TSL Poll: What’s the Oldest Virginia Tech Item You Own?

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1. I have my wife’s grandfather’s pennant from 1907. It says “VPI ’07”. It is in a glass enclosed frame. The cadets hung the pennants from their rifles when they marched. His classring is in the Corp museum at Tech.

2. I have my Dad’s class ring Class of ’50, his Bugle, and programs from his Ring Dance. I also have the pencil holder from Miles Stadium, and, the Hoakie cup, among other stuff

3. I have all of my Dad’s Bugles from 1949-53. He was officially Class of 1952, He was the Regimental Commander in fact. I have his VPI Unis, a Student Handbook from 1951-52. Some other Student stuff from those days-like the Collegiate Times. But, I pale in comparison to most of the Posts. I know Andy Bowling ’67 and Tom Trice’72, both are now ancient-does that count?

4. I have my father’s ’39 class ring, and some of his uniform brass that I wore when I was in the HT’s ’65

5. I have a Class of ’33 ring. I also have an engraved gold pocket watch, with the entire Battery L roster, that was given to my grandfather, the Battery Captain, his dress sword and a VPI medal, don’t have a clue what it was for, that is supposedly unique.

6. A 12inch hairpin from the 1920’s sporting a maroon and orange shield with the letters VPI embossed on the shield.

7. Got a piece of the bleacher seats from old Miles Stadium!

8. I have my father’s yearbook, Class of ’17

   1. Good Lord-How old are You?

9. I’ve still got the orange plastic horn from the 60″s

10. I have a leather wallet with the VPI seal that is dated 1915 (I think). I also have a letter that recognizes someone in my family receiving their varsity letter for track in the late 1910s/early 1920s.

11. I have a 1859 check signed by Thomas Nelson Conrad, third President of Va. Tech., who was a Confederate spy. Can be seen at Original Frameworks.

12. Gray sweatshirt with the VT seal on the front, from the late 70’s I think. Worn and washed many times over the years but it’s still hanging in there. Probably the best quality wear I’ve ever owned, given its longevity.

13. Ok, I got stuff that was my dad’s when he went to VT in the 30’s an from a great uncle that went in the teen’s prior to WW1 I technically own it, but its not really from when I went does that count for the poll?

14. Commemorative Dr Pepper bottle for the 1981 Peach Bowl. Has the score, Head coach name Bill Dooley, Tech’s All South Players listed (Sidney Snell, Robert Brown, Cyrus Lawrence) And results from 1980 undefeated home season. Old Vt (tv) style helmet on one side and the fighting Gobbler on the other.

15. I have a plastic (I’ll call it Tervis style) beer mug from the 70’s. It’s orange and has the old gobbler on it. I have know idea where it came from just that I acquired it as a kid and still have it.

16. I have a bound copy of the Catalogues for 1913 to 1915. The official title of each is “Bulletin of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute” “The State Agricultural and Mechanical College”.

    These catalogues which are dated April of their respective year have a list of all the students from the prior year, plus compilation of various stats from the prior year. As catalogues do, they have the courses of study, plus a synopsis of each course.

    I also have individual catalogues, in paper back form, from 1916 thru the 1950’s.

    I also have a bulletin for the Semi-Centennial Exercises of May 27-31, 1922. This bulletin covers the ceremonies that celebrated the 1st 50 years of the University.

    This bulletin is a great snapshot of the Commonwealth, and the US as it existed at that time. It included a day of religious ceremonies on Sunday. Obviously that could never happen today.

    The main day of ceremonies began with:

    INVOCATION
    WELCOME, His Excellency, E. Lee Trinkle, Governor of Virginia
    WELCOME, Jullian A Burruss, President of the College
    RESPONSE, President Edwin A. Alderman. University fo Virginia, representing the Virginia state institutions.
    RESPONSE, President Henry Louis Smith, Washington and Lee University, representing the Virginia non-state institutions.
    RESPONSE, President William O. Thompson, Ohio State University, representing the land grant colleges.

    etc, etc.

    Interesting stuff for historians, or the historical inclined.

17. I have a wool (I guess) pennant that says VPI ’29. It also came with an Army button attached to it. I have no idea if it came that way, if they played Army, or if someone just added it later.

18. I have a copy of Tech Triumph on record from the 40s.

19. I’ve got fond memories of VT-VMI in Victory Stadium with Frank Beamer and Frank Loria as a young teenager and a headache and severe hangover of VMI-VT in Lane with snow, wind and almost frostbite in late 70’s or early 80’s. Where did the time go???

20. I have a ladies purse which belonged to Coach Rick Tolley’s mother. Rick was a Tech player in 58, 59, and 60. Head coach at Marshall and died in a plane crash on Nov. l4, l970. Ricks sister, Peggy, gave me the purse in 1965……..The purse may have been from the late 40,s or early 50,s. I will try to post a pix. I also have a Quilt made from my uniforms of 1953, made by my grandmother about 1959.

21. A section of the seat from Miles Stadium. 1964. I think VT cut up the seats and sold them to raise $.

    1. I have a pencil tray made from the bleachers in Miles. I had just graduated in ’62. I think I contributed $100 to the Hokie Club and received the tray, which had Virginia Polytechnic Institute – 1926 Miles Stadium 1964. It’s on my desk right now.

       1. me too!

       2. I also have the pencil tray. I don’t know the age of the seats it was made from; so, I guessed 1940’s era. Miles Stadium was built in 1926 and torn down in 1965; so, the bleacher seats were installed during that time frame.

          My most vivid memory was watching VT play FSU, with the amazing Fred Biletnikoff; VT won in 1964.

22. I have an old Fighting Gobblers glass baby bottle from the 1980s that my aunt got for me when she was an undergrad.

23. I have programs from the 1965 and 1966 Thanksgiving Day football games vs. VMI.

24. I have a ticket stub from VPI vs VMI game in Victory Stadium, Roanoke 1958. Also program from Liberty Bowl 1966 vs Miami In Memphis. I attended both games.

25. I have many old VPI treasures. I have a very very cool 1934 pennant (marked 1934), and many other old pennants, I have a 1942 VPI wool lettermans sweater, marked 1942, I have a mini megaphone marked VPI, I have many many pieces of print. I have a fundraising brochure for the WW2 memorial before it was built complete with color renderings, another treasure is a VPI pull out folio style campus photo before most of what we know was even imagined, included in that was the ag quad when the barns and cows were directly behind the ag quad. A 1939 summer school brochure with campus photos. One of my favorites is a 1930 Bulletin of the VPI called “V.P.I. in Pictures”.

26. I have a wooden piece of Miles stadium , that is labeled and dated 1926-1964. They must have sold pieces as mementos, or as part of a fund raiser.
    I also have “Play-Ball” V.P.I. Fighting song program, with words and music. It was published in 1926 by the monogram club.
    Neither item will ever end up on Ebay!

27. I have a few photos of Roscoe Coles rushing the football that I took from the sidelines while doing photography for the yearbook and newspaper. Got some Rick Razanno in there somewhere as well. Can’t remember the year; probably 1977 or 1978.

28. I have some old VPI Fighting Gobbler pennants from the 1950s that my Dad gave me. One of them has that angry looking turkey head like the one that was on top of the scoreboard.

29. I have a box of 1999 Hokie Toasties cereal.

    1. Roger that, me too.

       My 1999 RC bottle blew open, though. Turns out that after sitting around for 1-2 years, they would build up pressure and explode. That thing made a mess when it went off.

    2. I have one of those too.

30. Is this about advertising opportunities again? Ducks…

31. I have my grandfather’s 1946 class ring.

32. I have a 1970’s white VPI&SU sweatshirt I got my first day on campus. It doesn’t fit me.

    1. That’s because you didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition. It happened to me too. I blame the Spanish Inquisition.

       1. Well, NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition, do they?

33. I have gold blazer buttons with seal circa 1964 plus a maroon blanket with orange seal 1960’s.

34. Oldest: a metal Virginia Tech car badge dated 1918

    Coolest: a copy of the rules of college football that belonged to Frank Moseley. Creased down the middle because he carried it in his back pocket during games!

35. pencil holder from the old football stadium (1963?)

36. 1876 issue of “The Gray Jacket”. The Gray Jacket, first student publication at Virginia Tech, was established by the Lee and Maury Literary Societies in 1875 and was published irregularly until its last issue in January of 1906.

    http://www.ivanmorozov.com/memorabilia/other/1876-gray-jacket

    close second, is the 1882 VAMC (VT) cadet’s parade coat.

    1. You should have been banned from voting. : )

       1. I agree! I am sorry! I don’t know how to delete that post…

37. We have a V P I banner that was my mother’s. She attended Longwood and dated Dad the entire time, class of 1944. Had to be early 1940’s.

38. I have a HOAKIES drink cup sold at Lane Stadium. The year this happened has left “the building” (my brain!)

    1. Pretty sure it was 1976. The story (if I recall) was that they ordered ‘2 million’ in orange and white and they were going to use them!

       1. It was later than 1976. My Dad and I started attending games in 1978 at it was after that.

    2. I have one too! I was thinking that was either late ’70’s or very early ’80’s.

39. A book of Gobbler matches that is about 18″ long from 1967 is the oldest item I have and an old box (still full) of Hokie Toasties is the oddest!

40. Ive got a copy of the Guidon from 1939 and a Band Company operations manual from 1928.

    Great pieces of history.

41. I never set foot in Blacksburg before July 1989. A year later I was at Freshman orientation. I have a stack of pictures that were taken while I was student at Tech, but the oldest “Virginia Tech Item” I own, as the question phrased it, is my diploma, dated July 2, 1994.

    1. Actually, I suppose my fraternity paddle pre-dates the diploma by about 9 months… if that counts. LOL

42. I have my father’s Letterman sweater from the 40s.

43. I’ve got a pic taken during a VT-FSU game from the early 1960s that bourbonstreet gave me.

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