Q & A With Bill Fine ’50
10/17/2005
Q: Why did you join the Fraternity?
A: My Freshman year roommate, Sam Monigue, and I were at first anti-fraternity, but we met some of the brothers from Delta Tau Delta like Arthur (Sparky) Vale and Andrew Morgan, and they were just excellent people and just kind of drew us in.
Q: What is your favorite memory of the Fraternity?
A: The annual dance, and sneaking up to the house in the woods.
Q: What kind of influence has the Fraternity had on your life since graduation?
A: Well, I asked my friend to become a member at Northwestern and I have loved being his fraternity brother.
Q: With whom have you stayed in contact? Who would you most like to find?
A: I would most like to find Andrew Morgan. You see, we were both married while we were actives. And then I went to war in 1944 and returned to Kenyon in 1946.
Q: Tell us about your family…have you married? Do you have children?
A: As I said before, I was married while I was an active. I had 5 sons, but on July 5, 2004, we lost our 22 year old son, Alex Fine, to Diabetes. It has been a rough patch in my life.
Q: What other organizations and activities were you involved in during your college days?
A: I played varsity basketball for a year but stopped after I got married. I was very involved in writing, and had John Crowe Ransom for a professor.
Q: What is your nickname and how did you get it?
A: Willy, Bill
Q. Did you live in the house? If so, with who? Tell us about a memorable time with them.
A: I lived in Division – Middle Leonard – with Sam Montigue
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I was the publisher for 12 magazines including Harpers Bazaar, Town and Country, and Cosmo. I was President of Bonwit Teller, President of Dan River Mills in Danville, VA, I worked with the State department as US observer and UN ambassador to the Anglo-Irish Accord, which I received in part due to my friendship with the Reagans. Currently I am doing Corporate Counseling and writing.
Q: What affiliations do you currently have and/or public service you participate in?
A: I am on the Board of Stem Cell Research, and the Board at the Frank and Barbara Sinatra Hospital for Abused Children. I am also an Honorary Board member of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, and am very dedicated to finding a cure.
Q: What are the titles of the books you have written?
A: That Day With God, which was endorsed by the Kennedy Family. Also, Sixteen Celebrities that Charmed My Life. I am currently working on a children’s book about a Puerto Rican dog.
Q: What advice can you offer the current Actives?
A: Be Judicious and Tolerant. Have Pride but not Hubris, and continue to be an exercise Fraternity.