Welcome back to Thebeerchaser.  If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and the video at the end of the post and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.  (External photo attribution at the end of the post. (#1 – #2)

In several of my recent posts – in a fit of nostalgia – I’ve looked back at some of the crazy antics in which my friends and I participated when I was younger:

The first was in the mid ’70’s, when on a golf outing to Tumwater, Washington, our foursome “crashed” an electrician union’s graduation ceremony.   https://thebeerchaser.com/2023/10/26/did-we-really-do-that-part-i/ 

The second, somewhat “out-of-the-box” undertaking occurred in 1984 at the American Society of Association Executives Annual Conference in Chicago.

That’s when my fraternity brother and friend of now over 50 years, Jud Blakely and I co-presented at a session that took all those attending by surprise. https://thebeerchaser.com/2023/11/03/did-we-really-do-that-part-ii-the-tie-that-binds/

“Sloe” Down – You Move Too Fast…

Perhaps because of the rather tragic demise of the PAC-12 Athletic Conference, I felt compelled to share a college memory during the years of the OSU Giant Killers.

We lived in a sheltered environment for four years while trying to figure out what we were going to do when our draft deferments ended or we had to face reality in the working world.

It was a time filled with wonderful and unforgettable campus memories such as the one below which involved the Class of 1970 at the Oregon State SAE Fraternity. (#3) 

One of the great memories from college days in the late 1960’s is the concerts – held in Gill Coliseum where the Beavers played basketball.  The acoustics were not great, but we didn’t care.  Most of the time, these were part of a campus celebration such as Homecoming or Moms’/Dads’ weekend and sold out. (#4)

For example, during just my sophomore and junior year, we saw Harry Belafonte, The Association, Petula Clark, The Doors and The Righteous Brothers. (From left – clockwise below) (#5 – #9)

But the concert evoking the most vivid memory for me was in 1968 when three-time Grammy-winner, Lou Rawls, was the solo performer.  Rawls’ jazz and blues albums were best sellers and his 1966 album “Live!” was certified gold, but the concert surprisingly did not sell out. 

The event was held during “The Sophomore Cotillion” (That’s something you wouldn’t have in this era!) on a dreary winter weekend after a home football game.  Perhaps it was the weather and the fact that most OSU students were not jazz aficionados, but his concert was not that well attended.

That said, all of us who experienced it were absolutely thrilled with his performance. (#10)

Our sophomore class from the SAE house rented a room at the Town House Motor Inn in “downtown” Corvallis for pre-functioning and post-functioning – we weren’t yet twenty-one and couldn’t go to a venue that served alcohol. 

(The motel is now the Hotel Corvallis and you can still get a discounted standard room with a king-bed for $97 if not on a weekend with a home athletic contest.)  And it gets pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor…..

Rick Gaffney, one of the SAEs from our class, was the Cotillion Manager and had responsibility for all of the events that weekend including the Rawls concert.

While chatting with Lou Rawls immediately after the concert, he invited the singer to our party at the motel, never thinking he’d actually come.  (Rick in the present is shown below)  (#11 – #12)

But to our great surprise, the singer was staying at the same motel and when he knocked on the door of our room, we invited him in and offered him a beer.  He casually asked if we had any “hard stuff.”   

The only bottles in our inventory were Olympia and Blitz Beers – both of which were big in the Northwest – especially on campus. (And in Oregon, Coors was not available, but that’s another story…..  (#13.)

We reluctantly admitted, however, that we did have a bottle of Sloe Gin, which made Rawls guffaw. Yes, it was that “red liqueur” made with gin and drupes – a small fruit relative of the plum.

Sloe gin has a staggering alcohol content between 15 and 30 percent ABV!  He opted for a beer. (#14 – #15)

The OSU Football team the year before was known as the “Giant Killers” and beat a No. 1 Ranked USC Trojan team led by running back O.J. Simpson by a score of 3 to 0 in Corvallis.  The 1967 team also beat No. 2 ranked Purdue and tied No. 2 ranked UCLA.  

OSU was a formidable opponent in 1968, as well, and ended with 7–3 record overall and 5–1 in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8). Their final ranking in the AP Poll was fifteenth. (#16) 

And the legacy will live on long after the demise of the PAC 12.

The SAE’s had eleven players on those teams and two of the starters – both defensive backs – were in our class and attended the party with their dates.  Larry Rich and Don Whitney did not drink that night but both had encounters with Lou Rawls.

The funniest was Don Whitney, as related by SAE, Keith “Sweeney” Swensen, a first-hand witness to the incident:

“I remember the look on Whit’ ’s face when he came out of the bathroom singing a Lou Rawls’ song only to walk right into Lou Rawls, himself.  He turned bright red but then Lou complimented him on his singing. 

After that, I don’t think Don said a word for the next 10 minutes.  He just sat there with a shit-eatin’ grin on his face.” (#18 – #19)

Don, a Pendleton native, after a long and valiant battle with pancreatic cancer, passed away in 2012. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/gazettetimes/name/donald-whitney-obituary?id=13558684

Larry Rich and his date, Mariellen were there (they celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary last year) and Larry remembers Rawls sporting a fabulous, large diamond-studded ring with the initials “LR.”

Rich said that he told the singer if he ever got tired of the ring, he would be glad to buy it “at the right price!” (#20)

Larry and Mariellen are both retired and live in Lincoln City, Oregon on the Central Oregon Coast. (A picture of Larry and Mariellen with Janet, my wife about three years ago is shown below.)

The Next Chapter

Flash forward about ten years and Rick Gaffney, after completing his service in the US Navy, was working as the Beach Captain at Kona Village Resort in Kona.

One morning he was raking the sand and comedian Dom DeLuise walked up behind him kidding him about how his college degree had prepared him for his job. (#21)

Another morning, Lou Rawls walked up to Rick’s beach shack.  He was visiting with actress Brenda Vaccaro. (#22)

Rick, somewhat sheepishly, reintroduced himself and reminded the singer of the Sophomore Cotillion concert he performed at Oregon State in 1968.

Rawls first replied, “Well, it’s all kind of a blur.  I was on the road so many nights.”   But then, he looked Gaffney right in the eye and said, “Wait a minute.! Sloe Gin — All you guys had was Sloe Gin.”  They both had a good laugh. 

Gaffney is now the President of Rick Gaffney & Associates on the Big Island of Hawaii.  His firm specializes in ocean recreation business development and marketing as well as marine eco-tourism resort planning and management and boat and yacht outfitting plus Pacific voyage planning. (#23)

The music world was saddened by Lou Rawls’ death at the age of seventy-two in 2006.   In 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

None of us at that post-concert gathering will ever forget that interaction with the famed singer who was also a nice guy.  Similarly, I would suggest that none of us ever drank Sloe Gin again…. (#24)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

 

#1. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Memorial Union at Oregon State University.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.  Author: user:Owen   May 2005.

#2.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Weatherford Hall Oregon State University Greg Keene.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Gregkeene – 17 January 2009.

#3.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Gill Coliseum entrance.JPG – Wikimedia Commons) The copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.  Author: M.O. Stevens  May 2008.

#4.  Oregon State SAE Website (Sigma Alpha Epsilon Oregon Alpha | Oregon State (saeoregonstate.com)

#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Harry Belafonte 1970 (cropped).tif – Wikimedia Commons)    Public domain / Arquivo Nacional Collection – Agosto de 1970.

#6.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Petula clark 1965.jpg – Wikimedia Commons ) This work is in the public domain in the United States.  Author: Tullio Piacentini / Federico Zanni – 1965.

#7.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:The Association 1966.png – Wikimedia Commons) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1928 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.  Author: KRLA Beat – 1966. 

#8. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons  (File:The Doors 1968.JPG – Wikimedia Commons) the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1928 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.  Author: Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) – 1966.

#9. Wikimedia Commons (File:TheRighteousBrothersperformingKBF.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  No known copyright restrictions; “There are no known copyright restrictions on this image. Photo courtesy Orange County Archives.  Author and date unknown.

#10. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:President Ronald Reagan meeting with Lou Rawls in the Oval Offiice (cropped).jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties..  Series: Reagan White House Photographs, 1/20/1981 – 1/20/1989. 3 December 1984.

#11.  (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g51817-Corvallis_Oregon-Hotels.html).

#12.  Rick Gaffney Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/rick.gaffney.73). 

#13.   Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_Brewing_Company#/media/File:Olympia_Beer_label_1914.jpg)  This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1928, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. Author: Olympia Brewing Company.

#14. Wikimedia Commons (File:Hand Made Sloe Gin.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.  Author:  Smifff  – 9 December 2022.

#15. Wikimedia Commons (File:Sloe berry.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.  Author: Stephanie Watson – 13 September 2007.

#16. Corvallis Gazette Times (https://gazettetimes.com/albany/entertainment/movies/giant-killers-tells-the-story-of-the-1967-beavers-football-team/article_573b5c1e-523d-5669-888e-06d484aab93f.html)

#17.  Oregon State University Athletic Department (https://osubeavers.com/news/2017/11/27/football-giant-killers-the-legend-50-years-later).

#18. – #20.  Courtesy of Jud Blakely.

#21. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dom_Deluise_Allan_Warren.jpg)       Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author:  Allan Warren  – 1975.

#22. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lou_rawls_edit.png)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.  Author:  MiliHell – 20 April 2014.

#23. Rick Gaffney Facebook Page ((6) https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10159998291059698&set=ecnf.1477435070Facebook.

#24. Wikimedia Commons (File:Hand Made Sloe Gin.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.  Author:  Smifff  – 9 December 2022.