When you're a young snapper who pledged the Turtles in the 1990s like I am, it's always a pleasure to meet
the guys who lived and made the legendary stories that built the foundation of Tau Sigma Chi in its early
years. I had another rare chance to reach back into the past when I ran into Bob "BOBO" Bosin, class of
1965, at a business function in Fond du Lac, Wis. a few years ago.
Bob served as the designated driver for Carthage's move from Illinois to Kenosha back in 1964. Already
married a year earlier to his wife Bonnie, Bob never lived on the Turtle floor at the new campus in
Kenosha, instead living in an apartment about 100 yards down the road from Prof. Olsen.
Ahh, those stories of Prof. Eric Olsen that us young squibs can only imagine. Those of us who came to
Carthage after 1990 never had a chance to meet the man. But Bob assures me, as others have as well, that
Prof. Olsen was very social, very Republican, and that the parties he held at his "crib were always the
bomb."
There are lots of quality memories from those days at Carthage, including the Great Turtle Walkout from
Carthage, Ill. to Chicago while pledging freshman year, and the first ever Greek Olympics on campus
allowing the other local fraternities to square off against one other. "We had a big chariot race, and we
took a little liberty with our chariot and won, and of course, that caused a bit of controversy." None of us
expected anything less, Bob.
After graduating Carthage with his political science and history degree in tow, Bosin attended law school at
Valparaiso in Indiana for three years before returning to his hometown of North Fond du Lac in 1968 to
practice law. Eight years into his law career, Bosin shifted gears, landing an opportunity with Northwestern
Mutual as a life insurance agent. He's been with the firm ever since - for 32 years at this point.
Bosin and his wife, Bonnie, have now been married nearly 45 years. Together they have one daughter,
Kelly, 35, and a son, Judd, 31, along with three grandsons and two granddaughters.
He still keeps touch with Ed Truschke out in Las Vegas; Jim Nelson, who also worked for Northwestern
Mutual out of Milwaukee and is now retired; Herb Tallitsch, who was my high school assistant principal and
the father of one of my friends while growing up; and lastly, the legendary John Sladek, the West Coast
academic who served as the first president of our Turtle alumni group.
BOB BOSIN