In our sophomore year at college - I think it was in 1994, we took a road trip down to the University of Illinois to visit some buddies. They were in the middle of re-establishing a charter or whatever it is. Their frat was the FIGIs, I guess that is Phi Gamma Delta. They were really stoked and they made it sound like they were starting their own frat. But that wasn't the case.

We partied hard that weekend and a few of us ended up getting kicked out of their new house by their asshole president guy. We thought this was so lame. We were never into the frat thing but we were even more turned off by the whole thing when we saw that even though these guys were sort of starting their own frat - they still had all these rules that were lame.

We told this story to our friend Joe's brother John Hubeny who also thought this was really uncool. His response:

"Screw those guys. You should start your own frat and call it the Theta Beta ... Potatoes."

So we did.

The Theta Beta Potatoes started as merely a sign in the window of our dorm, but our Junior year we moved to our first apartment and in our senior year, we moved into the original Theta Beta Potato house at 930/932 N. 18th Street in the beautiful Milwaukee hood.

It was originated by the Founding Fathers: Andrew Ziola, Mark Moroni, Brian Gregozeski, Joe Hubeny, and Darius Bikulcius at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

One of the most interesting things about the Potatoes was the process of initiating new members to the frat. To join, a prospective member simply had to sign a chair. That's it, no rush, none of that crap. You signed the chair, you're in, whether you were a boy a girl a freak, a geek.

The group of fine men moved to a new residence in the Fall of 1996 to proceed with the growing amount of work and interest in the new fraternity. The Theta Beta Potato House soon became a landmark in the dull Milwaukee neighborhood right off the campus of Marquette University. The Founding Fathers, along with new Theta Beta Potato House resident, Paul Fruzyna, enjoyed a number a social gatherings in the new home.

Chapters soon popped up in major universities throughout the Midwest. The Theta Beta Potatoes idea quickly spread to a number of other large universities. Amongst whom are The University of Illinois, Purdue University, Illinois State University, University of Iowa and Loyola University.

When you throw together a little punk rock, skateboarding, and potatoes - look what you get - The Theta Beta Potatoes. That is what it is all about, good times, rock & booze. It will soon be heard all over the world, "Plant potatoes, grow potatoes, cook potatoes, EAT POTATOES!!