By Larry Wickerham ’72
In 1948, as part of the 100th anniversary of the fraternity, Edgar Garbisch ‘1921, donated two red leather wing chairs to be placed into the “new” fraternity house to be located at 145 East Beau Street. When the chapter house opened in 1950, the chairs were placed in the oak paneled library in front of the wood burning fireplace.
Brother Garbisch played tackle on the 1917, 18, 19, and 20, W&J football teams. After his graduation in 1921, he entered West Point Military Academy and played center on that team for 1921, 22, 23, and 24. The eligibility rules must have been different in those days. He was named an All-American in 1922, 23 and 24. In 1924, he kicked four field goals to beat Navy 12-0. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
He graduated from West Point and was commissioned a lieutenant in the Army, but in Dec 1925, his request for resignation was accepted by Brother Calvin Coolidge, who was the President of the US at that time. In 1930, he had the good fortune to marry the daughter of Walter Chrysler, the founder of Chrysler Automotive Company, and he went on to be a highly successful businessman.
I was a senior in 1972, and the wing chairs had weathered 22 years of “use” but required reupholstering. The grand piano in the library had also seen better days, but that is a story for another time. Graduate Dick Perrault was in the Development Office at that time, and I approached him for advice concerning the two chairs. He knew the history of the chairs and arranged a call with Brother Garbisch to discuss the matter. I briefly explained the issue and provided estimates for repairing the chairs in leather or Naugahyde. Mr. Garbisch was most kind, thanked me for the information, and told me simply to “do the chairs in good quality leather and send me the bill.” At that time, the college had a full-time upholsterer on staff, and several weeks later, the chairs reappeared in the library in pristine condition.
In 2002, the chairs, now located in the chapter house at 312 Chestnut Street, once again “required assistance.” The Alpha Association arranged for Chuck DeCarlo, a Pitt Fiji who owned a high-end drapery and upholstery firm in Pittsburgh, to repair and reupholster the chairs. Jon Emley ’72 and I loaded the chairs into my wife’s large Buick Estate Wagon and deposited them at Chuck’s workshop in Wilkinsburg. Chuck was kind enough to do the work at cost and even had his staff return the chairs.
When the chapter was suspended in June 2019, the chairs remained in the chapter house, which now serves as an upperclass women’s dormitory. We recently removed from the chapter room the chapter’s chain, composites, fraternity materials, and the large framed portrait of Thomas Wilson Brown, Jefferson College 1849, rumored to be the first pledge. These items will be stored in the fraternity headquarters in Lexington, Ky. Kerri Lacock, the current Director of Development, was present for this process, and I told her the story surrounding the chairs and Edgar Garbisch. She suggested we once again restore the chairs, and she will see that they are placed in the Walker Room of the college library, previously called the U Grant Miller Library, after brother “Bunny” Miller. A plaque describing the chair’s history and Mr. Garbisch will also be included. That work is underway, and the hope is that someday the chairs will return to the re-established Alpha Chapter