“Skull house was an all-around house including intramural sports, socials, and some scholastics,” says Sam Curry ’62.
While Sam attended Penn State, Skull house held many socials, including cave parties through the “secret” tunnel under the living room with automated candles which would go out in a prescribed time. Sam also recalls dryer riding parties across the street from the house at the local laundromat. Sam also liked to spend time at The Skeller (rest in peace), Al’s, Myomy, and The Lion’s Den with his friends on the weekends.
On school breaks, Sam often traveled with his fraternity brothers on road trips all across the country. When Penn State split the fall and spring semesters into two quarters and eliminated the day after Thanksgiving as a holiday in 1960, Sam, his friends, and their dates decided to take a road trip during Thanksgiving break.
“We drove to Harrisburg to my date’s parents’ house which was empty. They had just moved. When we got there, she realized she didn’t have a key. We walked around to the ranch house looking for an open window to crawl in. Dave Ogden ‘63 found one and crawled through. Just then, my date yelled, ‘not that window!’”
“Dave let go and fell into the basement. He was knocked out and we were afraid to go in after him. Fortunately, he came to and crawled up the stairs and let us in. We turned on the lights. We soon realized that neighbors might see the lights and call the cops about intruders. We decided this was a bad idea and got in the car and drove and parked on a dead-end road. All six of us went to sleep. Just after dawn, we woke up to steamed up windows and men with guns looking in the windows. It was the opening day of hunting season! We drove to Amity Hall where we stopped for breakfast. We were all grubby and disheveled and all the other patrons were dressed for a trip to grandmas for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a long ride home!”
Sam graduated from Penn State with a degree in business with a transportation major. After college, Sam joined the U.S. Navy. “After Navy OCS and a tour as gunnery officer on the USS Vermilion AKA107 and Communications officer at MSTSPAC in San Francisco, I started with U.S. Steel where I worked for 31 years in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. After retiring in 1998, we moved to our retirement destination in New Bern, NC where my wife and I have been for 35 years.”
Sam started a part time job as a freight forwarder in 2002, and he now has 20 years’ experience in his latest career. One of the attractions of the couple’s retirement home in New Bern, North Carolina was the water. The couple took advantage of their proximity to the ocean by purchasing a sailboat which they owned and operated for 15 years sailing to and from the Chesapeake Bay and south to Charleston, South Carolina. Sam even became the commodore of Fairfield Harbour Yacht Club, and the couple maintains their membership even without a boat.
Sam and his wife have two sons each living across the county and three grandchildren who they “don’t see frequently enough.”
Although Sam met many good friends at Phi Kappa Sigma, Jim Craft ‘63 and Bob Burns ‘62 had the greatest impact on Sam. “I have had the longest lasting friendships with Jim Craft ‘63, my little brother, and Bob Burns ‘62. We spent many family vacations at Nags Head together, trips to homecoming, and many hilarious meetings.”
Prior to moving to North Carolina, Sam often tailgated with Bob Burns ’62 and Jim Craft ’63 for Penn State football. “Their early passings cut short many good times. We had a reunion here in New Bern in the early 2000’s with a turnout of about 35 Skulls. It was a great three days! We have taken several cruises with brothers and caught up on many stories, both old and new. We have also had gatherings on more somber occasions with the passing of brothers who served in the military and were interred in Arlington Cemetery. Unfortunately, many of our brothers have passed on, and there just aren’t many left. We did make it up to our 60th reunion last year to see the many changes on campus and in town. Unfortunately, we were unable to get into the house,” says Sam.
Sam says that he has made many lifetime friendships and memories with his fraternity brothers at Phi Kappa Sigma.
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