Why did you join the fraternity?
I joined, because my friends were joining. My younger brother Edward was also a member. My father was mad that I didn’t join his fraternity.
What was your memory of joining the fraternity?
My favorite memory is all the nice people that I met while in the fraternity. We also had to keep the furnace running in the house in order to keep warm.
Q&A With Grant Davis ’49
Why did you join the fraternity?
I joined, because my friends were joining. My younger brother Edward was also a member. My father was mad that I didn’t join his fraternity.
What was your memory of joining the fraternity?
My favorite memory is all the nice people that I met while in the fraternity. We also had to keep the furnace running in the house in order to keep warm.
What activities were you involved in during college?
I competed in four different sports while being in college. I was a member of varsity wrestling, lacrosse, Track & Field and soccer under Gill Jeffries. While playing lacrosse I scored the only goal in a game versus Navy, which we lost 19-1. I was undefeated as a freshman on the wrestling squad. I also learned to tie flies as a student in 1947. I was also a member of the Hat Men, so I guess I was a ‘big man’ on campus at 5’5.”
With whom do you stay in contact?
Most of the people I stayed in contact with have now passed away. I am 81 years old. I was in touch with Jacque Hogg until he died 3 years ago. I have also been in contact with George Harvey, with whom I was in his fly tying class. I also stay in touch with Dick Schweiker ’50 who is a retired US Senator. We had lunch when I was in Washington, D.C.
Tell us about your family?
I am divorced from a first marriage, but remarried. I have been married to my wife Virginia since 1974. She was a schoolteacher, but has since retired. I have four sons. The youngest son went to Penn State and studied Mechanical Engineering. He works in Washington, D.C. and helped design the Holocaust Museum. My second son is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. The third boy is an architect and works in Hartford, Connecticut. They’re more famous than I am.
What is your nickname and how did you get it?
I didn’t really have a name through the fraternity, but I did have one while wrestling. They called me ‘muscles.’
Did you live at the house?
Yes, I lived in the house for the entire time through my college years. One time I had to wake up early and drive to Philipsburg in order to get coal. Instead of Hell Week we would have a Work Week where we would all have certain job to complete. We had 60 members living in the house and many members were older. There were four times as many men as women.
Tell us about your career.
I received Bachelors Degree in Forestry and a Masters in Wildlife Management. I served as a sergeant in the Army during World War II. After serving in the Army I joined the Naval Reserves and retired as a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. I was able to join the Naval Reserves because I received a Masters. I retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 1981. While in Pennsylvania I worked on service lines in the Appalachian Mountains and stared in Kingston, PA near Wilkes Barre, PA. I was also in the Lexington, Kentucky area. In 1974 I moved to Billings, Montana and worked on surface lines in the Rocky Mountains. I also taught courses on reclaiming surface lines.
What are your major interests?
Hunting, fishing, golf and tying flies. I teach fly-tying to latch key children. I teach grade school kids and middle school children. After I teach the kids I have them bring in their parents and then they teach them. I also taught fly tying to beginners at the Montana Outdoor Recreation Exposition. I have earned some awards from volunteer fly tying that I have done and for cancer treatment programs. I was diagnosed with a cancer in my sinuses in 1989. I still go for appointments in Rochester, Minnesota two times a year. If I have to have an operation then my wife comes with me.
What are your goals for the next few years?
I want to stay alive and keep busy.
