Blitch, James Daniel, III, 2003 July 30

This is a Living History interview with Dan Blitch, class of 1953, conducted by Marilyn Somers on July 30, 2003 at his home in Athens, Georgia. The subject of the interview is Mr. Blitch’s life and experiences at Georgia Tech. Mr. Blitch was born in Statesboro, Georgia on July 11, 1932. His father was very interested in radios. His family was originally from Blitzen, Georgia, but a few generations had lived in Statesboro. Mr. Blitch’s mother was from Athens, Georgia and met Mr. Blitch’s father when she came to Statesboro as a teacher. Mr. Blitch has a sister who is three years older than him. Mr. Blitch did all of his schooling in Statesboro. He had some health problems as a boy, but he was still able to graduate with his class. He always knew he would go to college, and he had heard about Tech because of a famous architect who lived in Statesboro and was a Tech alumnus. As a high school student, Mr. Blitch was able to visit Tech and spend time with his friend B. B. Brown and the brothers of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Mr. Blitch is the only man in his family who did not go to the University of Georgia and join Sigma Chi fraternity. He had trouble in his first English class at Tech, but when he tried to explain to his teacher that he had had a terrible high school English teacher, is professor told him that he had had his same teacher and she was his inspiration for teaching English. Mr. Blitch had to learn to study when he got to Tech. He lived in Harrison Dormitory and made many friends on his hall. Dean Fred Ajax helped him get a job working with veterans and the G. I. Bill. Mr. Blitch had Professor Ratterree, a very hard professor, for mechanical drawing, which is a hard class. He later ran into Ratterree at a Rotary Club meeting. Mr. Blitch moved off campus his sophomore year because there was not enough housing on campus. He joined Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and had to learn how to drink beer. Back then, hazing was common in fraternities, and Mr. Blitch and one of his friends were dropped off in the middle of nowhere and had to find their way back. Mr. Blitch’s car once got confused for a wreck and sold with the rest of the wrecks to a junkyard. Dean Griffin had to help him get his car back. Dean Griffin also helped Mr. Blitch get money to get himself through school. Mr. Blitch almost got kicked out of school for putting up an “I like Ike” banner on Brown Dormitory. He was also in student council when they took a straw vote to let women into Tech. Mr. Blitch started at Tech as an Architecture student, but he switched to Industrial Engineering. After Tech, Mr. Blitch went to work for Kurt Salmon and Associates. While he was still in school, Mr. Blitch started a hot dog and hamburger stand called Wimpy’s. When he went to Europe for the summer through the Rotary Club, his cousin ran the stand for him, and Mr. Blitch made money while he was away. KSA did consulting work, and the work involved a lot of traveling. After deciding he needed to settle down a bit, Mr. Blitch bought some interest in Barrow Manufacturing Company, which made men’s and boy’s slacks and jeans. Mr. Blitch turned down the opportunity to live in Europe and work for KSA, and he instead decided to go to Harvard Business School. Mr. Blitch had known his wife Dottie before he even went to Tech, but she is much younger than him. They met again when he gave her a ride home from Atlanta. They got along very well and eventually ended up dating. Mr. Blitch remembers that D. M. Smith did not give partial credit on any math problems. Smith was the academic advisor for football players, and he used to call them swamp angels. Smith let Mr. Blitch retake his final exam once and marked everything right so that Mr. Blitch could get a C instead of a D. Coach Bobby Dodd did not give up on his football players. One player who everyone thought he should give up on later became his son-in-law. Mr. Blitch got to know Dodd through the athletic board, and remembers that Dodd always looked nice because he was outfitted by Muses Department Store. Mr. Blitch eventually settled down in Winder, Georgia and is the silent partner in two sports apparel companies. He helped a friend start another sports apparel company, but he was since gotten out of the that company. Mr. Blitch moved to Athens when his youngest son was in high school. His oldest child, Jim went to a boarding school in Tennessee before going to Duke University. He taught for a while and later got a Masters and then a law degree. He is married and has two children and practices law in Atlanta. Mr. Blitch’s second child, Elise, went to a boarding school in Winston-Salem and then to Duke University. She is now married with two girls and lives in Atlanta. His third child, Bird, graduated from Tech and has now started his own telecommunications company, BroadSource. Mr. Blitch feels very strongly about giving back to the community. He says that the spirit at Tech while he was there was very high, and it was a positive experience.