The Story of The Salty Dogs

With the War over, it was time for everyone to get on with their lives, including, in many cases, going back to college to finish an education. At Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, students were pouring back to resume studies. One of the men’s residence halls, Cary Hall, had just been opened to civilians, and a number of returning veterans took up residence there. At this time, many special interest clubs such as camera and folk-dancing clubs were being formed. One day, a student named Chuck Marsh put up a bulletin board notice calling together all Cary residents interested in jazz music to meet in the Cary Hall Tower Lounge located between the two Cary towers. Thus was born the Cary Jazz Club. After a time, the Jazz Club grew as students living outside Cary Hall became involved; eventually it became a University-wide organization re-named the Purdue Jazz Society, and meetings were held in various rooms in the Purdue Memorial Union Building including the Tower Room. Eventually, a Jazz Society band was formed as a democratic group; there was no designated leader; tunes and tempo were selected by mutual agreement. A band name was selected by Birch Smith and Dick Mushlitz. As Birch Smith recalls, “Mush a