They don’t call it a cow college for nothin’.

From the campus building directory, on Saunders Hall:

The dairy building was named Saunders Hall in 1949 for William “Buttermilk” Saunders, head of dairy operations and director of the ag experiment station from 1890-1940. During his tenure at Virginia Tech, Saunders invented a cheese that sold “like wildfire,” according to Ellison Smyth Sr. Saunders would go around town with a lump of cheese in his pocket, periodically peeling off the outer layer with a knife and offering a piece of cheese to whomever might be in his vicinity.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »