Bill Gingrich ‘57: Fellowship and Hijinks

Lambda Chi Alpha at Penn State was known for the social atmosphere when Bill Gingrich ‘57 was in school. “We had great parties, particularly on big weekends,” he said. You could find him in the basement party room on the weekends and in the card room during the week, enjoying the company of the brothers. Of those in the chapter at the same time, Bill said Ron Field, John Bruno ‘60, and Larry Nace ‘59 had the biggest impact on him.

In addition to enjoying socializing and throwing good parties, chapter members also enjoyed playing pranks on each other. “A brother was carrying a rubber filled with water to put on someone’s bed,” Bill recalled. “He was in the stairwell and someone down below said, ‘You can’t get me!’ Well, he had long arms and did by reaching over and dumping it on him.”

The good times were not just limited to the chapter house. There were also road trips to various locations. “As I recall, we went to the last Penn game in Philadelphia,” Bill said. “They were noted for wild events, such as firehose fights in hotel halls, etc. Ours was less violent but did include significant time on South Street.”

Bill was an electrical engineering major and worked for IBM, GE, and Lockheed Martin. After he retired from Lockheed in 1996, he moved to northeastern Florida.