Beta Pi:
IS BETA PI
BLOG WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING SOCIAL OR ARTISTIC MERIT?:
YEA . . . . or
NAY?
Beta Pi
Blog’s purpose: to bring ATO, Beta Pi Chapter Brothers and ATO Gal-Pals
together. The blog is not to be taken
seriously - it is meant for fun.
The Beta Pi Blog is non-political. It includes
pictures, links, Archives of previous issues, and other time-wasters.
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TRAVIS BURCH and the 71-ers
I
graduated Vanderbilt in 1975, and my first year at Vandy was the Fall of 1971. And back then, Vanderbilt did
fraternity/sorority Rush in the Spring.
So Spring of 1972 was when I discovered the Land of the Greeks. In the years since I started writing this
blog in 2006, I have had the good fortune to meet many ATO’s who either
graduated before my time at Vanderbilt, or after.
I had
the good fortune to meet TRAVIS BURCH, Class of 1971 through this blog! I
received a really nice letter and some photos from Travis.
Understand . . . these guys were perhaps WAY more irreverent than we were. For example, their yearbook picture was a satirical spoof on “The Last Supper.” Talk about guys with egos!
So,
without further “to-do” . . . . here is the letter:
Larry:
Hope this finds you well.
Beta Pi Brothers Jim Burgess, Steve Johnson, and I , all
originally Class of '71 (although Johnson was tardy in graduating) send
greetings from Cannon Beach, Oregon which was part of a weeklong reunion in
Portland, Oregon with our lovely wives, Weezie, Ginger and Susie. We enjoyed
all that the Portland area had to offer, including multiple glasses of Oregon
Pinot Noir.
Because we are older and somewhat wiser, many of your cohorts may not recognize this August group ("What is this Ticalor thing you youngsters talk about anyway?"), but we all appear in the classic ATO Last Supper photo from the 1971 year book. Jim and Weezie joined us from their home in Ajijic, Mexico, Steve and Ginger from Wilmington, DE, and Susie and I from Athens, GA, where we invite any who find themselves in Athens to stop by and enjoy the farm-to-table fare at Heirloom Café.
Best regards,
Travis BurchTO TRAVIS:
Thank
you so much for your letter, and the excellent pictures you sent. As you can probably imagine, since I came
to Vanderbilt shortly after you left, I have memories of guys talking about the spectacular “Last
Supper” yearbook picture you guys made.
Needless to say, “nobody beats the ‘Riz.”
Anyway,
to answer your question, as to the origin of “Tick-a-lors.”
There was a guy named Matt Hart, Class of
1974, who was the un-elected leader of the ATO’s for his entire tenure at
Vanderbilt. He would have been a Freshman the same year you were a Senior. You may remember him (who could forget him)? Or, you might have been at church, preparing for the Last Supper, who knows these things? :-)
Anyway . . . .
Anyway . . . .
Some nick-named him “Dr.
Phibes” after the Vincent Price horror movie character.
Some called him Matt “Don’t call me” Hart,
because like clock-work, if you called him Hart, he yelled “Don’t call me Hart.”
So, I recall the story this way . . .
During Pledge Training, in 1972, Matt Hart led a group of Pledges, myself included, to Tootsies Orchid Lounge . . . then another time he led us on TV to the live “Teddy Bart Show” after we did some semi-bogus charity work.
And one day, Matt Hart, who had a very thick New York accent, and even thicker New York smart-ass attitude, started talking about the “Tick-a-lor Man.”
And, as Matt described him, Tick-a-lor Man was this guy from New York, a seedy sounding character in a trench coat, who sold things to people on the street. Matt imitated the guy’s voice, saying “Tick-a-lors.”
The guy kept his "goods" arrayed and displayed in his inside trench coat pockets, so naturally, to show you his products, he had to . . . open his coat! Doh! I won’t go into what type goods the fellow sold, but you can well imagine. The rest of the story might be described as secret lore.
So, the story became so popular in the ATO House that year, that someone - probably Matt Hart himself – decided “Tick-a-lor” should be shortened to “Ticks” – and we started calling the ATO House the “Tick House.”
And we started calling ourselves “Ticks.”
That is the story, and I fully expect to get slammed by Dr. Phibes for the telling.
We were not irreverent in the same way you guys were, but we made every effort to be.
Travis,
2016 is your Reunion Year. I hope you and your buds will come join us. We have an annual ATO Dinner, on Saturday
after the Homecoming Game, at a place called Cabana (which is walking distance
from Campus).
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REUNION IS UPON US
Reunion
will be on October 20 - 22, 2016. This
year there are ATO’s we know from Classes of 1971, and 1976.
FRANK COLLINS is leading the charge for the Mighty Class of 1976!
I know Frank will be attending, but no word yet from Frank who else from 1976.
At one time . . . Frank was considered to be a quiet man, a man of few words . . .
Yeah . . . right!
And we are hoping to see Travis Burch and his cohorts from 1971.
As always, Frank Biller, Steven Starr and myself, aka “The Three Stooges” will be hosting the Annual ATO Dinner and Cocktail Party at Cabana:
WHAT: Annual ATO Dinner and Cocktail Party
WHERE: Cabana, 1910 Belcourt Ave., Nashville, TN
37212
WHEN: October 22nd, 8:00 p.m. – or immediately
after the Homecoming Game (time subject to change).
RSVP: by email to lasimons4law@aol.com
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KEEPING TABS:
Here is
a reminder of the Brothers we have lost.
EDWARD G. “TED” STEPHANY, died January 20, 2016.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2016, No.01, Archive: Jan. 2016
J. NEAL CRENSHAW, died November 12, 2014.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2014, No.08, Archive: Nov. 2014
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2014, No.10, Archive: Dec. 2014
MILES WALSH, died in July, 2013.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2013, No.05, Comments Section (over 50 comments),
Archive: Aug.2013
DAVID HOWE, died November 30, 2006.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2006, No.68, Archive: December, 2006. Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2007, No.30, Archive: May, 2007
KURT WAGNER,
died in July, 2002.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2016, No.02, Archive: Jan. 2016
If you
have never explored the “Archives” in this Blog – it is toward the top of the
latest “blog issue”, on the right. You
access it by clicking on the Month and Year, and it will drop down with
choices. For example, if you click on
December, 2006, it will drop down and list all issues that were published that
month. If you want Issue No. 68, you
click on that, and it takes you to that issue.
You can then post a comment to that issue. It’s never too late to post a comment,
right?
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to invitations or click on "JOIN" GOOGLE + FOLLOWERS.
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HOW TO
POST, OR READ COMMENTS: Just click the
button - Comments - below.
BETA PI BLOG ROSTER STATS: As of August
4, 2016, there are 37 Blog Website Members; there are 117 ATO’s on the
blog list, plus 17 ATO Gal-Pals. And, there
are 6 Brothers who do not have e-mail.
VTL,
Larry Simons
Beta Pi, 72
