DKE Brothers and Guests Gather for A Very Memorable Weekend
The class of ’68 held their 50th Anniversary Reunion on the weekend of April 13th-14th and it was one of the most fun and well-attended reunions in recent memory. Twenty-seven of the 31 (still living) brothers from the 1968 pledge class attended! Stories were told, memories were shared and fun was had by all.
There was a golf game at the Old Chatham Club on Friday before dinner, put together by Bill Kluttz where stories of their past Birmingham games were shared. Friday and Saturday night’s dinners were held at the Carolina Inn where W. King and John McCotter regaled everyone with new jokes, stories and lies about their days with DKE and Social Chairman forever, Walter Hussman brought a friend of his who is a soul singer that sang all the old Motown hits. For a minute, it was like no time had passed at all.
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Our Deke Days were such a brief time together 50 years ago, but for most of us they shaped us and influenced us for our whole lives and made us laugh. The memories are still strong.
John McCotter may have summed up the overall vibe of the weekend best in a bit of prose he wrote just for the occasion;
Ode to ’68
(DKEODETO68)
Here’s to us, the thirty-two
All great guys, so proud we few
We left Chapel Hill in search of our fate
Beta Dekes all, the class of sixty-eight
Bound for glory, we had not a clue
As we sadly departed good old NCU
War was raging and some did commit
And thank God all returned from that awful snake pit
All were smart and ambitious which was really pretty neat
And some got rich pretty close to Wall Street
Lawyers we had, too many some would say
And some became judges along the way
Rat courts we attended, survival was our hope
Not to mention coat hangers and bars of soap
We chased all the women and gave them a whirl
And sang late at night our song “My Girl”
We made great memories and that is the truth
What some would have called our misspent youth
But if I could go back tomorrow, I surely would
For the times we had were oh so good
But we all kept in touch while we cared for others
Because of the unique bond of this small band of brothers
So let us all raise a glass here tonight and not long for the past
But celebrate each other and the memories that last
I loved you all, so crazy and fun and unique
My lifelong brothers of Beta Deke
John M. McCotter, Jr.
Written 02/20/18 and presented on 04/13/18
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