Upcoming EVENTS DECEMBER 2004 Spring 2005 Norris Pig Dinner at the Angus Barn Watch www.epsilonpgd.com, our Web site and future mailings for details. Epsilon Chapter Cabinet President David H. Batten ’79 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-828-1500 DHB@cshlaw.com Treasurer Charles E. Bell III ’91 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-877-2438 charles.e.bell.iii@smithbarney.com Fund-Raising Chairmen Laurence B. Maddison III ’92 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-821-5482 lbm3@bellsouth.net Paul C. McCoy ’98 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-981-0191 paulmccoy@lewis-roberts.com George T. Barnes ’92 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-459-2601 gbarnes@vanguardpg.com House Maintenance Chairmen Lindsay F. Sewell ’98 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-573-5513 lsewell@trammellcrow.com John Hughes ’66 Chapel Hill, N.C. (W) 919-933-9959 JHughes@vistatm.com Graduate Communications Chairman W. Holton Wilkerson Jr. ’00 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-821-8023, ext. 207 hwilkerson@hunterandassoc.com Undergraduate Communications Chairman Tom Darden ’02 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-532-0435 tdarden@windchannel.com Mike Brown ‘04 (C) 919-672-1689 mikbrown@pulte.com The Epsilon Owl Chapter HighLights Alumni Adviser Elected President of the International Fraternity During the semiannual Phi Gamma Delta National Convention held in Atlanta during August, the alumni adviser for the Epsilon Chapter here at UNC, Marvin Carver III ’75, was voted archon president of the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. His new responsibilities will include the administering of all affairs of the fraternity as well as appointing all designated officers. Marvin has been involved with the alumni IFC board for many years as well as being a strong advocate of the Greek system here at UNC. We are ecstatic to have such a strong proponent of the IFC. New archon president, Marvin Carver III ’75 Chapter Tribute A Legend Retires The weekend of September 24 and 25 was a time of celebration for the Epsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta in Chapel Hill, N.C. The weekend was set aside to observe the five-year anniversary of the reopening of Vance Hall and to commemorate the retirement of the house’s beloved chef, Benjamin Thomas Harrington. B.T. became part of the Epsilon family in 1968 at the age of 16, when he was originally hired to perform daily chores in and around the house. Born in Orange County in 1952, B.T. seemed to have Carolina blue blood flowing in his veins. When a chance arose to take on custodial duties from Albert Reeves, whose official role at the house or lack thereof is currently in dispute, B.T. jumped at the opportunity. When head chef, Paul Minor, retired in 1975 after 35 years of cooking for the fraternity, the brothers took a chance on the young, but promising, custodian and promoted B.T. to head chef. According to Dr. Bob Hortman ’76, who was president of Epsilon when B.T. was promoted, the “experiment” was not without significant risk. B.T. underwent extensive on-the-job-training as he honed the skills necessary to provide three meals per day for dozens of rowdy brothers. B.T. describes the time as “hectic as hell,” as he was responsible not only for www.epsilonpgd.com cooking, but for all custodial duties as well. As anyone who has learned a new trade knows, the first few attempts don’t always work out. Fantastic food fights with the inedible food ensued. Luckily, everyone survived. B.T. has many fond memories of his early days at Epsilon, including the time he spent with Pop Cashion ’63 and all the undergrads. His first daughter, Katie, was born in 1972 and the new addition to his family instilled B.T. with a strong sense of responsibility. After his promotion, days turned into weeks and weeks into years, with B.T. constantly developing his personal pig cooking technique as well as his special skills at the controls of a deep fryer. In 1990, B.T. married his third wife, Cynthia, and his second daughter, Deantranay, was born in 1992. Just as everything was looking up, the tragedy on graduation day in May of 1996 changed B.T. forever. Many of us will never forget turning on the news to find him standing in front of a smoldering Vance Hall with tears streaming down his face, worrying about his brothers. However, B.T. never worried about the future of Epsilon. A mere three years later, Vance Hall was fully restored to its original grandeur and its doors reopened to welcome B.T. and (Continued on Page 2) 1 \r\nNot forCollege Days Alone R emember your days at the Phi Gam house, from Fiji Island to Paul Minor to Albert to B.T.? From band parties in the backyard to band parties in the front yard? The best pledge classes on campus. When women couldn’t go upstairs (but did anyway). Mom Mengel and other housemothers. When we built benches in the front yard so we could watch the Tri Delts. When some of us actually wore ties to football games. We are all lucky that our house and its traditions live on, flourishing alongside the new traditions and new memories of today’s undergraduate brothers. All this doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of lots of hard work by current and graduate brothers and the generous support of graduates and friends. To remind you of Epsilon and your days here, the house corporation has commissioned a limited-edition print of Vance Hall suitable for framing. This print was designed by Keeland Francis and is approximately 9 inches by 12 inches. Only 200 of these signed and numbered prints were made, and many were sold at the B.T. benefit. The prints are $200 each, delivered to you by mail. All profits from the sale of the prints will be used to reduce the mortgage on Vance Hall. The house corporation’s goal is to eliminate the mortgage in the next three years, ensuring the financial stability of Epsilon for years to come. To order yours, please send your check for $200 to John Hughes, 534 Dogwood Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27516. Be sure to include your name, street address, city/state/ZIP and phone number. Treasurer’s Report By Kyle Woodruff, Treasurer Epsilon has made a conscious effort to become increasingly active in various philanthropy projects within the past two semesters. We are proud to say we were recently able to raise almost $2,500 for Heart Strings Inc. by putting together a student-based bluegrass Serving the Community fund-raiser. These proceeds went directly to this organization to help provide musical instruments and lessons for underprivileged youth. As always, we look forward to carrying out our annual meal delivery project at Thanksgiving and are in the process of taking referrals to expand our scope of outreach to additional families. Over the last year we have been able to provide almost 20 meals to needy families within the Chapel Hill/Durham area, and this year we are attempting to break our own record. Chapter Tribute … continued from Page 1 his eager brothers to safer house and a state-of-the-art kitchen. B.T. refused to lose another minute returning to the job he so loved. The Friday night festivities of the “Phi Gam Gala” on September 24, 2004, were a fitting tribute to an Epsilon legend. They included a cocktail party with heavy hours d’oeuvres and the music of the popular party band, Johnny White. The backyard of the house was filled with Phi Gam brothers and alumni dating back some 45 years. B.T., whose devotion to Epsilon has gone nearly unmatched for over 35 years, was the hit of the weekend. All the alumni enjoyed catching up with him and sharing their old college day memories. Saturday, September 25, brothers engaged in the old time afternoon tradition of the chapter celebrating in the spirited presence of B.T. The brothers, graduates and their dates took pleasure in a pig pickin’ with a blue grass band on the front lawn. Afterwards, they moved the party to Kenan Stadium where everyone enjoyed seeing the Tar Heels take 2 on Louisville on a beautiful Saturday afternoon under Carolina blue skies. As B.T. makes the transition into the next phase of his life, we owe it to him to do everything in our power to help B.T. pursue his goals. We all know that before long, B.T. will become as beloved among students and citizens of Chapel Hill as he was at Epsilon. Towards that end, those who wish to make contributions to the B.T. Retirement Fund should send their checks, payable to the B.T. Retirement Fund, to the following address: B.T. Retirement Fund 160 S. Saint Mary’s Street Raleigh, NC 27603 The brothers and the house corporation would like to thank everyone involved in the weekend for making it such a special and memorable occasion. www.epsilonpgd.com December 2004 \r\nHomecoming 2004 By Tram Williams, Corresponding Secretary A Great Homecoming, and What a Stunning Football Game! Epsilon homecoming weekend, October 29-30, was yet another successful and exciting gathering. Phi Gam football fans went into Saturday with much skepticism as to whether we would see another thrilling football game under the lights at Kenan Stadium, or whether the Heels would suffer an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes. We kicked off the beautiful afternoon with live bluegrass music on the front lawn from our friends, the Grindstone String Band, which was complemented by another meal of delicious barbecue, green bean casserole and the fixins from B.T.’s notorious kitchen. Rush Report As we socialized in front of Vance Hall, longtime graduate brothers and friends were once again reunited, many not having had the chance to visit or catch up with members from their respective classes for quite some time. Old bonds were re-established, and new links were made and strengthened between the undergraduate brothers and those from years past. Little did we know we were all in store for one of the most exciting Carolina football victories in recent memory, as the Tar Heels battled their way to another sporadically impressive win. After the elated Welcome the Latest Pledges We started off the new school year with yet another exciting and successful rush. All our hard work finally paid off on bid day when 14 upstanding freshmen and sophomores entered through the doors of Vance Hall as what would become our new pledge class. We are thrilled to have these new members around the house and are confident they will continue to lead the Epsilon Chapter down its current successful path over their next four years. The undergraduates would like to thank the graduate brothers who submitted rush recommendations, and encourage similar input in future semesters to make sure that only the best men are considered for membership. Epsilon Chapter Pledge Class crowd finally left the stadium in disbelief, a gathering in celebration took place at Epsilon. The undergraduate brothers would like to extend their thanks to all who made the time to travel back to our college home to reunite with their graduate brothers in Phi Gamma Delta. We also encourage everyone to stop by the house to visit when you come to cheer the men’s basketball team this winter. The doors of Vance Hall are always open to welcome the return of graduate brothers from all generations, and we look forward to seeing you back in Epsilon in the near future. Welcome, fall 2004 pledges! Benjamin Fletcher Fortune III Greensboro, N.C. Murray Wilson Jones Jr. Winston Salem, N.C. Wallace Fredrick Palmer III Augusta, Ga. Matthew William Brown Kinston, N.C. Robert Gordon Graper Jr. Charlotte, N.C. William Presnell Keesler Lexington, N.C. Harper Beall Williams Wilmington, N.C. James Edward Etheridge Jr. Wilson, N.C. Mitchell Culbreth Guy Fayetteville, N.C. Michael Ryan Linden New Bern, N.C. Surry Cowper Wood Raleigh, N.C. Elliott Burton Farless Merry Hill, N.C. Samuel Allen Heathcote Raleigh, N.C. William Whitfield Newton Clinton, N.C. Graduate UpDates Charles L. Fulton ’47 (P.O. Box 20701, Raleigh, NC 29619) Now retired (mostly), but I have many good memories of the War years when there were only three of us (I was 18 years old when I was inducted). We kept the house open by feeding some 50 coeds in the dining room. Those were the years! The Epsilon Owl Roger A. McDuffie ’49 (103 Firethorn Ln., Spartanburg, SC 29307; rmcduffie1@charter.net) Got a doctorate in composition from FSU and taught there a few years. Married Sonia. Taught at Converse College, 1961-93. Have three married children with children. My cancer was licked primarily by massive radiation whose side effects are bad and permanent. Still write music of several sorts. www.epsilonpgd.com E. Lewis Bryan ’53 (183 North Shore Rd., Beaufort, NC 285169686; elewbry@webtv.net) My wife, Tonia, is in remission from lung cancer and is doing quite well at present. Please put her on your prayer list. I am doing fine, trying my best to help Tonia and keep my sanity at the same time. Our four children are all well and seem to be happy. Tonia and I still (Continued on Page 4) 3 \r\n778-46 FN cd Graduate UpDates … continued from Page 3 live in paradise — Beaufort, N.C. — where the weather is great most of the time, hurricanes notwithstanding. Would love to hear from all Phi Gams. I would like very much to find Kenton Creuser ’54. Charles W. Higgins ’54 (205 James River Dr., Newport News, VA 23601-3650; mizpatty@cox.net) I attended my 50th reunion in May with graduate brothers Burnie Burnstan ’54, Ken Creuser ’54, Jim Maynard ’54 and Charlie Sawyer ’54. James W. Maynard ’54 (1922 Nottingham Ln., Burlington, NC 27215-4822) Six Phi Gams in the class of ’54 returned to the campus on May 7-9, 2004, for our 50th reunion. Included were Burnie Burnstan ’54 (Carlsbad, Calif.), Kenton Creuser ’54 (Blue Ridge, Ga.), Bob Bundy ’54 (High Point, N.C.), Bill Higgins ’54 (Newport News, Va.) and Charlie Sawyer ’54 (Ahoskie, N.C.). We are now members of the “Old Students Club” and look forward to our 75th. Kenneth S. Cannaday ’68 (2527 Dilworth Heights Ln., Charlotte, NC 28209; kcannaday@carolina.rr.com) I retired from law practice in 1996, and Shelley and I spent several years traveling. Since then, Shelley went back to work, and I have settled into a routine that includes writing, studying, volunteering with Charlotte Sister Cities and a daily workout at the YMCA. Shelley and I hike in the Grand Canyon often. Walter E. Titchener ’74 (1000 N. General Lee, Dunn, NC 28334; wtichener@yahoo.com) I would like to see a reunion of Sweet Diane and Diane #2 with her boyfriends Marvin Carver ’75, Bobby Thurston ’75, Lee Winters ’73, Ben Alford ’73, and Allen Cobb ’74 and brother Hootch. John H. Coffman ’81 (501 Chesapeake Pl., Greenville, NC 27858-0679; jcoffman@coffmansmens wear.com) Pam and I have two children — our daughter, Sydnor, who is 12 and our son, Harrison, who is 8. I am fortunate enough to be able to play cards with Weighty Scales ’77 and Charles Ellis ’79 quite often. Norborne Gee Smith ’84 (810 Waverly Rd., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010; gsmith225567@comcast.net) I ran into Bob Winston ’84 and Edward Bowles during the spring. I keep in touch with Curtis Hathaway ’84, John Cox ’85 and Emmet Montgomery ’82. Whit Edwards ’94 (213 Elmwood Dr., Greensboro, NC 27408; whitedwards@hotmail.com) Whit Jr. is 2-1/2 years old, and Shuford is 6 months old. I enjoyed seeing old friends at the B.T. retirement party in September. Log on to the Web site at ww.epsilonpg.com for more news about your brothers. In Memory Since publication of our last issue, we have learned of the death of Arthur L. Jansen ’39 (9/20/03) William D. Wester ’48 (spring ’04) Brother Kenneth S. Cannaday ’68 taking a break on the South Kaibab Trail. One of our own elected archon presiednt of the international fraternity! Phi Gamma Delta mourns their passing and extends condolences to their families and friends. Address Service Requested Graduate Relations Office P.O. Box 3367 Chapel Hill, NC 27515-3367 Epsilon of Phi Gamma Delta, Inc. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 4 James M. Tanner ’92 (2715 Anderson Dr., Raleigh, NC 27608; jmtanner@hmcnc.com) We are having fun with our twin boys (Jack and Eli, 5 1/2) and little girl (Anna Clayton, 11 months). They keep us busy! I enjoy seeing Bo Maddison ’92, Charles Bell ’91 and many other Phi Gams regularly. Likewise I enjoyed seeing everyone at the B.T. retirement party! Bo Maddison, Chris Green ’92, Warren DuBose ’92 and I all enjoyed being part of the wedding of Bryan Tate ’92 and Tracy. Cassanova is officially off the market! www.epsilonpgd.com December 2004