VT Stories Oral History with Eugene Banks, May 21, 2015 (Ms2016-015)

Claire Gogan: This is Claire Gogan, and it is May 21st 2015.

We're in the Holtzman Alumni Center at Virginia Tech. What is your name, date,

and place of birth please?

Eugene Banks: Eugene Franklin Banks. Place of birth

Richmond, Virginia. Date of birth 12/21/29.

Claire: What years did you go to Virginia Tech?

Eugene B: '46 I started and graduated in 1950.

Claire: Great. Can you tell us a little bit about where you were raised and your family and what

things were like for you when you were growing up?

Eugene B: I grew up in and was raised in Richmond. It seems that most of my growing up was during World War II when things were quite 00:01:00different. I graduated, I started to school - well my birthday is in December. You were supposed to be 6 years old when you started

the first grade. I was 5 years old that September but they let me enter the

first grade, which seemed to make me the youngest person in the class each year

because I had entered school at the age of 5. In Virginia at that time there

were only 11 years of school. It wasn't until the late 40s I believe that we

went to 12 years of school. So 00:02:00I started to school at age 5. I attended school

for 11 years, graduated from high school, so I was 16 years old when I

entered...when I went off to college. Now that I have grandchildren who are

entering college at 19 and 20 it seems that I was right young, but I was always

the baby. Well, I won't say the baby, but the youngest in the class. At

that time there why did I, I think back why did I attend Virginia 00:03:00Tech. I wanted

to be an engineer. I remember well in the summer before coming here someone

asked me what engineering I was going to take, and I think my answer was I don't

know. They said, "Why don't you take electrical engineering and then you can

repair radios?" So I did. I signed up for electrical engineering, but I hadn't

been here too long when I realized that electrical engineering was a lot more

than repairing radios, so I changed my curriculum and graduated in industrial

engineering. Do you want to pick up there, where can we go from right there?

Claire: Well I'm curious about - you talked about always being the youngest, so

obviously this is something that is important to you in your memory 00:04:00of growing

up. So what did that feel like being...? You said you were always the baby; how

was that for it?

Eugene B: Well, I don't know that it created an inferiority

complex, but I was - again, I was always the youngest person, most always the

youngest person in the class. And of course arriving in Blacksburg for my

freshman year I was 16 years old, and at that time many of the servicemen were

returning and going to college. So here I was age 16 and most of my class was -

well including the servicemen were over 20. 00:05:00I don't think it gave me a complex

or anything, it's a fact of life that I was young when I entered and young when

I left, when I graduated.

Claire: So was that something you liked, liked being

around a lot of people who were older than you?

Eugene B: I don't know that...by this time it really didn't matter.

Claire: It's just kind of how it was.

Eugene B: Yes. There were some things that you couldn't do or buy until you became 18

years old or 20. And I was always the last one to be able to qualify to buy

them. I think cigarettes was one of them.

Claire: So you switched to industrial engineering when you were at Tech from electrical engineering. So tell me about 00:06:00studying industrial engineering.

Eugene B: I don't know that when we say studying about it. At that time it seemed that industrial engineering covered a broader spectrum of job possibilities than to say you would pick out mechanical, electrical, civil, aeronautical, industrial. Industrial covered a pretty broad

field. As it turned out I don't know that I ever had a job where industrial

engineer particularly applied.

Claire: So why did you choose to come to Virginia Tech?

Eugene B: A very simple way to answer that, because all of my friends 00:07:00were. There was an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch which I uncovered

recently in the last couple of weeks. I had someone, maybe I had clipped it, and

the article listed about eight names who were all going off to school at

Virginia Polytechnic Institute. We didn't call it Virginia Tech at the time.

Well maybe so. So why did I come? Because there was engineering; I knew I wanted

to do that, and all of my friends were coming here. Not a very strong reason for

coming, but that's why I was here.

Claire: Did most of your friends want to study engineering also?

Eugene B: I would say that yes. We had a person studying

biology 00:08:00who became a pediatrician, and we had some in business. As I recall

people didn't come studying business; you found yourself in business after being

here a while and learning your way around and moving your curriculum to

business, as I moved mine to industrial engineering. But I came because

everybody else was.

Claire: So, do you have a first memory of Virginia Tech? Do you remember what it was like when you first got to the campus, like what 00:09:00it looked like or smelled like, how big it was?

Eugene B: Looked I can comment, smell I don't think so.

Claire: You don't remember? [Laughs]

Eugene B: Bear in mind that in the years prior to my coming with the war we had gas

rationing, so I had never visited the Virginia Tech campus.

Claire: Oh wow.

Eugene B: Unlike now when you're going off to college you visit a lot, I had

never seen Virginia Tech. The time came for me to leave. A friend's parents

picked me up and carried my friend and I to Blacksburg. Never before had I ever

been here. In the meanwhile, I had shipped my worldly goods and clothes by a

footlocker railway express. So that day I got in the car. We came to Blacksburg.

My first impression of the 00:10:00school was when we pulled up when what we called the

Student Activities Building. I don't know if that's the title of it now. They

put us out the car. We got in line on the steps of the Student Activities

Building and waited our turn to enroll in Virginia Polytechnic Institute. And we

were told where we were to go, a dormitory, and you found your way. Maybe we had

some help; I must have had some help. All of this is to say in answer to your

question, my first impression of Virginia Polytechnic Institute 00:11:00was the Student

Activities Building, the line, and me in line waiting to enter college. Then

when we got to the room I found my room, dorm room, and I then had to find my

footlocker, which was at the railway express office. I won't say in downtown

Blacksburg [chuckles] on the road somewhere between Blacksburg and

Christiansburg. I had to find - well I found a cab, and I asked the cab

driver to take me to the railway express office where I recovered my footlocker 00:12:00and was carried back to my dormitory. And with the help of someone outside the

dorm we carried my footlocker up three flights of stairs. That's my first day at

Virginia Tech. It quite frankly didn't have a lot of exciting impressions for

me. [Laughs] It was a day of work and looking.

Claire: So you came from Richmond and then you went to Virginia Tech, so what was that transition like going from a more open area to Blacksburg?

Eugene B: In a word confining, because at that time I was enrolled in the Cadet Corps. And upon arriving and placed in a dormitory I was placed in a cadet company. And at that time I was now a part of 00:13:00a crowd, a large organizations, a company of cadets, and I was told what to do,

when to do it, where to do it, and I was under the complete jurisdiction of my

upper classmen. In other words, I was part of a crowd real quick. At that time

attendance, enrollment membership in the Cadet Corps was required of all

incoming freshman who had not been in the military.

Claire: Okay. But for the folks who had been in the military they were exempt from joining, I see.

Eugene 00:14:00B: When Virginia Tech was founded under an Act of Congress or the State - what

was it called, the rules were that you were to be a member. It was BROTC, and

you were required to be in the Corps for the first two years. After that it was

choice. You could become a civilian and leave the Cadet Corps or you could

continue as a cadet and graduate and likely receive a commission in the Army

Reserve. But the adjustment, my adjustment to college from Richmond was

a controlled environment. Controlled by the Corps of Cadets, 00:15:00which was probably

very good.

Claire: Why do you think that was probably very good?

Eugene B: Well, to arrive at a college, in effect not knowing anybody because all of these

friends who I had joined were spread around the campus. They weren't next door

to me or across the hall. I was pretty much alone or I was a stranger, or there

were nothing but strangers around me in the dormitory. So to find yourself 00:16:00automatically as part of a cadet company I think that was good. Despite the

rules and regulations you had friends, and you soon found that the other

freshman on your floor and your company were good friends.

Claire: So what do you remember about the faculty when you were here? Like who are some of your favorite or least favorite professors and why were they important?

Eugene B: I'm afraid my time in the classroom now 65-70 years ago I'm without much of a

recollection of my studies or the instructors. Interesting though, the 00:17:00 one

classroom I remember was in Davidson Hall, and I think that building is still I

believe. In fact they're taking a tour over there this afternoon. I remember one

large classroom in my freshman year and that was in Davidson Hall, and the

classroom is probably still there. It was more like an auditorium than a

classroom, but remembering the instructors I can't. There were no favorites or

not favorites. [Chuckles]

Claire: So in that room you remember in Davidson Hall you said it was more like an auditorium. Were there like a lot of students in that class with you? Was it one of those huge classes like we have now or was it kind of...?

Eugene B: I would say and we'll use the word 'huge'. I think it 00:18:00was something like general chemistry. Perhaps it was a required course of everyone in engineering and a lot of other subjects. Yes, it was a large large class. Most of my other classes were a normal size whatever that might have been at the time, and maybe they were a little larger classes then than now

because of the returning servicemen. But of course when I... The enrollment now

I understand we are 30,000. What's the enrollment here?

Claire: I think it's about 30...maybe 25 or 30, around there.

Eugene B: Well that's a good round number. Memory serves me that at the time I graduated there was something like 00:19:004 to 7,000 enrolled. I can't remember the figure. Our class I'm guessing, our class graduated less than 1,000 that day in Miles Stadium. That's what we called

the stadium. Is that still...? Do we have a name for our stadium?

Female: Casell Crossing? Is that right?

Claire: I guess I don't know. Grad students don't get out much. [Laughs]

Eugene B: Well, the stadium when I was here before

you were born is no longer here. I mean that's been replaced by this fine

facility that we played football in. But anyway, the enrollment understandably

there were a very few students here at that time based on what we have now.

You're 00:20:00talking about enrollment now of probably five times what we had at the

time I graduated.

Claire: So I'm assuming that campus overall was smaller then.

Because I know a lot of these buildings were built in the 60s or even later.

Eugene B: Yes it was. You walked wherever you were going. I don't know

whether that's the case now or not. Do you need to have a ride to get to some of

your classes? [Laughs] But yes, the campus extended to Davidson Hall. The campus

extended to the West.

Claire: To the west.

Eugene B: To the North 00:21:00the campus extended to I think we called it #1 barracks. There's an old barracks up there that's been there forever, and it is on the south. It extended to the dining

hall and on going towards town. It extended to the Student Activities Building,

so picture those four points - Davidson College, Davidson Hall, #1 Barracks,

Student Activities Building, and the Mess Hall.

Claire: 00:22:00That's quite a bit smaller.

Eugene B: I'm anxious to see. I'm going to take a ride through the

campus. I understand I have to be careful not to get lost.

Claire: Do you have any favorite memories or experiences from Tech that you could share with us?

Eugene B: Nothing stands out as a favorite. When you're looking at four years

and saying what was some of the favorite things that happened, 00:23:00if I put down one

it would be finishing my freshman year as a Rat in the Cadet Corps, and what an

experience to move up and be an upperclassman. That was probably as exciting as

favorite as you could want. You were now part of the gang.

Claire: You say finishing your experience as a Rat in the Cadet Corps?

Eugene B: Your first year in the Cadet Corps was a lot different than it is now. Falling short of hazing it was rough. You were... I want to say punished. [Chuckles] If you did

not have your - do the right thing, have your clothes pressed, your shoes shined

you could receive penalties. And in order 00:24:00to work off those penalties you had to

walk around what we called the Triangle, which is maybe that is...Quadrangle -

excuse me. I don't know whether that's still here or not. But if you misbehaved

you were given penalties. In order to get rid of the penalties you had to take

so many trips around the Quadrangle. So yes, when you finished your freshman

year and put all that behind you I would say that that could have been

remembered as...that is remembered as a favorite time.

Claire: So was it just the 00:25:00freshman who were subject to those types of things or did they gradually get better as you moved up in the years or was it just freshman who had to?

Eugene B: I would say gradually get better, because a cadet could be penalized for some

misbehavior, gross doing, even as an upperclassman. But you did not get the

attention that you did as a freshman. It was called getting your privileges.

When you became a sophomore you had your...you were given your privileges, and

it was quite an occasion because you would ask... You had to speak to the

upperclassmen and call them 'sir' and when you then became a sophomore and got

your privileges 00:26:00you would go to the upperclassmen and say, "I would like my

privileges now." At which point they would have you bend over and hit you in the

bottom with a broom. [Laughs] That's the way you got your privileges. Is that a

favorite time to remember? [Laughs]

Claire: It sounds notable, maybe not favorite. [Laughs] So what are some examples of misbehavior that one of the freshman cadets could get in trouble for?

Eugene B: Well I have to search my mind for this. If you did not keep your uniform pressed, your 00:27:00shoes shined or wear the wrong thing, maybe well just wear the wrong thing. If you -

I'm kind of stretching a point here now, if you left your room at a time perhaps

when it was study period that would have been a penalty. Misbehavior is the best

way I can answer your question.

Claire: Right.

Eugene B: And there were always those upperclassmen there. [Laughs] Someone would see you.

Claire: So were the upperclassmen the people who were imposing the punishments or like what was the hierarchy?

Eugene B: Well the hierarchy was the officers and non-commissioned

officers in your 00:28:00cadet company. They were just like in the military today. I

don't mean here, but in the Army. Your non-commissioned officers and your

commissioned officers could penalize you for an act of misbehavior. It was

similar, exactly like that.

Claire: Okay. So can you tell us about - before the

interview started you talked about Rad Tech, that you lived in I guess auxiliary

housing at 00:29:00Radford. Can you tell us about your experiences with that?

Eugene B: Well, experiences - these were... Well, these were rooms. Our presence at Rad

Tech was to give us a room and these were in a building that looked like a

barracks. By virtue of your being at Rad Tech memory serves me that you had some

privileges, that you were permitted to do some things which you couldn't have

done on the campus. Don't ask that I recite those. I don't know what

they were, but I do recall that it was a 00:30:00privilege, or you were privileged,

given privileges for the inconvenience that you had to live away from the

campus. I can't recite what they might be and I don't know that people would

have run to sign... Well you didn't volunteer for Radford. You were told that

will be your living accommodations, just as today on the campus I suppose a

freshman is told where he is going to live. If you don't want to stay on campus

you stay wherever you want, but in the Cadet Corps you were assigned to Radford,

and the experiences there were made... The inconvenience there was made more

acceptable 00:31:00because of some extra privileges. Maybe you could leave your lights

on later at night, what a privilege you know. Memory serves me that we were

permitted to visit Radford. What a privilege that would be because that's where

the girls were. But I can't think of anything particularly now except some

inconvenience to say of Rad Tech.

Claire: But you were permitted to visit Radford. So did you do that? Is that something that you did on a regular basis?

Eugene B: I feel quite sure 00:32:00that people on campus could have visited. These

things that I say to you are all those things that pertained to being in ROTC.

We had as many - I think we had as many civilian students here, more than we had

ROTC. And as in most colleges today these civilian students come and go as they

please. You don't have to be in your room at a certain time. You just

don't have the regulations. These things that I'm talking about came because we

were members of the ROTC, and there were restrictions, limitations which did 00:33:00 not

apply to the civilian students.

Claire: My next question is about difficult experiences you had at Tech. you talked about the indignities of being a freshman, so what are some other more difficult experiences that you can

remember?

Eugene B: I suppose that your limitations you were not permitted to

leave the campus or go back to your home whenever 00:34:00you... I mean you could quit

school I guess, but your weekends were closed in many occasions. A good thing,

when we did get the chance to return home the civilian students, the ex-military

had cars and in the post office if you were driving to my hometown this weekend

you might put up a notice on the bulletin board 'riders wanted' because you want

somebody to pay for the gas. You're going home, and if you can get some folks to

go with you it will pay for the gas. So while there were restrictions about how

often you could leave the campus, the interesting thing was that it cost me $5

to get a 00:35:00round trip ride to Richmond. And I think Richmond is 100-200 miles

away. A sign of the times and the prices of things. But as far as the

inconveniences again being in the Cadet Corps you could not go whenever and

wherever you wanted to and do whatever you wanted to do. Those restrictions

applied.

Claire: So when could you go home?

Eugene B: It seems to me that we were given so many weekends you were allocated so many weekends off in a quarter. Are we still on the quarter system here?

Claire: We do semesters.

Eugene B: Oh, we were on the quarter 00:36:00system. Memory serves me that I

had permission to go to leave campus, to go on leave it was called. They didn't

care where you went I don't think, but you were restricted to so many weekends

off in a quarter. And generally you are restricted...you had two kinds of

leaves. You had the leave to go on Friday and the leave to go on Saturday. The

leave to go on Friday would permit you to miss your Saturday classes, if we had

them. You know I don't even remember whether we had Saturday classes or not.

[Chuckles] But there were...your trips were pretty well regulated when you were

in the Cadet 00:37:00 Corps.

Claire: How has your Virginia Tech education played out in your life?

Eugene B: Certainly going to college, and I'm not saying Virginia

Tech here at this point, going to college has improved my life. Going to

Virginia Tech I left the State of Virginia not many years after graduating from

college, so living in another state Virginia 00:38:00Tech did not carry the same

significance as it would have been that I could boast on living in Virginia. I'm

quite sure that what I have done, the life I've had has been improved by having

gone to college and yes, probably a little more by having had the experiences

here. But I could not pick out anything. I didn't get any special privileges for

having a Virginia Tech or Virginia Polytechnic Institute diploma on my wall.

Claire: So what was your first job after graduating from Tech?

Eugene B: I went to work for a plumbing supply place. That seemed to have a ring of

engineering to it called Crane Company. They were plumbing supply people, and 00:39:00 I

became at the bottom of the roll, of the list in the warehouse. And in the

period of four, five or six years I worked through the office and became a

salesman. That was my first job. It was not intended that way. I had a job lined

up at graduation and when the time came the company changed its policies. I

don't think they were pointing particularly at me. It was just a change they

were not going to do what I had...what they intended to hire 00:40:00me to do. I left

Crane Company and joined with a person who I had met through them and we went

into the boiler insulation business for a short period of time. Then I moved to

my third job which was in the insurance business and I spent about 40 years in

the insurance business. That was my career. These others were 00:41:00just sort of

happenings.

Claire: So was your first job in Virginia?

Eugene B: Richmond. It was in Richmond. My second job was in Richmond. My third job was in Richmond. That's the job that I...the third job was the one that I spent the 40 years

with, and I was transferred after a few years in that job to North Carolina. I

did not go on purpose. [Chuckles]

Claire: Where in North Carolina was that?

Eugene B: I went to Greensboro.

Claire: Not too far.

Eugene B: I knew that the sun would never shine if I left Richmond, but don't you know it did and we had a wonderful life after we moved. And when I had to move from Greensboro I

had the same concern, which was natural, but lo and 00:42:00behold I moved to Charlotte.

Charlotte has been wonderful.

Claire: You currently live near Charlotte?

Eugene B: I moved to a retirement community right outside of Charlotte a few years ago,

when I retired.

Claire: So if somebody says the words Virginia Tech to you what

do you first think of? What comes to mind?

Eugene B: Probably when are they playing football next? [Laughs] 00:43:00My connection with the school now is principally on a sports basis. I follow their sports. Of late I have developed a

relationship with the alumni office here because some of my friends had things

to donate, and I acted as the go-between. So of late I have been handler of

donations, but at this point my connection, my relationship living in Charlotte

or Mathews is principally through interest in the sports here.

Claire: So just being a fan or are 00:44:00you active in other ways?

Eugene B: Well now I did have two sons who graduated from here.

Claire: Okay.

Eugene B: They graduated in the early 80s, and during that time of course coming up here from time to time I had that connection. I had sons in the school, so yes, that was what I thought of when I heard Virginia Tech. But they have long ago graduated and my interest now is sports.

Claire: So you said that your main interest in Virginia Tech now 00:45:00is sports. Are there any other ways that you're still involved with Virginia Tech?

Eugene B: As I mentioned I have been responsible for some physical gifts,

not fiscal but physical gifts. One of my friends had some 70-year-old yearbooks

which I have...I've come to know is it Jessica? Anyway, by virtue of getting

these to the school I have become acquainted and have a friendship with some of

the people in the Alumni Department, but that's the only connection. Sports as

an interest, but I don't do anything on behalf of the...other than what I've

just said.

Claire: 00:46:00Why do you think so many Virginia Tech graduates stay

involved with the school in some ways? Is it something about the school or...?

Eugene B: I think that we can give the alumni office credit for some of that

when they send solicitations and ask you for contributions. [Laughs] Why do they

have friends stay in touch with the school? Because they are receiving mail from

Tom Tiller and some of the others saying won't you please send some money up

here. I think as the years have passed and the connection has 00:47:00moved into the

distance there, there aren't many things or ways that most of us could stay

connected. And I am not aware living in North Carolina that there are...that my

friends of old what they are doing with Virginia Tech. I'm just not in touch

with the others and how they might be involved.

Claire: So what are some changes that you are seeing at Tech over time? Have you been back frequently?

Eugene B: I have been back probably on the Old Guard weekend has been my return,

which is every five years for my class. So the answer to your question is no, I

have not been in touch other than answering requests for contributions and this

last 00:48:00incidence of getting those yearbooks up here. I'm out of touch, and it's

understandable. In a few words, I have very little to keep me in touch now

living 200 miles away.

Claire: So when you come back every five years...

Eugene B: I think so. I came to the last one, but I do not have as I said, it's 200

miles from my door to your door, so one does not just jump in the car and make a

visit.

Claire: Right.

Eugene B: There are times that I 00:49:00would like to do it and

come to a football game, but again, that distance I'm just too far away.

Claire: Right. Over the course of your visits for the Old Guard weekends what

are some changes that you've seen in the school? Are there any changes that

really stand out to you?

Eugene B: I could better comment on that tomorrow after I have taken a tour around the campus. The changes would have to be physical. Now I am aware that when I pulled into the building to the inn yesterday something has been torn down across the street, and I didn't know what that was. But no, I am not familiar and I have not made trips to 00:50:00the campus to know of

what changes and I'm anxious to see them when I take a tour.

Claire: I guess kind of breaking things up into three different eras, so between when you went

to Virginia Tech and when your sons went to Virginia Tech what changed? Like how

did the school change during that time?

Eugene B: Well, the change, when they came they were not in the Cadet Corps, so they lived an entirely different type of life than I did coming here as a cadet. What changes I've seen, my

sons were...there are all fraternities here now, social fraternities. That and

we were...they had 00:51:00joined social fraternities. What changes I've seen that's

certainly one of them, because the only fraternities we had were professional

fraternities. The changes, I could not point out changes now considering that my

sons graduated now 30 years ago, and I have not made a social visit... Well

that's not social; I have not been up here except on special occasions such as

this in all that time. So I'm not a good one to talk about the changes; I'm just 00:52:00not familiar with them.

Claire: You don't feel like you can comment on the changes that have happened between the 80s and today really?

Eugene B: No. Well, I have two grandsons in college and neither of them are attending here. But, by virtue of following their college careers I am aware of many changes that have

taken place in colleges. I have learned from them that boys and girls are on the

same hall. [Laughs] If there's one change that stands out, if there was...if a

girl came near our dormitory the call went out. Now we're talking about 00:53:00 you're

living across the hall from a boy.

Claire: So I guess that takes us back to something you talked about before we turned the tape on, that there was a separate women's dormitory when you were at Tech.

Eugene B: Yes.

Claire: Can you talk about that a little bit?

Eugene B: That's probably all I can say because it was off limits. You did not go up and have supper. You might date one of the persons there or walk around the drill field or something, but you - that territory was private.

Claire: So were they cadets also?

Eugene B: No. Their ladies are cadets aren't they?

Claire: Hmm.

Eugene B: No.

Claire: And so I guess comparing that now, you're saying 00:54:00your grandsons are in dorms with women. It's a totally different kind of situation.

Eugene B: You have a way of putting it very nicely. [Laughs] An entirely different situation. I really can't understand it and how it works, but I know that it goes on, that it's different.

How are things different? The girls and the boys are on the same floor.

Claire: That is a big change. Okay. What changes would you like to see at Tech?

Eugene B: Not being able to tell you, not knowing what changes have taken place

I'm not in a position to suggest other changes. Putting it simply, I don't know

what's happened, so it may be just like I would like to have it. I hope so.

Claire: What about at colleges in general? You said your grandsons 00:55:00have told you

some things.

Eugene B: Well we have discussed the thing that stands out most,

that the boys and girls are sharing a hall. And of course they are going to

school without any military connection. They have a very free life, which was

not the case in my freshman year because of the restrictions in the Cadet Corps.

Putting it very simply it sounds like a wonderful life going to college 00:56:00 now.

[Laughs] I wish it had been like that for me.

Claire: What would you like people to know about you that we haven't already gone over in the interview?

Eugene B: They would probably conclude from what I've said what I'm about to repeat.

But what I would like for folks to know is that I graduated from Virginia Tech.

I'm very glad that I attended here and that when I put all four years

together it was a wonderful 00:57:00 experience.

Claire: Okay. Good. So have you been able to remember any other specific good experiences or you just kind of remember kind of a big picture that it was a good experience?

Eugene B: No, to say I can't remember any good experiences we're going back right far to find some particularly good one. But again, I might explain this that when you are in

the military in the Cadet Corps your days are pretty well regulated. They are

much the same. It isn't like you're doing something brand new each day, so I

enjoyed...sitting back now 00:58:0065 years later I can say that I don't know of

anything that I really disliked. I can't remember any dislike, and I'm very glad

that I was here.

Claire: Good. So I guess from your experience what would you

like people to know about Virginia Tech?

Eugene B: I am thinking that the biggest, the nicest I would like for them to know is its geography. Virginia Tech 00:59:00is very fortunate in having in its location. When I was up here at some

earlier time I was talking with a staff member and I said to them how fortunate

it was that they were surrounded by all this open country up here. And his

answer was, "Yes, when we want to build a building we just chase the cows off of

it." [Laughs] So back to your question. I think that Virginia Tech is

very fortunate in that it is located where it is and the students are very

fortunate to be able to take advantage 01:00:00of its location. I have visited other

schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference and some of them are in town locations.

You've got a stop light at each corner of the dormitory. I don't know how some

of these schools would expand. Back to your question what I would like for folks

to know is that Virginia Tech is in an excellent location and you could enjoy

being there.

Claire: What do you think people don't know about Virginia Tech

that would be helpful to talk about? Positive, negative or neutral.

Eugene 01:01:00B: For me to say what they don't know is an odd question to answer. I think

Virginia Tech could boast of its enrollment. We have just had a talk earlier;

one of the speakers mentioned the number of alumni of Virginia Tech. The number

over this age and he gave some... I think that when you know that something is

popular that your answer to your question is I think that the public would like

to know just how many people are here and been here. And it's like anything 01:02:00 of

enjoyment, if you hear 'boy that's an awful lot of folks who like that', it is

an encouragement. So I'll give you one answer to your question, what will we

know tell them of all the folks who have been here.

Claire: Do you feel like the alums of Virginia Tech generally speaking have had positive experiences and would come back and say kind of what you said, that they really enjoyed 01:03:00their time at the school?

Eugene B: Well, I can't speak of what folks are thinking. I can certainly say that I cannot remember hearing someone belittle the school. I don't know that I've heard an awful lot of nice things necessarily. It's not a subject of conversation, but neither have I heard

complaints.

Claire: Do you talk to a lot of alums? You said you have been kind

of a go-between getting materials to the school.

Eugene B: Not in North Carolina. The university - our universities in North Carolina which are more popular with North Carolina residents if for no other reason you get a residency

discount. But 01:04:00I am not acquainted with - I don't think there are many Virginia

Tech alumni in my area. I'm certainly not familiar with them if there are and

not in any position to say what they might say or think or do. If I thought real

hard I might think of four or five names of fellow alumni living in Charlotte.

But folks in Charlotte are more attracted to schools in their state, just as

folks here in Virginia are 01:05:00attracted to our states, to the state schools here.

Claire: So I guess back to what would you like people to know about you

question. Generally speaking, and this doesn't have to have anything to do with

Virginia Tech but it can, I guess if there were three things that you would want

people to know about you before anything else what would those three things be?

Eugene B: I think the most important thing would be that they know I am very

proud, pleased, happy. They are the three things, to have graduated, to

have attended and graduated from Virginia Tech. How about that - proud,

pleased...

Claire: And happy.

Eugene B: Yes. I'm glad I 01:06:00went here.

Claire: Do you feel like the fact that you are a Virginia Tech alumni is like a big part of

your identity? Like when you introduce yourself to people is that something that

you immediately want to talk about or it's just kind of where you went to

college?

Eugene B: Very candidly, it's your college, at 01:07:00my age the college you

chose is not a very important item in your life for discussion at this time.

What would be more important or what I would hear is, "You are from Virginia

aren't you? Because you talk funny." They wouldn't say, "Did you go to Virginia

Tech?" So your question is when people are speaking would this come up? No. They

would very quickly identify me as someone from Virginia - out and about and all

that.

Claire: It's the Tidewater accent.

Eugene B: They would quickly ask me that, but I regret to say 01:08:00that not often do they then ask the second question, "Did you go to Virginia Tech?" That's not an item of interest. Maybe they might ask are you still married? [Laughs] The Alumni Department here does an excellent

job. The connection that I have with the school is principally my interest in

sports. However, the Alumni Department does have magazines which they

send periodically, and I don't know what the schedule is. You might put down in

your notes they have wonderful magazines. They are as nice as any you 01:09:00get. And

if you ever see who publishes them tell them somebody said it's excellent. You

could - we won't want to put that on them. [Chuckles]

Claire: I haven't gotten to look at one of those yet because I haven't graduated, but I'm looking forward to it.

Eugene B: When they come I take it, turn it to the last page and go to

1950. You know what's there?

Claire: Uh-uh.

Eugene B: The obits. That's what I first... Of course that's what I do in 01:10:00the morning with the paper too. You have some more questions?

Claire: I just have one more. Is there anything I haven't asked you that you would like to talk about?

Eugene B: No. I compliment you. You have covered a world of things. I hope that the answers that I have given you will serve a useful purpose. And if anyone should ever ask should they be here you can rest assured I would do everything possible to encourage them to do so.

It's a wonderful school, and even though I couldn't come up with a lot of

memories, now I do remember some dance weekends, but we don't want to discus

those. [Laughs] 01:11:00Claire: To turn the table.

Eugene B: We're not going to discuss dance weekends. No, that can't go public. When I think of those though, the - I want to use the word 'inconvenience,' if I invited you here for a dance you and lived in Richmond it was not an easy task for you to come up here to go to the

dance with me. And then where are you going to stay? Well there weren't a lot of

places to stay. There was no inn at Virginia Tech at the time. So we won't

discuss dance weekends, but they were big events.

Claire: All right. Well thank you very much.

Eugene B: Well I congratulate you too on what you've

done. I had no idea that I would have so much to say. Is that your business

card?

Claire: This is David Cline's business card. He's the 01:12:00oral historian. We

are working under him.

Eugene B: What is Greg's...? Greg [Fancelor], he is

Senior Associates Director of Marketing for Alumni Relations. Well he's not

historian is he? Do you know who I'm talking about? He's the one who chased me

in here.

Claire: Oh, okay.

Eugene B: Has a blue tie on today.

Claire: Okay, yeah.

Eugene B: A light blue suit, a gray suit. When you see him that is Greg

Fancelor. He had called me. 01:13:00Why I don't know, and said here's what we're doing,

would you? And I had no idea and then he sent me...

Claire: He sent you a copy of the questions.

Eugene B: And I looked at that and I said I guess we will be

together for about six minutes. [Laughs] Due primarily to the fact that anything

I commented 01:14:00on would have happened 65 to 70 years ago. That was before your

mother was born, so what could I remember from that far back? Anyway, this has

gone well and I thank you. I'm quite satisfied that when I look at the picture I

will say, "Oh my golly is that me?" If you've ever listened to your recorded

voice, although particularly a picture of you talking you'll say...ugh.

Claire: That's what I do, yeah. Look at the faces I make.

Eugene B: Yeah. Look at it - oh my God, oh no! Oh me. [Laughing]