As the GMT Chair I’ve had the opportunity to chat with several GMI Delts, and it was my great pleasure to recently speak with one of our first presiding officers, Mr. Larry V. Hough. Larry joined Gamma Mu Tau Fraternity in 1960. Sometime after GMI became an accredited engineering university, the local fraternity started considering joining a national fraternity. A search began for a fraternity that most closely matched the values and personality of Gamma Mu Tau. In the end they voted unanimously to petition Delta Tau Delta for membership. According to the 1963 Rainbow Article, “The petition of the members of Gamma Mu Tau Fraternity to the Arch Chapter of Delta Tau Delta was written under the direction of the presidents of the two sections, James L. Crouse and Larry V. Hough.” The article mentions that GMI Professor Robert Tuttle assisted. Larry confirmed that Robert Tuttle was instrumental in preparing the petition and advising the chapter. After that, a representative from the Arch Chapter came to Flint to make their assessment. That also went well.
Gamma Mu Tau was accepted by the Arch Chapter of Delta Tau Delta at the 1962 Karnea. Larry and A-Section president Jim Crouse attended that Karnea. Below is a picture of them receiving the charter, taken from the cover of the 1963 Rainbow. That’s Larry on the right.
Today Larry is 81 years old and lives in Bradenton Florida. He has fond memories of his times at General Motors Institute and living at the Delt house. Here are some other interesting facts he told me.
- As a member of the local fraternity, Larry had to pledge with Delta Tau Delta along with adviser Professor Bob Tuttle, other faculty advisors, and the rest of Gamma Mu Tau. As president, he then led the initiation ceremony twice for new members.
- Our current shelter also came to be while Larry was at GMI. Larry was not as familiar about that aspect because some of that was before his time, and the other section handled more of that. However he believes the cost of construction back then was $300k which in today’s dollars would be over $2.9M. At the time they moved in, the basement was not finished, and the parking lot was gravel.
- The house was “at capacity” while he was there, and that meant four people per room.
- The cook back then was named ‘Woody’ and he made a mean batch of ribs. They had a traditional barbeque for pledges in the summer.
- The neighborhood was very nice back then, and Delts often skated in Ballenger Park ice rink across the street.
- Larry’s degree was in industrial engineering. At the time there were only three degrees offered. He worked at Delco Remy in Anderson, Indiana. He was part of the EDS spin-off and worked for EDS for nearly 20 years.
- The house did not allow alcoholic beverages back then. One story he recalled was when they were staining the (then) brand-new wall that still divides the kitchen and living areas. Someone brought some beer to the project, and it became quite a scandal. There was an ethics review and Larry could have been kicked out of the fraternity, but fortunately that didn’t happen!
Thank you Larry for talking with me and sharing some of you memories of those early days of the Kettering Delts. We owe a great deal of gratitude to you and the other GMI/Kettering Delt early participating members!
Jeff Sisolak
GMT Chair, Board of Trustees
