PSI UPSILON LEGACIES: The Piper Family

By Donald G. Piper, Pi ‘57 (Syracuse)

Shortly after I was initiated into Psi Upsilon at Syracuse in the Spring of 1954, I was presented with a ceramic beer mug. On one side was the Pi Chapter crest, and on the other was my unofficial nickname “Legacy”.

Back then I was one of five family members who were initiated into Psi U. Today there are a total of eight; four deceased and four still among the living. Here’s a story oft-circulated around my family: that my Grandad, Dr. Charles B. Piper, Pi 1901(Syracuse), when he learned of my birth in October 1935, exclaimed” Hooray for the arrival of a 3rd generation Psi U joining the family!” and proceeded to celebrate with appropriate beverages long into the night. Little did he know then that his prophecy would come true.

Curiously, my Grandad, and my Great Uncle, Rev. E .Foster Piper, were both Pi 1901. They were not only blood brothers, but also fraternity brothers. I never did know who was older, but they must have been very close in age.

Dr. Charles Blaine Piper retired as Medical Director of Conn. Mutual Life, in the 1950’s. At Syracuse he played varsity football and baseball. Both brothers were Co-Editor’s of the Syracuse yearbook, “The Onodagan”.

His family numbered six, and he divided his retirement between residences at Sunset Farms, a private gated community in West Hartford, CT, Pilot Knob, NY, on Lake George, and Altamonte Springs, Florida.

He revisited the Pi once, circa 1955, during my undergraduate years. This was, and still is, the same place [recently restored] he too had lived in after it’s completion in 1898. He shared stories of what life was like back then, quite different compared to today.

My great uncle, Rev. E. Foster Piper, became a lifelong bachelor and Methodist minister following his unsuccessful courting of Sadie Rumrill Taylor, the sister of my grandmother, Lillian Rumrill Piper. My great Aunt Sadie was a tall and stately lady, as was her sister, my grandmother Lillian. Sadie married the founder and owner of the James D. Taylor Construction Co. A former trustee of Syracuse, she lived in an impressive old Victorian, not far from the campus. It even had an elevator.

After consulting old records in the Stamford, CT, public library, I learned that for many years Rev Piper led congregations here locally, as well as in Westchester County. He also officiated at my wedding in 1961. Eventually he retired to Milesburg, PA, a small town near State College, PA. He loved to cook, and was famous for his fruit pies. He lived to age 97.

My uncle Philip R. Piper, Xi ‘32 (Wesleyan), was in life insurance with Conn. Mutual Life for most of his career. He and his family resided in a former stage coach inn, in Woodstock Valley, CT. Our extended family would congregate there over Thanksgiving weekends for many years; I can recall sleeping in the barn’s hayloft as a teenager.

My father, Gordon A. Piper, Xi ‘26 (Wesleyan), worked in Life Insurance in NYC for many years following college. Thereafter, he worked in real estate for Stamford Federal Savings & Loan. He was recruited by the bank president, Charles G. Talbott, my maternal grandfather, but took early retirement due to health issues.

Next in lineage would be me: Donald G. Piper, Pi ‘57 (Syracuse). I was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1935. We moved to Montclair, NJ, in 1938, and then in 1945, to Stamford, CT, where I still reside today, living in a vintage converted barn.

After Syracuse, I enlisted in the U.S. Army. Why, you may ask? The draft was very active then, and I discovered nobody wanted to hire anyone that was about to be drafted. I took basic training at Ft. Dix, NJ, and Photographic training at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Next came a brief, but interesting, duty-station at Ft. Monroe, VA, one of the oldest military posts in the USA.

Speaking of unexpected coincidences, I ran into two Psi U’s during my three year Army service. The first was during basic training at Ft. Dix, NJ. After crawling thru mud, a wintery mix, with barbed-wire above, and live-fire from machine guns overhead, I looked over at the boots of an officer standing over me, as he spoke to me.

It was Richard A. Horstmann, Pi ‘57 (Syracuse), a classmate who had recently graduated from ROTC. Sadly, we had little, or no chance to connect.

The other brother I met was on the DMZ, when our OP, which had no kitchen, got our rations and takeout meals from the nearby DMZ Police Co. Whom did I run into there, but 2nd Lt. David L. Jeffery, Pi ‘58 (Syracuse). We too, had few chances to connect, due to the officer vs. enlisted socializing taboo. After an unpleasant 2-week voyage on a troop ship across the

Continued on page 14

The Piper Family

PSI UPSILON LEGACIES: The Piper Family

North Pacific in the middle of Winter, on a troop ship, the USS Mitchell, I began a 13-month tour of duty in Korea, first as a photographic forward observer in an “OP”- Observation Post, on the DMZ. Quarters here reminded me of M*A*S*H, in a semi-submerged Quonset hut. The shower was outside in a small unheated enclosure with a 55-gal. barrel of water on top. We all slept with an M-14 rifle hung over each bed, in case of night attack.

Some unique events happened while stationed at Ft. Monroe, VA. For approximately six months, I was dating a Colonel’s daughter, something rather unusual & not recommended for an enlisted man. I was also asked by 4-star General Willard Wyman to document the last few weeks of his military career, using his personal Leica, before his retirement as Continental Army Commander.

This was followed by an interesting and enjoyable posting as a TV producer-director at AFKN, American Forces Korea Network. If you ever saw the movie “Good Morning, Vietnam,” it was something like that.

One interesting, but frustrating, experience was that I served as an enlisted man for three years, but also received a direct reserve commission early during that time. I was unable to get it activated until my final year, but then they wanted me to extend my enlistment. I declined, and have wondered how my life might have turned out, had I accepted.

Following military service I spent the next 30-years in advertising, in NYC. First with SSC&B Advertising, and the final 20 years as staff photographer and AV specialist in Avertising & Fashion photography for textile company Burlington Industries.

In addition to studio work, I traveled around the USA, to places like Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco doing fashion photography. Plus a memorable trip to locations in London, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Athens, and Myconos.

Burlington was about to go out of business in 1987, So most employees were let go, including me, at only age 53. When looking for work, potential employers told me I was over-salaried, and over-qualified for the available job. What they did not say was “overaged” at only 53. Thereafter, I free-lanced for a few years, and finally retired circa 1990.

Two of my aunt Phyllis Piper Robinson’s sons were initiated into the Kappa Chapter, at Bowdoin.

Timothy J. Robinson, Kappa ‘65 (Bodoin), was born in Hartford, CT, and grew up in Glens Falls, NY. He graduated from Trinity-Pawling School, where he was captain of the swimming team; his specialty was the 100 yard free-style, as well as relays. Next came a tour of duty with the U.S. Guard, where he served on the USCG Cutter Unimak, plus 10 years in the reserves. He received his MS degree from the University of Southern Maine, and worked in many capacities in

The Hartford Insurance Group for many years. Timothy retired in 2003, to Brevard, NC. Thereafter, he volunteered in many non-profits, including The United Way and Habitant for Humanity.

Peter B. Robinson, Kappa ‘72 (Bowdoin), followed his brother into the U.S. Coast Guard after Bowdoin. One of his duty stations was on Governor’s Island, located in NYC harbor. Next he worked in insurance companies until he founded his own company, Robinson & Son, specializing in Marine insurance. One of his clients is The Lake George Steamboat Co. Now on the brink of retirement, he divides his time between a river-front home in Poultney, VT, a secluded cabin on Moose Pond in the High Peaks, and an island home off the coast of Maine.

Finally, lineage-wise, there’s my son. Jonathan Charles Piper was initiated with the class of Pi ‘87 (Syracuse). Following college he served in the U.S. Army, in intelligence work at Ft. Meade, MD, as well as in Special Operations with the 82nd Airborne.

Following the military, he worked in various jobs as a short-order cook. This included an interesting trip to the Psi U Convention from NYC to Chicago in Richard A. Horstmann’s, Pi ‘57, 1916 private Railroad car.

The Black Diamond, LV353, was the former personal car of the president of the Lehigh Valley RR. Jonathan was the chef on that trip, and I was one of the stewards.

For many years he volunteered at the Belltown firehouse near our home, and often drove the ladder truck. Next he was hired full-time by the Westport, CT, Fire Dept. where he has served for close to 25 years, currently as an officer & supervisor.

Jonathan’s son Alexander, is currently on a world tour, but none of the colleges he’s considering at the moment have Psi U chapters, so sadly, it’s unlikely the legacy will pass on to another generation.