During the Fall term of 1963 (I think) there was a tradition of putting up floats created from wire and crepe paper. The floats were judged by (?) and the winners were announced at the football game during halftime. At that time we had several advantages over the other fraternities in that we had several outstanding design majors in our small group. As I remember it, Raymond Waits was the chief 'brains' behind the design, but others may have contributed too.

The float called for a huge tiger to be creeping down from the second story of the house and his face was over the front door as you entered the house. I vaguely remember there was a few rough drawings. Several of the "engineer" and "handy" type brothers secured miles and miles of crepe paper and chicken wire. The process began several days before the judging deadline, but reached a frenzy of activity the day before the deadline.

I am not sure who contributed to the moulding of the chicken wire to some wooden frames, but I remember with great clarity who punched the crepe paper into the chicken wire holes. We invited everyone we could find! Brothers, pledges, dates, and any passer-by's were recruited to stuff paper. The weather turned cold. Well below chilly. At 7:30 PM the temperature hovered around freezing and was headed lower!. The workers couldn't stand to stay out too long. The girls kept bring hot chocolate to keep the outside workers warm. Some of the brothers with steady dates got hugs and kisses to keep them warm too! Fingers were numb and a few were bloodied by the task, but few complaints were heard by the "supervisors and supporters" from the "punchers" at any time during the late evening hours.

Dates had to be taken back home due to the curfew for girls. The working crowd dwindled, but not the spirit of the workers. I recall a strong feeling of "togetherness" sweeping over the brothers and pledges as we pulled together on the project. I recall several comments like: "This is what it is all about!" and we all knew that the "IT" stood for brotherhood.

I remember Raymond Waits saying to hold off on punching the face. He wanted to do that himself. Memory has it he finished the face some time after sunrise, but ahead of the judging deadline. Our pride in the project could be felt by all and the awe in the faces of drive-by viewers was apparant. It came as no surprise to us when the PA system announced Phi Gamma Delta was the winner in the fraternity float competition. Once again the presence of FIJI was being felt on the Auburn campus.

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