Last month, we asked Skull Brothers who knew the true story of Corky. We received several responses indicating Jae English ’64, as its creator. Brother English recently responded to our request and let us know the real story behind the significant Psi Chapter symbol. “It’s all true,” said English. “I chiseled Corky out of an oak log in my garage the summer before my sophomore pledge semester. He was an immediate hit.”
At some time over the next two years, the Skull Brother decided he wanted to keep Corky.
Jay English- 1963 La Vie |
“The summer before junior and senior year, I hacked out Corky 2, about whom you inquire,” he said. “I made him on the third floor of the Skull House. My intention was to make Corky 2 better than Corky 1, but I have always preferred the former. They both took a good 80-100 hours, parts of which were pretty boring (chisel, chisel….). But breaking the monotony one early evening, I was treated to one of the most spectacular electrical storms ever- the only thing I can remember about making Corky 2.”
There was rumor that Corky 2 was made from a telegraph pole that English sheared off in one of his self-described “out-of-control driving incidents.”
The Psi Brother will neither confirm nor deny that rumor.
“Every pledge had to know that J.A. English made Corky, as well as the framed copy of Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell’s Chapter Seal that hung on the Brother’s steps (still around)?. Ah, well.”
“So, I am alive and well in north-county San Diego. I am still running my plastics company and living a short walk to the beach with my wife and dog. Most of my kids and grandchildren are within a couple of miles, one batch in Toronto. I am still in touch with a handful of Skull including Samuel Curry ’62, James Terry ’63, Joseph Davi ’64, and Robert Kerr ’65, with occasional trans-continental visits. Life is good.”