It Worked, Everything Worked

by Ben Little

In 1962 the University of Buffalo became part of the SUNY system, and that was also the year that I pledged Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. As I lived at home, joining a fraternity provided an identity and connection to the campus.

At that time fraternity life was very strong, and among other benefits it offered many opportunities for athletic participation. The Sig Eps took part in interfraternity competitions in almost every sport. I can remember competing in fencing, swimming, diving, wrestling, and basketball. My personal favorite was cross-country track meets.

However, one of my best memories was of the float building parties that were a part of Homecoming. Back then, there was actually a parade of theme floats that started in downtown Buffalo and came up Main Street to what is now the South Campus. All of the fraternities participated in that competition and spent months working on these floats. The Sig Eps were no exception. We would rent a full sized flatbed truck, construct the structure, and put in lots of hours making paper flowers for decorating the entire float. It was a mini Rose Bowl effort.

I vividly remember 1963 when I was the Sig Ep float co-chairman. Perhaps the memories are still sharp because that was the year we won. The float was called "Peace on Earth." It was the time of the Cuban missile crisis, the Cold War, and the first men in space orbit. We built a float with a United Nations building topped with what looked like a giant teeter totter with a Russian bear on one end and Uncle Sam on the other end. In the middle was a huge model of the earth. The float also included a television screen, which featured current events of that year. When the screen displayed an event - such as Russia sending up the first Sputnik - the Russian bear would move to his end of the teeter-totter, signifying that the balance of world power had shifted to the Soviet Union. When the United States would have a prominent place in the news item, Uncle Sam would move to his end of the teeter-totter. I still recall a Sig Ep brother and myself hiding inside of the United Nations building operating the cranks that moved the Bear and Uncle Sam up and down and changing the event on the television screen. It was a hot, cramped, long ride up the length of Main Street. But it was all worth it.

Just as our float was centered in front of the judges stand, we changed the message on the television screen to read "World Peace and Harmony," cranked Uncle Sam and the Russian Bear to a position of balance on the teeter totter and released 30 live white doves that had been caged inside the float. And it worked, everything worked.