In an enjoyable conversation, we sit down to hear the story of Beverly "Porky" Pitts. Mr. Pitts is a TJ alumnus and went on to Harvard with a number of other TJ grads. He came back to connect with his classmates after starting the TJ Alumni Association. We hear the story of how he found TJ, what classes and life was like, and hear about his brief college football career.
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[00:00:00] Thomas Jefferson school or TJ in St. Louis, Missouri is a unique place, a boarding and day school with a small community of students from all over the world. Our mission asks us as educators to provide the strongest possible academic background. Our mission also asks our students to desire to lift up the world with beauty and intellect.
Our graduates go on to wonderful careers after TJ and this series intends to capture the stories of our alumni.
In this episode we talked to Beverly Pitts, whereas he went by at TJ Porky. Porky was an amazing tennis player, burgeoning star, ready to take on all comers. After graduating, he had a long career in banking. And it eventually came back to TJ to run the TJ alumni association.
Beverly's been at every reunion we've ever had. At least all [00:01:00] the ones that we can track. I don't think he's missed it chance to connect with some of his classmates or other people had TJ. He's an amazing example of somebody who has gone on to lift up the world with beauty and intellect. Let's welcome him to the conversation series now.
Matthew Troutman: [00:01:17] Thanks for being a part of this conversation series by the way. I really appreciate it.
So your zoom link here says Beverly Pitts, your email is Beverly Pitts, but as far as I know everyone at TJ and who has ever been associated with TJ, cause you Porky. So where did that come from? And if it's a story we need to avoid, just let me know and we can.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:01:38] No, it's it's, it's not, it's just part of growing up when your name is Beverly you were going to get kidded if your name was Beverly. And so with the nickname Porky, it just stuck.
Matthew Troutman: [00:01:51] Got it.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:01:51] I got it because when I was a baby nursing my father said, gosh, she's kinda noisy.
Sounds like a Porky pig [00:02:00] nursing. And a mother said, don't call him that
it stuck.
Matthew Troutman: [00:02:07] it stuck. Well that, that answers a question that I that's been in the back of, at least my mind for a while now. So years later after the nickname is created you learn about TJ. So how did that come about? How'd you find out about TJ? How'd you end up here?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:02:21] My parents were good friends with thefamily and furred LeBron, or he is their son. And he went to TJ in the kind of mid fifties. But his parents suggested that my parents look into TJ is a boarding school I don't know that he attended four years, but he attended early enough to. Get me to get my parents to shove me that direction from the class [00:03:00] that began in 1957 class of 61.
Matthew Troutman: [00:03:05] What was your experience like at TJ? What was, what was that class day? What were some of the highlights that stick out in your mind?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:03:12] Well, you know, it was, it was all coat and tie then, and it was all male. There weren't any females. Other than Ruth Potter and later Larry Morgan's wife there weren't even any female teachers initially
I didn't mind that because I am, girls frankly scared me. So it eliminated a, a stress not having girls around.
Matthew Troutman: [00:03:46] Did you, did you have a class or a, a course that either you really loved and dove into or something that you tried to avoid, like the plague.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:03:54] classes that were easy for me were math, trig, [00:04:00] geometry, any of the science classes. Were fun and interesting. English was awful. I was poor at it. Writing, you know, essays was, was a S a strain always was still is if I have to write something, I labor on it, rewrite it about a dozen times, and it's still not very good.
Matthew Troutman: [00:04:28] It sounds familiar, at least my perspective. And it sounds a lot like my process.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:04:34] We did have, you know, of course, four years of Greek there weren't any choices with that. I'm not a natural. On never been a natural with any language, whether it be French, Italian, German, Spanish, and I can read all of those now, but can't speak them. Can't understand if spoken to
Paul [00:05:00] Messina and and Philip one writer who could speak both Italian, Spanish, English Had a horrible advantage.
We had music appreciation and that was fun. But they had an unfair advantage when they'd play some opera and Pell. They could understand it as well as recognizing what opera it was unfair,
Matthew Troutman: [00:05:25] Was the music appreciation. Just an additional experience. Was it a course? Was it was it every single year.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:05:31] Not as a class. We always had several times during the year when we'd attend concerts or performances in the St. Louis area, those were always enjoyable. But music appreciation as a class down in the down at the bottom of the stairs beneath the kitchen. There was the seller. What was that called
Matthew Troutman: [00:05:54] when you're coming down the stairs, is it directly ahead of you in the basement or is it to the right?
[00:06:00] Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:05:59] directly ahead of, of on the right was Science physics and French classes.
Matthew Troutman: [00:06:05] Oh, wow. If you come down the stairs directly ahead is now our robotics or it's where we have a setup. So
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:06:12] well that be
Matthew Troutman: [00:06:14] I find it cozy, but it's a little different. You mentioned the there were times when you were able to go out and go to performances.
Was it mostly opera? Was there theater, were there any sports or other activities that you participated in outside of the classroom?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:06:31] It were opera performances, other concerts some plays it is a variety of things. All enjoyable.
Matthew Troutman: [00:06:42] And did you participate in athletics? At TJ?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:06:45] Yeah, athletics was primarily tennis weather permitting during the winter. They had some basketball. One of my roommates was six foot seven.
Matthew Troutman: [00:06:58] it's a big advantage.
[00:07:00] Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:07:00] another advantage that our roommate head bill Wilson, six foot seven. Now an attorney down in Baton Rouge, still in contact with him. Played some volleyball
Matthew Troutman: [00:07:12] Did you ever compete against another school or organization or is all internal?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:07:17] it was all internal. Loved tennis and was even good at it.
Matthew Troutman: [00:07:25] well, at least I'm the best on campus, right? That's
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:07:29] the best on this and would have been a nice sport to keep. Keep up because you can play tennis. When you're my age
Matthew Troutman: [00:07:41] sounds like a new hobby I should pick up. We do have the tennis courts still.
So then let's move forward just a little bit. So you leave TJ and talk about your experience after that. Where did you go? What was the fast forward a few years and go from there.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:07:56] Well, the first one, one comment was [00:08:00] the college application process. When I was there, the teachers kind of. Chose where you were going to apply and go to college. Robin McCoy was the headmaster Harvard graduate. Five of the 10 of us went to Harvard and I'm trying to remember the Dean of admissions from Harvard came to St. Louis and interviewed us.
Matthew Troutman: [00:08:27] okay.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:08:28] And he invited me in and his question and our whole discussion was how did you get that nickname?
Matthew Troutman: [00:08:36] so that's exactly where I started. There
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:08:38] That's where you start it. And I said, well, that wasn't as deep and difficult in the interview, as I thought it was gonna be. But went on Going to college was took a, a plane Boston with two huge suitcases. I, I was strong, but they were [00:09:00] a struggle. And then tried to find in the Boston subway system, my way at to Cambridge was a was a challenge.
I hadn't, you know, back in 1957 kids didn't travel as much. So I was not that familiar with airports, airplanes, subways, et cetera. So I was relieved to finally get there and find that they had accidentally assigned me a room in Redcliffe college. Harvard and Radcliffe were not married at the time. Beverly was assigned to the women's college.
Matthew Troutman: [00:09:42] How did, how did that get fixed? Or when did they do
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:09:45] No, they just fixed it up. And I wound up in a Hurlbut hall. And rooming with Dan little.
Matthew Troutman: [00:09:54] Oh, wow. Yeah, another TJ
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:09:56] got back on God, back on track.
Matthew Troutman: [00:09:58] Yeah. Yeah. So [00:10:00] that's an interesting, you, you went to from TJ to a school with a number of TJ grads, did it just feel like a continuation of the school in terms of social academics?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:10:12] Well, of course, you know, instead of a school of 40 are in there with, with 1500 in one class did not feel the same. There were other TJ graduates were there guy McClellan among others. And the class ahead of me had four or five. TJ graduates in it and they all welcomed and helped the new freshmen.
Matthew Troutman: [00:10:41] Did that group stick together during your time at Harvard? Or did you kind of drift off and find, find new groups or
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:10:49] Oh, we drifted off found new groups and Dan and I remained close and room together forever. My wife and I celebrated when our [00:11:00] marriage survived my rooming with him.
Matthew Troutman: [00:11:04] Right.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:11:06] Toys, toys, good sports. I went out for football. You sit down in a big room and then they pass out papers and they have you sign in.
And, and when you're through all these guys are filling out all city, all district, all state and all the awards they've won. And I'm up there turning my paper in. They said you never played football before? No, I never did. And I said and your name's Beverly and everybody stopped writing, looked at me from that time on, I knew all the football players, you recognize me.
But eventually had to quit that because not having ever played football in high school, I just got smeared.
Matthew Troutman: [00:11:54] yeah. Not, not an easy experience, I
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:11:57] No
Matthew Troutman: [00:11:57] Yeah. So then what [00:12:00] position did you play when you, or what did you try out for at
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:12:03] was trying out for some sort of offensive and type, and all I was, was offensive to the coaches. So I asked the coach, told the coach I wanted to quit. And he said, well, nobody's ever come in and in person and told me they wanted to quit. He said, what are you going to do? And I said, well, I'd like to go out for the swimming team.
Matthew Troutman: [00:12:28] Yeah.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:12:29] So I switched sports,
Matthew Troutman: [00:12:32] Got it. A little bit less less contact at least.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:12:35] less contact, but that was fun.
Matthew Troutman: [00:12:39] So what did you, what did you study at Harvard and how did it lead towards towards your career and the rest of the rest of your life?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:12:47] I had summer jobs working for my parents bank. I said, I'm going to be a banker when I grow up, I'm probably should major in economics. God, that was awful. [00:13:00] And eventually. A Harvard graduate who lived in Kansas city. I whom I met at a alumni gathering in Kansas city, asked me what I was majoring in.
And I told him I was vacillating between history and economics. And then he said, Porky major in something that's fun. Fun to you. Don't worry about what you're going to do. The rest of your life major in something that's fun. And so I wound up majoring in kind of a cross of math, physics, and chemistry, and slipped out with that, enjoyed that, and then became a banker.
Matthew Troutman: [00:13:50] So you have the background of science and math, and then jumped in, jumped back into the family business. It sounds like.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:13:56] Yes.
Matthew Troutman: [00:13:58] Despite doing banking, [00:14:00] science, math, that it. Didn't draw you too far away from TJ. So we, we brought you back. You've been involved in a number of different ways.
What drew you back to the school? What we can talk a little bit about the alumni association and, and any other activity that you've helped to contribute or build in some ways at TJ.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:14:20] Well, I always enjoyed Going back to TJ for their reunions or just visiting. I lived in St. Joseph Missouri. It's about 300 miles across the state from St. Louis, but it's an easy train ride from Kansas city to St. Louis St. Louis, the train stops in Kirkwood. And so I could catch a train over and back easily. Going back to TJ for a alumni meeting was, was just fun. They're usually played tennis, hers. Softball or something, you know usually had a wonderful meal or two in the [00:15:00] dining room.
It was fun to meet people from other classes. And it was easy to get involved in the alumni group meetings and they then started having them in other cities. And so it was easy to attend one in Boston or New York. Jane Pesach, I think followed as the alumni director of alumni affairs and whatnot, and she kind of roped me into helping here and there.
These meetings, the alumni meetings that they might have in Washington, DC, or, or Boston, or out on the West coast, they had some in Los Angeles and so forth. It just struck us that there ought to be some regionalization where there was an alumni [00:16:00] association.
Centered in Los Angeles or San Francisco or Denver, Atlanta, or down in Texas and up in the Northeast. And so we tried to find someone who would share one of those subgroups
Matthew Troutman: [00:16:18] I've always been a you know, a challenge cause it's, trying to get time and attention from people who have really busy lives and being a small school, we don't have incredibly deep. Bench of alumni, you know, some other places that have tens of thousands of alumni, we are getting close to the, to the 1000 Mark. At least when I speak to to alumni, there's, there's definitely interest in being a part of it giving back and Helping in any way that they can, it's just,
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:16:47] Hi.
Matthew Troutman: [00:16:48] time is always an issue,
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:16:50] you know, it doesn't take that much time to organize an event or two, and there's gonna be people around that will help you [00:17:00] when you do that. So I would hope we can talk people into that.
Matthew Troutman: [00:17:05] Yeah, I think we can. Yeah, I think we can. This might seem a strange question, but if you were to talk to you. A current sophomore. So this is somebody who's in grade 10 and is starting to think about what's looking ahead. What was starting to look ahead, starting to look back at their career and just trying to figure out who they are.
Is there any advice that you would give to a current 10th grade student?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:17:33] Gosh,
you know, I know tough question. I'm not sure I'm have much advice. I
Matthew Troutman: [00:17:42] is there, is there something you would have said to, to you as a 10th grade student?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:17:47] When I started school, I once commented when I visited TJ that gosh, the students seem smaller and they door's Potter was sitting at [00:18:00] the table with me, said, Porky, we're going to get your records out after lunch. And I was four feet 11. And weighed less than 100 pounds when I started my freshman year.
I grew six inches, freshman year and six inches my sophomore year. And probably couldn't walk. I was so uncoordinated that half an inch a month, you know?
Matthew Troutman: [00:18:26] It's a lot to get used to. It's no wonder that the tennis career didn't take off
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:18:31] by the junior year. I was the school champ except for one guy from Italy, Gustavo Guardini who beat me in the finals that year. And then my senior year, I was the tennis. Top of the tennis ladder, so I finally got over my uncoordinated growth there, but what would I say to myself to [00:19:00] would just have to somehow remind myself that I was there to study and it's time to try to get on that honor roll.
Matthew Troutman: [00:19:13] There you go.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:19:13] You know, and get off of the dog house,
Matthew Troutman: [00:19:16] Yeah. That's right.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:19:18] get out of the dog house and on the honor roll.
Matthew Troutman: [00:19:20] Right. Right. So a couple of quick questions for you. Do you have looking back, do you have a favorite TJ meal or a dish that you had
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:19:31] Well, I can't recall a favorite. The cooks that TJ employed. Prepared wonderful meals and I've well with the nickname Porky, I had to earn that at the dinner table, I had a good appetite and they were good cooks.
Matthew Troutman: [00:19:55] Do you have a memorable teacher when you were a student? Somebody that sticks [00:20:00] out and could be all of them?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:20:02] That's tough because all of the teachers were excellent, but Dawes Potter's wife, Ruth Potter was an amazing woman. They had two children and I and other DJ students babysat for them. And they lived across the highway, across Lindbergh Boulevard from the school and a house there. And gosh, they took us down and they had a place on a Lake of the Ozarks, took us down there and let us fool around in a boat. Went on canoe trips with them, but
Ruth Potter, Mrs. Potter was an outstanding teacher, wonderful geometry trig teacher in the size of sophomore. And
Matthew Troutman: [00:20:58] Looking back now, [00:21:00] is there, is there another student who had a pretty big impact on your TJ career or who you are now?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:21:07] my roommate, Dan little had an amazing impact on me. Love that, man. Still do he's down in Mudela Oklahoma, of course. And He's been active on the board and TJ board, I think for a while too. And he started a school in Oklahoma.
Wonderful. Has a wonderful histories. He's that's been going 50 years now.
Matthew Troutman: [00:21:35] It's the Oklahoma school of science and math. If I, if I have the name, correct. And yeah, let's zero. Yep.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:21:43] They they raised the money for those students to attend the Oklahoma students there. And they have, they just have a wonderful record. Guy McClellan [00:22:00] student that you could always look up to and and admire.
Gosh. Number of others too, but.
Matthew Troutman: [00:22:12] This is a tougher question, I think is there a favorite book or an impactful book from the TJ curriculum that stands out?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:22:22] Gosh, beside the Elliot or the Odyssey, the which we only did a little bit of that in, in Greek. But. I don't know, number of, gosh, we always had the reading lists and the book reports that we turn in. Now I did get behind on the book reports once and was invited to come down to TJ and catch up,
Matthew Troutman: [00:22:50] Oh,
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:22:51] which was nice instead of just saying pork you're out,
Matthew Troutman: [00:22:57] Do you have a favorite dorm that you [00:23:00] lived in, or a favorite room that you were, you were in.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:23:02] I would I'd get assigned to a roommate that was having often having trouble, maybe. They thought I was the one having trouble, but I, they put me there where I was more under the ages of, of Robin and company,
Matthew Troutman: [00:23:24] either you can keep an eye on somebody or they'd keep an eye on
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:23:27] but on me.Probably the best rooms and the best times were in the Gables.
Matthew Troutman: [00:23:35] yeah. Is there, is there anybody else that we haven't mentioned that you wanted to give mentioned to from TJ, any other classmates or, or teachers?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:23:45] Bob burden was just a wonderful man. Taught taught our physics class, taught our French, tried to teach me some French[00:24:00] an a tennis player. God, the guy was an amazing tennis player and lived in one of the dorms. , and I was in his dormitory for a cover several semesters.
Matthew Troutman: [00:24:14] To kind of wrap up TJ is mission says that we really try and instill in our students a desire. To lift up the world with beauty and intellect.
How do you live the mission today?
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:24:26] Okay. I don't have any grand plans for that. To me, it's just forming a friendship with another, with other individuals and trying to maybe make their life a little more. Fun and interesting. I'm out here in Southwestern, Colorado in an HOA, never lived in an HOA homeowner's association before.
And who heard the, that. They're, they can be [00:25:00] just horrible experiences with peoplemoaning and complaining. And one of the things I'd try to do here is start every executive board meeting with wine and beer. Keep it friendly, do favors for neighbors so that they in turn do favors for their neighbors.
And our little HOA is, is a better place to live. And hopefully I had a, had a hand in that. So if there's anything I can do, it's more on the individual level. I'd hope than, than Dan little starting a new school, you know, I mean, there's a. Example of a hell of a, a thing that he did and you're doing
Matthew Troutman: [00:25:52] Damn well. I mean, every, every community is made up of individuals and so we all play a role in this and it [00:26:00] sounds like it's important for you to, to make that impact one-to-one and. Again, like you said, hopefully that spreads out to a broader community.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:26:10] it can. And does.
Matthew Troutman: [00:26:11] It does. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, that's a, that's a great place to, to pause here and Porky, thank you for, for being a part of this.
And I've really appreciated the conversation.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:26:23] Well, enjoyed it. And thank you for asking me.
Matthew Troutman: [00:26:26] Yeah, absolutely.
If you'd like more information about TJ, please go to TJ s.org, or you can find us on social media. Look for Thomas Jefferson school on Facebook or TJ underscore S T L on Instagram. If you want to help by contributing to TJ to help support us in delivering our mission or to bring more conversations like this one, go to T J s.org/giving.
If you know, an alumna or alumnus who would be interested in participating in this [00:27:00] conversation series or know somebody who should be, please reach out to me@mtroutmanattjs.org.
Beverly "Porky" Pitts: [00:27:07] Indeed. All right, we'll push the red button.
Matthew Troutman: [00:27:11] There we go. Yep.