"RIBS"

JUNE 5-7, 2009  -  WAYNESBURG, PA

The Epsilon Omicron Chapter of Theta Chi invaded Waynesburg on June 5th, 6th, and 7th,  for it's first RIB party in many years. Our largest reunion with a total of 77 brothers, wives, and friends of Chi returned to the Burg. This year classes ranged from 1966 to 1974 which further expanded the Theta Chi Reunion family.

 The following brothers were in attendance: 

Gene McGrath, Steve Rogers, Mike Hastings, Ben Lyster, Mark Lewis, EB Speer, John Monacella, Jim DeGrazia, Barry Everson, Mike Nichols, Bill Baer, Dave Hasbrouck, Vinny Arcieri, Jody Moreau, BG Distefano, Bob Fisler, Art Dalle Molle, Bill Simpson,Ray Pearl, Roland McMahon, Scott McMahon and friend, Pete Nangeroni, Ron Saul, Tom Conroy, Augie Augustino, and Tim Glenn. Several 1st time attendees included: Art Swartwout, Ken Bletsch, Harry Stoner, Larry Zeiler, Tom Meighan, Rich Petrovich, Bill Jackman, Ron Chopyak, Denny Lang, and Greg Palmieri. In addition, a very large group from the mid 70's attended: Lon Howell, Jay Stockman, Jim Ferdorka, Bob Carson, Glenn Marsnick, Joe Gerst, Tom Dalle Molle, Doug Doerr, Bob Graham, Tony Restuccia, Jeff Andrews, and Rick Latin. Also, Sue Nichols, Sue (Keator) Distefano, Oksana Bletsch, Phyllis Simpson, Sandy Pearl, Ellen Mayer, Sally Everson, Toni Saul, Marie Conroy, Jyl Marsnick, Mimi Gerst, Barbara Doerr, Paulette Andrews, and Barbara Latin joined in the festivities. Two of our Phi Sig friends, Mike, "Guido", Viltalbo and Benny, "The Toe", Falcone attended the party. Joe Denti, an old TKE friend was in attendance. Also several friends of Chi included Buddy Greco, Soup Campbell, Rick Hunnell, Paul Martis, JB, Gene and Kim Lee, Bill Hellman, Ken and Jackie Young and Bob Hartlaub.

Several brothers brought everything from mugs, yearbooks, pledge books, pledge mug, and paddles to foster the memories of good times and good friends.  

 Brain handed out several copies of his new book, " Salad Days at The Burg", which was a big hit! A group picture, now posted on the OX web site, was taken at the location of the old WALL. A group dinner at Rohanna's followed the Friday keg at the VFW- many thanks to Billy Baer for treating the Brotherhood in attendance. 

The big event came Saturday with an 8 hour Rib Party with plenty of beer and wine. 

The newly elected slate of officers is as follows: 

Mark Lewis- President

Ben Lyster- Secretary/Treasurer

John Monacella- Assistant Treasurer

Augie Augustino- Social Chairman

Steve Rogers-  Assistant Social Chairman

The next reunion will be held in Somers Point, NJ in June of 2011.

 Golf outings will be held in off reunion years( 2010, 2012, etc) in the Pittsburgh and New Jersey areas for those interested.

 It is our hope that we will increase our reunion family with additional early 1960's Brothers and mid 1970's Brothers. We look forward to seeing you in Somers Point in 2011.    

Talk about taking a step back in time. This was it. Renewing old acquaintances, once you finally recognized whom you were talking to, was great. And seeing the high degree of success stories was heartwarming.

 But more than anything, Rib Party served to fill in the gaps, particularly for those of us who hadn’t made any of the previous reunions in New Jersey and hadn’t seen many of the brothers in almost 40 years.

The gaps were in those stories that you’ve been telling your friends, and sometimes your kids, during these many years. You could recall many of the circumstances, but Old Man Time had pecked away at many of the details of many of those fun times.          

This year’s Rib Party in Waynesburg filled in those gaps and answered the questions about what really happened and whether or not things were as crazy and you had come to believe.          

Yes, we were as crazy as we thought, and once the story gaps were filled, we found we were probably even crazier that that.    

We laughed heartily. And if it’s true that laughing makes you live longer, we can all expect a long existence based on the success of what went on June 5-7 in Waynesburg.          

Most of the brothers agreed that the years in Waynesburg were unlike any other in their lifetime. It was a land in time in which responsibilities paled in comparison to what they would become, everyday body aches and pains weren’t even on the horizon, and none of us could have ever imagined why Viagra or Cialis would even be an option someday.        

If you drove into Waynesburg via Route 19 from Ruff Creek it could have just as easily still been the 1960s. There was so little change. The corner store/gas station in Ruff Creek, the Mail Pouch Tobacco barn … no changes. That was refreshing.         

Now the other side of town was a different story. It’s as if Time is allowing change in The Burg one small section at a time.        

Many brothers went in search of the old location of The House. Another house sits there now, along with another in what was once a vacant lot. Two wide tree stumps serve as the only remaining reminder left of what went on at that corner nearly five decades ago.        

Bletsch suggested going to the house at 495 Huffman Street and asking the people if we could take a look in their basement, just in case everything was still there as we remembered it.          

Many of the same brothers took steps inside the Colonial and the Wagon Wheel, hoping that someone behind the bar would still be willing to sell you one of those 50-cent quarts.    

We didn’t find any of those quarts for sale anymore, but we did see what we were hoping to find.        

ANIMAL HOUSE EB STYLE:

The movie Animal House wasn’t seen on the big screen until the summer of 1978.          

But many of us saw one of the scenes from that movie in person many years before.          

Surely EB didn’t really go in the front door of The House in that motorcycle and head up the steps, did he?          

“Yes, that was true,” said EB. “I raced motorcycles and got to be pretty good on them.”      

The only thing different about EB was the strong southern accent he’s acquired from his years in Birmingham, Ala. 

RAT INFESTATION:

At Friday’s keg at the VFW Pavilion, one brother contemplated walking across that little bridge and relieving himself rather than using one of the port o potties. But before taking his first step, a fat, furry rat scampered across the bridge. The port o potty was the better alternative.

 Then there was the house rat. 

Artie Dalle Molle recalled once coming face to face with the critter before finally one night hearing the rat in the oven in the kitchen and bringing about its demise. 

“That sucker was so big, we had to bury him in a shoebox,” Artie said. 

And then there was Mark “Rat” Lewis. His stories went on nonstop for the entire stay in Waynesburg. Nobody embraced what went on at Rib Party more than the sociable “Rat.”       

RAIDING THE HOUSE:

For Glenn Marsnick, the fondest memory of the 1970 spring pledge class was raiding The House, then taking off for Lon “Ragman” Howell’s dad’s farm.

“We raided the house and took all the fuses from the fuse box,” Marsnick said. Marsnick tied up Harry “Stickman” Stoner, who had the misfortune of being the only active brother at the house at the time.

 “I told Harry a little while ago that I was really sorry for that. He was such a nice guy,” Marsnick said. “I wish it would have been one of those guys who was a real prick while we were pledging.”

NO RESPECT, NO RESPECT AT ALL:

Artie Dalle Molle recalled being Pledge Master for the spring 1970 pledge class. There were 26 pledges, the most in the frat’s history.

“You know, with all those guys, there wasn’t one who asked me to be their Big Brother,” Artie said.       

As though right on cue, Jim Fedorka stepped in and held out his hand to Artie, “Hi, I’m Jim Fedorka.” Fedorka, a member of that 1970 pledge class, had no idea it was Artie. 

ONE GUESS SHOULD DO IT:

Tom Meighan said the 1970 pledge class should consider itself lucky.

“There were only two guys in my pledge class --- me and Gene McGrath,” said Meighan. “Take a look at him over there, then take a look at me. Guess which one of us took most of the abuse.” 

HERE COME DA JUDGE:

BG has worn many hats during his many years in Eaton, N.Y. He’s served as attorney, prosecutor, coroner and currently judge.          

He still plays basketball a couple of nights a week.     

But he failed to show on Saturday morning for a Horse game he had agreed to with a current Hoosier brother. The ruling has come down --- a forfeit.    

And for all of those pledges who had to memorize all the brothers’ names, nicknames and hometowns, we didn’t have it right when we referred to him as Biago Joseph DiStefano.       

“You know, my middle name isn’t really Joseph,” BG said. “My middle name is actually Gaspar.” 

THAT CHI FROM BELLAIRE:

Anyone who traveled to Rib Party by going through Wheeling, W. Va., may have had a Chi memory.     

 There is an exit there for Bellaire, a small Ohio town just on the other side of the river from Wheeling. 

In the spring of 1970, the brothers entertained a group of girls from the ABN sorority one night. The skits and good-natured putdowns abounded.

There was this poem that night:

“There once was a Chi from Bellaire.

who tried to screw an ABN on the stair.

The banister broke, he lengthened his stroke

and finished her off in the air.”

LET NO MAN TRED HERE:

Fedorka recalled Squirrel at a party in the old Chi basement in the spring of 1970.

“Squirrel was spinning in circles on his butt on the floor when somebody started yelling at him, “Get off the crest. Get off the crest,” Fedorka recalled.

 AND FINALLY:

….. A special thanks to all the brothers who worked tirelessly to get this Rib Party together. Please know that your efforts were appreciated by everybody.

…… The endurance award goes to Lon Howell, who drove 22 hours to Waynesburg from near Denver, then two days later drove back home.

… …The award for the brother who has changed the least facially over the years went to Bill Jackman.

------Thanks to all the brothers who brought composite pictures, photos and other items from Chi days past. Ragman and Stickman even had their old pledge books with info on the brothers and all the autographs that pledges were required to get.

…… Congratulations to the women who attended Ribs, for they were much more well-preserved than the brothers.

…… Thanks to Pete Nangeroni, who did a great job with the composite pictures, and was gracious enough to step aside and allow Heidi to take a few shots. She seemed better suited for the other side of the camera than any of us old guys.

…… A special nod to Tony Restuccia’s “Beloved Aunt.”

…… And maybe it was just my imagination, but I swear that before the shooting of the composite picture on campus, there was the rarest of rare astrological events, a sighting of two mid-day moons over the location that was once The Wall.

 

 

    

Summer, 2007

Somers Point, NJ

Well Fed & Dressed In Red

2007 REUNION PHOTOS  -  CLICK HERE

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