Billy Touchstone sheds some light on going Phi Delt...

[Allen Edwards]

My neighbor growing up in Commerce, GA was Mr. Lamartine Griffin "Lam" Hardman Jr. He was known as Lam Hardman to the locals. One weekend when I was home from Clemson, he stopped and talked with me while I was getting the mail. I told him that our local fraternities were inviting national fraternity groups on campus and I asked what fraternity his sons were in while they were attending the University of Georgia and Vanderbilt University. He invited me over to his house and office and opened these huge bookcases that contained 40+ years of The Scroll, Phi Delt's magazine. It turns out that not only was he a Phi, but his father was a Phi (and Governor of Georgia), and also both of his sons were Phi Delts. I think Mr. Hardman was on the Grand Council earlier and knew Robert Miller so he made a call and told them the high character of the Touchstone boys ( never saw us drunk and dancing). He owned textile manufacturing plants ( sold all his material to the Selfs in Greenwood) and was very wealthy. When he passed away he was on a textile trade mission in Poland for President Carter and the Polish government would not release his body. President Carter had to send two Senators over to accompany his body back.

[Allen Edwards]

Thanks, Billy. I didn't remember this story until you told me about this in September. I doubt if we will ever know what influenced Phi Delt to choose us over the SKE's but it was an incredible moment in our history and Mr. Hardman played a role in it.