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Friday, November 26, 2010

GAMMA DELTA TAU FRATERNITY VALLEY COLLEGE c. 1962

2010  THE YEAR OF VALLEY ADVENTURES

There were several local fraternities and sororities at Los Angeles Valley College in the late 1950s and 1960s.  (click on image to enlarge - refer to photograph 1967)  None of these young men and women have been identified.
Please identify these Valley College students starting in the bottom row left. If you have images of college life in the San Fernando Valley, please contact your Museum 1 (818) 347-9665

11 comments:

Unknown said...

My name is Ralph Simon and I am the second from the left in the bottom row. I am one of the twenty one founding fathers of Gamma Delta Iota (GDI.) The fraternity was founded on May, 15 1962. That fall when the school administration and the umbrella organization IFSC (Inter Fraternity & Sorority Council) found out that GDI stood for G Damned Independents we changed the name to Gamma Delta Tau (GDT) because that was the easiest way to alter our Coat of Arms and other printed materials. The picture is actually circa. 1965 and I can identify most of the people in the picture and supply many pictures and materials to the museum. If I send the picture of Theta Rho Theta sorority circa. 1964 to some of my fraternity brothers I may also be able to supply some names of the girls in that photo as well.

Michael Part said...

My name is Michael Part and I pledged and joined Gamma Delta Tau in 1967. I had to memorize all these guys' names and also recite the Greek alphabet 3 times on a match. I can still do the Greek alphabet, but I've forgotten all their names except for Terry McConville (2nd row, 3rd from right) because I am still friends with him.

Jon Bastian GDT 67 said...

michael part!!!!! please contact me. jon bastian, GDT 1967; i did journalism; i'm in las vegas; I use FB and LinkedIn. remember kent barcus, bill fenton, feinberg (girl, partner of fenton, they did pokey's); barker and coe? i went to UC santa barbara 72, las vegas 98.

Larry Linn said...

I am Larry Lynn. When I pledged, Mike Part was my Big Brother. I always assumed that Animal House was based upon our fraternity.

GDI/GDT said...

Larry,

Yes, you are correct Animal House was somewhat based on GDT and an LAVCC organization known as the VALS. By 1964, the year before that picture was taken there were 3 or 4 GDT brothers who were well represented in the "Animal House" The VALS were the jocks and they and they were truly the "Animals." We had a house (that was once the SFV Women's Club) on the 15000 block of Dickens Court in Sherman Oaks. I (second from left in the bottom row of the picture) Ralph Simon was treasurer at the time. We needed money so I staged a party in 1964 at that house that cemented us and the VALS as characters that were kind of represented in the "Animal House." At $1.00 and $2.00 a head that we charged for admittance I had to scramble with almost $1,000.00 (yes, I did say $1,000.00) in a King Edwards cigar box, for my life and to stay out of jail. With the massive amount of people inside and outside of the house a melee started by the VALS broke out. Twenty two (22) vehicles of various law enforcement agencies showed up with sirens blaring and bubble gum tops lighting up the entire neighborhood. This is actually verifiable through the annals of the Valley division of the LAPD. I was well protected, however by 3 of our animals, some of the biggest and strongest 19 and 20 years old you'll ever see. LOL! In later years, as a reward I guess, I was elected, not only president of GDT, but the IFC and IFSC as well. Some have said "tongue in cheek" that I was represented in "Animal House" as the Tim Matheson character Eric Stratton. He was probably the least animal like.

Unknown said...

What fond memories! I'm Margie Ward and I have the honor of being the First Little Sister of the GDTs. I still have my lavaliere, sweat shirt and mug along with priceless pictures of my brothers whom I will cherish for the fabulous memories that they had provided me with.

Unknown said...

P.S. In the picture, I'm in the second row. First on the left.

Margie Ward

GDI/GDT said...

Hi Margie,

I knew that you would response to my comments. So far only you and Larry Peskin has acknowledged th4e email I sent out.

Jenn said...

This might be a reach, but does anyone recall a Larry Klein in Gamma Delta Tau? He was my great uncle and we found a zippo lighter in his belongings engraved with the Greek letters. His college age matches the timeline of when the fraternity was formed according to the above comments, but my family didn't have any knowledge of fraternity involvement. This is the first internet lead I've found regarding Gamma Delta Tau.

Thank you for any info, Jennifer (Klein) Coon

Michael Part said...

Hey, Larry Lynn! I wish there was a way to get a pic of you. I can't remember what you looked like, but I hope I was a kind-hearted big brother to you and didn't hurt you too badly on Hell Weekend! :) I still have the "Spring Smoker" invite that I got (along with Tom May) for a party we went to on Tuesday, Feb 21, 1967. That was when the home was at 4716 Willis Ave in Sherman Oaks. I wish there was a way to post it, but I do have a facebook page so I'll put it there if anyone wants to see it. It has some weird orange smudges on it, I shudder to think what they are. www.facebook.com/MichaelPart. Also, I don't know why my avatar is this old logo from a Boy Scout Troop I led as Scoutmaster a while back. Maybe I'll figure it out someday. Hello to the Sisters!

Larry Linn said...

Mike Part.

Please send me your e-mail address. I will send a couple of photos and a brief update.

Larry