, Spike, find Don keep us truckin' on the flickerball courts...Rejoicing in the snow...Spike and Don win some "distinguished" awards at the Christmas Party...Seven white stars, shine in the sky of Rho Alpha: Mike O'Brien, Rick Gass, Andy Stowasser, Jeff Whipple, Steve Debevoise, Cliff Rober, and Steve . Huber...Archon Vice-President Bud Mangels gets a taste of the Rho Alpha life. SPRING: Welcome back brothers, only one quarter to go now... We positively stink at fraternity softball, but as usual do better with the women and make co-rec playoffs...Bill Jordan and his crew make soccer playoffs...Nasty and Carrie have a mud fight at Fiji Island...Our chapter is honored by a second Archon . visit as Archon Secretary Joe Carney speaks at the Norris Pig Dinner...Brother Dan Robl and Graduate Brother Howard Canada are honored for their outstanding contributions to the chapter... All in all, 1976-77 was a very good year indeed^ We extend our thanks to the graduates, brothers, and little sisters that made it possible.... PERGE! ~ Fraternally yours, Rec. Sec. \r\nIn a vain attempt to get material for this newsletter, I asked for something on anything by anybody. Never again will I promise to print almost anything, ROBBIE WHAT I AiVl DOING THIS SUMMER SOMETHING IN THE WIND by Don Kawecki A fantastic idea was brought to our attention by brother Rick Fine and we'd love to hear your opinions on it. If we get enough support we'll do it... As little as possible. PERGE anyways,... SKOL DAZE One weekend all the graduates and undergraduates will get together next PARTY year for wine, XXkXXT fer you married men so your wives don't know), and song. Another set of exams is over, and all the tension they bring on is subsiding. Exams this year started on a Thursday and ended the following Wed,. The day before exams started some looney bird decided we should have a party on Friday to ease tensions. Well, a theme was contrived and posted on the front door for all to see, A Skol Daze party ( school days ) No dates-including wives-allowed. The doors will be locked at midnight on Fri day and unlocked on noon Sunday. In the meanwhile - the rip-roaringest, roudiest, drunkenest, Fiji party the world has ever seen is going to take place. We'll have kegs on tap but bring a ^ gallon anyway ( f.er warming up in the morning - gges^ ^ good on rice crispies, snap'-crackle-JitirpJ Well, how does it sound? If you like it write the old chapter house and let us know. was the theme. To get into the front door one had to bring a pint of Skol Vodka and a quart of PERGE fa mixer. It sounded great in the making, but little did we know the consequences of our actions. The party started as innocently as could be.- We mixed up a good batch k. of punch.and started the party. It was a smaller party (about 30 people) but HOLY ARMADILLO did it get wild. I've never seen so many things happen unless you are crazy. Amid all the noise, cards, booze, and broadsj four times people decided it was time to square off. Even though no one was hurt it didn't mean no one tried. Three of these face-offs were between brothers. Friendship prevailed however, with the two opponents going arm in arm back to the punch. Luckily only one chair was hurt as it hit the wall at 75 mph. The morning after (no one thought they would live to see it) it was decreed by unanamous vote that there would be a one year moritorium on Skol. We also decided to flog anybody caught in the house with more than one ounce of Skol. A committee was also formed to find out what is in that besides alcohol. I* stuff Well, it's all over now (thank God) but the memories linger (#5^1* it). My only advice is that if you ever go to a party and there are large quantities of Skol there, go back out the way, you'came in and find something else. c WHY I LOVE EXAlViS by Don Kawecki I don't, PERGE GRADUATING SENIORS Jim Showalter Dan Robl Harold Jones Bill Latane CONGRADULATIONSn !