Design at Sigma Chi: party facade, parade float, room, & graphics At the University of Texas, I joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. One of the long-standing traditions at UT was to celebrate Round-Up. There were concerts, pageants, events, and a parade through downtown Austin. One of the traditions of Round-Up at Sigma Chi was to build an elaborate stage set facade of a western town on the back patio for the biggest party social event of the spring semester. We (well, primarily the pledge class) found old wood, built the structure, and painted it to look authentic. The main building in the facade was the Red Onion Saloon, named after a real saloon in Colorado. I named the bank the River City Bank - River City was an early name of the city of Austin. Dates: spring 1972 or 73 (it was the early 1970s - who remembers?) I drew this sketch during a chapter meeting and passed it around for approval. Below: designs for the saloon tower. Plan of the facade structure. The facade and fence under construction. Round-Up parade float The Red Onion was also the theme for the float. It was built on top of a trailer with room for the band and saloon guests, light poles extending out over the street, and a two-story back wall of the saloon with a balcony over the bar. Riding the float were dancing girls, bartenders, patrons, and the ragtime band from Shakey's Pizza (who helped sponsor the float). Dates: spring 1972 (or 1973) The model of the float. I even punched poms into the holes of the fabric along the back. Building this model allowed me to work out dimensions, layout, and structural supports. Construction and painting. The middle photo shows a painting of a pizza and beer - I am 'holding' the beer mug. Driving down to the staging area. We rented period costumes for the riders. Driving across the Colorado River bridge. The parade in downtown Austin. Some graphic projects The Greek letter logo contains an arrow in the negative space between the letters. Cover and program photos for Derby Day, a field day of events among campus sororities. I was already fascinated by aligning elements on a grid. More design projects done while at UT. Remodeling my room After a year serving as president of Sigma Chi, I moved out of the Officer's room in the main house and into room 5 of the apartment building. The rooms were an open studio. I wanted to build walls that would separate the bath and one closet from the sleeping/living area. This would allow one roommate to get ready in the morning (or afternoon as the case might be) with minimal disturbance. I covered one wall in wood shingles and built cabinet door fronts for the built-in shelves. The effect helped the room look more like an apartment residence and less like a frat house dorm room. The spinning peanut can from the lounge rocker. Dates: Spring, summer, fall semesters, 1972 The house at 2701 Nueces St The house during demolition to clear the site for a new chapter house. January 2020 Dates and people Pledgeship: Fall 1969 Initiation: Spring 1970 House Manager: Spring 1970 Room 2: Jim Craver (from OKC) Co-Pledge Trainer: Fall 1970 President: Spring/Summer/Fall 1971 Officer's room: Mark Johnson, Treasurer Pledging & Rushing Commission: Evanston IL, March 1971; Salt Lake City, Fall 1971 Leadership Training Workshop: Dekalb IL, August 1971 Room 4?: Bill Rogan Room 5 remodeled: Greg Dial; Mark Leifeste Room 18: single room John Dalby, Robert Dalby, Ed Eubanks, John Bibo, Jim Bibo, Dennis Johnston, Howard Isbell, Keith Christian, Sid Bemus Demolition of house: Spring 2020 Some of my pledge class, Christmas Party, December 9, 1972 Front row: Wayne? (not in our class), John Lawrence, Jerry Landers, Dave, Don Drinkard Second row: David Mucha, James, Larry Kingsbury, Watson, Philip Sumners, Cliff Logan Back row: Jim Craver, John Jarvis www.jamesrobertwatson.com/sigmachi.html