History of The Wash

Jon Kott `80 #814 Mart Pearson `80 #829 Respectfully submitted and sincerely dedicated to Charter Members Clive Johnson `21 and Walt Smith `21 and their stories about the Vernon Country Club in South Los Angeles in their time. In the beginning, sometime during the mid-50s, in a quarry north of Pitzer, a small conclave of students would surreptitiously gather at the end of a week of classes, labs, and dissertations to assuage a week's thirst and to release the accumulated pressures of academia with a barrel of beer. In a secluded bower screened by rocks, boulders, and sagebrush, these votaries to Gambrinus, the ancient god of academic acolytes, poured libation as care, concern, and qualm vanished in effervescent suds and fellowship. Silenus, the indulgent preceptor to Bacchus, would have been proud. This weekly Friday ritual became known as The North Pitzer Wildlife Society. It provided a safety valve for student exuberance, enthusiasm, and inclination to inanity. It gave opportunity for that happy, informal social intercourse so essential to a person's mental health. There was conversation, laughter, song, jest and felicitous fellowship. It was Pomona's answer to Heidelberg's Zum Roten Ochsen......and John Keats' Mermaid Tavern. The time came when college restrictions relaxed in keeping with the decade which followed. Clandestine consumption in furtive fellowship was no longer necessary. So interest in the quarry sessions diminished. But the need for an easy, informal, happy association for the students of the five colleges still existed. Nu Alpha Phi to the rescue! Steve Smith `76 #778, in a separate story in this issue of the Oak Leaf provides a few particulars on the establishment of The Wash as the successor to the North Pitzer Wildlife Society. The illustrations he drew are his best approximations to those he drew on the original publicity posters. Alumni must know that this social service to the five colleges carries with it heavy responsibilities for the Actives of Nu Alpha Phi. Participation must be restricted to scholars of the colleges and faculty members. ``Townies'' must be kept out. Supplies must be maintained and financial records kept in good shape. Although exuberance reigns, rowdiness is not tolerated. Consideration for others is practiced in what one does, says, and thinks. This social discipline for the outside world which follows! Here, the shy student makes friends. Here, the awkward boy meets girl. Here, the mentally depressed find fellowship which ameliorates. Here, the old Pomona ``Hello'' spirit pervades and one senses the marrow of what makes Pomona the great small liberal arts college it is. Much of this popularity is due to the 25th Anniversary Wash, which took place on April 18, 1979. Kegmeisters Mike Glass `79 #842 and Jon Kott `80 #814 provided two bands and 20 kegs (hauled in by Rob Stellar's ``Beast'') for the dancing masses. By sunset, Mike and Jon were picking up most of the 600 cups sold that day, now scattered over the surrounding hillside. Everyone left with sore feet, full stomachs, and smiles on their faces. Dedication to Wash-going has become so strong that the masses turn out even in driving rain. On February 15, at the height of Southern California's recent rain disaster, a hearty band of approximately 80 loyals braved the weather to gather round the precious cask and wash away the week's worries. Yes, the Wash changes with time, like any other college-related function, but one thing can always be counted on. If it's Friday, there is never any need to ask if there's going to be a Wash. In commemoration and thanks to those who participated in the grand history of The North Pitzer Wildlife Society, Friday, April 18th, has been declared Alumni Day at the Wash (!!!). It will be a great opportunity to meet nearly all of the Actives and Brothers from many years back. Bring stories and historical data with you so we can fill in the gaps in this brief account. We'll supply the barley-pop. See you then. P.S. We, the above Kegmeisters Jon Kott `80 and Mart Pearson `80 are planning a trip to the Far East (Phillipines, Thailand, China) to do research on life. We hope to gain from this experience a new perspective on the Wash and Nu Alpha Phi which we could then share with the Brothers. Before we go, however, it is necessary that we indulge in a little money-earning, and so we are desperately looking for post-graduation work to finance our travels. If anyone is interested in helping out two dedicated Nu Alphas with job offers or advice, please contact us soon. Thanks. Steve Smith `76 #778 Greg Von Gehr `75 #760, Paul Hunt `75 #770, Bill Thullen `75 #761, Ted Briggs `76 #781, and myself reopened the weekly meetings of the NPWS in December 1974. Given the recent accounts of the gatherings at the Wash, ours was but a feeble effort. The first meeting of the NPWS was a disaster. Rain fell and hardly anyone (except ``Townies,'' whom we had to evict) showed up. It was a terrible defeat, but, as all Nappies do, we persevered. It took time, effort, and a lot of luck to get the North Pitzer Wildlife Society back to life, but we did it. Karen Benson `76 often gave us the use of her Volkswagen (which has since gone the way of all things) to transport our meager 2 or 3 kegs to the Wash. Had we been admitting women at the time, she would certainly have been the first female maggot. We got by, inviting faculty, putting posters all over the five campuses (with a drawing of the moose head at the cabin on them and such phrases as ``It's a keg of laughs,'' ``You'll have barrels of fun,'' all because open advertising of beer was forbidden). Sometimes we were lucky enough to make a few dollars, but not very often. But the main thing was that it was fun, kept us busy (but not out of trouble)'' and started again a tradition unique to Pomona College... Jeff Backstrand `74 #752 In the beginning, there was no beer in the Wash (or anywhere nearby) on Friday afternoons. The Class of 1972 tells us that the Claremont Colleges students saw this and said: Let there be a yeasty drink on every Friday afternoon for a reasonable price, and let this occur in a quarry to the north of the place called Pitzer. This was done, and came to be known as the North Pitzer Wildlife Society. And, the Claremont Colleges students saw that it was good, and the Claremont Police Department saw that this was illegal. So it came to be (during the middle sixties) that 80 to 100 dues paying members were arrested (charges were later dropped. The Claremont Colleges students saw that this was bad--and moved NPWS meetings to the Wash where life was safer. When I came to Pomona in the fall of 1970, the North Pitzer Wildlife Society was an established part of campus life. Meetings were held every Friday afternoon from 3:30pm to dusk (or until the beer ran out). During these days the Phi Deltas ran the keg and they served the cheapest beer money could buy. For the price of 50 cents for women and 1 dollar for men, a student could buy a cup (the beer was free). Four keg days were fairly common, but five was exceptional. The 1996 renovation of the Wash added bathroom facilities. This photo is taken facing out of the Wash and you can see a bit of the parking lot behind Oldenborg to the right of the restroom. Photo by Paul Nagai. By 1972-1973, membership in the Phi Deltas had dwindled to 3 actives. When Spring came these people were pretty fed up with putting on a keg every week so they turned to some of their friends for help, among these were Dave ``DH'' Hunt `74 #753, Dave ``Uncle Deere'' Kenagy `74 #754, and talked with the Phi Delts about the Nappie (with twenty or so active members) taking over the NPWS in the fall. Summer came and we all scattered for a well needed vacation. In early September of 1973, on the return trip from a week at Charlie ``Uncle Chook'' Grinstead's `74 #751 cabin in the High Sierra, a bold plan was hatched to take over the NPWS. Kenagy, Hunt, Dave ``Terrible'' Herbst `74 #749, and I (All members of the Class of 1974) were catfishing in the Owens River: a fine art which requires a goodly supply of Jack Daniels (fishing rods and reels are optional). We were discussing various important issues such as detente and the situation in the Middle East, when someone mentioned the rumor that the KDs were intent upon taking over the NPWS. The 1996 renovation of the Wash reduced the amount of grass on the inside of the berm behind the seating, but added wheelchair seating in the upper, center area. The lower, center area, once dirt, has now been cobbled. The new theater building is visible in the background. This photo was taken from center stage. Photo by Paul Nagai. In order to prevent this, we decided to hold a meeting of the NPWS on the very first Friday of the school year, and beat the KDs to the punch. Therefore we came back to school early, promised the remaining Phi Delts free beer, and quickly saw the necessary ``highly placed'' authorities. That Friday we emptied 5 kegs. We had won. During that first semester, Kenagy and I were the ``kegmeisters'' (with able assistance from Hunt), and we introduced a number of innovations. Top quality beer was provided. In the interests of the equality of the sexes, a unisex price of 75 cents was charged (not without protests). The sun shone on the NPWS and the beer flowed. Lighting towers were added during the 1996 renovation of the Wash. They provide quite a view if you can get past the security devices and up to the platform! The center area of the theater has been cobbled. Photo by Paul Nagai. In the spring of 1974, the clouds of Watergate were gathering. Similarly, it was cloudy every Friday. Business dropped off. In order to attract attention, John Dean was scheduled to come and ``tell all'' (unfortunately he canceled at the last minute). The price of a cup was lowered to 50 cents one week. While we broke even, there was no significant increase in membership. We began to lose money, or just break even. The townie problem got worse. The only high point of note was when the Committee to Free Maurice Stans ended its protest march by joining the NPWS--the first such merger I am aware of. By June 1974, when I graduated, the North Pitzer Wildlife Society was in desperate need of revitalization. As for the present situation, the mind boggles at the thought of eight kegs: all of CMC must be coming. P.S. Included is a little something for the Oak Leaf. As for me, I'm planning on going to Ghana in June to do my dissertation fieldwork. I'm going to look at the effect of beliefs, household size, education, involvement in the cash economy, etc. on household consumption of different kinds of food. Hopefully the results will have both theoretical and practical implications. Paul T. Hunt, Jr. `75 #770 I will try to tell you what I remember of the North Pitzer Wildlife Society and Nu Alpha Phi's doings with the Sigma Tau fraternity. I had dinner with Greg Von Gehr `75 #760 a few nights ago, so that I have his recollections as well. Very nice keg-holders were also added during the 1996 renovation of the Wash. How considerate it was to provide such nice NAP Wash serving areas! Photo by Paul Nagai. I seem to recall that the Phi Delts ran a Friday afternoon gathering in the Wash before we took it over, but I can't be sure about that. In any case, before I joined NAP, David Kenagy `74 #754, Jeffrey Backstrand `74 #752, David Herbst `74 #749, and Charles Grinstead `74 #751 organized the NPWS at least on an intermittent basis. I joined NAP in the Spring of 1974, and Friday afternoons in the Wash were a regular event though not well attended. Since Dave Kenagy had a truck for transporting beer, he was one of the primary leaders that Spring. Brother Steve Smith `76 #778 joined at the same time that I did, and his account of what happened during the Fall of 1974 and after is basically correct, but incomplete. Mention should be made of Doug Cochrane `77 #773 and Bill Sornstein `77 #769, for they also did a lot of hard work in putting the Friday afternoon keg on each week. Greg Von Gehr and Bill Thullen `75 #761 commissioned Jim Secord `75 (who was not a member of NAP--he had to be bribed with an offer of free beer in perpetuity) to create an art poster for the North Pitzer Wildlife Society. It was a very good job--it looked like what the creators of the movie Yellow Submarine would have done if they had been asked to draw a picture of the animals being led into Noah's Ark. Somewhere I have a copy of it. Dave Guichard `75 #757 and Dan Bassignana `75 #765 were involved in this too. We made Dan our treasurer because he was a math major. Only later did we learn that he didn't know how to write checks and that he balanced books by writing checks until they bounced. The war with Sigma Tau was more interesting while it lasted. Undoubtedly others have better memories of this than I, but here is what I know: 1. For reasons that I have never determined (but probably because he wanted to cause trouble), Steve Smith stole the ST's ``Ass Blaster''--an extra large paddle that they used for some arcane purpose. 2. A few days later, Greg Von Gehr and I were shooting pool in the NAP room, when we noticed that all of our paddles were missing. This was particularly embarrassing to me because I lived on the floor above the room and had not heard anything. We reported the theft and went to dinner. After dinner, Steve was called to Walker Desk by one of the other R.A.s. While he was away from his room, persons unknown left the paddles in his room and called Campus Security. When Steve returned, he had to explain to two officers what the stolen paddles were doing in his room. We vowed revenge. 3. During finals week, we executed the first part of our plan on a Saturday night. Dave Guichard and Mark Ambord `76 #774 took the NAP ball and chain (left over from the Camel Walk?) and put it on Mary Schnich in one of the upper floors of Seeley Mudd Library. (Mary was apparently the R.A. who had lured Steve Smith from his room.) Since Mary didn't weigh very much more than the ball and chain, she had to ask a couple of friends to help her get out of the library and have the lock cut off. The sight of minute Mary struggling out of the library wearing an iron ball and chain left the otherwise staid library in quite an uproar. 4. Later the same night, a group of us liberated a wheelbarrow from the Botany Department and put the Sigma Tau rock in it. The rock usually rested near Bridges Auditorium. After some deliberation and a lot of effort, we left the rock on the doorstep of President David Alexander's house. After a while President Alexander decided that the rock wasn't becoming to his front porch, so he got the Kappa Deltas to move it to the door of the Sigma Tau room. 5. Over the next few weeks, we purchased two carloads of concrete blocks and some cement. This was stashed in the yard of Jeff Backstrand's (he was living in Claremont). One night we met at midnight and divided into two teams. Our two Phi Beta Kappa students, Dave Guichard and Dan Bassignana, were skilled labor, so we directed them to remove the toilet from the ST room and put the rock in its place. Meanwhile, the rest ferried blocks and cement from their hiding place. We built a cement block wall in front of the door to the ST room, almost to the ceiling, and used the toilet to make the area look like a men's bathroom, complete with other accessories. At least one picture of this later appeared in Student Life. 6. Steve stole the Ass Blaster again. This time, to make its recovery more difficult, he mailed it to a couple of STs who were studying at Colby College in Maine. And with that, my tale ends. If I were a playwright instead of an economist, I would have found a way to tell the story with much more flair and many fewer words. But this is what I remember. David Hunt `74 #753 Since you have ferreted me out as one of the ``founding fathers'' of NAP's custody of the Friday afternoon kegs, it would be churlish of me not to provide some details of its early history. In the fall of `73, just as NAP membership was on the rebound, Phi Delt membership had fallen to perhaps three of our actives, which left them with insufficient manpower and financial resources to continue their tenure as kegmeisters. I seem to recall that another frat, perhaps the KDs, were also interested in assuming proprietorship of the Keg; but the NAP bid won the day, probably greased by the elocutionary skills and shyster tactics of Dave Kenagy, now (presumably) an L.A. attorney. Four Nappies from the class of `74--Dave Kenagy #754, Charlie Grinstead #751, Ken Whaley #750, and I--lived in a house on East 7th Street behind Faculty House, and more often than not it fell to us to organize the Keg, since Dave Kenagy's Toyota (Datsun?) truck was ideal for transporting the kegs. If NAP is still using the original rubber stamp for marking the hands of those who have paid for beer, it might be of interest that the rather odd and cryptic legend, ZUM-O-Zar, which appears on the stamp, owes its origin to that house on 7th Street, which we had christened ``Zum-o-Zar House'' (for reasons which had best remain obscure). Owing to certain college rules, the exact nature of which I have forgotten, it was forbidden to advertise the Keg as such, or to mention explicitly that beer would be sold. The occasion was thus known euphemistically as the weekly meeting of the North Pitzer Wildlife Society. Given that the same rules are in force, I presume that the same title remains in use. Enclosed you will find an example of the posters with which we alerted the college community to the upcoming festivities, illustrating a fine sense of the letter of the law coupled with utter contempt for its spirit (e.g., though we couldn't use the word ``keg,'' we could discover no rule preventing us from drawing a picture of one). You will also note the political and social relevance of the Society's activities (May 3, 1974, the Watergate scandal was in full flower). I recall that on that particular afternoon a protest march, comprised largely of members of the Pomona College Band (always a hotbed of cynical regressivism), tooting away on sundry noisemakers, wound its way through the Wash, apparently demanding that John Dean actually appear. They stopped briefly for some beers. I trust these recollections will provide some grist for your archival mill. I spent last year as a visiting instructor in philosophy at Emory & Henry College in Virginia, and am now back at Vanderbilt finishing up my dissertation. When I was a poor first year graduate student, paying my alumni dues seemed a real extravagance. Now I am a poor sixth year graduate student. When I burst intonational prominence with my definite proof of mind-body-dualism, and the faculty of Harvard begs me to join their staff, I will remand all past dues with interest. I am glad to know that NAP still controls the Keg. I hope to be out California way in early May, and claim the traditional NAP alumni right to a freebie. Bill Thullen `75 #761 I'd much rather review Steve Smith's recollections of NAP blocking up the Sig Tau's door or transporting their hallowed rock to the President's front door, both of which are better stories but I will add the following to NAP and North Pitzer Wildlife. In the fall of 1973 (I think) the Phi Delts relinquished to Nu Alpha the Friday afternoon keg in the Wash. It was the class of 1974, especially Dave Kenagy `74 #754, Charlie Grinstead `74 #751, Dave Hunt `74 #753, and Jeff Backstrand `74 #752 among others in that class, who started NAP in the Keg. Depending on weather, exams, and other variables, we would turn a profit or literally swallow a loss. The next year, NAP's Kegmeisters were economics majors who couldn't agree on the assumptions underlying the economics of maintaining a profitable Keg-in-the-Wash. However, that didn't deter us from trying. For example, when income tax rebates were returned to taxpayers, we ran a rebate of 25 cents to keggers. We were possibly the first keg fraternity to recognize the equality of the sexes by charging women as much to drink as we charged men. And we would stuff the five colleges' mailboxes with flyers like: ``If you've got the time, we've got the North Pitzer Wildlife Society.'' In my time, I don't think we made much of a profit. What little we did make was usually spent on campus parties for the entire college put on by NAP. NAP was one of the few fraternities at that time that kept an active profile in the college community, and the Keg in the Wash was in part a reason for our activity. Mase Hill `25 #37 Having heard that the Friday afternoon keg parties, sponsored by Nu Alpha Phi, were firmly & successfully established, I wanted to attend. The first time I just looked in, scared off by the many young people. However, last spring I bravely walked through the well groomed and well behaved grass-lounging students (they didn't stare at me) right up to the KEG and was cordially received by the Nappies dispensing the $1.00 cups. I enjoyed two beers and several interesting conversations. The one I remember now is hearing about the plans of one personable, perspicacious, pert and pretty fraternity ``brother'' to obtain an oral history from her grandmother in Tennessee. It's enjoyable to talk with those who have everything to look forward to and get away from the ``remember whens.'' Now I can confirm that the keg afternoons in the Wash fill a social need for many of the students in the five colleges in Claremont who don't leave campus for the weekends.

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