G. Scott Smith ’65
(16988 Timberlakes Dr., Fort Myers, FL 33908; [email protected]) I’m fully retired and living in Fort Myers, Fla. I’ve had a few Betas stay over, and I welcome anyone in the area to call or drop by.
David Brown ’61
(322 N. Plantation Ln., Swansboro, NC 28584; [email protected]) ’61 I became Chairman of the Museum of the Marine in April and have put many things in motion to raise $20M in the next two years. Let me share a few notes about this Museum. The Museum of the Marine (MotM) will be a “world class” museum built in Jacksonville, NC aboard Camp Lejeune in the Lejeune Memorial Gardens. It will be dedicated to memorializing the many contributions to the Nation and the Marine Corps that emanated from the Carolinas. We are a private 501 (C) (3) organization that does not receive any funding from the Marine Corps or Congress. The MotM will commemorate the Marines and Sailors of the Carolinas (both North and South Carolina including Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, and Marine Corps Air Stations Cherry Point, New River and Beaufort among others), the units in which they served, and the civilian communities that have hosted the Marines of the Carolinas since the beginning of WW II. When completed, the Museum will be a 40,000 square foot building consisting of 3 main exhibit galleries, a changing gallery, an orientation theater and a great hall that will be able to seat some 300 people for unit reunions, promotions and retirements, birthday balls, and other functions. The Museum will focus on the unique contributions and the many “firsts” that have come out of the Carolinas. Some of these firsts include: the first women Marines were trained here; the development and refinement of amphibious doctrine; the first African-American Marines were trained here; the first use of war dogs; the development of amphibious assault doctrine; the development of body armor; as well as many aviation firsts, such as the development and refinement of vertical assault and, most recently, the pilot training and tactical development associated with the MV-22 Osprey at MCAS, New River. The Museum will have a natural tie with the Battleship USS North Carolina and Fort Fisher as it is along US Route 17’s military heritage trail; it will enhance the New Hanover County’s status as an ideal tourist destination and finally will provide a destination for Wilmington residents to take a day trip with their family and their guests.
John Shondel ’61
(410 Greenbriar Drive, Avon Lake, OH 44012-2185; [email protected]) I was appointed to Avon Lake, Ohio’s City Council to fill a Council at Large position, vacated when the Council President was elected Mayor in November 2011.
Wiley, Robert, Class of 1960
At age 73, I am still active in the Recreational Vehicle business as a consultant to manufacturers of Class B Motorhomes by Mercedes Benz that achieve 22 MPG. I also play golf, fish and boat, bike, play tennis and watch Ohio State football.
Koerpel, Craig, Class of 1967
It used to be that the Beta Christmas party was a legendary December event. The Friday night before Saturday’s fiesta, our pledges were enlisted to erect a false ceiling of heavy wire in the house living room. A group of actives would then go on a “stealth mission” to cut pine boughs from trees as close to Granville as possible. They would bring the boughs back to be interlaced in the wire until the entire ceiling was green and bushy. Dinner tables were set up and by candle light the atmosphere would melt the heart of even the most aloof of sorority dates!
A U-haul or similar vehicle was rented for bringing pilfered pine back to the house. Each year it was necessary to go further from campus because the supply of nearby evergreens had become depleted over time. The lumbering adventure was always proceeded by consumption of Christmas spirits at a Newark pub…which was where the decision got made on exactly where the annual” tree-trimming” was to occur. I made the bough crew in 1965. That was the year eight of us sat around a table at “Tony’s” with $0.25 drafts and someone, recalled spotting a suitable pine grove less than 15 minutes from campus. What great news! It allowed us to spend an extra hour discussing world affairs in Newark rather than driving to raid a Christmas tree farm on the far side of Columbus.
How previous brothers had missed the patch of pines we agreed to scalp that night was a mystery. It really was close. It took no time at all for us to get there, strip off a trailer full of lower branches, and speed back to the house. When we got there the screen ceiling was up and the pledges quickly wove the boughs into place.. The following evening the dining room looked absolutely fantastic, the party was a great success, and we eight midnight woodsmen were lauded for our contribution to the festivities.
The jubilation lasted less than 48 hours. On Monday morning Alpha Eta’s president was contacted by the Dean of Men. After confirming that the Beta Christmas party had been its usual success – aided in large measure by the sight and smell of a freshly cut pine ceiling – Dean Smith advised that the University was compelled to add a bit of a surcharge to the cost of our holiday party. The trees we had pillaged turned out to be part of a special Denison biological reserve…a grove It had taken YEARS to coax to maturity! Each member of the house got assessed some dollar amount that has long since escaped me. What I do remember, however, was Dean Smith’s closing salvo in his written admonishment to the Beta house…”There are pine saps and there are saps of another ilk. In the future I suggest you keep them from mingling!”