Arthur Benjamin CHITTY Jr.

  General Notes:

Major childhood influences Boy Scouts and Riverside Christian Church (2 blocks from home).

After college, lived in the following places as a naval recruiter
1942- Daytona (Walter Marshall was roommate, did bust of ABC, PBK from Washington & Lee); great handball player
1943- Orlando (had a room at the Cathedral School for Girls. I always joined the Episcopal choir because it gave me a cover of respectability. That is where I met Alec Guerry, became friends and jointly rented a house on a lake where Alec courted Louise. ABC was going with mary Jo Stroud who had an automobile, plus a cottage outside of Orlando on a lake.
1944- Tampa, recruiting office, sang in the Episcopal choir.
Marianna- sang in the choir, Clara Farley was the organist quite crippled, in a wheelchair. He befriended her and stayed at her house just a few blocks from work. Clara and many of the church people had Pensacola connections, including Miss Lelia Abercrombie when he was ready to move to Pensacola.
Pensacola- Miss Lelia's house was right across the backyard from Mamee on N. Baylen St., she usually took in unmarried schoolteachers. Big recruiting office there. Betty Nick called up because she wanted to get something in the paper about FSU graduates who were Waves officers. They met for lunch a couple of times and went to dinner at her house, at the air station (driving a Navy station wagon on personal business as usual). Arthur's orders were to call on the rank wherever he went. They established a Sewanee connection.
What did they like about each other? "She was so damn smart, and yet quite timid and retiring.
He wrote from Orlando and said he was going to marry Mary Jo so she did not call when she had to go there on business. Then later he was in Jacksonville and planning to go to Sewanee and he had instructions to bring a secretary and was she interested. She went over to Jacksonville in December and stayed with Auntie Kitter, went out a couple of times. Her job was over in Pensacola, she was looking for something new. She came and moved into Tuckaway. He was living in the little house with Isaac Turner as Butler. They walked back and forth all the way across campus for dating, and by spring after about four months they phoned POL to announce their engagement.

About 1938 there was serious car accident, sister Betty driving a Lincoln Zephyr convertible, ABC in the back seat, car turned over. Everyone shaken but not hurt.

First big Chitty & Co. coup was to line up the fraternity business at Univ. of FL. Lived with Robert Ballard at the time. Went around to each matron and showed them how buying wholesale worked, became the most profitable territory twice the normal volume, not using credit. Dating Dorothy Armstrong at the time, eventually married her briefly.

Waited to come to Sewanee until Billy got home safely from the war, so that Billy would take over the family business . Had no desire to go into the wholesale grocery business, in spite of being the star salesman. Did not like the perception that there was nothing intellectual about it. "If I become the greatest wholesale grovcery salesman, what would I have accomplish?" Nothing that could be accomplished meant a thing to me, but I could never talk to Daddy about that. When I told him I was going to Sewanee, he couldn't believe it. "What are they going to pay you? and ABC Jr did not even know (actually it was the beginning salary of a full professor). So ABC Sr. turned his attention to Billy, who was always his favorite, the fair-haired boy. "My father was "don't ask, don't tell" he was not hostile but just never was interested in Arthur Jr's life, never even knew Betty's whole name, never asked the children. Billy was weak on the job but always popular, and Clark was able to fill the gap left by Arthur's departure.

Graduated University of the South 1936

During war he worked as Chief Petty Officer in Jacksonville in recruitment office. "Had many narrow escapes due to use of Navy station wagon." Cousin Clark was in same office, both CPO Chitty in same office. "Every time we got mixed up it was to my benefit (ABC).

Worked for family business Chitty & Co. in Jacksonville, FL. until 1947

Married briefly to Dorothy Armstrong.

Became Director of Public Relations for Univ. of the South in 1947, serving until 1966.

Moved to New York to become President of Association of Episcopal Colleges, until 1973.

Continued free-lance PR and fundraising for Episcopal education.

Leader of local and national civil rights activities during 1960's

Author of numerous materials in history relating to Sewanee, the South, and Episcopal education

--Invalid Dates
Christen: Riverside Christian Church 1926

From Fred Chitty on 1/28/09
Em,
My dad had an equal high regard for your dad.  They looked more like brothers than cousins.   I remember as a child how your dad would always come over and visit us whenever he came into town.  He was a great story teller, much the same as Hunky was.   His visits were always a thrill for us and he was the one that connected us to our Chitty cousins.  
 
I never met Billy Chitty's second family and only met his second wife once, at his father's funeral.   I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that it was a bit awkward because my mother was such close friends with his first wife, Marge.   Marge, Candy, Cooper and Chum lived with us, for about a month I think, in the summer of 1956, when Billy & Marge got divorced.  She then moved with the kids to Oregon.  Candy lived at our house again April to June 1967, when she got married.  Mother & dad hosted the wedding reception at our house, which they had purchased from Billy when he got divorced.  Cooper came to visit for about a week the next year. 

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Public Relations, Fundraising, Historian.

• Education: BA, Sewanee 1936; M.A. Tulane 1952.

• Religion: Episcopalian.

Arthur married "Betty Nick" Mary Elizabeth NICKINSON, daughter of Edward Phillips NICKINSON and Em Turner MERRITT, on 16 Jun 1946 in Pensacola, FL. ("Betty Nick" Mary Elizabeth NICKINSON was born on 27 Apr 1920 in Baltimore, MD, died on 9 Oct 2002 in Orlando, FL and was buried in 2003 in Sewanee, TN.)

Arthur next married Dorothy Davis Armstrong on 15 Jun 1941.