Thanks to Brother Bob Withrow ’75 for responding to our recent alumni email survey! If you’d like to submit an update of your own for publication in an upcoming e-letter or a future edition of our alumni newsletter, email us your updates and photos at [email protected].
Bob Withrow ‘75
“My favorite place in State College was the Rec Hall to play 4 wall handball with brother Ed “Bucky” Buchan. My favorite event at PSU was probably hitting the bars. The most valuable things I gained from Kappa was enthusiastic participation and leadership. I’m currently dealing with medicare and have grandkids.”
James Hancock ’53
“I’m afraid i can’t really give you much of a personal update re: relationship with brothers, there are not many around right now!
Instead, let me give you some insights on what it was like coming to PSU and Kappa when I did, right after WWII. I graduated from high school in 1949. Male grads that graduated until 1949 had to take their freshman year away from PSU. Most went to the then “teacher colleges”, i.e., Lockhaven, Clarion, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, etc. I went to Juaniata. State College was really a small town, just like Bellefonte, out in the boondocks. There was no hospital in State, it was over in Bellefonte. State was also a “dry”town, although you could get a beer at the Skeller, and also at the tavern which was about the only restaurant in town outside of the diners. The only motel in town was Autoport.
There was no bookstore on campus or a hub. The Creamery was there, and I think that came with the college. You bought your books at a commercial book store downtown. Everything commercial was handled by the merchants. PSU was really a State College merchant enterprise!
The football field was up next to rec hall and the Nittany Lion Inn. It seated about 36,000. You paid a student athletic fee with your tuition and that included a packet of tickets which gave you admission to all sporting events, which included football, basketball, baseball, and wrestling. There was no extra charge. Frosh would sit on the goal line area, and each class worked its way up to 50 yd. line which was seniors.
I also think I only paid approx $125 a semester. That’s not bad considering the price for the football tickets today, and you had a seat with your tuition. Now you might cry, our house bill was $75 a month my first year, then I think it went up to $95 rest of time at Kappa.
We had a full time cook and the food was unbeatable. Mrs. Boyer was there at either 6 or 7 am very day and she never let us down, eggs anyway you wanted every morning, the only time she didn’t cook was Sunday eve and pledges fixed soup and cold cut sandwiches. I was either between pledge or brotherhood when the brothers voted to charge $2 a month social fee, and that bought a keg of beer from Hickeys every weekend, or even two if need be.
If we ran out on a Saturday evening a hectic call was put in to Hickeys and they would rush a keg out. I remember this vividly as I didn’t drink beer, but if I was paying for it, I was going to learn to drink it. One of my many miscues in life!”
John Downs ’74
“My favorite place in State College was Rathskeller. Cases of Rolling Rock pony bottles served with an opener! Stormy Tailer Men’s ONLY Party! The most valuable thing I gained from Kappa was the Brotherhood. I now own a Pontoon boat and am always on it around City Island, Harrisburg, Riverside Marina with my wife, Janet. My Nickname is F-Bomb. I still hunt and fish often as I can.”