“Our fraternity has been conservative. She has also been progressive. Most of the great reforms and improvements in fraternity matters have originated in Beta Theta Pi. Therefore, we must realize the difficulties and rivalries which surround us, and determine to face them with loyalty worthy of the Beta of old days.”
“This collection of Beta lore, imagery and quotes — imperfect as it is — seeks to capture for a new generation the “best of the best” and, maybe even more importantly, reinforce the significance of what Beta Theta Pi can mean in a man’s life — and the world he cares for, gives to and leaves behind.”
— John Calvin Hanna, Wooster 1881
To purchase a copy of Beta Brotherhood, contact the Administrative Office at 800.800.BETA or www.beta.org.
Printed in 2014. All rights reserved.
— John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 (Above, front row, center; 1895 Pilgrimage to Oxford — one of his last.) Beta Brotherhood is a tribute to the Fraternity’s remarkable history, both written and visual, and “the long illustrious line” of Betas who lead by example, put others before self and, above all else, know that, “to whom much is given, of him much is expected.” Accordingly, the Beta Theta Pi Foundation is grateful to Editor Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, and Creative
Director Sarah Shepherd for authoring another treasure in the library of Beta books. The Beta Foundation plays an instrumental role in “developing men of principle for a principled life.” Primary funder of the Men of Principle initiative since its inception in 1998, the Foundation plays a key role in the success of the Fraternity by securing,
investing and allocating generous donor gifts to leadership and educational programs that serve Beta’s members and constituents. For information on how one can personally advance efforts of the Beta Foundation, contact an Administrative Office staff member in Oxford at 800.800. BETA or www.beta.org.
COBB | SHEPHERD
Jacket art and design by Sarah Shepherd, creative director, Oxford, Ohio.
“There is nothing small about Beta Theta Pi.”
BETA BROTHERHOOD
L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, a native of Nicholasville, Ky., has served the Fraternity’s Administrative Office staff in a variety of roles since 1997. Former director of expansion, director of the Men of Principle initiative, and current Foundation director of advancement and Editor/director of communication, Cobb lives in Oxford and enjoys staying fit, red wine, real estate and embellishing tall tales.
— L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96
A concept that was years in the making, Beta Brotherhood is meant to be a book of entertainment, inspiration and reinforcement.
BETA BROTHERHOOD a 175th anniversary tribute
In its 175th year, a respectful and humble nod to history is all that can be asked of this new addition to the library of Beta books. Certainly the great writers of yesteryear are the authorities on all things Beta history. And thank goodness for the diligent and thoughtful photographers through the years who have captured the sentiments and special moments that would take dissertations to explain — yet still fall short.
BETA BROTHERHOOD a 175th anniversary tribute
Researched and Compiled by L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96 Foundation Director of Advancement & Editor/Director of Communication Designed by Sarah Shepherd Creative Director
BetaBrotherhood
As they say, “In the end, it’s all about relationships.” So, what two better words to name this Fraternity’s 175th anniversary tribute than one that gave life to the other, and vice versa. A concept that was years in the making, Beta Brotherhood is meant to be a book of entertainment, inspiration and reinforcement. Certainly the great writers of yesteryear are the authorities on all things Beta history, so much of which has been preserved and presented within. A respectful and humble nod to history is all that can be asked of this new addition to the library of Beta books. And thank goodness for the diligent and thoughtful photographers through the years who have captured the sentiments and special moments that would take dissertations to explain — yet still fall short. This collection of Beta lore, imagery and quotes — imperfect as it is — seeks to capture for a new generation the “best of the best” and, maybe even more importantly, reinforce the significance of what Beta Theta Pi can mean in a man’s life — and the world he cares for, gives to and leaves behind. — L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96
BETA BROTHERHOOD a 175th anniversary tribute First Edition Copyright 2014 by Beta Theta Pi Fraternity 5134 Bonham Road, Oxford, Ohio 45056 All Rights Reserved. Published by The Beta Theta Pi Foundation 2014 Printing by Maury Boyd & Associates, Inc. 6330 E. 75th Street Suite 212 Indianapolis, IN 46250-2700
Dedications In honor of those who have given of themselves to shape the world — including a young farm boy from Kentucky. Minnie and Gordon Cobb, and Brother Wesley The Delta Xi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi at EKU and the Epsilon Omicron Chapter at UK EKU Greek Advisor Troylyn LeForge, Faculty Advisor Dr. Rita Davis, and Dean of Student Development “Skip” Daugherty, Eastern Kentucky ’69 Bob Cottrell, Miami ’54, Steve Becker, Florida ’69, and Jonathan Brant, Miami ’75 Mike McRee, Sigma Nu, Scott Allen, Minnesota ’95, and Jud Horras, Iowa State ’97 Dipper DiPaolo, Michigan ’78, and Brian “BB” Breittholz, Phi Kappa Tau Mary Tharp, Laura Lednik, Phyllis Bowie and the entire Administrative Office Beta Family
Acknowledgments This collection would not have been possible without the incredible talent of Creative Director Sarah Shepherd. Including her husband, Denny, and four young children, the Fraternity is grateful for the passion in which she engaged in the project, and the sacrifices made at home to bring it to life. And to the ever able and eagle-eye proofer of Managing Editor Mike Roupas, Iowa ’10, a sincere debt of gratitude is owed for the team-oriented attitude he maintained in the final days and hours before the book was sent to the printer. Much of the book’s polish and copywriting consistency is due to Mike’s writing talent and intuitiveness. Finally, to Administrative Secretary Jud Horras, Iowa State ’97, and members of both the Communication and Foundation Departments, enough can’t be said about their abilities to keep the wheels turning while we were in the trenches trying to complete the work in time for the 175th. They are humble servants of Beta Theta Pi and are to be thanked for providing the freedom and space to make Beta Brotherhood a reality. — Author
Table of Contents 1839 to 1872 ......................................................2 1872 to 1919 ....................................................36 1919 to 1966 ..................................................102 1966 to 1993 ..................................................140 1993 to Present ...............................................166 The Cutting Room Floor ................................204
“To whom much is given, of him much is expected.” — Luke 12:48
“And we cannot doubt that in this, as in other respects, our ‘future will copy fair our past.’” — Willis O. Robb, Ohio Wesleyan 1879 March 24, 1905, New York Beta Banquet (The Beta of the Future, Beta Lore, pg. 48)
“Old Main” Harrison Hall was painted in February 1958 by Marston Dean Hodgin as a contribution to Miami’s Sesquicentennial observance. The first classroom building, it became the Main Building and then “Old Main”; in 1931 it was named for Benjamin Harrison [Phi Delta Theta], a graduate in 1852, twenty-third President of the United States. Ready for the first students on November 1, 1824, the central section housed the chapel, library, classrooms and literary halls. The men lived in a west wing, built earlier than the central section and replaced in 1868 by an enlarged wing whose main feature was Bishop Chapel. The east wing and an extension of the west wing were added in 1898.
1776
TheFirst: PhiBetaKappa “The college fraternity community is as old as the republic it serves: it was in 1776 that the first secret Greek letter society came into existence. It was the custom for students at the College of William & Mary to gather in the Apollo Room of Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Va., to discuss the affairs of the day. On the night of Dec. 5, 1776, five close companions stayed after others had left. When they finally arose to go, Phi Beta Kappa had been born. A secret motto, grip, badge and a ritual were later adopted. Fraternity, morality and literature were symbolized by stars on the silver membership medal.
At the end of the first half-century of existence, Phi Beta Kappa had evolved into an honor society based on scholarship and achievement.” — Son of the Stars, 2007 Edition, pg. 11
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TheBridgeBuilder An old man going a lone highway, Came in the evening, cold and gray, To a chasm vast, both deep and wide, Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim; The swollen stream was as naught to him; But he stopped when safe on the farther side, And built a bridge to span the tide. “Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near, “You are wasting your strength in labor here; Your journey will end with the closing day, You never again will pass this way. You’ve crossed the chasm deep and wide Why build you this bridge at eventide?” The laborer lifted his old gray head, “Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said, “There followeth after me today A youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm which has been naught to me To that young man may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim. Good friend, I am building this bridge for him. – Miss Will Allen Dromgoole
1839
Union Literary Society “Cooperation Makes Strength”
The Founders Paragraph At nine o’clock on the evening of the eighth day of the eighth month of the year 1839, eight earnest young men, all students at Miami University, held the first meeting of Beta Theta Pi in the Hall of the Union Literary Society, an upper room in the old college building (known as “Old Main.”) The eight founders in the order in which their names appear in the minutes were: John Reily Knox, 1839 Samuel Taylor Marshall, 1840 David Linton, 1839 James George Smith, 1840
Charles Henry Hardin, 1841 John Holt Duncan, 1840 Michael Clarkson Ryan, 1839 Thomas Boston Gordon, 1840
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“of ever honored memory�
Reily age 19
Taylor age 27
Dave age 24
Leb age 19
Charley
John Holt
Mike
Tom
age 19
age 19 Beta Brotherhood | page 9
age 19
age 23
Pater Knox To begin with the beginning, it was the winter session, 18381839, that the idea of forming a secret association first suggested itself to my mind. I saw that there were many advantages in such an association, which could not otherwise be enjoyed. Such combinations of individuals are as old as the wants of man and coeval with the growth of literature. The Motto of our own [Union Literary] Society, “Firmam Consensus Facit” [Cooperation Makes Strength] is but an embodiment of the experience of man in all ages and nations.
I imagined that an association might be formed which would embrace the good without the ingredient of evil. My attention was drawn more forcibly to this by the dissension then existing in the Union Hall which I conceived originated in the Alpha [Delta Phi] Society. In some of our conversations on the subject, Taylor Marshall suggested the idea of building up a Society which might unite the benefits without the disadvantages of the Alphas. I told him I had thought of it, but was afraid that we could not succeed. But if you know Marshall, I need not tell you that he is one of the most sanguine men in existence. The idea once started, he would not give it up until I set to work.
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In the first place I got the Greek Lexicon and turned it over several times in search of a name. The present one was finally selected. Then came the badge. This was more difficult than the other. We then went to work on the constitution. Night after night up in “the old wing” we revised and revised until we got it to our satisfaction, though necessarily imperfect. The next question was, whom shall we connect with us in this manner? Charles Hardin roomed next to Marshall, so we called him in, and I initiated him and Taylor Marshall. — John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 Letter to E.B. Stevens, Miami 1843, April 14, 1843
Marshall The symbols in Marshall’s own handwriting – three x’s for stars, an arc for the crescent, and a heart – stood for Beta Theta Pi, being a “shorthand” for the badge. It was also the first secret form of signature. It appears only in a few of the earliest letters. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 19
“I wished to be at one more meeting of the before I wrote. Things are going first-rater, if not more so. Receive the best wish of one who loves his friend – and – may you advance in that noblest of studies, “Whose seat is the bosom of God – whose voice is the harmony of the world.” — Samuel Taylor Marshall, Miami 1840, Letter to John Reily Knox, November 19, 1839 Beta Brotherhood | page 11
“Beta Theta Pi is prospering, and I rejoice. I hope they may ever keep the standard high and press on with a calm, silent and unconquerable energy. Based upon no unjust principle; formed for noble purposes; all that is necessary to secure complete success is an unflinching determination to pursue steadily the track in which we started.” — David Linton, Miami 1839 Letter to John Reily Knox, January 1, 1840 (Beta Lore, pg. 11)
Linton
Let me exhort you to cultivate friendship for its own sake, for it has an intrinsic value uncomputed, incomputable. Let none say, what care I for my brother’s esteem? What is all this worth? How will it advance my interests, subserve my private ends? This is the language of delusion and folly, the breathing of a narrow soul, the effervescence of base selfishness. But let all of us ask ourselves those other questions of wisdom and honor. What shall I do to render myself worthy of a brother’s esteem? How shall I promote his interests or win his confidence? And what exertions shall I make to prove to all that I am not a mere cipher in the
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association to which I belong? Let each one of us ask ourselves these questions, and answer them by our actions, for they are the bodyings forth of our nobler nature, the language of a generous spirit. Founding Speech by David Linton; the minutes of the Miami chapter for the first regular meeting state: “David Linton, who had been previously appointed to prepare a suitable address for the occasion, discharged the duty devolving upon him in an essay upon the first, and an ex tempore address upon the last, words of the motto. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 424
“Greatness in a student is a matter of possessing a strong, original and fertile intellect; the great acting power of the mind must have a vigorous and comprehensive character. The discriminating faculty, selecting whatever is beautiful, correct or appropriate should be accurate and discerning.” — James George Smith, Miami 1840 From his essay “The Elements of Greatness in a Student,” July 24, 1838
Smith “The Betas are full of the joy and jollity of life, warm and cordial as the wine of years. Let us rejoice in our association, and emulate each other in the accomplishment of those objects which our constitution specifies or implies.” — Charles Henry Hardin, Miami 1841 (Beta Lore, pg. 196)
Hardin Beta Brotherhood | page 13
Duncan “You tell me that this society formed by a halfdozen young fellows has spread, and hundreds are glad in its pleasant places? I can scarcely believe it. Give them for me a grip of the hand, one which has the pressure of the old time.” — John Holt Duncan, Miami 1840 (Beta Lore, pg. 180)
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“I spent a few minutes with one of the new brothers as he passed through here on his way to Oxford. He appears to be a very companionable fellow and no doubt an ornament to the society. That prosperity and success may ever attend you is the sincere wish of your friend.” — Michael Clarkson Ryan, Miami 1839 Letter to Pater Knox, April 15, 1840 (Beta Lore, pg. 180)
Ryan
“I heartily send you congratulations, respect and love. I would be glad to know each Beta personally. Go forward, straight forward. The founders are proud of you!” — Thomas Boston Gordon, Miami 1840 Letter to C. L. Thornburg, September 4, 1889
Gordon Beta Brotherhood | page 15
The Pioneering Fraternity “There are many practical questions upon the answers to which depends the successful maintenance of our position as the best fraternity or one of the best. We must study them – we must understand them – we must decide them. We cannot pass over them and be a strong fraternity. Our fraternity has been conservative. She has also been progressive. Most of the great reforms and improvements in fraternity matters have originated in Beta Theta Pi. Therefore, we must realize the difficulties and rivalries which surround us, and determine to face them with loyalty worthy of the Beta of old days.” — John Calvin Hanna, Wooster 1881 (A Decade of Fraternity Reconstruction, pg. 342)
Beta Firsts . . . First fraternity founded west of the Allegheny Mountains (August 8, 1839) First fraternity to have a General Convention (1842) First to host an interfraternity event and meeting (1848) First fraternity to establish a chapter west of the Mississippi River (1866)
First fraternity to have general officers (1872) First fraternity to organize its chapters into districts for administrative purposes (1873) First fraternity to publish an open constitution for public distribution (1879) First fraternity in 15 states — more than any other fraternity
First fraternity to create alumni chapters (1867)
First fraternity established on 35+ campuses — more than any other fraternity
First and oldest continuously published college fraternity magazine (1872)
First fraternity to adopt a 2.5 minimum GPA for a chapter (1984)
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First fraternity to adopt a 2.5 minimum GPA for each member (1997) First fraternity to adopt a 2.7 minimum GPA for a chapter (2006) First fraternity to adopt a 2.8 minimum GPA – or the campus All-Men’s Average — for a chapter, whichever is greatest (2012) First fraternity to achieve 84 Rhodes Scholars — more than any other fraternity
“The Beta of the future: how can he be otherwise than warm-blooded, clear-eyed, and big-hearted – fraternal, forward-looking, and democratic?” — Willis O. Robb, Ohio Wesleyan 1879 (Beta Lore, page 49)
“Beta Theta Pi’s history is the story of a magnificent movement which, originating in the West, invaded the South, captured the East and in 1879, grasped undisputed leadership of the Greek fraternities.” Beta Brotherhood | page 17
“So say we all of us.”
“ I do.”
“To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the
night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.� — Polonius, Hamlet, Act I., Shakespeare
1840
First Anniversary Address “. . . when we come together as members of the Beta Theta Pi, all political differences are dropped—all our political feelings are forgotten. We are no longer politicians, but friends; no longer candidates, but brothers, and we are ready to give the “All Hail” of welcome, the open hand of friendship, to all who wear the badge and bear the name of Beta Theta Pi.” – John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 (The Beta Book, pg. 15) On the second Thursday of August, 1840, in accordance with the action taken in the first formal meeting on August 8, 1839, John Reily Knox attended the meeting of the Miami chapter and delivered the following anniversary address [excerpts]: “Revolutions have been accomplished and despots dethroned by the united action of small but daring associations. The great secret of their success consisted not in numbers but in union; not in great strength, but in welldirected and simultaneous exertions.” “What a few men united in object and effort will to do can be done; and more than that, such associations teach us in their records how far human friendship can carry us from the shrine of idol self …”
“Mutual support and assistance, absolute faith and confidence in each other, and progress in knowledge and scholarship were the fundamental ideas on which we built …” “Next to the cultivation of the friendly feelings, the advancement of science and literature is the mainspring of our exertions.” “Let each member be as ready to assist as he would wish the brother to be of whom in the hour of need he would ask assistance… Bear our principles, our motto and our badge to the utmost bounds of our great republic. And proud I am to think that they will bear them honorably and nobly.” — John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 (The Beta Book, pgs. 14-18)
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1842
The General Convention “This uniquely annual event has long been a special source of strength of our Fraternity… It brings us together to renew Beta’s vitality; it brings us together, annually, so that no class of undergraduates will be skipped; and it brings us together to share in building a Fraternity… In short, it brings us all together.” — James G. Martin, Davidson ’57, Keynote Speech, 156th General Convention in 1995 Former Governor of North Carolina, Oxford Cup Recipient and General Fraternity President
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The Beta convention is the oldest and greatest part of Beta government (not counting the constitution). Only it can amend the constitution and laws, grant charters, and elect members of the Board of Trustees. However, it is also the most fun a Beta can have, next to life in the chapter house as an undergraduate. Only the appointed delegates of chapters and alumni associations may vote, but all Betas are welcome. Every chapter from across Beta’s Broad Domain will be there, and Betas of every age: new initiates, those about to graduate, and alumni from just-graduated to Silver Grays. Beta girls will also grace the occasion, and sometimes special guests are invited as well.
Is this thing a formal body of government, or a Beta-sponsored grand party? Well, it’s both. The convention is vital not only as a governing body but also as perhaps the most important enduring force for the maintenance of the Beta Spirit. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 215
Beta is unique in that it is one of the only fraternities to hold an annual convention, most preferring to do so biannually. Through the years, discussions have periodically arisen around the notion of moving to an every-other-year convention cycle. But the organization has always resisted doing so in favor of maintaining its uniquely close General Fraternity culture.
Beta’s 83rd General Convention in West Baden, Indiana, September 5-8, 1922.
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continued . . .
“I don’t come to the convention every year to win some attendance prize. I come because that’s what Betas are supposed to do.” — Dr. Ferd Del Pizzo, Washington in St. Louis ’58, at the 174th General Convention in 2013, his 44th. During the 174th Convention Countdown, Ferd is joined by former North Carolina Governor and past General Fraternity President Dr. James G. Martin, Davidson ’57, and Tom Lipton, Western Reserve ’63, who also shares Ferd’s convention attendance record.
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An Annual Beta Family Reunion YEAR
No.
LOCATION
1842 3rd Cincinnati, Ohio 1845 6th Cincinnati, Ohio 1847 8th Cincinnati, Ohio 1848 9th Hudson, Ohio 1851 12th Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1854 15th Cincinnati, Ohio 1856 17th Louisville, Kentucky 1858 19th Berkeley Springs, Virginia 1860 21st Columbus, Ohio 1862 23rd (skipped 1864 25th Indianapolis, Indiana 1865 26th Detroit, Michigan 1866 27th Cincinnati, Ohio 1867 28th Indianapolis, Indiana 1868 29th Nashville, Tennessee 1869 30th Columbus, Ohio* 1870 31st Chicago, Illinois 1871 32nd Indianapolis, Indiana 1872 33rd Richmond, Virginia 1873 34th Cincinnati, Ohio 1874 35th (skipped) 1875 36th Evansville, Indiana 1876 37th Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1877 38th Detroit, Michigan 1778 39th Indianapolis, Indiana 1879 40th Cincinnati, Ohio 1880 41st Baltimore, Maryland 1881 42nd Chicago, Illinois 1882 43rd Cincinnati, Ohio 1883 44th Saratoga Springs, New York 1884 45th Wooglin-on-Chautauqua, N.Y. 1885 46th St. Louis, Missouri 1886 47th Cincinnati, Ohio 1887-93 48-54th Wooglin-on-Chautauqua, N.Y. 1894 55tth Niagara Falls, New York 1895 56th Chicago, Illinois 1896 57th White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. 1897 58th Niagara Falls, New York 1898 59th Cincinnati, Ohio 1899 60th Niagara Falls, New York 1900 61st Put-in-Bay, Ohio 1901 62nd Lakewood, New York 1902 63rd Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota 1903 64th Put-in-Bay, Ohio 1904 65th St. Louis, Missouri 1905 66th New York, New York 1906 67th Denver, Colorado 1907-08 68-69th Niagara Falls, N.Y. 1909 70th Put-in-Bay, Ohio 1910 71st Saratoga Springs, New York
1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933-34 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943-45 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
72nd Niagara Falls, Ontario 73rd Detroit, Michigan 74th Nantasket Beach, Mass. 75th St. Louis, Missouri 76th Oakland, California 77th Saratoga Springs, New York 78th Niagara Falls, New York 79th White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. 80th Swampscott, Massachusetts 81st Williams Bay, Wisconsin 82nd Estes Park, Colorado 83rd West Baden, Indiana 84th White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. 85th Mackinac Island, Michigan 86th Lake of Bays, Ontario 87th White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. 88th Lake of Bays, Ontario 89th Colorado Springs, Colorado 90th Lake of Bays, Ontario 91st Old Point Comfort, Virginia 92nd Lake Rosseau, Ontario 93rd Hot Springs, Virginia 94-95th Mackinac Island, Michigan 96th Seigniory Club, Quebec 97th Biloxi, Mississippi 98th Mackinac Island, Michigan 99th Poland Springs, Maine 100th Oxford, Ohio 101st Del Monte, California 102nd Mackinac Island, Michigan 103rd Mackinac Island, Michigan (No Conventions — World War II) 107th Mackinac Island, Michigan 108th Poland Springs, Maine 109th Mackinac Island, Michigan 110th Glenwood Springs, Colorado 111th Lake of Bays, Ontario 112th Old Point Comfort, Virginia 113th Lake of Bays, Ontario 114th Pasadena, California 115th Oxford, Ohio 116th Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania 117th French Lick, Indiana 118th Poland Springs, Maine 119th Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania 120th French Lick, Indiana 121st Mackinac Island, Michigan 122nd Pasadena, California 123rd Asheville, North Carolina 124th Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania 125th Oxford, Ohio
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1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
126th 127th 128th 129th 130th 131st 132nd 133rd 134th 135th 136th 137th 138th 139th 140th 141st 142nd 143rd 144th 145th 146th 147th 148th 149th 150th 151st 152nd 153rd 154th 155th 156th 157th 158th 159th 160th 161st 162nd 163rd 164th 165th 166th 167th 168th 169th 170th 171st 172nd 173rd 174th 175th
Mackinac Island, Michigan Lake of Bays, Ontario Asheville, North Carolina Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania Bretton Woods, N.H. Mackinac Island, Michigan Sun Valley, Idaho Asheville, North Carolina Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania Mackinac Island, Michigan French Lick, Indiana Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri Mackinac Island, Michigan Oxford, Ohio Hot Springs, Virginia Scottsdale, Arizona French Lick, Indiana Mackinac Island, Michigan Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri Boca Raton, Florida Scottsdale, Arizona Asheville, North Carolina Toronto, Ontario Oxford, Ohio Palm Desert, California Tarpon Springs, Florida Washington, D.C. Denver, Colorado Marco Island, Florida Cincinnati, Ohio Palm Desert, California Washington, D.C. Miami, Florida Oxford, Ohio Schaumburg, Ill. (Chicago) Oxford, Ohio Kansas City, Missouri Oxford, Ohio Atlanta, Georgia Scottsdale, Arizona Toronto, Ontario Orlando, Florida Dallas, Texas Phoenix, Arizona Washington, D.C. Seattle, Washington Chicago, Illinois Charlotte, North Carolina Oxford, Ohio
Right: John Reily Knox’s pilgrimmage to Oxford on Friday, May 24, 1895, one of his last (standing, front row, center). Below: The all-convention photo at the 160th General Convention in Oxford, 1999.
Loyalty & Devotion “We look down the road ahead… That’s a curious thing about man. He feels the pull of what he doesn’t know and has never seen. No one can say what lies ahead for our Fraternity. We can only resolve to give it our loyalty and our devotion.” — Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22
“Now that we are becoming quite extended, there must be something more than the mere word of friendship and something beyond a name to keep up our interest in Beta. Old members have no strong desire to come back merely to play hide and go seek about the streets and alleys of Oxford – we need something to wake us all up.” — Edward B. Stevens, Miami 1843 (Beta Lore, pg. 202)
Certainly modern day Beta Greats, all former district chiefs pose for their annual group photo at the 163rd General Convention in 2002, which was held at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
1848
The Snowball Rebellion It all started on Wednesday, January 12, 1848. There had been a large snowfall in Oxford. Some students were on their way back from a prayer meeting in town. They rolled perhaps a dozen huge snowballs and filled in the first floor of Old Main. They had gotten a day’s play for a long night’s work. The next day the janitor worked for an hour to clear a passage. Though at least one of the faculty thought it was amusing, the president was in a towering rage: he was going to find the guilty and expel them, he was determined to make Miami “a decent college.” The next night, a larger crowd of students made a much more impenetrable barrier, and wreaked more havoc, nailing the doors shut, filling the hall with wood and snow, removing the college bell and dropping it in the cistern. There were no classes that Friday, and none the next week, either, while the trials began. The students would admit their own guilt, but would not implicate others.
Finally a list of 46 was arrived at, who would neither admit their guilt nor make any promise for the future. They were dismissed from Miami. Of the 20 seniors, only 9 were left, and only 5 of the
Pi, is the oldest existing chapter of any fraternity in Kentucky, making Beta Theta Pi and the Epsilon Chapter the first (at Transylvania in 1842) and the oldest (at Centre since 1848) fraternity in Kentucky. Two remaining Betas and one remaining Alpha left Miami that spring, and hence no fraternity remained on Miami’s campus – until December of 1848, when Phi Delta Theta was started.
12 juniors remained. This was not strictly speaking a Greek affair, but a campus-wide stunt. Yet it hurt the fraternities severely. Alpha Delta Phi and Beta Theta Pi had lost members. Three Betas were dismissed; they were admitted to Centre College, and proceeded to set up a chapter there. That chapter, the Epsilon of Beta Theta
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No Betas were at Miami after all was said and done (and the snow of a new winter lay on the ground). But our chapter there was not the “mother chapter,” and the life of the Fraternity was strong at other schools. The wisdom of erecting the “sister societies,” the “other selves,” was finally apparent. In 1963, one hundred and fifteen years later, this event affecting the fraternities was humorously reenacted by Miami students after another heavy snowfall. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 71-72
“They mean something more than banquets and a good time; they mean fellowship and friendship. They bind heart to heart, and every one of our number is a brother to all of the rest. We ask not whether he be from Texas or Tennessee, from New Jersey or New Hampshire. It is enough that he is a Beta Theta Pi.” — A. Josiah Brewer, Wesleyan 1855, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court (The Handbook of Beta Theta Pi, Second Edition. 1907, pg. 291)
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1856
John Hannah Gray
Many chapters existed sub rosa for long periods of time, when acknowledgment of membership in Beta Theta Pi would be grounds for automatic expulsion from the college. For example, Hanover existed in this fashion for some time. Then, in 1856, Brother John Hanna Gray, Hanover ’56, died while an undergraduate and was buried on the [southeastern Indiana] college campus. The Betas raised a monument to him by subscription but the monument bore a facsimile of the chapter seal now contained on our membership shingle. This so angered some of the other students that they attempted to desecrate and destroy the monument. The Betas, in detachment, guarded the monument around the clock for some weeks until the feeling Beta Brotherhood | page 31
died down. It was this episode which disclosed the existence of Beta Theta Pi at Hanover. Gray’s father, Daniel L. Gray, a Presbyterian clergyman, was unable to get to Hanover until the following spring. He was greatly touched when he learned how the Betas had done everything possible for his son. He expressed his belief in a fraternity which had shown itself in such a sincere way. He wished that he also belonged to Beta Theta Pi. As a result he was taken in by the brothers of his son; and while John Hanna Gray’s roll number is 13, his father Daniel L. Gray is number 21 on the Hanover roll. — Beta Lore, pg. 518
1862
Beta’s Darkest Hour “. . . some chapters were split in two. Even the founders were involved on both sides… Ryan helped recruit and organize… Gordon and his two teenage sons entered the Confederate Army... [and] lost everything in the war. More tragically, John Holt Duncan also fought for the south, and lost his leg. [His prosthetic leg, below, was recovered after his death and resides in the Beta museum in Oxford.] It is a curious story, reported by his nephew, D.H. Chamberlain (not a Beta) in 1924:” “On the outbreak of the Civil War [Duncan] left as captain of a company of cavalry and fought under General Price all through the Arkansas and Missouri campaigns and was in the battle farthest north on Price’s operations where he was wounded and left behind at a farm house in Missouri. Before the retreat, Confederate surgeons amputated his right leg. A few days after the Confederates retreated, the Federals found he had been taken in and cared for by this farmer and his family, and promptly took the farmer, stood him up against the barn and riddled his body with bullets, and would have also killed Judge Duncan had it not been for the intercession of the weeping
wife and children of the slain farmer. They nursed him until his wounds had healed and then smuggled him through into the Confederate lines, then some 200 miles south of the farm house where he had been taken care of. From that time till he became superannuated and went to the Old Soldiers’ home in Austin, Texas, where he died, he spent nearly everything he made in caring for and educating the children of the Missouri family who had befriended him and who had lost husband and father because of the humanity they had shown.” — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars pg. 78
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“. . . Remarkably, all but one of the chapters closed during the Civil War were quickly revived (Chi Chapter at Oglethorpe University.)” As badges were used to identify oneself across enemy lines, the badge of Cicero Stephens Croom, North Carolina 1858, inspired the design of Beta’s “president’s badge.”
The Civil War, in which family members fought each other, divided Beta Theta Pi as nothing ever has. Beta was wide-spread through the country by this time, and the war tore the Fraternity in half. In 1861, the active chapters were: North Beloit Bethany DePauw Hanover Illinois College Indiana Jefferson
Knox Miami Michigan Ohio Ohio Wesleyan Wabash Washington (Pa.) Western Reserve
South Centre Cumberland Davidson Hampden-Sydney North Carolina
Oglethorpe South Carolina Virginia Washington (Va.)
“When our chapter met after the Civil War, there were twelve, and of that twelve, ten had worn the grey and two had worn the blue; but we met as brothers. We believe that reconstruction and reconciliation began right there.” — Horace H. Lurton, Cumberland 1867, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Beta Brotherhood | page 33
1865
Faithful ... “Faithful found Among the faithless, Faithful only he.” Edward C. Boudinot, Michigan 1865 Who refused to join traitors in secession from Beta Theta Pi. — Beta Lore, pg. 489
The idea of forming a union with Psi Upsilon had been discussed as early as 1857; some chapters (notably Michigan and Western Reserve) seeking the alliance due to their competition with “eastern” fraternities. It was said the union would be of advantage since the war had barely touched Psi Upsilon. J.B. Root, the Michigan delegate, was behind this and other actions of the [1864] convention. But Root would not wait for the next convention to act. He persuaded Psi Upsilon to grant a charter to Beta’s chapter at Michigan, and in December 1864, notified the chapters that Lambda had resigned her charter. The
traitorous members returned the chapter records to Miami, which assumed the functions of the presiding chapter temporarily. Alpha called a convention to meet at Detroit on February 1, 1865, at the request of “the old members of Lambda” – though 12 of Michigan’s alumni abandoned Beta, the other 75 remained true to their obligations. But the loyalty by Edward C. Boudinot – who refused to surrender his Beta membership – forever goes down in history as one of the most prominent displays of Beta loyalty on record. So much so that the 1865 convention passed a resolution that, along with expelling the traitors and Beta Brotherhood | page 34
documenting the Fraternity’s intentions of having a strong and vibrant chapter at Michigan, voiced the collective admiration for Boudinot: Resolved, That we, the members of the BQP convention, do appreciate and approve of the course taken by Ed. C. Boudinot, in regard to the late disgraceful action of the members of Lambda Chapter, and in consideration thereof we do hereby extend to him our heartfelt thanks for his manly bearing in maintaining the dignity and honor of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. — Handbook of Beta Theta Pi, pg. 54; The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 80
... andTrue Rev. Clement J. Whipple, Michigan 1867 Oldest living member of Lambda Chapter. He remained true to Beta Theta Pi when all his chapter mates but one proved traitors. — Beta Lore, pg. 486
Whipple was admitted to Michigan in the fall of 1864 but left school in November due to sickness. Root and his cohorts contacted Whipple at home asking that he join them in their desertion of Beta Theta Pi for Psi Upsilon, but he refused in emphatic terms. Boudinot was also unwilling to go along. The Miami chapter called the convention for February 1 in Detroit, whereby hearty support was pledged via a call for other chapters to send some of their men to Michigan to assist Boudinot in keeping Lambda alive. Indiana sent John D. Alexander; Hanover sent J.A. Kellar and Ben Sheeks, and John H. Shephert departed mother Alpha to help the cause. — Son of the Stars, pgs. 34-35
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1872
“Fan the Flame” “A peculiar characteristic of our Fraternity is the strong attachment evinced towards it by those who are no longer active members. To foster this spirit is a matter of prime importance to us. We take pride in their success in life, and look to them as our examples. They must remember this: that they are bound to us by peculiar ties, and have upon them the noble responsibility of setting us such examples as may be worthy of our imitation.” — Charles Duy Walker, VMI 1869 (The Beta Theta Pi, 1872 – Vol. I, No. I) Beta’s first Editor and General Secretary, Charles Duy Walker, VMI 1869, designed and wrote the first edition of The Beta Theta Pi and adopted
a masthead which described its mission as “Alere Flammam” or, “Fan the Flame” of Beta’s fraternal fires. — Son of the Stars, pg. 37
“First published as an eight-page monthly on December 15, 1872, The Beta Theta Pi is the oldest continuously published magazine in the Greek world.” Beta Brotherhood | page 36
Above: John Hogarth Lozier (right), DePauw 1857, Author of the Legend of Wooglin (written during his undergraduate days, 1852-57). Horace Gillette Lozier (left), Chicago 1894, author of “Loving Cup” and Editor of the Song Book. “And thus from cherished sire to son, The links of our bond fraternal run.” Right: Senator Lugar, Denison ’54, and General Secretary David Wright, Ohio State ’67, present the Whitman Choral Cup to Gamma Pi at Lawrence.
Legendary Loziers “In the future, as in the past, we must be known as a Fraternity and we must know about our Fraternity. And I will guarantee to you undergraduates that the more you know about it, the more you will be astonished by its history, achievements and exemplars. It is a story that never ends and it is one that those who love it never, never tire of telling and hearing.” — Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, 126th General Convention Keynote
1872
The Singing Fraternity “Gemma Nostra” For the first 50 years (or so) of Beta’s life, nearly every Beta had a working knowledge of Latin and Greek, and they would have laughed at the need for this section. However, too many brothers in recent times have taken Lozier’s words far too seriously: “The only Greek you have to know is Beta Theta Pi.” But in 1871, Joseph H. Tunison, Denison 1873, had such a fluency with Latin, he could even write good poetry in it. When “Gemma Nostra” appeared in the songbook of 1872, every Beta knew what Tunison was saying. But for maybe the last 50 years, most Betas went around singing Tunison’s Latin poem without really knowing what it means.
the suggestion that he provide a LITERAL TRANSLATION translation of “Gemma Nostra.” Dr. Henry C. Montgomery, Phi Delta Theta: He supplied both a literal I. Let our jewel shine, never obscured translation and an English version And let Sertus bind (us), always with affection. which can be sung to the same Chorus – Hail, Beta Theta Pi, thou pure queen; tune. These appeared in the January Dear thou (art) to my heart, dear, dear, care. 1977 issue of The Beta Theta Pi, II. Let each star flash, all are equal; Now let those attend who will together with excerpts from a letter – among us, comrades. by Dolibois, in which he noted III. Among brothers, truth, honor, friendship; that Dr. Montgomery is “an faith, valor, right (i.e. among men) and right outstanding fraternity man, (divine) all are known. and is particularly pleased with [his] little contribution.” ENGLISH VERSION to the same melody, also by Dr. Montgomery: I. Let our jewel brightly shine, never may it lose its gleam. And may Sertus us entwine, ever with a high esteem. Chorus – Hail thou, Beta Theta Pi, queen without compare; Dear thou art unto my heart, thou my constant care. II. Let each star in brilliance flash, equal are we all. Whosoever comrades are, gathered in this hall.
In 1942, John E. Dolibois, Miami ’42, did something about it. He approached the chairman of Miami’s Classics Department, Dr. Henry C. Montgomery (a member of Phi Delta Theta), with
III. Friendship, honor, truth are known, ever to the brothers; Valor, faith, and love of God; justice to all others.
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“Beta Theta Pi has always been known as a singing fraternity. It has laid great stress upon its songs. It has magnified the idea contained in the words, ‘A singing chapter is a good chapter.’ Considering sentiment of prime importance in binding the hearts of its members together, it always has recognized that those chapters which cultivate and cherish the sentimental side of fraternity life are likely to be the ones to which other features of that life appeal as worthwhile.” — The Beta Book, pg. 285
“The Loving Cup” Over the 60 years of Horace Lozier’s life in Beta Theta Pi, he had made a unique contribution to the Fraternity as writer of some of its most beloved songs and as editor of two significant early editions of its songbook. “The Loving Cup” alone was achievement enough to win him the title of “The Beta Bard” but it was but one of many. The 1942 edition of “Songs of Beta Theta Pi” contained eight of his compositions: “Wooglin to the Pledge,” “The Loving Cup,” “The Beta Postcript,” “Song of Beta Gamma,” “The Banquet Hall,” “She Wears My Beta Pin,” “In the Old Porch Chairs” and “Clan Wooglin Marches.”
There is no immediately available specific reference to the year in which “The Loving Cup” was written. It appeared in the songbook for the first time in the 1902 edition and since then has won the greatest praise from critics. Many editors of college songbooks have sought permission to use it as the Beta song to be included in their collections and Lozier’s arrangement of the music has been appropriated by colleges and fraternities. Orchestra leader Fred Waring is said to have once called it the greatest college song he had ever heard. — K. Warren Fawcett, Minnesota ’26 (Marching Along, pg. 445)
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“The impetus and energy imparted to Beta by John Reily Knox and his associates, based as this energy was upon true friendship, enabled it to survive the shock of the Civil War and the mortification of treachery and desertion and to grow into the splendid envied association of today pre-eminent in the college world. I believe that the history and achievements of Beta are in the future and not in the past; Beta is on the eve of an era of expansion and improvement which will so far cast into shade what has already been accomplished, that the accomplishments of previous years will scarcely be worth talking about.” — William Raimond Baird, Stevens 1878/Columbia 1879 (Beta Lore pg. 60)
1872
Alpha SigmaChi & Mystic Seven In the late 1870s there was a young man who did not belong to Beta. He was worried about his fraternity – he doubted that it would last much longer. So he decided to look around and find a really strong one to join. He researched all the fraternities then in existence, which was a pretty good trick, considering none of them had published their constitutions, and they were all more-or-less panicky about revealing anything about themselves. However, this guy was persistent, and after he had enough evidence, he proceeded to rush in reverse: he got all five chapters of his fraternity (and the alumni as well) into another large fraternity. His work in studying the problem led to his publishing the most famous inter-fraternity book ever written, of which editions are still being produced. Who was he? William Raimond Baird, the father of the interfraternity movement. His book, “Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities,” was a result
of his efforts to bring his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Chi, into membership in Beta Theta Pi. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars pg. 331
Alpha Sigma Chi “was an eastern fraternity” founded in 1872, at Rutgers in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It also had chapters at Cornell and St. Lawrence in New York, at Stevens in New Jersey, and at the University of Maine. The union with Alpha Sigma Chi was consummated in Ithaca, New York (site of the Cornell chapter), October 9, 1879. Five chapters were added at once: Rutgers, Cornell, Stevens, St. Lawrence and Maine. William R. Baird, the former secretary of Alpha Sigma Chi, was appointed chief of the newly formed district. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 89-90 Beta Brotherhood | page 43
Rapid expansion of the Fraternity continued and, by 1888-89, correspondence concerning union had sprung up between interested Betas and the three surviving chapters of the Mystic Seven Society. For years, this Society had enjoyed a splendid reputation but recently had suffered reverses due, in part, to the Civil War, leaving but three active chapters – Davidson, North Carolina and Virginia. The Betas thought that the Virginia chapter, if merged with Beta Theta Pi, would strengthen the Fraternity’s position on that campus, and the two chapters in North Carolina would restore inactive Beta chapters at North Carolina and Davidson. A committee was appointed by each group and, in 1888, an agreement reached, which was approved at the 1889 Convention. — Son of the Stars, pgs. 39-40
1879
ThePioneeringFraternity — Again “[It] must be considered the greatest document in the entire history of the association.” — Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883 It was the summer of 1877, in the city of Detroit. The annual convention of the Fraternity was in session in the city hall of that city. It was one beautiful afternoon when Lambda’s godfather, our venerable Silver-Gray, Major W.C. Ransom [Michigan 1848, left], arose in the convention and made a most impressive speech: “Brothers: I have long been an active member of this Fraternity. I have seen its struggles and adversities, and I have been proud of its successes. I have observed the results of contests waged by hostile authorities in several important institutions of learning. I have grown old in the service of our beloved Beta Theta Pi. The sun of my active career has passed the meridian, and it now seems as if it were about half past four o’clock in the afternoon; but there is one thing I have long had in mind which I very much desire to see accomplished before I pass from the active field of fraternity life. I want to see our ritual rewritten, and our constitution revised and published to the world. We should legally incorporate and become a body politic and place ourselves in a position before the law where we can own and hold property. And we should be able to go openly before any hostile faculty and show them our fundamental law and what we uphold and teach, without having to reveal any of our so-called ‘sacred secrets.’” — John H. Grant, Michigan 1882, Regent of the University of Michigan Letter to William Raimond Baird (Beta Life, pgs. 74-75)
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The committee appointed to carry out this resolution was composed of Major Wyllys C. Ransom, Amandus N. Grant and Olin R. Brouse. This committee held a meeting and important suggestions were made, no doubt, by both Grant and Brouse who were devoted Betas actively connected with the fraternity administration at times and fertile in ideas. But the report which follows bears internal evidence that, in the main, it is the work of Major Ransom. Unquestionably it is the most important administrative report made to Beta Theta Pi up to 1878, and, probably, in view of the tremendous revolution in the Fraternity which followed it, must be considered the greatest document in the entire history of the association. To the Honorable Convention of Beta Theta Pi: The undersigned, your committee to whom the Convention of 1877 referred the matter of a revision of your Constitution looking to the elimination therefrom of all provisions appertaining to the secret work and organization of the Association, so that its organic act and a declaration of its objects could be published and submitted to the consideration and approval or disapproval of all the world, beg leave, respectfully, to report: that they met in the City of Port Huron, Michigan, in the month of March last, and entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned them. Fully appreciating the importance of the proposed change in the policy of the society, the subject was discussed by your committee in all its bearings, and, as a result, it arrived at the conclusion that the time had been reached when the permanency and welfare of the Fraternity demanded a revision of its constitution, whereby its internal work and policies could be entirely separated from the provisions enacted for its general organization, government and administrative control. Looking to this end, your committee agreed upon the draft of a Constitution which they submit herewith and though fully conscious of the fact that it is not the best that could be devised, nor perhaps all that is needed to secure thoroughness of organization and the strongest vitality for our beloved society, yet they believe that it is a step in advance, and in the right direction, and will, if nothing more, afford a basis upon which the Convention can in its wisdom build such a structure of government as will give the Beta Theta Pi increased power, prosperity and permanency for all time.
— Commentary provided by Shepardson. The convention of 1879 met in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 2-4, where both the new constitution and new ritual were adopted.
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The Objects of Beta Theta Pi It shall be constituted as hereinafter provided and shall have for its objects the promotion of the moral and social culture of its members, the establishment of confidence and friendly relations among the universities and colleges of the United States and Canada, in securing unity of action and sympathy in matters of common interest among them, and the building up of a fraternity that recognizes mutual assistance in the honorable labors and aspirations of life, devotion to the cultivation of the intellect, unsullied friendship, and unfaltering fidelity, as objects worthy of the highest aim and purpose of associated effort.
Beta Day “Oh, Beta Day is dawning, You can see it in the sky, It is bursting forth with friendship For all Betas, you and I; Sing forth my Beta brothers, Let your voices rise on high, For Beta Theta Pi.” — “Beta Day” Song Lyrics Col. Richard R. (Misty) Shoop, Denison ’41
1879
Delicate Shades of Pink and Blue
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The colors of the Fraternity are ‘pink and blue, in delicate shades.’ This is the only Beta symbol which Chandler neither devised nor altered, despite his violent opposition to them. These colors had been in use for some time in the 1870s by the Ohio Wesleyan and DePauw chapters. The question of Fraternity colors arose at the busy convention of 1879; W.C. Ransom espoused the royal purple, but Walter E. Dennison, Ohio Wesleyan 1877, and Paul Wilcox, DePauw 1879, spoke “impassioned speeches” for their chapters’ colors, and their choice was finally approved after a hot fight near the close of the convention. Their choice was one of the several chivalrous actions made throughout the years by Beta in deference to the wishes of their Beta Sweethearts – once the colors had been chosen by Beta girls, they were adopted by the brothers out of courtesy. Note that the significant thought behind
the colors was their sensitivity to stain or alteration. This was to be indicative of the spirit of the Fraternity, which was to remain pure and unsullied. It is suggestive to note that they have not been altered since their choice, despite frequent pressures to do so. Perhaps no other topic in all of our history has been debated so much, being brought up at (for example) the 1940, 1952 and 1982 Conventions. George Chandler always strenuously opposed the colors, criticizing them on heraldic grounds, and usually pushing for red and white. Other proposals have been red and blue, or blue and white. However, the first is used by Chi Phi and the second is used by Phi Delta Theta. Beta actually makes more use of combinations of the “bold” red, white and blue, as in the coat-of-
arms and the flag. While these might be considered our “use” colors, the tradition of Beta’s pink and blue has now lasted for over 100 years, and it is not likely to change now. An interesting aspect of the Miami Triad is that each has the color blue, together with another “sky” color: Beta Theta Pi blue and pink Phi Delta Theta blue and white Sigma Chi blue and gold — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 352-353
In addition to the public expression of gentlemanly behavior by which the colors represent, rationale for the “delicate shades” evolved over time to also include that of the sunrise and sunset — for whether you are rising or retiring, Beta’s pink and blue are “the first things you see in the morning and the last things you see at night.”
Dennison’s Sweetheart (and eventual wife) prepared bows of the colors, which were sent to the chapters on October 6, 1879, with the following letter that appears in “Beta Letters” on page 586: “Enclosed find the colors of Beta Theta Pi, adopted by the Fraternity at its 40th Annual Convention [1879]. That uniformity may be secured, it is desired that you show them to all brothers near you. They are emblematical and may be worn on occasions of rejoicing and all other suitable times. In their purity we find signified the holy purposes of our order and in their harmony we see symbolized the perfect blending of souls under the genial light of unsullied friendship. As a stain will destroy their purity, so will unworthy motives tarnish the escutcheon of honor, and as in deeper contrast their gentle harmony is lost, so in discord the bonds of fraternity are broken. Let Beta Theta Pi be ever true to the purity and harmony of her chosen emblems.” Beta Brotherhood | page 49
1881
Origination of the Beta Dragon Beta altered classical symbolism to its own use, choosing the dragon as a fitting guard of the secret lore of the Fraternity. Unlike some images of the fantastic beast, it is alert, not dormant; it is calm, not threatening. The Beta dragon is much closer to the Oriental species than the European, as it represents the virtues of prudence, respect and courage, rather than being an embodiment of evil. The evil attached to it, if any, is a reminder of the consequences of neglecting the care of the inner fires of the Fraternity. The ancient Greek legend of Cadmus and the dragon has entered our lore as well; Betas are called “the sons of the dragon” and have been appointed as the guardians of the Fraternity. Beta’s heraldry expert, George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898, summarized the story of the selection of the dragon, giving equal credit to both John Hogarth Lozier, DePauw 1857, and Charles J. Seaman, Denison 1871. A letter from Chaplain Lozier stated that he had in mind the fabled monster as the guardian of the Fraternity secrets (in the 1850s, during his development of the legend of Wooglin). Then, in 1874, an advertisement in the Beta Theta Pi of Beta note paper was illustrated with a griffin crest, which is similar to a dragon, but apparently both griffins and dragons were neglected for a few years. Lozier’s forgotten idea seems to have duplicated itself in the fertile brain of C. J. Seaman. The catalog published in 1881 was to be ornamented with the chapter cuts or “lore pictures.” Seaman was responsible for the Centre (the Epsilon) chapter among others, and his choice for the Epsilon cut contained the dragon. He told the following story of its origin: “The Epsilon Chapter cut, in which a dragon stands guard over the altar of Beta Theta Pi, has really become a recognized emblem of the Fraternity. Its growing use furnishes an illustration of the readiness with which Beta adopts appropriate and attractive symbols. Not long since in a company of Betas, a question arose as to the origin of the dragon as a symbol of our Fraternity.
The facts seem to be these: When the catalog of 1881 was in press, the thought came to a well known Beta [which was Seaman himself ] as he was walking along the street, of the fabled dragon that guarded the approach to the Garden of the gods. Why not embody that idea in an engraving representing the dragon as guardian of the altar, the approach to Beta Theta Pi? The picture was outlined to a Cleveland artist, G.G. Finn, now dead, and was elaborated by him, the Epsilon cut resulting. As a work of art this engraving is a fine one. Willard, a Cleveland artist, speaking of his dead Beta Brotherhood | page 50
friend’s work, said, “I regard that dragon cut as Finn’s masterpiece.” Now, on magazine cover, songbook, and fraternity papers generally, the dragon is a fixture. Let its lesson not pass unheeded: for, as the fabled monster of old jealously guarded the entrance to that sacred garden, so now should the entrance to Beta Theta Pi be protected if not by a horrible dragon, at least by the watchful care of zealous Beta hearts.” — The Beta Book, pgs. 302-303; The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 339
1881
The Boy in the Window Seat One of the most moving of all Beta pictures is the “Boy in the Window Seat.” The story of this picture, the “chapter cut” for Kenyon in the catalog of 1881, was told by Grove D. Curtis, Kenyon 1880, number one on the Kenyon roll. It was he who wrote the poem associated with the painting. Charles J. Seaman, Denison 1871, was working on the catalog of 1881, in which he had planned to have a frontispiece picture or engraving for every chapter. As the Kenyon chapter had just been founded in 1879, this was the first catalog in which Beta Alpha would appear, and the selection was of considerable importance. While still an undergraduate, Curtis had recently become intimately acquainted with Seaman, and one day they discussed the chapter picture. Curtis recalled the sequence of events:
“He [Seaman] asked me to accompany him to the studio of Mr. A.M. Willard, the artist who afterward became famous as the painter of “Yankee Doodle” or “The Spirit of ’76.” [He was not a Beta.] During our interview, we gave Mr. Willard some idea of the peculiar architecture of Old Kenyon, and I also called his attention to some of the features of my Beta pin. Mr. Willard promised to make several sketches which Brother Seaman was to send to us, and from which we were to make our selection. The sketches reached the chapter a short time before my graduation at the commencement of 1880. A chapter meeting was held, and the merits of the respective sketches were discussed pro and con. Somewhat to my surprise, and much to my regret, the majority of our boys did not approve of the sketch which I have called
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“The Boy in the Window Seat.” I left the college shortly after, the understanding being that the chapter would forward the sketches to Brother Seaman, designating the one of their choice. Presuming that the chapter had selected one of the sketches favored by the majority, I gave the matter little further thought. When the catalog finally reached me, and I turned to the record of our chapter, you can hardly imagine my surprise and my pleasure at being confronted with “The Boy in the Window Seat.” Our boys had reconsidered their original decision and swung back to my choice, after all. I have always felt grateful to my fellow members of that time for reversing their decision, for I regard the design selected as far superior to any other engraving in the book. The window seat, the three stars on the dark background of the sky, the open book, the pensive, dreamy
attitude of the boy, all touch the springs of sentiment, and strongly appeal to the imagination. Several years after my graduation I obtained for the chapter an enlarged copy of the picture, which copy now hangs in the chapter library of Leonard Hall. In order that this sketch be historically complete, I must acknowledge with some reluctance that the lines accompanying this enlarged copy are mine.”
The Boy in the Window Seat Wooglin’s son, in vision, seeming Pondering, wondering, musing, dreaming, Heavenward lifts his raptured gazeWhere, with dazzling splendor gleaming, Far and wide their radiance streaming, Beta’s stars forever blaze. There, ‘mid Kenyon’s ivy twining, Dreaming half, and half divining, Sees he all that lies beforeSees those stars in beauty shining, Sees our hearts with love enshrining Beta Alpha, evermore. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 374
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1881
TheBetaTemple I think there have been made three engravings for the frontispiece. The first was a lithograph and of rather chromo execution. I have a copy of the catalogue for which it was made and I preserved the first one printed, 1855. The next engraving was for the catalogue that was edited by Roger Williams, Alpha, in 1870, and was on steel; but it was a poor job. The figures were poor and ill defined, so Seaman and I concluded to have a new engraving. We first had a Cleveland artist to make a new painting from original drawings, but embodying all the details of the other engravings, and it was a fine work of art, costing us, and I now recollect it, more than a hundred dollars‌ From that painting Dreka of Philadelphia made the fine engraving from which was struck the frontispiece used in the catalogues of 1882 and 1899. — Letter from Michigan’s Wyllys C. Ransom, 1848, to George M. Chandler, 1898 (Beta Lore, pgs. 430-438)
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“An institution which has flourished for all these years must have something of value about it to hold interest so long. This Fraternity has come down to us as a precious legacy. We have a distinct and definite obligation to cherish it, to add to it, and to transmit it to those who are to follow after us in Beta Theta Pi. It is an inspiring thought that idealism persists through the ages. An even finer conception is that of adding to such a treasure to make it more valuable, more potent, to another generation.� — Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883 (Beta Lore, pg. 389)
“In my wandering life over the country, lecturing from New England to Nebraska, the pleasantest hours of all, the brightest and best remembered, are when I have happened to be where there is a chapter of our Fraternity, with whose members I generally spend a social hour most delightfully after the lecture. And it rejoices me to find everywhere that not only are Beta principles elevating, inspiring, ennobling, indeed, but that from East to West our brethren are resolved that no other college society shall excel ours in the cultivation and development of the loftiest principles of true American manhood. And since my initiation by Delta chapter, in July, 1854, nearly thirty years ago, I have never known the order to be stronger in its personnel, enjoying more healthful growth, and with so many excellent prospects for even a more successful future. So may it be!” — Schuyler Colfax Jr., DePauw 1854, Speaker of the House of Representatives and 17th Vice President of the United States of America (Beta Lore, pg. 55)
1883
Wooglin on Chautauqua “On its way to the 1883 Convention at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at the urging of Charles J. Seaman, Denison 1871, a party of delegates met at Chautauqua Lake in western New York and formulated a plan for an alumni club house and summer resort, which developed into the creation of ‘Wooglin-on-Chautauqua.’ This was a private enterprise promoted by members of Beta Theta Pi, never an official project of the Fraternity.” — Son of the Stars, pg. 40 The club was located on the eastern shore of Chautauqua Lake near the head of the lake and opposite Mayville. The water frontage was about a quarter of a mile, the depth about half that distance. The ground rose delightfully from the lake to the club house. Behind the property was the railroad with the club’s own platform,
no need of a station — the trains stopped on signal — and beyond the railroad was the highway with the farm house which was also the telegraph office and post office — “Wooglin, New York.” The clubhouse was built in the spring of 1884 - frame, quite up to the standard
of summer hotels of the period, well arranged and entirely adequate. There was a good well on the place, a windmill, and a tank. Summer clubhouses in those days had no running water in the guest rooms and no private bathrooms. Kerosene lamps were the universal custom. There was a billiard table up on the fourth floor in the tower. The club owned a fifty-foot steam yacht and its own wharf; the lake steamers stopped at Wooglin wharf on signal. There were bath houses and rowboats, a baseball diamond and a tennis court. The “office” or lobby was spacious with a most attractive open fireplace. The stairs were wide as they left the main floor and at the landing half way up divided and continued to the right and left to the second floor. On the landing was a very good stained glass window, the Beta dragon holding the shield; and, depicted
Beta Brotherhood | page 57
“... there was always a goodly group of worthy Betas which gave steadiness and dignity to the actual conventions and which gave all that we crudely call culture to every nook and cranny of Wooglin.” thereon, the altar with Father Wooglin swearing the youth to eternal loyalty. It made a lasting impression on all who saw it. In the lobby on the wall over the door to the dining room on the opposite side of the room from the fireplace was the strange legend “Thebe stisgo oden ough forus”, and when you heard the “Oi Ouranioi” of Professor Gaines and his St. Lawrence Cantonese, and actually saw Pater Knox talking to Major Ransom and Robb and Hanna and Shepardson, and then, just a little apart as became undergraduates, noted Dudley Hard, Bert Snell and Dwight Morrow, then in truth it was evident that the best was good enough for the chosen ones. The Convention of 1884 met at Wooglin and was an unqualified success. The future of the club seemed assured. Now from the standpoint of the Fraternity note the date — 1884. There were few chapter houses in Beta Theta Pi in those days — Amherst, Cornell, Michigan — 1884 to 1894 was the decade in which the Fraternity changed from a chapter hall Fraternity to a chapter house Fraternity, and the change although gradual was of great moment. The change was from an era of small financial burden in each chapter, for the “hall,” two rooms and anteroom and perhaps a small kitchen over the college book store, could be rented for
a small sum and the matter of heat and light was not heavy. A chapter hall meant a chapter of varying size, eight, ten, a dozen or twenty, one year; and the same chapter doubled or halved the next year or the year following as the “Beta material” in the Freshman class waxed or waned. The new members were chosen one at a time on the basis of pure friendship and congeniality.
With the chapter house came the chapter of twenty to thirty members; for eight or ten were too few to pay the rent and make up the cost of operation of a dwelling and the more-than-twenty membership had to be maintained each year. Even a twentyfour chapter meant a delegation of eight in the Freshman class of whom five might be top notchers, two pretty good, but perhaps the last one was a “filler.” Of course the chapter house meant living together and probably eating together and that made a powerful bond, and the good sized chapter certainly had a steadying effect and
Beta Brotherhood | page 58
provided good business training; but the old days of absolute freedom of election, one at a time and at any time during the entire four years, were about over; the delegation had to be made up in the fall, the overhead had to be met. The chapter was approaching the club — how one hates to say it — and it was the last chance in the formative growth of the fraternity to stamp character into the fraternity. Note the preposition used — “into” not “onto.” And herein came the Wooglin Club’s great service to Beta Theta Pi, a service which has never been properly recorded in enduring print. Frank Sisson told me twenty years ago that one of the distinct epochs in his life was in the summer of 1891 when he came to Wooglin from out in the “Military Tract” in Illinois to represent his chapter at the Beta convention. The boys arrived by boat as the sun was casting long shadows. The boat pulled up to the wharf and the boys piled out and stepped into a group of somewhat older men. A dignified gentleman grasped his hand and he looked into the kindly eyes of my father whom he instinctively recognized as the counterpart of his own father, the only difference being that one was his own flesh and blood, the other was only his brother in Beta Theta Pi — only his older Beta brother.
“Yes, the Wooglin Club was in active operation for a single decade only, but its influence in Beta Theta Pi was deep and vital.” And so year after year the convention met at Wooglin and year after year the older men went there to spend the summers with their wives and families. Pater and Mrs. Knox, Major and Mrs. Ransom, General Smith, Governor Beaver, Professor and Mrs. Gordon, Captain Davies, T. M. Baxter, C. D. Roys, Governor Porter, Captain and Mrs. J. C. Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Rich, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Chandler, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Scott the Hepburns, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Warren, Mr. and Mrs. Junius Beal, Mr. and Mrs. W. K. L. Warwick, Dr. Reamy, Professor Gaines, the Hamiltons, Lon Snyder, the Worralls, General Thruston, Dr. Ramsay, the Seamans, the Terrells, the Covingtons, Dr. Himes, Syl. Williams, Ed Good, Will Sprague, Willis Robb, Eugene Wambaugh, Chambers Baird, Raimond
Baird, Will Siebert, Cal Hanna, Frank Shepardson, the Thornburgs, Dr. Marquis, two or three Manleys, Walton Mitchell, Willard Austen, Professor Hume, George Billman, Charlie Sigerfoos, Fred Beekman, Wallace Farrington, Billy Graves, Charlie Trabue - it would take pages to record them all. Of course, they weren’t all there every summer, but there was always a goodly group of worthy Betas which gave steadiness and dignity to the actual conventions and which gave all that we crudely call culture to every nook and cranny of Wooglin. It was indeed a wonderful experience for the young man of college age to have a week or a summer in that atmosphere of Beta Theta Pi and in those surroundings of American family life at its very simplest and very best. And so true it was and so
great an impression did it make on the Fraternity and on the undergraduates that last year in the Paris Opera House between the acts when everybody walks out in the grand hall to see and to be seen Fred Beekman, the dean of the American Cathedral in Paris, told me the same story in almost the same words which Frank Sisson had used twenty years ago. For a combination of reasons, principally financial, the club was not opened in 1894. The convention met at Niagara Falls in the hope that at the last minute it might be held at Wooglin; but 1893 was the last year of grace. On June 28, 1901, the clubhouse was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Yes, the Wooglin Club was in active operation for a single decade only, but its influence in Beta Theta Pi was deep and vital. — Wooglin-on-Chautauqua, By Major George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898 (excerpted from Beta Life)
The Wooglin Clubhouse on Lake Chautauqua (Floor Plan probably drawn by Charles L. Thornburg, Vanderbilt 1881)
“For years, Betas and their families used the club house as a vacation lodge. The 1884 Convention and those of 1887-93 were held there. On the other side of the lobby was the doorway leading into the dining room, above which was carved the mystic phrase: THEBE
STISGO
ODEN
OUGH
FORUS
The lower stairs would be flooded with color as the morning sun illuminated a most unusual stained glass window of the famous Centre dragon, bearing a shield on which was depicted the altar, and Father Wooglin swearing the youth to eternal fidelity… There was also an upright piano in this room, a map of Beta’s Broad Domain, and numerous rocking and other chairs and tables, all of which would be cleared away for the convention dance. Upstairs there were about 50 rooms, and up on the fourth floor in the tower was a billiard table.” Beta Brotherhood | page 59
Brotherhood “There was an interest about the actions of men who bound themselves together by vows which were never broken, and who pursued the great objects of their association with an energy that never tired, with a zeal which knew not self, and with a devotedness that never counted gold.” — John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 Founder
1883
Interfraternalism “William Raimond Baird, Beta Theta Pi, is the father of the interfraternity movement.” — Baird’s Manual, 20th Edition, 1991
Robb Most known for his characterization of the special “Beta Spirit,” Editor Willis O. Robb, Ohio Wesleyan 1879, stimulated interest through correspondence with fellow editors for an interfraternity meeting in 1883, leading to the formation of the College Fraternity Editors Association, the oldest interfraternal organization in existence, now known as the Fraternity Communications Association.
Baird William Raimond Baird, Stevens 1878/ Columbia 1881, first published his “encyclopedia” about college fraternities in 1879. Today, this authoritative reference is known as Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities, 20th Edition. It includes complete histories of all Greek organizations (social, honorary and academic) and the campuses that host them.
Beta Brotherhood | page 62
Shepardson Beloved and recognized within the Fraternity as “Mr. Beta Theta Pi,” in 1909, Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883, was among the first officers of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), serving as its inaugural secretary. Re-elected multiple terms in the role of Conference secretary, Shepardson was elected president in 1914 while also serving Beta Theta Pi as General Secretary.
“We look forward with confidence to a not distant time when an ecumenical conference of fraternity men will be held and arrangements made which will greatly strengthen the good feeling now developing so rapidly.” — Willis O. Robb, Ohio Wesleyan 1879 1881 editorial proposing an inter-Greek meeting Beta Theta Pi is proud of the contributions that many Betas have made interfraternally through the years.
J. Brant Miami ’75, was NIC’s executive vice president 1982-1999, and Ronald P. Helman, Miami ’55, served on its board.
Charles W. Warner, Lynchburg ’87, served as president of the Association of Fraternity Advisors in 2000, and Beta became a lead donor to the AFA Foundation in 2008 pledging $50,000 in sponsorship of AFA’s annual meeting opening session 2008-17.
NIC Gold Medals have been presented to G. Herbert Smith, DePauw ’27, Warnock, Brant and Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22. Congressman John J. Rhodes, Kansas State ’38, and Senator Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54, have received the NIC Silver Medal.
Betas who have also served as president of the NIC were Harold J. Bailey, Amherst 1908; A. Ray Warnock, Illinois 1905; Bertram W. Bennett, Knox ’20, and Peter F. Greiner, Minnesota ’51. Jonathan
Scott J. Allen, Minnesota ’95, and L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, both served on the NIC’s Indianapolis staff in the mid-90s as member services consultants prior to their tenures on the Administrative Office staff.
“[A good Beta chapter] joins in every movement for better relationships among fraternity men in its institution, championing the local interfraternity conference as a desirable help toward comity and wider college friendship, always putting the larger interests of the institution ahead of the narrow and selfish demands of temporary Chapter advantage.” —Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883 One of 12 actions included in his 1916 General Secretary Report, “What is a Good Chapter?”
Beta Brotherhood | page 63
continued . . . Right: the Beta Theta Pi Foundation sponsors dozens of young Betas annually to attend the NIC’s five-day Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute. Below: seated third from the right, Beta’s Peter F. Greiner, Minnesota ’51, is pictured with members of the NIC Board of Directors during his term as Conference President in 1977. Middle Right: March 23, 1984, executive vice president of the NIC Jonathan Brant, Miami ’75, congratulates President Ronald Reagan, Tau Kappa Epsilon, on receipt of the NIC Gold Medal during an interfraternal dinner in his honor at the White House.
“The North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), is an association of collegiate men’s fraternities that began on November 27, 1909. Consisting of 75 member organizations with 5,500 chapters located on more than 800 campuses in the United States and Canada, approximately 350,000 undergraduate members and five million living alumni claim fraternity membership.” Beta Brotherhood | page 64
“Alpha Chi Omega – originally named Alpha Kai Omega – was founded at DePauw University, Oct. 15, 1885, with the assistance of Dr. James G. Campbell, Beta Theta Pi.” — Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities, Eleventh Edition, pg. 240
Beta’s Influence and Founding of Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Alpha Theta Women’s Fraternities In The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine, early in 1924, an article was published entitled “To Greencastle for History.” It told of the first four girls to enter Indiana Asbury University in the fall of 1867, two of whom, Bettie Locke and Alice Allen, were among the founders of the first Greek-letter society for women. One paragraph read: “Bettie Locke’s father, Dr. John W. Locke, was a professor of mathematics at [DePauw] during the time Bettie was in college. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and it was he who suggested to her, ‘Why don’t you organize a fraternity of your own?’ when the Phi Gamma Deltas had asked her to wear their pin and she had refused because she could not wear
Beta Brotherhood | page 65
it as an uninitiated member. So that was how it began, and many days and hours Bettie spent with her friend, Alice Allen, compiling a constitution and planning a pin and deciding what other girls they should ask to share the wonderful undertaking with them.” On Jan. 27, 1870, the first official meeting of Kappa Alpha Theta was held. To this statement from Kappa Alpha Theta itself may be added that a study of the Kappa Alpha Theta badge, with its stars, its three Greek letters, and its use of the Greek notation for 1870, the year of the founding, is suggestive of Beta influence in its design. — Beta Lore, pg. 430
1889
The Beta Rose “The flower of the Fraternity is the rose. It was adopted in 1889, at the semicentennial celebration of Alpha held in Oxford. (Note that this was the chapter’s anniversary celebration, not the semi-centennial convention.)
“A true Beta lady…” — Son of the Stars, 1992 Edition
Beta was the first fraternity to select a flower as an emblem, and we owe it to a very special Beta girl. Leila McKee, at that time the dean of the Western College for Women in Oxford, and a true Beta Lady, Beta daughter, Beta sister and Beta Sweetheart, selected the rose from a bush growing on the Western College campus [veranda of Peabody Hall]. From the time she was a young lady she continually wore the badge of her sweetheart John Young Craft, Centre 1881, who died in 1878 as an undergraduate. These original flowers were of a deep shade of pink, and were of the “June rose” or “Queen of the Prairie” variety.” —The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 353
Beta Brotherhood | page 66
Founders Knox and Marshall were present at the celebration, and they were ceremonially presented with these roses. The semicentennial convention, held at the Wooglin Clubhouse, formally adopted the rose as the fraternity flower, and noted that “this was eminently fitting. The rose is both beautiful and hardy. Its quality of beauty makes it the most generally favored of flowers. Its hardiness enables it to adapt itself to every climate. In beauty and purity it symbolizes our principles. Its hardihood reminds us of our adaptability to our environment, but chiefly of the universality of our moral aims.” — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 353
Beta Brotherhood | page 67
“The ideal Beta, in college and out, is equal to and ready for any responsibility, self-poised and confident, yet reverent, mindful of established ordinances, obedient to the right, earnest to resist evil, diligent in business, patient under its exactions, generous but not wasteful, quick to acknowledge error, prompt to repay obligations, chaste in thought, upright in deed, ever courteous . . . Beta teaches a higher obligation than that to self: it is that to neighbor.” — Francis H. Sisson, Knox 1892 (Beta Lore, pg. 42)
1895
The Loving Cup “Our grip grows strong, bold comes our song...” The John Reily Knox Loving Cup was presented to Pater Knox and Isabel on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, November 27, 1895, by the 61 chapters of Beta Theta Pi. Each chapter contributed two dollars, along with a handwritten letter of congratulations. Given to Otho E. Lane, Miami 1901, by Mrs. Madge Miller Lansdowne, widow of John Knox Lansdowne, the last grandson of Pater Knox, it was presented to the Fraternity in 1947. Lane and Lansdowne were classmates and pledge brothers, both being initiated in the presence of John Reily Knox on October 10, 1896. On permanent loan from the Alpha Chapter, the Cup resides in the eightsided museum of Beta’s Administrative Office in Oxford, Ohio.
Beta Brotherhood | page 69
1899 “Though the pledge pin is the first Fraternity insignia a prospective member is permitted to wear, the development of this device came much later than the badge.” The early literature of Beta Theta Pi does not suggest the idea of “pledging” as it is now understood. A prospective member was simply approached; if he accepted the Beta proposal, he attended a meeting of the chapter and was immediately initiated.
Pledge Pin
December
1903
Far Left: Pledge colors pinned on John L. Baker, Miami 1904 by Charles A. Shera, Miami 1903 Far Right: Current pledge pin
December
1893
May
1894
Before the pledge pin appeared in 1893, many chapters pinned the Fraternity colors on the prospective member to announce his pledging. The first pledge pin was in the shape of the badge, an eight-sided Grecian shield of pink and blue enamel, displaying the Greek capital letters BQP. In 1899, the current pledge pin was adopted: A Grecian shield of white enamel, of the same shape as the badge, bearing three five-pointed stars of gold arranged in a line running
Convention
1897
Convention
from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner as one faces the pledge pin. The pledge pin may be worn by a prospective Beta who has been selected by an active chapter of Beta Theta Pi. Traditionally, the pledge pin was worn only on a coat, affixed in the buttonhole on the left lapel. As collegians wear coats infrequently today, the requirement was dropped in favor of permitting pledges to also wear the pin on collared shirts and sweaters.” — Son of the Stars, 2007 Edition, pgs. 84-85
Beta Brotherhood | page 70
1899
1900
Shingle Morris Rogers Ebersole October 26, 1895
The shingle is a kind of certificate of membership. A proposal for something like it was made by the Hanover chapter on May 4, 1865, but it never got anywhere. The idea again surfaced more than 30 years later. A form was devised by Morris R. Ebersole, Cincinnati 1898 [right], at the time a chemistry instructor at Cornell. His design specified the coat of arms at the
top; the member’s name across the center; a red seal in the lower left with an impression of the badge, and surrounded by the name of the owner’s chapter. This was recommended to the Convention of 1900, which took no official action, leaving the matter up to each individual chapter.
Convention of 1913. It is a plain white card, six by eight inches, engraved in black with the coat of arms in the upper center; the owner’s full name in Old English across the middle; below this, his date of initiation in smaller, similar characters. In the lower left is the chapter seal in red wax.
— The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, • The standard shingle ThewasPater Loving Cup designed Knox pg. 357 1895
by Chandler and approved by the Beta Brotherhood | page 71
Beta Flag “The flag shall consist of three equal horizontal stripes of blue, white and blue, the upper blue stripe bearing a single white five-pointed star, and the lower blue stripe two similar white five-pointed stars, the three stars forming an equitable triangle about a dragon, sejant, the fraternity crest, in red.” — George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898
1905
The Beta Grip “An artist of the National Academy of Design, George Bellows, Ohio State 1905, was the youngest member ever elected to the Academy…” Eight sketches made by Bellows in his undergraduate days at Theta Delta Chapter hang in the chapter house. He was pre-eminent not only as an artist but as a lithographer as well. His works are found in all the great art galleries of the U.S. and have been exhibited in the museums of Europe. Four years away from the university, having withdrawn his junior year, he was awarded the Second Hallgarten Prize, N.A.D., in 1908; then followed a long list of prizes awarded by various world-renown art clubs, art academies, institutes and expositions. He was a member of the National Academy, National Institute of Arts and Letters, New Society of Artists, National Arts Club and many others. Decidedly an American painter, he never studied abroad, but his talent carried him to recognized eminence. His canvasses had a daring confidence about them which contemporaries were quick to acclaim.
Beta Brotherhood | page 74
In “George Bellows: A Beta Legacy,” (The Beta Theta Pi, spring 1993, pages 194-198), Robert T. Howard, DePauw 1937, wrote: “Born in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 12, 1882, raised in a solid, Methodist, Republican, family of a respected builder, George Wesley Bellows was a rangy, athletic southpaw with a knack for drawing by the time he reached high school. He entered The Ohio State University in 1901, bringing to college the desire to follow Columbus friends into Beta Theta Pi. He was a good student, varsity baseball player and principal illustrator for Makio, the yearbook, and other student publications. By the end of his junior year, he skipped finals and went to a New York City art school. He roomed at the YMCA, beginning a circle of friends that eventually included author Eugene O’Neill and actor Clifton Webb. He helped supplant his meager art income by playing semiprofessional baseball; however, in just four years, he was creating memorable works, such as River Rats, Portrait of My Father, The Knock Out, Little Girl in White, Forty-two Kids, Club Night, North River and Up the Hudson.” — Betas in the Arts, pgs. 5-7
Far Left: “The Knock Out.” Center: in February 2014, Bellows’ “Men of the Docks,” a 1912 painting of the Brooklyn docks spanning the East River and depicting the Manhattan skyline in the background, was sold for $25.5 million by Randolph College in Va., to the National Gallery in the United Kingdom – the gallery’s first major American painting. Right: retrieved from a waste basket by Frank Davis Morgans, Columbia 1901, who was moving into a room in the Ohio State chapter house from which Bellows was vacating in1904, Bellows’ clever play on words with sketchart has long been a Beta favorite.
Beta Brotherhood | page 75
1905
Beta Spirit “Again, the Beta is distinguishable and distinguished from all other kinds of fraternity men whatsoever, by just a little warmer and stronger, just a little tenderer and more enduring fraternity feeling than any of them can attain to. For it was always so. I do not in the least know how it happened nor why it persisted after it happened, but a long time ago there came into Beta Theta Pi a fraternity spirit that was, and is, and apparently will continue to be unique... The first mark of a Beta will be his Beta spirit.” — Willis O. Robb, Ohio Wesleyan 1879 The banquet speech, “The Beta of the Future”, is still well-known among the brotherhood because it contains the very famous “Beta Spirit” paragraph. It was given in New York on March 24, 1905, 15 years after [Robb’s] original ‘fraternity spirit’ remarks during the 1890 Convention. It can be found in its entirety in Beta Lore, pages 46-49. Left: Pi Chapter at Indiana celebrates its win of the 2013 Little 500 bike race. Right: Forrest Buck, WisconsinOshkosh ’14, finds security on a beach in Rome while studying abroad with two Beta brothers.
Beta Brotherhood | page 76
Beta Brotherhood | page 77
Honor and Dignity “Earn your badge every day.” — William W. Berry Jr., Vanderbilt ’68 “Our splendid shield he bears; The wreath of gold he wears, And diamond bright, And diamond bright; Oh, may he ever gain Pure and unsullied fame For Beta’s glorious name — For truth and right.”
1909
The Beta Badge “At your earliest opportunity, go by yourself to some quiet spot, take off your pin, look at its face and consider the significance of the gold. Then consider the significance of the three stars. Then consider the significance of the diamond and the encircling wreath. And after these are clearly in your mind, turn the badge over and consider the significance of the clasped hands, and when you have thought these all through, then consider the things that are behind the significance of these. After all this has thoroughly saturated your system, then make anew your plans for working with the chapter, with the alumni.�
The Official Beta Badge
— Clarence L. Newton, Wesleyan 1902 (Marching Along, pg. 10)
* Variety of badges since 1839, with the standardized and adopted badge of Beta Theta Pi as such in 1909 (second from left).
Beta Brotherhood | page 80
“The badge is to be worn over the heart and in a manner befitting the honor and dignity to which the badge is entitled.” The badge of Beta Theta Pi is the most complete and satisfactory of all the external symbols, and the one which is truly its sign of membership. It has gone through several revisions since Founder Marshall designed it in 1839, finally resulting in the standard badge designed by George Chandler, Michigan 1898, in 1909: The Convention of 1899 sought after uniformity by adopting as standard a badge made under G.M. Chandler’s direction by Roehm & Son of Detroit. This badge was popular and very generally worn. Up to this time all the badges adopted had been actual badges and when other jewelers sought to make them they had to copy the badge as closely as they desired or as their skill would permit. The Fraternity was not satisfied with this arrangement and the Convention of 1907 directed that a committee on standard badge be
appointed. After considerable investigation and work, George M. Chandler reported to the Convention of 1909 with a complete set of drawings and specifications, which included the weights and fineness of the gold and diamond together with a badge made in conformity. The report was adopted and this badge has actually, as well as by law, superseded all others. In 1913 a single official jeweler and a complete scheme of distribution with a commission to the Fraternity was put into operation and since then all badges have been so purchased.
It is an eight-sided Grecian shield of black enamel, bearing: first, three five-pointed stars of gold; second, a diamond encircled by a laurel wreath of greenish gold; third, the Greek capital letters Beta Theta Pi of gold, and below in smaller Greek characters, alpha omega lambda theta, this being the notation for 1839, the date of the foundation of the Fraternity. On the reverse it bears: first, the Greek letter or letters forming the name of the chapter; second, clasped hands; third, the owner’s name, date of initiation and roll number. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 345
Beta Brotherhood | page 81
1909
ChapterCoat of Arms When the Fraternity’s coat of arms was devised in 1897 it was the intention to later delve into the traditions of each Beta chapter and its respective college/ university by placing a symbolic heraldic device on the first quarter of the shield (upper-left when looking at it). This would result in a distinct and appropriate coat of arms for each chapter. The idea lay dormant until the spring of 1909, when the Michigan chapter appealed to the Board of Trustees to sanction the arms they had designed. The Board, not having any authority under the law, sought such, and so at the Convention of 1909 legislation was passed so that a chapter, with approval of the Board of Trustees, might adopt their own coat of arms (August 2, 1909). The approval of the Board of Trustees was necessary so that all designs would be inaccordance with the specified template/rubric.
The Michigan chapter had their request granted and thus they were the first chapter to have their own “chapter coat of arms.” Heraldic devices for all of the
General Fraternity
In 1897, a new coat of arms was adopted, designed by George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898. The coat of arms of Beta Theta Pi has the following technical description: Quarterly argent and gules, a chevron azure bearing three mullets or. Crest: a dragon sejant or. Motto: –kai–
chapters were eventually worked out, and by the spring of 1914 each chapter with the sanction of the Board had adopted and was using its own coat of arms. New chapters were at once provided with proper devices, Beta Brotherhood | page 82
and the scheme had been put into operation whereby each new chapter was given a copy of its arms done in vellum with permanent colors and real metals (illuminated manuscript) upon receiving their charter. The first 10 chapter coats of arms, in-order of Beta founding, followed the English rule of heraldry (the parent followed by the nine sons in the family). After the first 10, all of the other chapters’ heraldic devices were chosen after painstaking research of the following: •
The college and state seals
•
The history of the institution
•
The history of the chapter
•
The heraldry of the founder of that particular state or commonwealth
•
The founder or benefactor of the college or university
•
The founder or perhaps the most prominent member of the chapter (Denison has a Shepard’s crook or cane for Francis Wayland Shepardson).
— The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 345
Western Reserve
Ohio
The best 1841
Cincinnati
The new branch 1840
Fountain of life 1841
Interpretations: The sejant (or seated) dragon faces west for Beta’s early mindset toward westward expansion and rests on a “torse” (ribbon), red on one side and silver on the other, which is twisted five times in a right-hand corkscrew so both colors alternate. The arrangement of colors is partly a requirement of heraldry and partly artistic: the gold stars in the blue sky, with red and silver to provide an interesting background. Interpreted as the quadrants of the continent, they are united by the blue chevron bearing the gold stars of the badge, representing the Three Great Principles.
Recall that Chandler had always hoped to get the Fraternity’s colors changed to the heraldic red and white. But a deeper interpretation might also be formulated. In heraldic symbology, red indicates “eagerness to serve one’s country”; white denotes purity, wisdom, joy; blue represents fidelity. Chevron is French for “rafter” – it is the heraldic representation of rafters in a house. The chevron bearing the three stars might then be interpreted as “the home of the three stars.”
Miami
Washington & Jefferson Peace 1842
— The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 354-356
Lasting for an age 1839
DePauw
Williams
Fortunate 1845
Bound together 1847
Indiana Queenly 1845
Wabash Michigan
A lamp unto my feet 1845
Beta Brotherhood | page 83
Endure 1846
1909
Chapter Mottoes With few exceptions, most all chapter mottoes were chosen and assigned by John Calvin Hanna, Wooster 1881, with support from George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898. All of the chapter mottoes are Greek and have a Greek first word that begins with the chapter’s
Greek letter designation (first letter). For example, the Greek motto of the Alpha Chapter begins with the Greek letter “Alpha.” Following Hanna’s and Chandler’s leadership, heraldic devices and chapter mottoes were interpreted by the following
Betas in chronological order: Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, Joseph H. Lane, HampdenSydney ’90, Dr. Bill Fox, St. Lawrence ’75, and Assistant Historian Zac Haines, Miami ’05.
Chapter/Colony
State/Province
Founding Date
Greek Name
Chapter Motto
Alabama American Amherst Arizona Arizona State Arkansas Auburn Ball State Baylor Beloit Bethany Binghamton Bishop’s Boston Bowdoin Bowling Green British Columbia Brown Bryant Butler Cal Poly Cal State, Chico Carleton Carnegie Mellon Case Case Western Reserve Centenary Central Florida Central Michigan Centre Chapman Charleston Chicago
Ala. D.C. Mass. Ariz. Ariz. Ark. Ala. Ind. Texas Wis. W.Va. N.Y. Que. Mass. Maine Ohio B.C. R.I. R.I. Ind. Calif. Calif. Ont. Pa. Ohio Ohio La. Fla. Mich. Ky. Calif. S.C. Ill.
1/9/1965
Delta Theta Colony Beta Iota Delta Beta Delta Tau Colony Delta Zeta Delta Iota Delta Psi Chi Psi Epsilon Psi Epsilon Xi Upsilon Beta Sigma Delta Delta Gamma Omicron Kappa Zeta Theta Alpha Psi Epsilon Delta Epsilon Iota Epsilon Upsilon Gamma Iota Lambda Kappa Lambda Kappa-Beta Wreath Zeta Psi Epsilon Gamma Epsilon Colony Colony Lambda Rho
Power of the divine
10/12/1883 10/31/1959 1/14/1977 11/19/1964 11/13/1965 11/22/1980 10/28/1860 12/09/1860 4/17/1993 12/9/1989 11/06/1876 10/12/1900 11/2/1962 10/23/1936 5/08/1848 5/10/1996 3/28/1878 10/18/1986 11/14/1987 11/23/1991 5/15/1920 2/22/1905 9/5/1979 9/01/1890 2/14/2004 11/10/1985 5/27/1848
09/01/1868
Beta Brotherhood | page 84
Let us go forward steadily Justice reigns We serve by watching Strength through fruitfulness The ideal must be put into action Save your soul Uprightness Things of the spirit Together let us seek the essence of life The assembly of fellowship On high Steadfast in wisdom Peace through power Neighbors of pilots Staunch
A strong company of men Gaining glory in knowledge Take hold of first principles Honor the upright The round earth is an ordered creation The round earth is an ordered creation - the best Honor and excellence Forever with quality Manliness
Perseverance is power
Chapter/Colony
State/Province
Founding Date
Greek Name
Chapter Motto
Cincinnati Clemson Colgate Colorado Colorado College Colorado Mines Colorado State Columbia Connecticut Cornell Creighton Cumberland Dartmouth Davidson Dayton Denison Denver DePauw Dickinson Drexel Duke East Carolina Eastern Kentucky Eastern Washington Emory Florida Florida Atlantic Florida International Florida State Furman George Mason George Washington
Ohio S.C. N.Y. Colo. Colo. Colo. Colo. N.Y. Conn. N.Y. Neb. Tenn. N.H. N.C. Ohio Ohio Colo. Ind. Pa. Pa. N.C. N.C. Ky. Wash. Ga. Fla. Fla. Fla. Fla. S.C. Va. D.C.
4/08/1840 11/7/1970 12/10/1880 10/14/1900 9/26/1914 9/17/1908 12/10/1988 10/14/1881 2/21/2004 10/09/1879
Beta Nu Delta Nu Beta Theta Beta Tau Gamma Delta Beta Phi Epsilon Kappa Alpha Alpha Zeta Chi Beta Delta Colony Mu Alpha Omega Phi Alpha Eta Delta Alpha Eta Alpha Zeta Delta Alpha Sigma Colony Gamma Rho Epsilon Alpha Delta Xi Epsilon Omega Gamma Upsilon Gamma Xi Zeta Delta Eta Gamma Delta Lambda Zeta Lambda Epsilon Mu Zeta Nu
The new branch Power of the mind We choose to serve Three kings Bound together in highmindedness Material things are weighty To be the most noble of men A king our founder Build a bridge, live the Code Power from the republic
Georgia Georgia (Temple) Georgia Tech Guelph Hampden-Sydney Hanover Harvard Hawai’i High Point Houston Howard Idaho Illinois Illinois College Indiana Iowa Iowa State Iowa Wesleyan John Carroll Johns Hopkins Kansas Kansas State Kentucky Kenyon Kettering A (GMI-EMI) Kettering B (GMI-EMI)
Ga. Ga. Ga. Ont. Va. Ind. Mass. Hawai’i N.C. Texas Ala. Idaho Ill. Ill. Ind. Iowa Iowa Iowa Ohio Md. Kan. Kan. Ky. Ohio Mich. Mich.
10/20/1854 8/13/1889 1/08/1858 11/21/2009 12/23/1868 2/28/1889 4/23/1845 5/15/1874 10/6/1939 1/22/1983 11/7/1971 10/30/1993 11/23/1948 12/12/1930 4/1/1995 1/23/2010 11/16/1969 4/4/1998 4/1/1989 11/15/1997 2/7/1987 9/01/1890 1/6/1917 11/1/1986 4/24/1850 5/19/1853 9/05/1843 2/15/1992 1/17/1977 6/01/1872 9/19/1914 2/28/1902 9/01/1856 8/27/1845 5/18/1866 11/25/1905 4/01/1868 11/6/2010 11/30/1877 1/08/1873 10/17/1914 1/27/1990 4/08/1879 11/7/1964 11/7/1964
Epsilon Epsilon Temple of the Skull Gamma Eta Epsilon Zeta Zeta Iota Eta Epsilon Rho Colony Delta Upsilon Alpha Mu Gamma Gamma Sigma Rho Sigma Pi Alpha Beta Tau Sigma Alpha Epsilon Eta Epsilon Alpha Chi Alpha Nu Gamma Epsilon Epsilon Omicron Beta Alpha Delta Eta Delta Eta
Beta Brotherhood | page 85
A steady look Wisdom flourishes A moral bond The best for us We seek the height Fortunate I point out a man Learning the liberator Reverence for the stars Gift of fellowship Let us build on what is precious Eminent for wisdom We strive to make perfect We seek the land between the sea To learn reason A haven of friendship The greatest Greeks Men full of fire with good sense can achieve great successes A glorious past Learn to lead To establish - to live long Bound together Straight ahead At all times be firmly rooted We serve loftily Treasure of the hills The seal of the rose Queenly Ever watchful Triply wise Word from on high Leadership moving forward Christ our defense The flower of the herdsman The glory of husbandry The prayer and the oath The sacred altar With labor comes character With labor comes character
Chapter Mottoes continued . . . Chapter/Colony
State/Province
Founding Date
Greek Name
Chapter Motto
Knox Lawrence Lehigh Louisville Loyola Marymount Lynchburg Maine Maryland McGill Miami Miami (Fla.)
Ill. Wis. Pa. Ky. Calif. Va. Maine Md. Que. Ohio Fla.
4/01/1855 12/19/1936 10/01/1891 11/6/1971 11/10/2007 2/19/1994 10/09/1879 10/30/1982 3/18/1989 8/08/1839 5/2/2009
Xi Gamma Pi Beta Chi Delta Pi Eta Alpha Zeta Alpha Beta Eta Delta Omega Epsilon Nu Alpha Eta Beta
Sword in hand Let intelligence be present Wealth in books Mind the all-good
Michigan Michigan State Middle Tennessee State Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Missouri-Kansas City MIT Monmouth Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota Northeastern Northwestern Nova Southeastern Oglethorpe Ohio Ohio State Ohio Wesleyan Oklahoma Oklahoma State Oregon Oregon State Pacific Penn State Pennsylvania Pepperdine
Mich. Mich. Tenn. Minn. Miss. Mo. Mo. Mass. Ill. Neb. N.C. N.D. Mass. Ill. Fla. Ga. Ohio Ohio Ohio Okla. Okla. Ore. Ore. Calif. Pa. Pa. Calif.
11/13/1845 1/5/1950 1/30/1988 11/29/1889 6/05/1879 10/06/1890 4/8/1989 9/27/1913 12/16/1865 9/13/1888 4/28/1852 11/17/1922 4/13/2013 7/03/1873 11/15/1997 6/01/1859 11/09/1841 12/11/1885 4/17/1853 10/18/1907 1/6/1923 12/4/1909 12/8/1923
Lambda Gamma Psi Epsilon Theta Beta Pi Beta Beta Zeta Phi Epsilon Lambda Beta Upsilon Alpha Alpha Alpha Tau Eta Gamma Kappa Eta Zeta Rho Zeta Mu Chi Beta Kappa Theta Delta Theta Gamma Phi Gamma Lambda Beta Rho Gamma Mu Colony Alpha Upsilon Phi Zeta Pi
Pittsburgh Princeton Puget Sound Purdue Quinnipiac Randolph-Macon Rhode Island Richmond Rutgers Saint Louis San Diego San Diego State San Jose State Sewanee SMU South Carolina South Dakota South Florida Southern California Southern Illinois
Pa. N.J. Wash. Ind. Conn. Va. R.I. Va. N.J. Mo. Calif. Calif. Calif. Tenn. Texas S.C. S.D. Fla. Calif. Ill.
10/04/1888 9/01/1880 3/18/2000
11/07/1843 2/17/1962 9/26/1903 4/23/1873 4/3/1993 12/01/1871 10/09/1879 3/1/2003 11/9/2007 2/5/1984 3/11/1995 12/2/1949 1/5/1951 1/31/1858 10/5/1912 3/26/1994 10/26/1947 2/20/1999
Colony Theta Epsilon Delta Epsilon Beta Mu Colony Alpha Xi Epsilon Chi Alpha Kappa Beta Gamma Zeta Tau Zeta Omega Epsilon Beta Zeta Eta Gamma Chi Gamma Omega Upsilon Gamma Alpha Zeta Beta Gamma Tau Zeta Omicron
Beta Brotherhood | page 86
Always remember the brother We look to the dawn Gift of song For the sake of victory Lasting for an age Walking on the wind sending thunder and lightning A lamp unto my feet We give life to the land Speaking from the heart The north shall increase Counselor of life Friendly rivalry Take hold of hope We sing the altar The harvest nourishes A leader Profit by stillness Leadership that brings life Strength Being the best isn’t an attitude, it’s a lifestyle Fountain of life The spirit conquers Justice Know friendship We seek wisdom We guard with the weapon True and constant The summit of the arch Brotherly love Men full of the stars must also get a fullness of wisdom Take courage in the promise of the stars The power of love Machinery is king
Good will follows our deeds A royal marriage Gateway to the stars The promise of every day Strength in the right Sons of grace Wisdom and service To soar above the clouds Exulting in brotherhood Search the deep places A race of Trojans Wisdom and life are in the Loving Cup
Chapter/Colony
State/Province
Founding Date
Greek Name
Chapter Motto
St. Lawrence Stanford Stevens Syracuse TCU Tennessee Tennessee Tech Texas Texas A&M Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Texas at Arlington Texas Tech Toledo Toronto Transylvania Trinity Truman State Tulane UC Berkeley UC Irvine UC Riverside UC San Diego UC Santa Barbara UCLA Union UNLV USNA Utah Utah State Vanderbilt Villanova Virginia Virginia Tech VMI Wabash Washington Washington & Jefferson Washington and Lee Washington in St. Louis Washington State Weber State Wesleyan West Chester West Virginia Western Michigan Western Ontario Western Reserve Westminster Whitman Wichita State Willamette William & Mary Williams Wisconsin Wisconsin-Oshkosh Wittenberg Wooster WPI Wright State Yale
N.Y. Calif. N.J. N.Y. Texas Tenn. Tenn. Texas Texas Texas Texas Texas Ohio Ont. Ky. Texas Mo. La. Calif. Calif. Calif. Calif. Calif. Calif. N.Y. Nev. R.I. Utah Utah Tenn. Pa. Va. Va. Va. Ind. Wash. Pa. Va. Mo. Wash. Utah Conn. PA W.Va. Mich. Ont. Ohio Mo. Wash. Kan. Ore. Va. Mass. Wis. Wis. Ohio Ohio Mass. Ohio Conn.
10/09/1879 10/14/1893 10/09/1879 1/10/1889
Beta Zeta Lambda Sigma Sigma Beta Epsilon Colony Delta Kappa Epsilon Phi Beta Omicron Epsilon Eta Zeta Rho Delta Rho Delta Mu Epsilon Tau Theta Zeta Epsilon Alpha Omicron Zeta Xi Beta Xi Omega Delta Sigma Epsilon Sigma Zeta Gamma Epsilon Pi Gamma Nu Nu Zeta Kappa Omega Gamma Beta Zeta Iota Beta Lambda Zeta Epsilon Omicron Alpha Phi Alpha Theta Tau Beta Omega Gamma Alpha Rho Alpha Iota Gamma Theta Delta Omicron Mu Epsilon Zeta Sigma Beta Psi Delta Chi Delta Alpha Beta Alpha Delta Gamma Zeta Delta Gamma Gamma Sigma Zeta Upsilon Zeta Alpha Pi Zeta Zeta Alpha Gamma Alpha Lambda Colony Delta Phi Phi Chi
The bond of the lyres Reason points the way Self control Let us proclaim the good
11/4/1967 3/28/1992 5/18/1886 3/7/1987 4/13/2002 11/20/1971 2/21/1970 1/18/1992 11/9/1906 1/31/1842 6/01/1873 11/15/1997 11/27/1908 3/18/1879 3/9/1975 1/25/1992 4/29/1995 1/25/1991 12/30/1926 5/13/1881 4/18/1998 5/02/1863 10/25/1913 2/15/1997 2/23/1884 3/18/1995 4/24/1855 3/10/1877 4/01/1869 7/22/1846 12/20/1901 6/01/1842 2/12/1856 4/01/1869 1/17/1920 11/22/1971 6/24/1890 2/23/2002 9/15/1900 11/5/1978 10/12/1952 8/09/1841 3/05/1868 3/29/1916 11/15/1959 1/4/1947 3/11/1876 5/16/1847 6/06/1873 4/8/1995 1/18/1867 5/18/1872 11/19/1977 2/19/1892
Beta Brotherhood | page 87
Justice cries aloud Let us praise the love of wisdom We look toward the heaven We listen to the ages of life Roman justice Justice and understanding Let us protect our honor The living branch
Wise unto life is belonging to a friend Counsel of hospitality Daughter of the ocean Come, wise ones Sharing the fruit of the olive tree Hard learning must be leavened with laughter The least first Shrine of wisdom Youth We take shelter against the west winds The land teems with plenty Be zealous for sharing common experiences A grim crest We are looking for balance Of one family Our defense is brotherhood Endure Threshold of the ocean Peace By virtue strengthened Strong through truth The heart of good men Forever seeking improvement Learning our prize We seek to share in each other’s grief and joy The soul shall live Fortunate with uprightness A mighty brotherhood The best The immortal bond The devoted ones are vigilant Dynamic beginning We are born for mutual assistance Rise above Bound together We wear the diamond The rising dawn prevails Conscience a necessity The lamp of truth Reaching for the stars Brothers in good will
Fraternity “The fraternity is one of the most skillfully devised institutions among men, where a boy disorganized is brought into an institution of kindred minds who believe in him and thereby help him to find himself.� — Dr. Norman Vincent Peale Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity
1911
SupremeCourt Justices “The social event of the year was the Justices’ Dinner in New York City on February 9, 1911. More than 400 members of the Fraternity joined in paying honor to the four Betas out of the nine members of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justices Harlan, Lamar, Lurton and VanDevanter.” — Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883 (Beta Book, pgs. 132-33)
Beta Brotherhood | page 90
“I’d rather be right, than consistent.” — The Great Dissenter: Justice John Marshall Harlan, Centre 1850 Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. He is best known for his role as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases
(1883), and Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which, respectively, struck down as unconstitutional federal anti-discrimination legislation and upheld southern segregation statutes. These dissents, among others, led to his nickname of “The Great Dissenter.”
Beta Brotherhood | page 91
“As long ago as 1879, Beta Theta Pi announced as a principle that it would cooperate with college faculties to improve the conditions as to scholarship or otherwise of its members or of the colleges in which they were located. The Fraternity has been rarely fortunate in one respect. It has never been cursed with the evil of internal politics. Its affairs have been managed by high minded men who have won the admiration, respect, and thorough confidence of the undergraduates and alumni members, and although at its conventions the forms of elections have been gone through with, it is a notable fact upon which the fraternity is to be sincerely congratulated, that, with one or two minor exceptions, offices in Beta Theta Pi have always sought the man, and not the man the offices.” — William Raimond Baird’s 75th Anniversary Essay for the 1914 Convention (Beta Lore, pgs. 58-67; The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 447-455)
1916
TorontoChapter Fund Shortly before Christmas 1915, the General Secretary received a letter from Theta Zeta Chapter at Toronto telling how most of its men were already serving in the Great War and the few who remained were preparing to enlist. The letter told how other fraternities at the school were closing and how Theta Zeta would be unable to meet its mortgage payments and would lose the house. To keep the house open and to cover chapter expenses, $2,500 was needed. General Secretary Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883, announced the crisis in his January 1916 General Secretary’s Bulletin: “Shall Beta Theta Pi prove its great strength as a fraternity now with a splendid illustration of the possibilities of mutual assistance?
organization, the power of its sentiment, the faith of its members in their brothers?
we think of our debt to the founders of our Fraternity.
“It is up to you. Here is the situation such as has never faced us before. Here is an opportunity to prove what Beta
“Brothers, let us make this the great event of the college year, the greatest event in the long history of Beta Theta Pi. It is the opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. It is a chance to prove Beta Theta Pi is what some of us hope that it is, the greatest of American college fraternities.
“Shall Beta Theta Pi keep open its chapter house at Toronto when other fraternities have closed theirs?
“I have faith in the Fraternity. I believe it will prove its power on Feb. 7, 1916. ‘Thus honor shall come to the badge that we wear and every true Beta that honor shall share.’”
“Shall the equity in the Toronto chapter house be saved to Theta Zeta and for Beta Theta Pi? “Shall Beta Theta Pi preserve its Toronto chapter in this extraordinary situation, when its life is threatened, not only because of a lofty and heroic patriotism which has led its members to lay ‘upon the altar of their country their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor?’ “Shall Beta Theta Pi give the college and fraternity world an incomparable illustration of the strength of its
Theta Pi, what fraternity, means. Here is a Macedonian cry that should stir every loyal Beta heart. ‘Come over into Toronto and help us!’ “We want a dollar from every active Beta contributed on ‘Pater Knox Night,’ when
Beta Brotherhood | page 93
The response was overwhelming, the house was saved, and the Fund became a monument to the Beta Spirit and the aid and mutual assistance inherent in the Beta brotherhood. The appeals brought an excess of money and, after the war, the remaining money became a part of the efforts to establish the Baird Fund. — Son of the Stars, pages 45-56
1916
What is a Good Chapter? The following list contains 12 actions identified by General Secretary Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883, that exemplify a good chapter of Beta Theta Pi. The list was included with his annual report as General Secretary in 1916. 1 – Recognizes that it is not a local organization, but a branch of a long established national fraternity having definite aims and purposes; and that its own charter was granted primarily to give added strength to the parent body. 2 – Recognizes that the aims and purposes of the Fraternity have precedence over any purely local customs or desires, and that loyalty to the Fraternity is the first prerequisite to enduring chapter development and success. 3 – Strives through its individual members to exalt those aims and to fulfill those purposes, magnifying constantly the importance of individual accomplishment as a necessary accompaniment to group achievement.
4 – Cherishes the sentiment of the Fraternity through its songs and through faithful adherence to its ritual interpreted with dignity on occasion of initiation. 5 – Seeks to encourage its members in every way in unity of spirit and endeavor, tries to elevate standards of scholarship, aims to develop strong ties of human friendship among its members, manifests loyalty to the institution in which it is located, and gives hearty support to the faculty in measures which look toward the improvement of individual character. 6 – Tries through its local administration to respond promptly and efficiently to the demands made upon it by the officials of the Fraternity, insisting upon efficiency in such administration. Beta Brotherhood | page 94
7 – Bars intoxicating liquor and gambling from its chapter house and does not tolerate, on the part of its individual members, open violation of the laws of the Fraternity or plain transgressions of the spirit of Beta Theta Pi. 8 – Keeps its chapter house and grounds in good condition, regulates life in the house by such sensible laws as to make it nearly as possible a real college home, and trains its members to respect the rights of one another as well as the obligations toward neighbors in a college community. 9 – Pays its debts promptly and trains its members to regular and systematic habits in personal financial matters as a fundamental factor in chapter prosperity.
10 – Joins in every movement for better relationships among fraternity men in its institution, championing the local interfraternity conference as a desirable help toward comity and wider college friendship, always putting the larger interests of the institution ahead of the narrow and selfish demands of temporary chapter advantage.
11 – Remembers that it is an institution designed to exist for many years and whose future success will be largely due to the reputation and character it sustains at any one time. 12 – Teaches its individual members to understand that each has distinct responsibility and that each must maintain his character as one of its worthy members. — The Beta Book, pg. 154
Beta Brotherhood | page 95
Brian Fey, Miami ’00 (above), grandson of Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40, and son of Tom Fey, Miami ’68, became Alpha Chapter president during the chapter’s recolonization in the winter of 1999.
1916
Mike Malone
Group of 15th Bn officers: Lt. Malone is second from right. Photo is from the archives of the Regimental Museum of the 48th Highlanders of Canada, Toronto, Ontario. Submitted by BGen G. Young, 15th Battalion Memorial Project Team.
“Quit you like men: be strong.” “Never mind me; carry on!” – his last words. — Lt. Maurice Edward (Mike) Malone, Toronto 1917 (Beta Lore, pg. 527) He was leading an over-the-top assault on the enemy trenches, when he was gravely wounded by a burst of gunfire. His companions would have carried him back to the shelter of their own trench lines, but Mike refused. ‘Never mind me; carry on!’ So Mike spoke, and so his companions did. And so he died. — Sons of the Northern Stars, pg. 37 Beta Brotherhood | page 96
In the shadow of Mount Rushmore, the men of Gamma Omicron at the University of British Columbia trekked across the continent in 1999 to participate in the 160th General Convention in Oxford, Ohio. Traveling in an RV that became known as the “Knox Box” and “Woogie Wagon” caravan SUV, the chapter won its first John Reily Knox Award and General Secretary Cup. The chapter repeated travels and award-winning at the 2000 and 2001 General Conventions in Schaumburg, Ill., and Oxford.
Beta Brotherhood | page 97
1917
Amb. Sato
Above: Amb. Sato in official diplomatic attire. Right: Sato in his undergraduate days, courtesy of DePauw University Archives. Opposite Right: Washington in St. Louis undergraduates enjoy the John Reily Knox Library while in Oxford for their spring 2000 Initiation.
One of Beta’s significant milestones in diversity came in the late 1800s. In 1877, four young Japanese men arrived in Greencastle, Ind., to attend Indiana Asbury College, now known as DePauw University. The Delta Chapter initiated two of the four, Aimaro Sato 1881, and Keizo Kawamura 1881, who are believed to be Beta’s first non-white, non-American
Beta Brotherhood | page 98
members. Unfortunately, Kawamura passed away in 1881, shortly after graduation. Sato went on to become a diplomat and was named Japan’s Ambassador to the U.S. On Jan. 30, 1917, the Beta Club of Washington, D.C., asked him to attend their meeting. Sato spoke highly of the Fraternity…
“This kind of meeting is agreeable to me because it breathes genuine friendship without any shadow of conventionality. I like it all the more because, banishing all worldly cares, forgetting our ages, politics, creeds, nationalities, varied or conflicting interests, and laying aside even diplomacy, we come here to have a good time together simply as brothers in the bonds of Beta Theta Pi and to recall the sweet associations of the past and to form wider friendship for the future.” — Aimaro Sato, DePauw 1881 (Picture courtesy of DePauw University Archives)
A Family Affair “Beta Theta Pi is a family descended from generations of Bridge Builders.” — Peter E. Van de Water, St. Lawrence ’58
Above, Founding Father Bill Wester, Missouri-Kansas City ’90, attended his own chapter’s January 20, 2013, Initiation and affixed his own Beta badge on his son, Christopher ’18, marking the chapter’s first direct-legacy initiation.
Only three chapters are documented as having seven Beta brothers in the family: the Dole family of Stanford, the Gaiser family of Whitman (left, classes of 1917-1931), and the Gundersen family of Wisconsin. — Beta Lore, pgs. 463-464; Beta Kinship, pg. 27
1919
The Baird Fund “The Baird Fund is the magazine endowment fund of Beta Theta Pi. It was established September 2, 1919, at the 80th General Convention of the Fraternity held at Swampscott, Massachusetts. Membership in it is secured by the payment of ten dollars. Each initiate is required to join. The subscriber receives the magazine for life. After his death, the increment of earning from his membership fee goes to strengthen the fund. On September 1, 1928, the amount in the Baird Fund was approximately $115,000.” As president of the Board of Trustees, [Shepardson] made the following statement on behalf of that body: “For more than a year the Board has been considering the suggestion made at the last General Convention, that the Fraternity magazine be furnished to members for life on payment of ten dollars for each subscription, and that, in the future, each initiate be required to pay a fee of ten dollars to Beta Theta Pi, in addition to any initiation fee demanded by his chapter, such payment constituting him a life subscriber to the magazine. The subject has been studied carefully from many viewpoints, both as a detached plan and as part of a far larger scheme of Fraternity endowment. The thought of having, some day, a Fraternity magazine to which each member of Beta Theta Pi is a life subscriber makes strong appeal to the imagination. The development of a permanent fund, one day to be so large as to afford income
for wider activities than were proposed, strikes the fancy and stimulates Fraternity zeal as well. The Board now recommends to this convention that
such life subscriptions be established; that the necessary amendments to the Laws of the Fraternity be made to provide for the different types of
Beta Brotherhood | page 102
subscription mentioned above; that all moneys received for such purposes shall be kept in a separate permanent fund, whose interest only shall be used; and that this fund shall forever be known as the ‘Baird Fund,’ in lasting memorial to William Raimond Baird.” These recommendations of the Board were followed by the Convention. When the committee report was presented, providing for the legislation needed to establish the fund, there was a lively discussion of a most optimistic character, and then it was moved that, because of the epochmaking nature of the action about to be taken, a roll call of the chapters be made. This was done, amid great enthusiasm, the vote being unanimous.” — The Baird Fund of Beta Theta Pi: The First Finding List, 1928
The convention enthusiastically approved – $5,500 was collected then and there. The Toronto chapter, now able to take care of itself, asked that the nearly $1,000 ($983.97) for it in the Fraternity treasury be placed in the fund. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 212-213 Baird’s widow, Jennie Mansfield Baird (above), donated $2,000. Seven others each contributed $1,000 and the convention added $1,000 in honor of recently elected President Shepardson, completing the “Ten” as suggested by Baird. These were: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
William Raimond Baird, Stevens 1878 Jennie Mansfield Baird Stratford Lee Morton, Washington 1910 John Edward Good, Kenyon 1884 (in memory of Charles Edward Schweyer, Amherst 1891) Alonzo Mitchell Snyder, Kenyon 1885
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
John Roy Simpson, Miami 1899 Mortimer Leo Schiff, Amherst 1896 William Dowler Turner, Bethany 1895 (in memory of Robert Hamilton Devine, Bethany 1884) James Reed Lane, Iowa 1911 Francis Wayland Shepardson, Denison 1882 (in his honor)
The Baird Fund has continued to grow since its inception in 1919. Wisely invested by the Board of Trustees, at present (2014) it contains approximately $3.5 million. Students now contribute $30 from their Initiation fee to the fund. Consistent with standard endowment practices, four percent of the 12-quarter rolling fund average is allocated annually to the production of The Beta Theta Pi. Beta Brotherhood | page 103
1919
The Founders Fund “Also at the convention of 1919, the Founders Fund was established [an immediate outgrowth of the Baird Fund]. This was to be a general endowment fund accumulating legacies, gifts or donations. Its principal was to remain intact, and the interest could be used as directed by the Board. The discussion of possible uses of such a fund included some interesting ideas: …to help chapters in their house construction, to provide fellowships and scholarships as prizes to be contended for, to establish instructors or big brothers in chapter homes, to help members needing loans in order to continue their college work, to help those to enjoy Fraternity life who might be barred otherwise because of poverty, to enable the Fraternity to carry on more frequent and more helpful inspection, to make it possible to reduce the annual dues and other charges.”
Although the Founders Fund was created… with the object of furthering scholarship, the principal was not sufficient until 1949; most of it had been on loan for the construction of chapter houses. In 1949, the Founders Fund stood at just over $140,000, and 18 scholarships were awarded, totaling $5,250. By 1988, the Founders Fund had grown to over $1.1 million, and 44 scholarships totaling $44,000 were awarded.” — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 212-213; 283
In 1990 the Beta Theta Pi Foundation was established as a 501(c)3 charitable foundation and assumed management and oversight responsibility for all Founders Fund assets. By the 175th anniversary in 2014, the Beta Foundation had grown to $18.2 million in unrestricted and restricted funds (sans the Foundation and Administrative Office) geared toward the Fraternity’s scholarship and educational activities, including primary sponsor of the award-winning Men of Principle initiative.
Beta Brotherhood | page 104
Serving as General Treasurer from 1904-45, James L. Gavin, DePauw 1896, ranks as the longest serving General Fraternity Officer in a singular volunteer position. Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883, even dedicated his 1927 Edition of “The Beta Book” to Gavin: “To whose fidelity and efficiency as its General Treasurer, the Fraternity largely owes its strength.”
Beta Brotherhood | page 105
1921
Backbone of the Fraternity “Men who faithfully serve Beta as district chiefs become marked men. Upon their loyalty, energy, cooperation, enthusiasm and efficiency rests our Fraternity’s chance for leadership and achievement. And what do we offer these picked me… for their labor and sacrifice? An incomparable opportunity for service to undergraduates, the hope of making new and lifelong friendships, the assurance that their influence will survive ‘in the minds and thoughts of other men, undying and imperishable!’” — General Secretary Harold J. (Bing) Bailey, Amherst 1908
The Board of Trustees and District Chiefs pose for their annual group photo at the 82nd General Convention in 1921 in Estes Park, Colorado.
Beta Brotherhood | page 107
1926
Beta Theta Pi Temples Abbott-Young Memorial Temple at St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York The St. Lawrence chapter, moving its house across the campus to a new site and renovating it completely, had added to it a beautiful temple, the joint gift of Mrs. Anna Abbott, widow of V.P. Abbott and mother of Worth P. Abbott and Hugh Abbott, all three St. Lawrence Betas, and of Owen D. Young, St. Lawrence ’94, and his wife. This twostoried stone structure was built as a memorial to the three Beta members of the Abbott family and to John Young, St. Lawrence ’24, Mr. Owen Young’s son. In architectural design the Temple is of the simple, dignified, beautiful Gothic type, harmonious in spirit with the purpose to which it is dedicated. The exterior walls are of Indiana limestone; the roof is of special construction with a lead covering. The massive front door, the two stately
ornamental pedestal lamps at each side of the door, the small window frames and the metal grille within and without are all of bronze, the craftsmanship of the Tiffany studios of New York.
What is true of the bronze work is duplicated in every respect throughout the entire structure, a perfection of workmanship and a completeness in design that leaves nothing wanting. This temple marked the realization of dreams, almost as old as the Fraternity itself, that Beta Theta
Beta Brotherhood | page 108
Pi someday might have a temple, a veritable shrine of noble youth. The realization, indeed, was beyond the most sanguine hope of any wide-visioned seer of old; a beautiful temple of classic design, severe in its lines, chaste in its appealing grace, satisfying in its indescribable charm, exalting in its quiet dignity. It was formally dedicated on Saturday, March 6, 1926, members of the Board of Trustees of the Fraternity participating in the ceremonies, which included a smoker to all fraternity men in college, a dedicatory service, an initiation and a banquet. Professor Charles Kelsey Gaines, 1876, contributed to the occasion an interesting historical interpretation of the interrelation of the chapter and the college. — Beta Book, pg. 183
The Temple at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio On February 9, 1929, the Beta Alpha Chapter at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, in connection with the annual initiation celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its installation. The presence of Grove Curtis, 1880, number one on the chapter roll, was a noteworthy feature of the dedication of a meeting hall or lodge, built of limestone and located in the woods on the campus at
some distance from the living quarters of the chapter, which, under college rule, is unable to build and occupy a chapter house. Of classical design, the Kenyon Temple added a distinct structure to the property holdings of the Fraternity, a fitting companion piece to the shrine at St. Lawrence University. — Beta Book, pg. 201
Beta Brotherhood | page 109
1927
Fraternal 50
In 1994, the General Convention approved the 25th initiation milestone anniversary, mimicking the same format of recognition as the cherished Fraternal Fifty. Currently, each winter the Fraternal 50s and 25s for that given year receive a letter of congratulations from the General Fraternity, a frameable certificate, a gold or silver seal to affix to one’s Membership Shingle and a contact directory of one’s fellow pledge brothers. Lapel pins are reserved for in-person presentations by chapters, alumni associations, house corporations or at sponsored General Fraternity events.
“The board also recommended the adoption of a form of recognition of the completion of fifty years of membership in Beta Theta Pi, as suggested by George W. Switzer, DePauw 1881, a recommendation which was heartily approved by the convention and finally took form in the shape of a card, to be presented on special occasion of commencement banquet or other home-coming.” — 88th General Convention, Bigwin Inn, Lake of Bays, Ontario Beta Brotherhood | page 110
Beta Brotherhood | page 111
1939
TheCentennial “And so it will go. From now until the Centenary Betas go to the Last Big Chapter Meeting, you will hear them say, ‘I was there in ’39.’ That phrase will inform any listener that here is a man who knows the true meaning of Beta Spirit. No one who attended the Centenary could have failed to catch it.” — Louis W. Reps Jr., Westminster ’37 “I Was There in ’39” (The Beta Theta Pi, Nov. 1939, pgs. 125-131)
Beta Brotherhood | page 113
Top: In the shadows of “Old Main,” President Newton presents the memorial Beta Bells to Miami University President Alfred H. Upham, Delta Kappa Epsilon. Top Right: District XIII, including Georgia Tech, Mississippi, Tulane and Vanderbilt. Bottom: Leading the traditional “Parade of Chapters”, Centenary initiate and would-be Alpha Chapter President and Ambassador to Luxembourg John E. Dolibois, Miami ’42, carries the flag of the United States.
“Does it not amaze you, does it not thrill you that those undergraduates, at that time with the conditions as they were, gave the college fraternity of Beta Theta Pi such a beautiful ideal – the first object of the organization as they worked it out was a most noble purpose for human relationships, “mutual assistance in the honorable aspirations of life,” nurtured and enriched by and through “unsullied friendship and unfaltering fidelity.” Those lads provided no place for aggrandizement, no plan for acquisition either of power or of material things, and no place for selfishness. Over forty-three thousand of that band have retained and cherish their ideal.” — Clarence L. Newton, Wesleyan 1902 President of Beta Theta Pi in its Centenary Year and President of the One Hundredth General Convention
Beta Brotherhood | page 114
“Those of us who do answer the roll call and are here in convention assembled, are the recipients of a heritage of almost a century, and in our hands rests the future of Beta Theta Pi. We come to this convention charged with the responsibility to carry forward the work and uphold the good name of Beta Theta Pi no matter what odds we face. We must review the accomplishments and failures of the past year, examine the current conditions in active chapters; and go out prepared to solve our problems, determined to achieve in such a way that Wooglin will smile his warm approval on our efforts.” — Clarence L. Newton, Wesleyan 1902
Above: President Newton leads the business sessions of the Fraternity in Benton Hall according to Robert’s Rules of Order, as well as “Newt’s Rules of Order.” Below: Occurring once every 25 years, the Parade of Chapters takes form and passes by “Old Main” out of respect for the Fraternity’s humble beginnings. Bottom Right: As noted on the back of the photo, “Everyone in Oxford came out to see the ‘Beta Parade.’”
Beta Brotherhood | page 115
Top: Centenary Celebration Speakers included (l to r), Edmonds, Mitchell, Smith, Banta, McConaughy, Simpson, Newton, Young, Upham, Spaulding, Montgomery, Eldridge and Duddy (The Beta Theta Pi, November 1939). Right: Award-winning Whitman Chapter Chorus. Below: Photographers and videographer capture footage for Beta’s historic Centennial movie.
“In the five day period, August 4 through August 8, 1939, more than fifteen hundred Betas gathered at the birthplace of the Fraternity, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, to celebrate the completion of One Hundred Years of Beta life.” — Gordon S. Smyth, Pennsylvania 1918, Editor, The Beta Theta Pi, October 1939, Vol. LXVII, Special Issue No. 1 (of 2)
Beta Brotherhood | page 116
“…Be with this convention here assembled and direct and prosper all our deliberations with the spirit of truth, unity and concord. Save us from all error, ignorance, pride and prejudice. Govern us in our work that all things may be settled upon the best and surest foundations.” — Rev. John Allan Blair, Wabash ’93, The Centennial Opening Prayer Top: Centenary Director Col. John R. Simpson, Miami 1899; Col. Simpson’s home served as Centenary headquarters. Middle: Alpha Chapter Chorus poses with clergymen of the Centennial Church Service at Oxford Presbyterian Church; Betas gather after the Church Service. Right: James J. “Daddy” Parks, Knox 1872, a Beta for more than 71 years, was the delegate of the St. Louis Beta Theta Pi Club.
Beta Brotherhood | page 117
“Brother Chairman, and delegates to the Centenary Convention: I stand here in the presence of two institutions I love dearly – Miami University and Beta Theta Pi; the first the mother of the second, and I the son of both. The milk of urbanity, courtesy and steadfastness imbibed from the hearts of both have left me in their irreparable debt.” — Marvin Pierce, Miami 1916, Temporary Convention President (Father of Barbara Pierce Bush and Father-in-law of U.S. President-to-be, George H.W. Bush, Delta Kappa Epsilon) Top: Marvin “Monk” Pierce, Miami 1916, “up a tree” at Centenary Day exercises; the Vesper Service in the Nature Theatre of Western College. Right: President Newton (right) with J. Knox Lansdowne, Miami 1900, grandson of John Reily Knox.
Beta Brotherhood | page 118
“Beta Theta Pi’s record for the first hundred years is history. While we can take just pride in the accomplishments of those who have worn the badge before us, our primary concern is in the Beta Theta Pi of the second century. With the heritage which we enjoy, how much more is the responsibility placed upon us to continue the work of the Betas of the first Century, in the building up of a fraternity with recognized standards!” — G. Herbert Smith, DePauw 1927, General Secretary
Beta Brotherhood | page 119
BetaCampanile “President Upham – Answering to the will of the Fraternity it now becomes my privilege, as president of Beta Theta Pi, to tender this memorial to Miami University through you, its president; and to voice, on behalf of all Betas, in dedication of this memorial, the earnest hope that the Beta Bells will sound over this campus through centuries to come – that they will find a happy place among your traditions and in the memories of many generations of your graduates – and finally that they will serve your ancient institution truly, and thus serve the State, the Nation and the high aim of wisdom everywhere.” — Clarence L. Newton, Wesleyan 1902
Since fundraising for the Campanile was not complete by the Centennial, the Bells first hung in the towers of “Old Main.” They were played over national public radio at noon on August 8, 1939, so Betas everywhere could hear them ring for the first time. Founded by the Meneely Bell Co. of Troy, N.Y., the four bells reside in the Beta Campanile and ring every quarter hour to the “Westminster Peal.” Standing 102’ above ground and 13’ x 13’ wide, the total cost of the Campanile was $31,500. The cornerstone was laid November 10, 1940; the completed tower was dedicated on May 17, 1941. Beta Bell – E Flat Weighs 3,000 lbs. 53” in diameter, 43” high Theta Bell – A Flat Weighs 1,200 lbs. 39” in diameter, 33” high Pi Bell – B Flat Weighs 800 lbs. 34” in diameter, 28” high 1839-1939 Bell – C Weighs 600 lbs. 31” in diameter, 25” high
Beta Brotherhood | page 120
Beta Brotherhood | page 121
1949
Administrative Evolution “In short, it now has become evident that a full-time assistant must be employed to handle matters of an administrative nature for the general officers. They must be given the services of a capable young Beta who can devote his full-time to carrying out administrative matters under the general direction and supervision of the general officers so that their time and energies will be free for duties and responsibilities on an executive and policy-making level.” — Edward M. Brown, Miami 1931 (with Elmer H. Jennings, Northwestern 1912) The Board of Trustees’ Special Report to the 109th General Convention, 1948
In 1949, Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40 (left), was appointed as the first administrative secretary, and a building was acquired at 208 East High Street in Oxford, Ohio, as Beta’s first Administrative Office (which was located, fortunately, immediately adjacent to the Alpha chapter house). He served in the role until 1958, and was later elected General Treasurer (1961-64) and President (1972-75).
Beta Brotherhood | page 122
The Fraternity’s first three administrative secretaries pose for a picture in the original Beta museum in 1965, upon the changing of the guard from Fred Brower, Miami ’50 (right), to Ron Helman, Miami ’55 (left). Providing an ever watchful but supportive eye is Beta’s first administrative secretary, Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40.
Beta Brotherhood | page 123
Original Administrative Office
Beta’s first Administrative Office was located at 208 East High Street in Oxford, Ohio, adjacent to the Alpha chapter house and across the street from Miami University’s “Slant Walk.” (Right) A collection of photos represent the original badge-shaped exterior plaque and interior, including the fireproof archives, entryway and staircase, and John Reily Knox Library.
Beta Brotherhood | page 124
Beta Brotherhood | page 125
Administrative Secretaries
Above, the first five administrative secretaries pose left to right in order of service to the Fraternity: Fey, Brower, Helman, Barnhart and Brant, all members of the Alpha Chapter.
Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40 1949-58
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Fredrick F. Brower, Miami ’50 1958-1965
Ronald P. Helman, Miami ’55 1965-1972
Peter W. C. Barnhart, Miami ’66 1972-1977
Jonathan J. Brant, Miami ’75 1977-1982
Kenneth J. Rawley, Penn State ’76 1982-1983
Thomas A. Beyer, Nebraska ’80 1983-1988
Todd V. McMurtry, Centre ’84 1989-1991
Robert L. Cottrell, Miami ’54 1991-1998
Stephen B. Becker, Florida ’69 1998-2007
Judson A. Horras, Iowa State ’97 2007-Present
Beta Brotherhood | page 127
First Administrative Secretary Reflections of Ralph N. Fey, According to Dr. Seth R. Brooks January 1, Ralph N. Fey, our first Administrative Secretary, will leave office to enter upon a private business career. This is a milestone in the history of our Fraternity for several reasons.
period and organizing from the is very determined; and once he ground up, the Administrative Office. has decided the right policy to be pursued, he is a hard man to flip Ralph faced the renovation, over. He has run a happy, efficient, rebuilding and equipment of productive Administrative Office. the new office in Oxford. He He has added to it dignity, character had to gather a staff of workers. and a touch that should be tendered I was not on the Board of Trustees, It was his duty to take from the so great an Association as ours. but I was at the Conventions which General Secretary and the General He has been tactful, courteous, led to undertaking the program of Treasurer the multitudinous duties considerate; but woe unto the an Administrative Office and an they could no longer handle. man who has tried to slip over Administrative Secretary. I can tell The Administrative Secretary was anything on him as he has you it took great courage to initiate to be in charge of all business safeguarded the interests and this endeavor which was so foreign arrangements for Conventions possessions of the Fraternity. to anything in our past history. and all contracts which the Board would ultimately pass upon. I will Ralph Fey has made countless Once the decision had been made make the extravagant statement persons happy at General and backed by the necessary that there was no one in our entire Conventions; he has looked out legislation the major problem was membership who possibly could for the comfort of everyone and who is the man and where is he to have done a better piece of work has thought of things that have undertake the new departure? I do than that which has been done brought added pleasure to not know what star Beta Theta Pi by Ralph Fey. many. He has never been in the was born under, but it was a star foreground, has never had his that pointed the way to the wisest I have worked daily with Ralph name on any Fraternity stationery selection that could have been for over seven years. He has been and has retreated from every made. Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40, one of the wisest and most friendly head table sitting. accepted the challenge of leaving his men I have known in all my own business for a five-or-six-year associations. At the same time, he
Beta Brotherhood | page 128
If time permitted, I could write much more. I would like to add that above all his other accomplishments and contributions for and to the Fraternity, he stands before me as a real man and an example of what the best members of Beta Theta Pi represent. His warm friendship, his sympathetic approach, his dedication to fine and lofty things mark him as citizen, churchman, gentleman and Beta. He will always have the deepest affection of every undergraduate, alumnus and general officer who has worked with him and known him. May God’s richest blessing be upon Ralph. We shall welcome his successor and give him our support, and we shall remember that Ralph’s wife, Bonnie, and his two sons, Tommy and Doug, also made their contribution to our first and unforgettable Administrative Secretary. — Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22 (Inter Fratres, January 1958, pg. 60)
“We had no living quarters for many years, we may have none in the future. I, for one, earnestly hope that at the good schools there always will be good groups of like-minded gentlemanly scholars, enjoying each other’s determination to be a credit to themselves, their fellowship and their school. Where one eats and sleeps need not necessarily play too great a part in the worthwhile principles of such a group. The sooner we all concentrate on the fundamental aims of our heritage, the richer our lives will be.” — Ralph N. Fey, Miami 1940, (The Beta Theta Pi, October 1963, pg. 77) Beta Brotherhood | page 129
“Friendship gave our order birth.” — “There’s a Scene” Opening Chapter Meeting Song
Left: 1914 Miami Beta intramural football team, which includes former three-time national champion West Point Coach Earl H. (Red) Blaik, Miami 1918, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan (standing, fourth from the left). Below: Toronto’s 2010 “Mud Bowl.”
Friendship
1954
“The Kenyon Affair” “My acceptance by the group was not expected, it wasn’t necessary, and frankly, was detested by many. However, despite the rather daunting times, the men of the Beta Alpha Chapter of Beta Theta Pi were able to exercise an objectivity and open-mindedness that I had never experienced. My undergraduate days of Beta are among the most pleasurable days of my life.” — Bill Lowry, Kenyon ’56, The Beta Theta Pi, Winter 2012 Weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Bill Lowry, Kenyon ’56, was initiated as the first African American in Beta history. Former Editor and Historian “Spig” Fawcett, Minnesota ’26, recorded the details in “Marching Along,” Beta’s historical summary from 1935-60: “In the spring of 1954, the Kenyon chapter had notified the General Secretary that they planned to
initiate a member of the Negro race, and inquired if there was any legal reason why it could not. He replied there was no Code restriction against such action, providing the other requirements had been met, but that such an act might be harmful to other chapters and to the Fraternity at large. He requested that they consult with their alumni and that they delay the initiation until one of the general officers could visit them and discuss
the matter, pointing out that the president of the Fraternity would be in the neighborhood and could be at Kenyon within a day. Also, the Cincinnati chapter asked the Kenyon chapter to postpone action until a group of undergraduates could visit them. All of these requests were refused and the chapter proceeded with the initiation.” — Summarized by K. Warren Fawcett, Minnesota ’26 (Marching Along, pg. 331)
“In the 60 years that have passed since that time, I don’t think I have experienced another act of personal involvement displaying the courage and equity [my chapter brothers] displayed at that time,” said Lowry. “From that moment on, I was sold on the type of men that Beta Theta Pi produced.” Beta Brotherhood | page 132
— Bill Lowry, Kenyon ’56, The Beta Theta Pi, Winter 2012
“What is remarkable is that this incident, in the historical context of later years, occurred so early. Thus Beta Theta Pi was saved from the divisiveness suffered by many fraternities in the 1960s and ’70s as they struggled to come to terms with so-called “white Christian” clauses in their constitutions.” — B. Hume Morris, Centre ’68 (The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 141-142) Beta Brotherhood | page 133
1964
Celebrating 125 Years in Beta Theta Pi “He who is faithful in a few things will be faithful in many. No man can be faithful to others until he is first faithful to the things that are his own.” — General Fraternity President Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22 “The Long Illustrious Line” Keynote Speech
Beta Brotherhood | page 134
“Indeed, let us take hope from the fact that friendship and brotherhood flourish fully only where men in common union work together toward the accomplishment of aims and goals of high purpose.” — General Secretary Dr. Paul P. Van Riper, DePauw ’37 Above: General Fraternity President Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, installs newly-elected Vice President Phillip W. Morris, Wittenberg ’40. Right: Cincinnati’s James M. Sayler Jr. ’65, serves as the undergraduate speaker.
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“We have come here from all over Beta’s Broad Domain to reaffirm.” — President Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22 Right: The Century-and-a-Quarter Plaque was dedicated by Dr. Brooks and was revealed at the foot of the Beta Campanile by Mike Dolibois, Miami ’66. Middle: Convention attendees admire the John Reily Knox Memorial Plaque that resides in Harrison Hall (“Old Main”); an undergraduate is recognized for his performance during the golf tournament. Bottom: Tom Lipton, Western Reserve ’65, enjoys his first convention and talks things over with former district chief and newly-elected Vice President Phillip W. Morris, Wittenberg ’40. Young new district chiefs engage in their roles as Marshals, helping to provide convention oversight and security to ensure Beta’s gentlemanly reputation is maintained.
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Top: District Chiefs pose for their annual photo. Front (l to r): Smith, Schultz, Compton, Bailey, Nicholoff, Ewin, Turner, Lang, Williams. Second: Hahn, Wachs, Chapman, Harman, Hittson, Marx, Martin, Buckingham, Hotchkiss, Brown. Third: Green, Ramsey, Tracy, Hetland, Haldeman, Knost, Hyland.
Left: Mr. and Mrs. Richard Steele, Wesleyan ’21, picked up the record for having attended the most previous Conventions (35 and 31). Right: Beta Sweethearts pose for their annual photo, including a few beautiful Beta daughters.
Beta Brotherhood | page 137
Beta Sweethearts “Here are unnumbered mothers, wives, sisters and daughters who made the way more tender and sweeter through the passing years. For it cannot be forgotten the important part played in this Fraternity by women who, through their understanding and devotion wanted to see our Fraternity led, served and fashioned into enlarging usefulness to young men of college age.” – Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22
Opposite: With their husbands at the 125th Anniversary Convention Banquet speakers’ table, the wives dine together. Left to right: Dorothy Van Riper, Helen Gregg, June Greiner, Rowena Brown, Margaret Folsom, Bonnie Fey and Corinne Brooks. Inset: John Reily Knox’s “Spiral Valentine” to Sweetheart Isabelle.
1966
Freedom With By Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22 This article brought Dr. Brooks his greatest non-Beta related honor. Written in February 1966, he was awarded the George Washington Medal by the Freedoms Foundation in 1967.
Freedom is the cry and demand which rings throughout the world. Everybody wants freedom. It is that passionate desire for men to be free from all kinds of real and imaginary bonds. Some men know it is not just freedom from which humanity needs but freedom for. We ought to be free for service to mankind, our Nation, our home, our church, and those things which build society and character. If freedom is coupled with being free from and being free for, it cannot exist long without freedom with. Freedom was born a twin. Just as Liberty was born a twin with eternal vigilance, freedom was born a twin and history knows freedom cannot long exist without its twin. Freedom was born a twin with responsibility. A free nation can survive only if free people accept responsibility to maintain laws,
whether they like them or not, until such laws are changed by legal processes coming through a free democratic electorate. There is a responsibility to maintain order and not create disorder, and there is responsibility to preserve
move for his own good and for the good of all others. Freedom is the first casualty of undisciplined personas and society. Shouters, rioters, libertines, and unthinking passionate fools without discipline wreck and ruin.
Freedom was born a twin. Just as Liberty was born a twin with eternal vigilance, freedom was born a twin and history knows freedom cannot long exist without its twin. civil peace because all people live within a civil structure. Education as it prompts freedom can create anarchy unless those it educates show responsibility in the realms of both ideas and actions. Freedom was born a twin with discipline. The self-disciplined person is the free person. The disciplined person understands the bounds and limits in which he can Beta Brotherhood | page 140
Freedom was born a twin with common sense. Common sense dictates that persons do not go too far. It is restraint in making impossible demands and always being aggrieved, injured, and the object of unfair treatment. The trouble with all our dreams of Utopia is that throughout history there have never been enough
freedom for? What will we do with our freedom? The purpose of freedom is to grant all persons movement, growth, latitude, a chance for development and reach. The purpose of freedom is to give persons room to find the fullest and most complete form of existence for them. Freedom for the person has the purpose of making that person free for the largest opportunity in the largest spheres of dedication. The purpose of freedom is to give man freedom for his body, mind, and soul, but at the same time to bind him to those services, duties and toils into which the free man knows he must enter.
people who would voluntarily pay the rent to live in Utopia. Common sense is awareness of the blessings we have received through freedom, and the desire, through reasonable means, to extend these blessings to all others. Common sense tells one that freedom must be deserved, earned, and maintained through good, hard, honest effort. Freedom was born a twin with gentleness. The revolutionary
forces of mankind have not understood this. They overlook the fact that violence breeds violence. Violence destroys. Violence is self-defeating. Freedom is not established through punitive methods. Freedom is not rushed roughshod into being. It is extended, spread and established through leaders and ordinary persons who have the patience and kindness to show gentleness. Freedom was born a twin with purpose. What do we want Beta Brotherhood | page 141
The world today is disordered and disturbed. These are sad and difficult times. As Carlyle said in his day, “This is a time of despair, but a time of hope.� We can say that in our commitment to freedom we believe it was born a twin. There must be freedom with responsibility. There must be freedom with discipline. There must be freedom with common sense. There must be freedom with gentleness. There must be freedom with purpose.
Great and Good “There is nothing small about Beta Theta Pi.” — John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 Upon receipt of his and Isabelle’s Golden Anniversary Loving Cup on November 27, 1895
Left: UCLA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, 1976
1971
The Beta Leadership Fund “As we look ahead, we must strive to maintain the excellence achieved by those who have preceded us through the fleeting decades since our humble beginning. We are prospering today, but there are those who would challenge our prestigious position, should we, by our actions, display any intent to rest on our laurels. To lead is not an easy task. In spite of the enviable position we enjoy among our peers, each Beta now and in the years ahead must do his part to press forward with Leadership uppermost in his mind. Leadership at the chapter level. Leadership at the international level.” Misty Shoop served as General Secretary from 1971-74 and was an enthusiastic champion of Beta’s expansion efforts following a period of considerable conservatism. He wrote the song “Beta Day” to the tune of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” following a challenge by a Beta alumnus during a General Convention as to who could best write a new Beta tune before the end of dinner.
— Col. Richard R. (Misty) Shoop, Denison ’41, (The Beta Theta Pi, Nov. 1973, pg. 147) Resistant to fundraising at the General Fraternity level, the Board of Trustees began shifting its philosophy in the early 1970s, believing Beta should do more to support chapters by offering regional leadership workshops, in addition to implementing a more aggressive expansion policy. Beta Brotherhood | page 144
The first appeal for the “Beta Leadership Fund” was in 1971 under Administrative Secretary Ron Helman, Miami ’55, which asked every Beta to contribute $10. Some $31,000 was raised from 2,607 Betas. The BLF now raises some $1 million each year for the Men of Principle initiative.
“I urge you to fashion strong chapter leadership. I urge you to fashion brotherly relations with your alumni and throughout your chapters. And most earnestly I urge you to fashion sensible, inspirational, educational and thus unifying programs worthy of Beta, and of Theta, and of Pi.” — Gov. James G. Martin, Davidson ’57, General Fraternity President (The Beta Theta Pi, November 1977, pg. 141)
1984
The Oxford Cup
The Fraternity awards the Oxford Cup in recognition of achievement of the highest order by a Beta. Recipients must be loyal members of Beta Theta Pi who have brought honor to the Fraternity through distinguished service and accomplishments in their chosen professional field.
The Oxford Cup was developed in 1984 by then-President Peter E. Van de Water, St. Lawrence ’58, and General Secretary B. Hume Morris, Centre ’68. Brother Morris also wrote the award ceremony and designed the Cup, a smaller version of the Pater Knox Golden Anniversary Loving Cup.
Beta Brotherhood | page 146
Oxford Cup Recipients 1984 001 1984 002 1985 003 1985 004 1986 005 1987 006 1987 007 1987 008 1987 009 1988 010 1988 011 1989 012 1989 013 1990 014 1991 015 1991 016 1992 017 1992 018 1993 019 1994 020 1994 021 1994 022 1994 023 1995 024 1995 025 1995 026 1996 027 1996 028 1997 029 1997 030 1997 031 1998 032 1998 033 1998 034 1998 035 1999 036 1999 037 2000 038 2000 039 2000 040 2000 041 2000 042 2000 043 2000 044 2000 045
Seth R. Brooks*, St. Lawrence ’22 — minister; writer; president and general secretary, Beta Theta Pi Joseph P. Allen IV, DePauw ’59 — astronaut John Sherman Cooper*, Centre ’22 — senator John N. W. Turner, British Columbia ’49 — prime minister, Canada Arch A. Moore, West Virginia ’51 — governor, West Virginia Stephen D. Bechtel, Sr.*, California ’23 — engineer Y.C. James Yen*, Yale ’18 — world-renowned teacher Arthur S. Torrey*, St. Lawrence ’24 — executive John R. Wooden*, Purdue ’32 — UCLA basketball coach Carl A. Kroch*, Cornell ’35 — businessman J.J. Robinette*, Toronto ’26 — lawyer Donald S. Dawson*, Missouri ’32 — major gen., USAF Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54 — senator, Indiana Glen A. Holden, Oregon ’51 — U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica Jamie L. Whitten*, Mississippi ’33 — congressman Samuel M. Walton*, Missouri ’40 — founder, Wal-Mart John E. Dolibois*, Miami ’42 — U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Harold S. Hook, Missouri ’53 — businessman; president, Boy Scouts John J. Rhodes*, Kansas State ’38 — congressman, Arizona Burton W. Folsom*, Nebraska ’49 — banker Gupton A. Vogt*, Westminster ’31 — businessman H. Lauren Lewis*, South Dakota ’37 — businessman, banker Michael J. Schmidt, Ohio ’71 — Hall of Fame baseball player James G. Martin, Davidson ’57 — governor, North Carolina Col. Lee B. Thompson Sr.*, Oklahoma ’25 — lawyer; civic leader Franklin D. Murphy*, Kansas ’36 — chancellor, Kansas and UCLA William H. (Bert) Bates, Missouri ’49 — lawyer; public service Edward M. Brown*, Miami ’31 — business executive, philanthropist Edward B. Taylor*, Auburn/Davidson ’42 — educator Hugh E. Stephenson Jr.*, Missouri ’43 — physician, surgeon, educator, inventor Stephen D. Bechtel Jr., Colorado ’47 — builder; financier; philanthropist Mark O. Hatfield*, Willamette ’43 — senator; governor, Oregon Robert T. Howard*, DePauw ’37 — editor and historian, author Spencer F. Eccles, Utah ’56 — financier H.H. Stephenson Jr.*, Miami ’39 — archivist, university administrator Stan Smith, Southern Calif. ’69 — pro tennis champ Frank A. Shrontz, Idaho ’53 — chairman and CEO, Boeing Company Kenneth L. Lay*, Missouri ’64 — businessman Neal R. Fosseen*, Washington ’28 — mayor, Spokane, Washington Steven B. Sample, Illinois ’62 — president, University of Southern California B. Hume Morris, Centre ’68 — General Fraternity President Weldon B. (Hoot) Gibson*, Washington State ’38 — senior director, SRI Owen S. Williams*, Toronto ’50 — realtor; educator Bruce A. Nordstrom, Washington ’55 — CEO, Nordstrom Stanley R. Church*, Washington State ’31 — radio executive
2001 046 Robert L. Cottrell, Miami ’54 — vice president, Kroger Co. 2002 047 Joe M. Allbaugh, Oklahoma State ’74 — director, FEMA 2003 048 Richard O. Ristine*, Wabash ’41 — lieutenant governor, Indiana 2003 049 Robert J. Schaupp, Lawrence, ’51 — businessman 2003 050 Warren R. Staley, Kansas State, ’65 — CEO, Cargill 2004 051 Dickran M. Tevrizian Jr., Southern California ’62 — federal judge 2004 052 Edward P. Roski Jr., Southern California ’62 — chairman and CEO, Majestic Realty Co. 2004 053 Richard E. Heckert*, Miami ’44 — chairman and CEO, DuPont 2004 054 Charles S. Mechem Jr., Miami ’52 — chairman and CEO, Taft Broadcasting 2004 055 Byron E. (Barney) Calame, Missouri ’61 — deputy managing editor, The Wall Street Journal 2004 056 G. Kennedy Thompson, North Carolina ’73 — chairman and CEO, Wachovia Corporation 2004 057 E.B. Wilson, St. Lawrence ’53 — businessman; strategist 2004 058 John C. Reppert, Kansas State ’63 — brigadier general 2005 059 John D. Backe, Miami ’54 — president, CBS 2005 060 Russell E. Palmer, Michigan State ’56 — dean, Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania 2005 061 James A. Collins, UCLA ’50 — chairman, Worldwide Restaurant Concepts, Inc. 2007 062 Hugh L. McColl Jr., North Carolina ’57 — chairman and CEO, Bank of America 2007 063 Howard D. Fineman, Colgate ’70 — senior editor, Newsweek magazine and MSNBC analyst 2007 064 James L. Mann, Wichita State ’56 — chairman and CEO, SunGard Data Systems, Inc. 2008 065 John W. Warner Jr., Washington and Lee ’49 — senator, Virginia 2008 066 Jerry R. Lucas, Ohio State ’62 — Hall of Fame basketball player 2008 067 William A. Cook*, Northwestern ’53 – medical engineer 2009 068 William J. (Bill) Bowerman*, Oregon ’33 — co-founder, Nike 2010 069 C. William (Bill) Nelson, Florida/Yale ’65— senator, Florida 2010 070 Donald L. Cromer, Washington State ’59 — U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General 2011 071 William O. Douglas*, Whitman ’20 — U.S. Supreme Court Justice 2011 072 Donald E. Petersen, Washington ’46 — chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Company 2011 073 Donald G. Abbey, Penn State ’70 — founder and CEO, The Abbey Company 2011 074 David C. Mulford, Lawrence ’59 — U.S. Ambassador to India 2012 075 John E. Warnock, Utah ’61 — Co-founder Adobe Systems, Inc. 2012 076 Dale T. Mortensen*, Willamette ’61 — Nobel Prize in economics 2013 077 Eric M. Javits, Columbia ’52 — U.S. Ambassador 2013 078 Raymond E. Mabus Jr., Mississippi ’69 — 75th Sec. of the Navy; U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Governor of Mississippi
Beta Brotherhood | page 147
* Deceased
1989
The Sesquicentennial
Beta Brotherhood | page 148
“It is a pleasure to offer greetings to all the members of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity as you gather to celebrate 150 years of “Marching Along in Beta Theta Pi.” From the vision of John Reily Knox and his founding brothers, Beta has given us leaders in government, religion, and education – men like Seth Brooks, Ralph Fey, Jim Martin, John Dolibois, John Rhodes and your keynote speaker Dick Lugar. The efforts and achievements of these men and their brothers serves as a shining example for young Beta collegians as they chart their own careers. Since Beta’s founding at Miami University on August 8, 1839, its members have promoted social and educational activities that have enriched the lives of thousands. Today, you continue to foster the spirit of charity, brotherhood, and responsibilities that are a vital part of the American collegiate tradition. As you pass the Loving Cup around, you can be proud of the role Beta Theta Pi members play in their communities. Barbara – the daughter and sister of Betas – joins me in sending warm best wishes for an enjoyable convention and every success in the future.
George H.W. Bush President
Beta Brotherhood | page 149
Top Left: Following the “Parade of Chapters”, Sesquicentennial Director Amb. John Dolibois, Miami ’42, listens attentively as the Campanile is rededicated and the official 150th anniversary plaque is unveiled honoring “the Fraternity’s Founders and Three Great Principles.” Top Right: General Fraternity Archivist H.H. Stephenson Jr., Miami ’39, provides instruction on proper etiquette for the Loving Cup Ceremony using the John Reily Knox Golden Anniversary Loving Cup. Bottom: The Loving Cup ceremony performed by districts.
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Top Left: Wimbledon Champion Stan Smith, Southern California ’69 (left), talks with Church Service Speaker Dr. Bill Fox, St. Lawrence ’75 (center), and Pres. Burt Folsom, Nebraska ’49. Top Right: Former Administrative Secretaries (l to r) Barnhart, Helman and Brower are photographed with the Campanile’s 150th anniversary plaque. Left: Senator Lugar, Denison ’54, receives the Oxford Cup and is joined (l to r) by NIC Exec. V.P. Jonathan Brant, Miami ’75, Folsom and Arizona Congressman John Rhodes, Kansas State ’38. Below: Four pledgemates among the eight initiates at the Centenary (all Miami ’42, l to r): Norman Heydinger, Amb. John Dolibois, William H. Condit and Dr. James E. Canright.
“We come to this moment with gratitude for the achievements and the blessings of the past. We come with optimism and high expectations for the future. Tonight, each brother will find that a flood of memories wells up as he considers the importance of Beta Theta Pi in his life.” — United States Senator Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54 Oxford Cup Acceptance Remarks and Keynote Speech August 8, 1989
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“We find new comfort for our part in the years ahead — when saying ‘I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek instruction.’” —Dr. Bill Fox, St. Lawrence ’75 Top: Beta flags adorned the light poles throughout Uptown Oxford; sons are treasured additions to every Beta convention. Middle: the Board of Trustees (Front - Gupton Vogt, Westminster ’31, Tom Cassady, Cincinnati ’76; Back - Bruce Lloyd, Brown ’69, Hume Morris, Centre ’68, Burt Folsom, Nebraska ’49); Miami’s basketball arena played host to all convention legislation sessions.
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Undergraduates, alumni and guests enjoy the Sesquicentennial fireworks show as Beta’s milestone anniversary and General Convention comes to a close.
“In the 150 years of her history, Beta Theta Pi has grown from eight young men to over 100,000. She is rightly considered by most to be among the greatest, if not the greatest of all North American college social fraternities. The secret to her greatness has always been, and, God willing, will continue to be the devotion of her members to her Three Great Principles. In that way she was born, grew to her greatness, and will be kept, not just in the next 150 years, but forever.” — B. Hume Morris II, Centre ’68, General Secretary Address 150th General Convention, August 8, 1989 Beta Brotherhood | page 153
1989
TheAdministrative OfficeControversy “Much off-the-convention-floor time and energy on the part of alumni — even more than undergraduates — was concentrated on the dire need for a new Administrative Office to replace the highly overcrowded present one.” Simplifying the arguments, they centered Arguments were further complicated when, on whether to remain at Oxford as the just prior to opening of the convention, birthplace of the Fraternity and location of the Board made an offer on a showplace its archives, or relocate to an area providing mansion and gardens in Cincinnati called better transportation, information and Laurel Court, which had been put up at a support services. Probargain price; however, Oxfordites were mainly the Board quickly Miami alumni and what withdrew the buy offer has been commonly when a bevy of Miami termed as “old guard”; alumni and a number of con were principally the former Trustees made a Board and current district strong protest. The upshot chiefs. While sympathetic of the matter was, since to the birthplace and the buying of real estate tradition argument, the cannot wait for an annual Board maintained it The original Administrative Office in 1989 convention meeting and had spent several years approval, the convention trying to locate suitable Oxford quarters at on the last day passed by a wide margin a a reasonable price and local Betas had been resolution which will allow the Board to unable to produce them; and in addition, relocate outside the Oxford area without Miami University had offered no real further convention approval. So, the search help or encouragement to keep Beta for such a spot goes on. headquarters there. — John R. (Jack) McClung, Kansas State ’37, Editor (The Beta Theta Pi, Convention Issue 1989, pg. 72)
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Laurel Court Laurel Court was built for Peter G. Thomson, founder of the Champion Coated Paper Company. Started in 1902 and completed in 1907, it is one of America’s best surviving examples of the opulent homes built during the “gilded age”. Upon its completion, Laurel Court was described as “the most sumptuous and palatial in this part of the country . . . finished with all good taste can command.” Laurel Court, located in the Cincinnati community of College Hill, was
built on an estate of approximately 23 acres, the highest point in greater Cincinnati. A two-story home with 36 rooms and nearly 20,000 square feet, Laurel Court is a beaux-arts structure designed by architect James Gamble Rogers. Modeled in the style of the Petite Trianon in Versailles France, Laurel Court stands today as one of the finest residences in America, and one of many notable works of James Gamble Rogers. Its stately chiseled
Beta Brotherhood | page 155
granite exterior, and elegant interior finishes, display the skills of the artisans who created this distinguished residence. Serving as the headquarters of the local LaRosas restaurant franchise from 1977 to 1990, today the main house, cottages, and carriage house rest on 7.5 acres of land, enhanced by French and Japanese gardens, a classical wisteria-covered pergola, and many statues and fountains. Laurel Court was listed on the National Historic Register in 1979.
A New Home
October 23, 1993 “As the strains of the ‘Beta Doxology’ stilled in the nearby woods, the first shovelful of dirt was hoisted by General Fraternity President B. Hume Morris, Centre ’68. Meanwhile, less than a mile below, as a bright autumn sun washed the 120 onlookers gathered on the hillside, the Beta Campanile on the Miami campus toiled 11:30 a.m., October 23, 1993. Construction of the new Beta Theta Pi Foundation and Administrative Office was officially underway.” — The Beta Theta Pi, Winter 1994, pg. 10
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“Today is the culmination of ten years of hard work, dedication and devotion by hundreds of Betas who have spent thousands of hours to prepare for this great day. And the overwhelming feeling is that we were meant to be here. Today, we are true to Pater Knox’s vision. His vision that we should be here today . . . upon a hill, overlooking the very place we were founded . . . upon eight acres, one each for the eight earnest young men who founded this Great Fraternity.” — B. Hume Morris, Centre ’68 General Fraternity President
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The original land and property was the childhood home of Beta brothers Coe Potter, Miami ’62 (owner), and Tim Potter, Duke/Miami ’56. “Interestingly, just hours before the official groundbreaking, the Board of Trustees approved an addition to the property, siting a Beta Theta Pi Hall – a chapter room built to the exact dimensions specified by George M. Chandler, Michigan 1898, a home for dramatic presentations of Beta 101 and innumerable future model initiations. The concept had no more than been uttered outside the Trustees’ session than a Beta alumnus offered to underwrite the cost.” — The Beta Theta Pi, Winter 1994
Opposite Top Left: At the groundbreaking (l to r), Administrative Secretary Bob Cottrell, Miami ’54, General Secretary Vince Del Pizzo, Missouri/Washington in St. Louis ’63, President B. Hume Morris, Centre ’68, Coe Potter, Miami ’62, and Miami University President Emeritus Dr. Phil Shriver, Delta Upsilon. Opposite Bottom Left: The Potter family home prior to Beta’s acquisition and construction. Top: Demolition begins to make way for the building expansion. Middle: Cottrell (far right) oversees the entirety of the construction project, in addition to the major gift fundraising. Left: Members of the archives and museum committee meet onsite to advance the work of their weekly conference calls that lasted nearly two years (l to r): Bob Howard, DePauw ’37, Hume Morris, Centre ’68, and Pete Floriani, Lehigh ’77. Not pictured: H.H. Stephenson, Miami ’39, and Bill Berry, Vanderbilt ’68.
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October 29, 1994 “An enormous amount of work has gone into this effort. Today stands as a tribute to the management of this project and the quality of the result . . .” For some of us, this project began when Tom Cassady, Fred Brower, Bill Mees and I met in December 1991 and reviewed the open list of architects. Earl Crossland of Voorhis, Slone, Welsh, Crossland was selected. This was fortuitous indeed, for as you will observe when you tour the site, the architect positioned the building to take note of the history and lore of the Fraternity. The structure is on an axis running from the bell tower on campus to the property,
across the bridge, up the steps through the front door, bisecting the [eight-sided] archives museum, continuing along at the Hall of the Chapters. Sheer genius! Putting this building together has been a labor of love and continuation of the style and good taste of Ralph N. Fey, Miami 1940, who was the first Administrative Secretary. — Bob Cottrell, Miami ’54, Administrative Secretary
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“Like the Campanile, the Founders’ plaque in Harrison Hall on the site of Old Main, the original Administrative Office on High Street and the Alpha chapter house – all Betas are spiritually uplifted by these architectural and historic artifacts. This new building is needed to serve the increasing administrative activities for our Fraternity. All Betas should turn and face in the direction of this emotionally bonding edifice each year when new members are initiated, when seniors graduate and on August 8, the day of our founding. This building represents our future. With pride I accepts the keys.” — Vince Del Pizzo, Missouri/Washington in St. Louis ’63 General Secretary
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1993
Restoring Beta’s Singing Tradition In 1992, recently appointed Administrative Secretary Bob Cottrell, Miami ’54, called upon pledge brother Shelby L. Molter to salvage what he viewed as a significant deterioration in the culture of singing within Beta chapters across the continent. Singing enthusiast and competitive barbershop quartet tenor that he was, Shelby was appointed General Fraternity Song Leader and immediately enlisted the help of Steve Becker, Florida ’69, and Earl E. Hayes, Idaho ’48, to update Beta’s songbook with four-part harmonies, including development of individual practice tapes for all parts. Revolutionary at the time, in 1996 a professional Beta compact disc was also produced at a studio in Nashville, recording in perfect order more than 40 of Beta’s most treasured tunes. It was included with the Son of the Stars Pledge Manual and Beta Theta Pi Song Book as a part of the kit pledges receive upon joining the Fraternity. Institutionalizing within Beta’s youngest members a consistent
understanding of Beta hymnology became a renewed priority. Following Molter’s death on May 2, 2008, the delegates to the 171st General Convention in Washington, D.C. in 2010, renamed the Wichita State Song Competition Award (which occurs onsite during each annual convention) the Shelby L. Molter Song Competition Award.
Above: the fall 2013 pledge class at Kansas State University conducts a traditional Beta serenade in classic Beta attire. Bottom right: Oklahoma State’s “Beta Four”* collaborates at the 2006 General Convention with (l to r) Steve Becker, Florida ’69, John Birkett, Western Ontario ’71, and Shelby Molter, Miami ’54. Top right: Oklahoma State’s original Beta Four** that was formed in the fall of 1955. * Robert Riggs ’09, Josh Edington ’07, Scott McBrayer ’07, and Edy El-Rassi ’08 ** Bob Hill ’59, Bill Thompson ’59, Larry Blake ’60, and Bryan Duke ’59
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Beta Brotherhood | page 167
1996
Men of Principle: The First 10Years “It is easy to look ahead, pondering the future with wide-eyed wonder. But we are here, and it is now, and something must be done.” — Author Unknown In August 1996, E.B. Wilson, St. Lawrence ’53 (right), chairman of the board for St. Lawrence University, wrote a “Letter to the Editor” challenging Beta’s leadership to be more active in the identification of Beta’s true mission and vision, and work aggressively toward actually implementing policies and programs to achieve both. “I would strongly urge that Beta Theta Pi take a position of fraternal leadership with the publicly stated objective of reforming the Greek presence in the academic community,” noted Wilson. He advised that form should pursue at least five initial goals: 1) Define in contemporary language the base case for membership in a Greek society
opportunity for leadership training, within the Fraternity and in service to the community at large 5) Connect these attributes of Greek membership to the outcomes of professional careers and in life-long participation in a global society as an engaged citizen.”
2) Make academic performance an explicit commitment and find ways to demonstrate that membership in a Greek society enhances academic achievement 3) Establish and self-enforce a code of conduct which makes the Greek societies the paradigm of responsible social behavior 4) Build a program that encourages broad-based Beta Brotherhood | page 168
Almost simultaneously, members of the Fraternity’s staff in Oxford were gathering weekly during a summer book-club review of Kouzes and Posner’s best-selling book The Leadership Challenge. Led by then-Administrative Secretary Bob Cottrell, Miami ’54, the Fraternity’s chapter management consultants began voicing concerns that what they were studying in Oxford was not the reality of the Beta experience on campus. Chapters lacked consistent standards of
“It was also through the work of “Dipper” DiPaolo, Michigan ’78, that the intensity of Beta brotherhood at the General Fraternity level began to change. Under Dipper’s unique facilitation abilities, we finally started having deep, meaningful conversations — conversations that mattered and that connected us more strongly to the Fraternity and one another. All of a sudden, Beta became bigger than what she had ever been — and it happened right before our eyes.” — John Stebbins, Emory ’92. Above, Dipper engages and captivates Beta’s chapter presidents attending the Miller Nichols Chapter Presidents Leadership Academy.
accountability, alumni involvement, leadership training, resources and opportunities to operate and foster a healthy chapter culture — one centered on academics, brotherhood and the best of the Fraternity’s traditions. While risky and without precedence, a $200,000 allocation from the Baird Fund was approved by the Board of Trustees as a means to the end of saving Beta Theta Pi through a high-quality, comprehensive, extended planning
effort. The strategic exercise would take nearly 12 months to complete and, following a year’s worth of piloting in the 1998-99 academic year with three strikingly different chapters at Nebraska, Georgia and Pennsylvania, the Men of Principle initiative was formally introduced at the 160th General Convention in Oxford in 1999. The succeeding 10-year timeline documents the major milestones of Beta’s re-birth. — L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, The Beta Theta Pi, Fall 2008, pgs. 18-27 Beta Brotherhood | page 169
“We shall not cease from exploration, And the end result of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” — T.S. Eliot
1996
1997
Summer 1996 Administrative Secretary Robert L. (Bob) Cottrell, Miami ’54, leads The Leadership Challenge book club review with the Administrative Office’s Chapter Services Department.
February 22, 1997 First meeting of the Strategic Vision Steering Committee held in Cincinnati, Ohio.
August 9, 1996 A “Letter to the Editor” critical of Beta’s state of affairs and leadership in the interfraternal world was sent by E. B. Wilson, St. Lawrence ’53, to editor of The Beta Theta Pi, L. E. (Erv) Johnson, Idaho ’53. September 23, 1996 Stemming from the staff ’s book club review, Chapter Management Consultant Jason R. Bennett, Georgia ’96, drafts white-paper reflective of the relevance of Beta’s Three Great Principles. Fall 1996 General Secretary Jerry M. Blesch, Centre ’60, in collaboration with Administrative Secretary Cottrell, secures Wilson as professional counsel for strategic planning exercise; larger 25-person committee membership recruited, including undergraduates, alumni, women, parents, peer fraternity and sorority executive directors, and Dr. Phil Shriver, president emeritus of Miami University.
Winter, Spring, Summer 1997 Steering Committee meets monthly in cities across North America to advance Strategic Vision planning effort. November 1, 1997 Strategic Vision Steering Committee completes work at final meeting in Dallas, Texas; Mission, Vision and Nine Goals turned over to Men of Principle Development Team, chaired by General Fraternity Vice President, Daniel L. Westra, Virginia Tech ’76. Winter 1997/Spring 1998 Development Team begins creating modules and strategies for Fraternity-wide implementation of Men of Principle.
1998 February 7, 1998 Alpha Chapter in Oxford, Ohio, closed for continual risk management violations. June 1, 1998 Fraternity hires first staff Director of Men of Principle, L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96.
Summer 1998 Fraternity secures Senator Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54 as official spokesman of the Men of Principle initiative. Summer 1998 Fraternity hires Mission City Training and Development, associates of Kouzes and Posner, to create Beta-specific leadership curriculum based upon The Leadership Challenge. Summer 1998 Fraternity hires Richard Harrison Bailey/The Agency to spearhead Men of Principle public branding and marketing strategy. Summer 1998 Beta Foundation sponsors 15 undergraduates to the NorthAmerican Interfraternity Conference’s Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute. Summer 1998 The Fraternity Executives Association asks Beta Administrative Office staff to assume leadership for organizing annual Field Staff Conference, official training program for all inter/national fraternity staff consultants. August 1998 Robert L. (Bob) Cottrell, Miami ’54, retires as administrative secretary; Stephen B. Becker, Florida ’69, assumes full-time role as 10th administrative secretary.
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August 1998 159th General Convention delegates expand Board of Trustees from six to nine members. Men of Principle initiative introduced in draft form by Donald G. (Dipper) DiPaolo, Michigan ’78, at convention opening session. August 28-30, 1998 First Men of Principle Kickoff Weekend conducted with pilot chapter at University of Nebraska. September 11-13, 1998 First Men of Principle Kickoff Weekend conducted with pilot chapter at University of Georgia. December 1998 For the first time, the Administrative Office staff sends all Beta staff members, including education consultants, to the NIC’s and the Association of Fraternity Advisors’ Annual Meeting.
1999 January 29-31, 1999 First Men of Principle Kickoff Weekend conducted with pilot chapter at University of Pennsylvania. Winter 1999 Alpha chapter re-opens by three Miami undergraduates committed to the Men of Principle initiative, including Brian Fey, Miami ’00, grandson of first Administrative Secretary Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40.
June 1, 1999 Fraternity hires second Director of Men of Principle, Scott J. Allen, Minnesota ’95. June 26-30, 1999 The Inaugural Institute for Men of Principle held in Oxford, graduating 45 undergraduates, along with six Beta alumni and six non-Betas as program faculty. June 26-30, 1999 Friends of Beta “status” born from faculty serving as facilitators to the Institute for Men of Principle.
September 1, 1999 Jonathan J. Brant, Miami ’75, former executive vice president of the NIC, hired as director of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation. Fall 1999 Beta Foundation provides $500 grants to 18 chapters in their effort to conduct the Recruitment Through Scholarship Program. Fall 1999 Advisory team training sessions launched to recruit and train five-person advisory teams supporting chapters in pursuit of Men of Principle values.
Fall 1999 Model Men of Principle Pledge Education Program provided to all chapters and colonies as a resource for continual pledge program improvement.
2000 Spring 2000 Staff directors of Men of Principle visit with original Strategic Vision Steering Committee facilitator E. B. Wilson, St. Lawrence ’53, in Boston to revisit original goals and outcomes, followed by visits with national leadership staff directors of Pi Kappa Phi (Charlotte, N.C.) and Sigma Phi Epsilon (Richmond, Va.) fraternities. Summer 2000 Fraternity contracts with FranklinCovey to develop student planners with Men of Principle resources, Betaspecific reporting reminders, etc.
June 2001 L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, promoted to Beta Foundation staff; Vincent E. Mikolay, Bethany ’00, and David J.D. Rae, British Columbia ’00, promoted as new staff directors of Men of Principle initiative. Summer 2001 In collaboration with former Administrative Office staffer Jayson Gaddis, Utah ’95, the Beta Foundation sponsors two inaugural sessions of the Beta Wilderness Challenge in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. August 2001 The Men of Principle Implementation Team launched to broaden the pool of high-caliber facilitators for Kickoff Weekends and the Fraternity’s evolving leadership programs. December 2001 Thomas Olver, Central Michigan ’98, appointed editor of The Beta Theta Pi. Summer 2002 The Leadership College launched in Kansas City, Mo., to improve undergraduate programming during the convention experience. Summer 2002 Standard Chapter Operating Expectations adopted by Trustees to reinforce consistent performance measures for all chapters and colonies.
2001-02 “There were no defined formulas, no pre-existing Beta programs, no recipes or manuscripts on how best to bring the Men of Principle initiative to life.”
Winter 2001 Beta Foundation sponsors seven undergraduates to NIC’s Futures Quest program for newly initiated members. April 2001 Beta Theta Pi hosts Interfraternal Education Summit in Oxford as a means for inter/national fraternities to exchange lessons learned and further explore successes and challenges of one another’s educational efforts.
2003-06 June 2003 Ryan E. King, Southern Illinois ’01, promoted as new staff director of Men of Principle initiative. August 9, 2003 With lead $1.5 million gift by Ann and David L. Brennan, Ohio State ’53, and Thomas L. Brennan, Ohio State ’51, Beta Foundation publicly launches Upon These Principles – A Campaign For Every Beta, to raise $15 million for the advancement and growth of the Men of Principle initiative. August 28, 2003
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E. B. Wilson, St. Lawrence ’53, meets in Oxford with members of the Board of Trustees, Men of Principle Steering Committee and Administrative Office staff to review progress after first five years of implementation. Position endorsed to fully integrate Men of Principle Fraternity-wide; Chapter Services department in Oxford restructured accordingly. “Beta is Men of Principle.” June 2004 Jon A. Steiner, Willamette ’63, hired as first full time director of volunteer development.
2005-06 January 2005 Focusing on the development of Beta’s volunteer and staff corps, the inaugural Leadership Summit conducted in Oxford, Ohio.
“Our Men of Principle initiative will not be the choice of every man . . . but will be the choice of those who seek to be remarkably different, and different for the right reasons.”
February 2005 The inaugural Chapter Presidents Leadership Academy conducted in Oxford, Ohio.
February 2006 District Conclaves eliminated as General Fraternity organized program. The Keystone Regional Leadership Conference launched in St. Louis and Seattle in response to growing requests from undergraduates and advisors for high-quality operational officer and advisor training. July 2006 Beta Foundation celebrates achievement of historic Upon These Principles – A Campaign For Every Beta, raising $20.1 million toward original $15 million goal. Becomes largest capital campaign in Greek world history. July 2006 167th General Convention delegates raise Beta’s chapter GPA standard from 2.5 to 2.7, highest in interfraternal world.
2007
May 2, 2005 Kye D. Hittle, Kansas State ’99, promoted as first full time director of Information Technology.
— Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54 Spokesman of the Men of Principle Initiative
Beta Theta Pi Foundation Board of Directors expanded from 12 to 18 members.
May 5, 2007 Judson A. Horras, Iowa State ’97, appointed as 11th administrative secretary by General Secretary David W. Wright, Ohio State ’67.
August 4, 2005
Total number of undergraduates involved in Beta Foundation sponsored leadership programs since inception of the Men of Principle Initiative 2,000
1,454
1,500
1,060
1,250 1,000 500 400
488
2001-02
2002-03
898
2003-04
2004-05
137
200
72
100 50 10
465
534
213
300
25
1,605
15 7
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
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2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
July 3, 2007 Sue Kraft Fussell, Friend of Beta and former executive director of the Association of Fraternity Advisors, begins professional service as codirector of leadership development.
2008 August 9, 2008 Spokesman Senator Lugar declares 2008-09 academic year as the official 10 Year Anniversary of the Men of Principle initiative.
“In the years ahead nothing – and I say this with all the power I have – nothing will take the place of moral stature. Man may forgive himself, for that’s our trait, for his immorality, but it is never overlooked by his fellow men or unnoticed by history. The man of principle and integrity who has developed character and self-discipline, is the man humanity must always turn to for its salvation.” Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, 1965 Keynote Address to the — 126th General Convention at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan Academics
3.050
All-Beta Chapter Grade Point Average
3.000 2.950
2.939
2.920
2.950
2.984
2.999
3.004
3.008
3.015
2.900 2.850
Advisors Involvement Core Volunteer Advisors Per Beta Chapter
1998 2008 1.95
4.63
(Chapter Counselor, Recruitment, Pledge Education, Financial and Risk Management)
Number of Chapters Number of Beta Chapters and Colonies
Average Chapter Size Average Beta Chapter Size All-Fraternity Average Chapter Size (Reported by the NIC)
1998 2008 147
2.800 2.750
2.820
2.846
2.700 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
121
1998 2008 49 38
2.821
58 42
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1999
Friends ofBeta “They have been one of the most critical ingredients in the successful recipe celebrated and known as the Men of Principle initiative.” — Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, The Beta Theta Pi, Fall 2008: “The Men of Principle Initiative – 10 Years Later”
A surprising development was that much of the interfraternal reputation Beta was garnering since launching Men of Principle was a result not so much of Beta’s actions, but because non-Betas came to love and care for the Fraternity as much as her own members. Conceived as a result of the first non-Beta faculty that helped facilitate the first session of The Institute for Men of Principle in 1999 (bottom right), as well as Steve Dealph’s (LCA, above) and Lisa Fedler’s (SK) service on the inaugural Men of Principle Development Team, the Friend of Beta network has become a powerful, positive force within the culture of Beta Theta Pi. Beta Brotherhood | page 174
Delegates to the 160th General Convention in 1999 passed legislation establishing two new awards for Greek Advisor of the Year and Interfraternalism Recognition. In 2000, both Steven B. Dealph, Greek Advisor at Northwestern University (and member of Lambda Chi Alpha) received Beta’s first Greek Advisor of the Year Award and Brian E. (B.B.) Breitthholz, (longtime Miami University Greek Advisor, Alpha Chapter Counselor and member of Phi Kappa Tau), received Beta’s first Interfraternalism Recognition Award at the 161st General Convention in Schaumburg, Ill.
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Of Heart and Mind “…the conditions and requirements for membership in our order promise still more. These conditions were founded not on wealth, not on social rank, but upon an active brain and a good heart.” — Rev. Oliver A. Brown, Ohio Wesleyan 1866, prominent Methodist Clergyman Offered to the Washington Betas in 1892 (The Handbook of Beta Theta Pi, 1907, pg. 293)
Left: Participants of the 2012 John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle
2001
Francis Wayland Shepardson Award The Francis Wayland Shepardson Award, created by the Board of Trustees in 2001 to recognize exemplary devotion and dedication to the General Fraternity, its objects and obligations, is named in memory of Francis W. Shepardson, Denison 1882/Brown 1883, distinguished former President and General Secretary of Beta Theta Pi. The Fraternity has always counted on loyal volunteers throughout the years, and their consistent support of the foundation of Beta Theta Pi has proven to be priceless. Each honoree is presented with an attractive full-lead crystal cup, featuring the Fraternity’s coat of arms etched into the upper section. The cup is engraved with the award inscription and recipient’s name, chapter and class year.
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Francis W. Shepardson Award Honorees 2001 Meid Compton, Indiana ’49* Richard R. (Misty) Shoop, Denison ’40* H.H. Stephenson Jr., Miami ’39* 2002 Burton W. Folsom, Nebraska ’49* Paul P. Van Riper, DePauw ’38 2003 Robert L. Cottrell, Miami ’54 2004 Jerry M. Blesch, Centre ’60 2005 Thomas D. Cassady, Cincinnati ’76 Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54 Shelby L. Molter, Miami ’54* 2006
L.E. (Erv) Johnson, Idaho ’53 Owen S. Williams, Toronto ’50* William W. Berry, Vanderbilt ’68* Frederick F. Brower, Miami ’50
2007 Ferdinand Del Pizzo Jr., Washington in St. Louis ’58 2008 James S. Wachs, Cincinnati ’55* 2009 Donald G. (Dipper) DiPaolo, Michigan ’78 2011 William F. Hahn, Lehigh ’49 (Bottom, left) John K. (Jack) Easton, Jr., Wesleyan ’58 (Bottom, center) 2012 Peter W.C. Barnhart, Miami ’66 (Top) James J. (Tiger) Ellis, Missouri ’55* (Middle; presented
posthumously to Sweetheart Van H. Ellis; joined by Harold Hook ’53)
2014 Ronald P. Helman, Miami ’55
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2001
“Silver Grays” “Older men can lead, direct, encourage, correct and inspire younger men. Likewise, young men can give older men strength, courage, faith and add ‘future to their minds.’ This is what happens when the hand of age grips the hand of youth.” — Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22 (Inter Fratres, “The Tie That Binds,” pg. 246) There is an important part of the Beta story which is seldom told. It is the way undergraduate Betas feel about those Betas who are ever moving farther away from their own commencement. It is the way Betas no longer in college feel about the active Betas. I have never known a Beta chapter which wasn’t thrilled and honored to have alumni return. I have never known a real Beta alumnus who wasn’t thrilled and honored to have alumni return. I have never known a real Beta alumnus who wasn’t vitally interested in “what the boys in the chapter today” are doing. Here is one of the strongest links in
Beta Theta Pi – active and alumnus – the boys in the chapter and the silver grays. Much of our strength is the vital interest between a college generation and the generation which went before. In our case it is an interest cemented and kept fresh through the Beta story which is ever being written. Each year
Pictured: Yardley Chittick, MIT ’18, entertained convention goers year after year during the traditional Beta Countdown with the singing of the MIT fight song. Born October 22, 1900, Yardley was interviewed for his first job by Thomas Edison,
of whose offer he declined. And he roomed with Hollywood’s Humphrey Bogart during prep school at Andover. At the 2001 Convention in Oxford, Chittick shakes the hand of a Beta legacy to District Chief Paul Leo, Cornell ’84 – nearly 100 years his
another page is added. Those of the present want to know the earlier chapters. Those long out of college want to read the latest edition.
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It may be that the silver gray looks back to his chapter house and in the boys of today sees his youth again. It may be that the boys in the chapter see in older Betas something of the kind of mature men they want to be. “So from cherished sire to son, the links of a bond fraternal run.” — Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22 Inter Fratres, April 1952
junior. Opposite Top: Chittick with David J.D. Rae, British Columbia ’00. Opposite Bottom Left: Archivist H.H. Stephenson Jr., Miami ’39. Opposite Bottom Right: George E. Bledsoe, Indiana ’62, serves as a facilitator at the Wooden Institute.
Beta Brotherhood | page 181
2002
Beta’s Historical Publications “To all of the young men who are reading [‘Son of the Stars’] for the first time in anticipation of becoming Betas: I trust you will come away with a thorough and honest understanding of the great Fraternity with which you are associating. Then you, as I, will proudly proclaim: ‘I’m glad I’m a Beta.’” — L.E. (Erv) Johnson, Idaho ’53 Editor, The Beta Theta Pi, 1993-2001 Fraternity Studies The office of historiographer was created in 1878, but did not produce any significant material until it was held by the remarkable William R. Baird. He had already done substantial research to set up his Manual of American College Fraternities, first published in 1879. After he had written several articles entitled “Fraternity Studies” which appeared in the [Beta] magazine, he reorganized them and published them under the same title in 1883. This was the first “history” of the Fraternity, and it contained other interesting information on Beta’s government, insignia, and so forth. Fraternity Studies proved to be quite popular, filling the place now occupied by
Son of the Stars – an introductory manual to Beta. Baird made a second edition in 1894. The Handbook of Beta Theta Pi In 1907, it was issued again, but the title seemed too generic, so to avoid confusion with his interfraternity reference book, he retitled the third edition “The Handbook of Beta Theta Pi.” Baird, a lawyer and engineer, used a carefully devised outline to examine every aspect of Beta. The book includes purely factual data, but also personal insights and quotes from Beta Greats. Beta Book, Beta Lore, Beta Life “The Handbook” was Beta’s only history book until 1927, when Francis W. Shepardson updated Beta Brotherhood | page 182
and augmented it, publishing it under the title of “The Beta Book.” A second edition was made in 1930, and a third in 1935. Meanwhile Shep had also edited “Beta Lore” (1928) and Beta Life” (1929), which are perhaps on the borderline between history and inspiration… — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 324
Son of the Stars, First Edition This manual of information for pledges of Beta Theta Pi, a copy of which is given to each member of the Fraternity at the time of his initiation, is designed to present the essential information regarding the Fraternity in convenient form for pledge instruction. The factual
material is based upon the earlier publications of the Fraternity written by William Raimond Baird and Francis Wayland Shepardson, and upon original materials in the files of The Beta Theta Pi. “Son of the Stars” is published by an institution in the one hundredth year of its history. May the Stars of Beta Theta Pi serve to inspire those sons of the second century to even greater loyalty and service in “building up a fraternity with recognized standards.” — Son of the Stars, G. Herbert Smith, DePauw ’27, July 8, 1939
Marching Along Nearly 25 years went by. Then, in 1958, the Board asked K. Warren (Spig) Fawcett, Minnesota 1926, to work on a new history, covering from 1935 to 1960. This book, “Marching Along,” was published in 1961.
Faithful Home of the Three Stars.” The 550-page volume is one of Beta’s most treasured historical collections. Son of the Stars, 15th Edition In 2002, Editor and Director of Communication L.E. (Erv) Johnson, Idaho ’53, authored a new edition of “Son of the Stars – A Manual for Pledges of Beta Theta Pi.” Dedicated to and based upon the original version written by Willamette University and General Fraternity President G. Herbert Smith, DePauw ’27, “Son of the Stars” remains an important part of a new member’s understanding of the Great and Good Fraternity he has pledged – for life.
— The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 324-25
A New Era of Beta Publishing After retiring in 2001 as Beta’s first full-time Editor and Director of Communication in Oxford, Brother Johnson and wife, Ginger, traveled the country for nearly a decade before settling in Boise.
The Faithful Home of the Three Stars In 1989, as the Fraternity prepared for the sesquicentennial, Peter J. Floriani, Lehigh ’77, authored the most comprehensive collection of Beta history ever assembled, “The
In 2009, Erv picked up his pen and gained approval by the Board of Trustees to publish three new volumes that would tell the stories of scores of accomplished Betas in three very noteworthy fields: “Beta Statesmen” (2010), “Beta Heroes”
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(2011) and “Betas in the Arts” (2012). “Betas of Achievement,” written in 1914 by William Raimond Baird, will be brought current and published in 2015 thanks to Johnson’s thoughtful research and dedication. In 2013, Ken Stephen, Toronto ’77, worked with the Administrative Office staff to bring to life a 33year labor of love, “Sons of the Northern Stars — A History of Beta Theta Pi in Canada.”
(L to R): Former Editors Bob Kurz, Miami ’58, Bob Howard, DePauw ’37, and Erv Johnson, Idaho ’53.
2004
Beta Heroes
“The drive home from The Institute was a long one. I had so much Beta Spirit and energy, but no output. I popped my Beta CD into the player and sang all 44 songs. I was somewhere in Missouri, the sun going down, the clouds passing by. The sky was pink and blue.” — Lt. Andy Stern, Tennessee ’01
“Andy was just like you or me when he went to the University of Tennessee as a freshman,” [Capt. Jerry] Blesch recounted. “He served in many leadership positions, excelled as recruitment chairman, joined the crew team and was its captain. He trained as a Marine, going to Quantico in the summers. After 9/11, he said, ‘I want to be a Marine more than ever.’” He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant on Dec. 15, 2001. After graduation, Andy Stern, Tennessee ’01, deployed with his platoon and four tanks to Fallujah, Iraq, where his platoon engaged in intense fighting.
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On September 16, 2004, the platoon was ordered to dispatch two tanks to the Corps of Engineers as security for road construction. Andy led the tanks into assignment. Taking his own tank ahead to check out a suspicious pile of debris, Andy’s upper body was outside of the tank, and the gun loader was looking out, too. Andy saw something and yelled, “Oh no!” As the debris-concealed device exploded, he covered his loader’s body with his own before the deadly shrapnel hit him in the neck. Saving his loader’s life, Andy died four hours later. — Beta Heroes, pg. 236
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. It is presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress.
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Represented by these men — many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice — Beta has and always will honor the scores of brothers and others who defend liberty and freedom around the world. A 270-page expanded tribute, “Beta Heroes,” was published by the Fraternity in 2011 thanks to Erv Johnson, Idaho ’53. a Matthew Stanley Quay, Washington & Jefferson 1850 b Emory Jamison Pike, Iowa Wesleyan 1898 c Everett Parker Pope, Bowdoin ’41 d Thomas Buchanon McGuire Jr., Georgia Tech ’42 e David C. Waybur, UC-Berkeley ’42 f Terrence Collinson Graves, Miami ’67 g Karl W. Teepe, Illinois ’66 h Frederick Kuo Jr., Carnegie Mellon ’69 i Jon A. Perconti, Rutgers ’92 j Todd C. Weaver, Miami ’93 k Ryan A. Kohart, North Carolina ’98 l Frank S. Lomax, Nebraska ’39 m James W. Haverfield, Ohio State ’39
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2006
UponThesePrinciples
“During the Saturday evening Celebration Banquet at the 167th General Convention in Toronto, 2006 – which marked Beta’s first 100 years in Canada – Honorary Campaign Chairman, Senator Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54, and Chairman W. H. (Bert) Bates, Missouri ’49, announced accomplishment of the Beta Foundation’s goal to raise $15 million for the Upon These Principles Capital Campaign. Designed to help scale the Men of Principle initiative across North America, presidents of Beta’s 10 newest chapters and colonies raised large display boards in a suspenseful moment as the total was announced – marking the largest capital campaign in Greek world history.” — Adapted from The Beta Theta Pi, Fall 2006
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“Regardless of the world’s changes, the needs of our undergraduates remain.” As interest and enthusiasm for the Men of Principle initiative and its award-winning programs continued to gain momentum in the early 2000s, the Fraternity found itself in a precarious position financially following the economic recession of 2001 and in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Far from an ideal time to launch a capital campaign, Beta Foundation Board Member Bert Bates, Missouri ’49, humbly suggested during the meeting that would decide the campaign’s fate, “Regardless of the world’s changes, the needs of our undergraduates remain.”
Beginning in 2001 and concluding in 2006, the Upon These Principles Campaign was the source of extreme focus and inspiration as the Fraternity continued to develop a more progressive philosophy of supporting its undergraduates, chapters and volunteers. Loyal Zeta Phi Chapter alumnus Jim Ellis, Missouri ’55, underscored Brother Bates’ sentiments succinctly upon accepting his own appointment onto the Foundation Board of Directors, which largely represented the sentiments of some 3,000 Betas who also supported the cause in record fashion,
“My passion is my own chapter, but my responsibility is now to the General Fraternity.” Beta Brotherhood | page 187
Top Left: Providing the lead $1.5 million gift to the Upon These Principles Campaign, Anne and David Brennan, Ohio State ’53, and Tom Brennan, Ohio State ’51, were honored by the Fraternity with the naming of the Administrative Office as “Brennan Hall” at the 2003 General Convention in Oxford. Top Right: Benefactor of Beta’s five-day leadership institute with a $750,000 campaign gift, Jim Collins, UCLA ’50, met with close friend Coach John Wooden, Purdue ’32, and Foundation Director Jonathan Brant, Miami ’75, on November 16, 2007, at Wooden’s favorite restaurant, VIP’s Cafe, marking official presentation of the naming of The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle. Bottom: Left to right, Chairman Bert Bates, Missouri ’49, and Van and Jim Ellis, Missouri ’55, enjoy the Welcoming Banquet at the 167th General Convention in Toronto.
Heritage “We have a great heritage. That has been established and is ours by inheritance. The question for us of the present is, will we give ourselves to the fulfillment of our destiny as a Great and Good Fraternity? The Beta heritage and the Beta destiny go hand and hand.” — Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, Inter Fratres, February 1953
Left: General Fraternity Officers, including the Board of Trustees, District Chiefs and Beta Administrative Office staff members, attending the 2006 Hugh E. Stephenson, Jr. Leadership Summit.
2014
Chapter Homes
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Beta Theta Pi. Not just a house, but a home. Not full of friends, but of family. Not only a collegiate experience, but an enduring brotherhood that lasts a lifetime. – Stephen Harvey Barragar, Puget Sound 1990 (Below, the new home of the Zeta Phi Chapter at Mizzou on dedication weekend, Sept. 7-8, 2012)
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“In 1850, “the Hampden-Sydney chapter was established, the first fraternity chapter in Virginia. They had a different approach to the faculty vs. fraternity problem: two of the faculty were already Beta
alumni of other schools! This made a significant difference to the life of the chapter. In fact, it seems to have resulted in what was the first “chapter house” of the fraternity: the “Ratcastle” – which was rented
to members of the chapter by a member of the faculty.” — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pgs. 73-74 Above: DePauw chapter house door.
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2014
Betas of Achievement
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“ — honor shall come to the badge that we wear, And every true Beta that honor shall share.”
Ambassadors John Dolibois, Miami ’42, Ambassador to Luxembourg Glen Holden, Oregon ’51, Ambassador to Jamaica Eric Javits, Columbia ’52, Ambassador to the OPCW (The Hague) David Mulford, Lawrence ’59, Ambassador to India A
Astronauts Joe Allen, DePauw ’59 Ken Cameron, MIT ’71 Bill Nelson, Florida/Yale ’65 Paul Wietz, Penn State ’54
Business Executives John Backe, Miami ’54, CEO, CBS Stephen Bechtel Jr., Purdue ’47, CEO, Bechtel Construction A Dan Carney, Wichita State ’63, Co-founder, Pizza Hut James A. Collins, UCLA ’50, CEO, Worldwide Restaurant Concepts, Inc. b Spencer F. Eccles Sr., Utah ’56, Chairman and CEO, First Security Corp. c Richard Heckert, Miami ’44, CEO, Dupont David Holl, Clemson ’82, President and CEO, Mary Kay, Inc. Harold Hook, Missouri ’53, CEO, American General Corp.; President, Boy Scouts of America d Hugh McColl, North Carolina ’57, CEO, Bank of America Bruce Nordstrom, Washington ’55, CEO, Nordstrom e Donald E. Petersen, Washington ’46, CEO, Ford Motor Co. Frank Shrontz, Idaho ’53, CEO, Boeing Warren Staley, Kansas State ’65, CEO, Cargill F John Warnock, Utah ’61, Co-founder, Adobe Systems, Inc. Owen D. Young, St. Lawrence 1894 President and Chairman, General Electric; 1929 Time Magazine Man of the Year Beta Brotherhood | page 197
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Political Leaders Mike Bennet, Wesleyan ’87, U.S. Senator, Colorado Dick Gephardt, Northwestern ’62, Congressman, Missouri a Mark Hatfield, Willamette ’43, U.S. Senator & Governor, Oregon Richard Lugar, Denison ’54, U.S. Senator, Indiana b Jim Martin, Davidson ’57, North Carolina Governor c Bill Nelson, Florida/Yale ’65, U.S. Senator, Florida; Astronaut d Don Nickles, Oklahoma State ’71, U.S. Senator, Oklahoma John Turner, British Columbia ’49, Prime Minister of Canada e John Warner, Washington and Lee ’50, U.S. Senator, Virginia
Professional Sports Donald D. Coryell, Washington ’47, Coach, NFL Cardinals and Chargers Jay Fiedler, Dartmouth ’94, NFL Quarterback Shahid Khan, Illinois ’70, Owner, NFL Jacksonville Jaguars f Jerry R. Lucas, Ohio State ’62, NBA Hall of Fame, New York Knicks Mike Schmidt, Ohio ’71, MLB Hall of Famer g Stan Smith, Southern California ’69, Wimbledon Tennis Champion
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j k William Anderson, Whitman ’51 (“Batman” Adam West) h James K. Arness, Beloit ’46, (“Marshal Matt Dillon” on “Gunsmoke”) Jay Chandrasekhar, Colgate ’90 i, Erik Stolhanske ’91, Kevin Heffernan ’91 and Steve Lemme ’91 (Comedians, Writers and Directors; “Super Troopers”) Neil Everett, Oregon ’84 (Broadaster, ESPN’s Sportscenter) j Richard Karn, Washington ’78 (“Al” on “Home Improvement”) k George Peppard, Purdue ’52 (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and Hannibal on “The A-Team”) l John Rietz Jr., Northwestern ’54 (“Mr. Brady” Robert Reed on “The Brady Bunch”) Brian White, Dartmouth ’95 (“Moesha,” “Stomp the Yard,” “CSI: Miami,” “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse”) l Beta Brotherhood | page 199
Wisdom “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding.” — Proverbs 4:7, KJV
Bicentennial Time Capsule “Presiding at the Centenary Day ceremonies was Owen D. Young, St. Lawrence 1894, chairman of the Board of Directors, General Electric Co. He first called upon [Willamette University President and] General Secretary G. Herbert Smith, DePauw ’27 who presented the Centenary Box containing important records of the Fraternity to be opened in the year 2039. The contents of the box [were] placed in the American National Bank* of Indianapolis, Indiana.” * In 1958, the box was transferred to a new vault in the Beta Theta Pi Administrative Office in Oxford, Ohio. — The Faithful Home of the Three Stars, pg. 127
The Cutting Room Floor The reality is that sharing the story of Beta’s 175-year history is a behemoth undertaking, and trying to include a representative collection of photographs to help do so is nearly impossible. So, unable to squeeze all these treasures into the preceding pages, yet also deeming it unacceptable to let them forever remain on “the cutting room floor,” a final gallery is worthy of review. Consider it one final recognition that the goodness of Beta Theta Pi is, indeed, infinite.
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Opposite: Photographers and film crew shoot the all-convention photograph at the Centennial in Oxford. Top: Led by Pres. Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, the traditional marching line at the 123rd Convention in Asheville, N.C. Above: The Centennial Dance; Right: The Tennessee chapter enjoys the Loving Cup Ceremony.
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Opposite, Clockwise from Top Left: 125th General Convention Church Service in 1964; Miami’s Navy ROTC in the 1950s/60s; Award-winning Beta Chorus; 1965 Marching Line at the 126th General Convention, the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island. Above: 116th General Convention in 1955 at Bedford Springs, Penn.; Silver Grays enjoy shuffleboard at the 116th; Amb. Sato, DePauw 1881, always maintained his Beta style.
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Opposite, Top Row: 1905 and 1971-72 Board of Trustees. Second Row: 2002 and 2007 Board of Trustees. Third Row: 1971-72 Fund Trustees; 2013 Board of Trustees. Fourth Row: 2002 and 2013 Foundation Board of Directors. Left: 1919 District Chiefs at the 80th General Convention in Swampscott, Mass. Below: General Secretary Capt. Jerry M. Blesch, Centre ’60. Bottom: Former District Chiefs at the 150th General Convention, 1989, in Oxford, Ohio.
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Opposite, Top Row: Doorway arch of Indiana church for 2013 wedding of Jake Ahler ’13; Saint Louis undergrads, early 2000s. Second Row: 162nd Convention Chorus, 2001; Jordan McDowell, Kentucky ’14, following third consecutive Greek Sing victory. Third Row: Jordan Hayes, Central Michigan ’14; 2006 Wooden participants serenade Beta Sweetheart Bonnie Fey. Top Row: 2012 Beta Spirit at UC Santa Barbara; Saint Louis’ community service. Middle: 2010 Wooden interns sport “delicate shades”; Victor Turchany, Central Florida ’11, returns from Afghanistan; Central Michigan’s “Go Beta” button is a favorite. Bottom: Wooden, 2006; Ole Miss Betas uplift a chapter brother’s mother diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Opposite, Top Row: Knox’s grave marker; Gen. Sec. David Wright, Ohio State ’67; Middle: First Admin. Office consultant Steve Wilson, Cincinnati ’66; Sen. Lugar, Denison ’54, with grandchildren, 2008. Bottom: 2013 Convention guests; Will Allen, son of VP Scott Allen, Minnesota ’95, with Beta magazine. Left: Molly and Pres. Tom “Dr. P” Purinton, Kansas State ’63; Coach Wooden, Purdue ’32, with EKU Dean of Student Dev. and Beta Skip Daugherty ’69, and two-term president Tim McCubbin ’76. Middle: 1996-97 Chapter Mgt. Consultants; Wooden. Bottom: “BB” Breittholz ’05 Convention; house caretaker Ish Barbee initiated into the UNC Chapter.
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Top: 2007 Wooden participants sing “Beta Doxology” at Alpha. Middle: UCLA Betas honor passing of Coach Wooden; San Diego Betas at “Life Rolls On” philanthropy for people with spinal cord injuries. Left: Long-time Wooden facilitator Jim McClanahan, Miami ’60. Above: Miami Pres./Beta Dad Dr. David Hodge retweets Campanile, Sept. 2013. Opposite: British Columbia’s 75th; George Washington Betas with Einstein, 2011; AO front lawn; Sen. Lugar with Denison Betas; Kentucky’s Initiation in Oxford, spring 2013.
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“I got everything I could possibly ask for from this Fraternity. Of course, the only thing I have found experience-wise worth passing along is, as you go through life, do something bigger than yourself.” — Ray Mabus, Mississippi ’69, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Former Governor of Mississippi and Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Oxford Cup Acceptance Remarks 174th General Convention, 2013
“Our fraternity has been conservative. She has also been progressive. Most of the great reforms and improvements in fraternity matters have originated in Beta Theta Pi. Therefore, we must realize the difficulties and rivalries which surround us, and determine to face them with loyalty worthy of the Beta of old days.”
“This collection of Beta lore, imagery and quotes — imperfect as it is — seeks to capture for a new generation the “best of the best” and, maybe even more importantly, reinforce the significance of what Beta Theta Pi can mean in a man’s life — and the world he cares for, gives to and leaves behind.”
— John Calvin Hanna, Wooster 1881
To purchase a copy of Beta Brotherhood, contact the Administrative Office at 800.800.BETA or www.beta.org.
Printed in 2014. All rights reserved.
— John Reily Knox, Miami 1839 (Above, front row, center; 1895 Pilgrimage to Oxford — one of his last.) Beta Brotherhood is a tribute to the Fraternity’s remarkable history, both written and visual, and “the long illustrious line” of Betas who lead by example, put others before self and, above all else, know that, “to whom much is given, of him much is expected.” Accordingly, the Beta Theta Pi Foundation is grateful to Editor Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, and Creative
Director Sarah Shepherd for authoring another treasure in the library of Beta books. The Beta Foundation plays an instrumental role in “developing men of principle for a principled life.” Primary funder of the Men of Principle initiative since its inception in 1998, the Foundation plays a key role in the success of the Fraternity by securing,
investing and allocating generous donor gifts to leadership and educational programs that serve Beta’s members and constituents. For information on how one can personally advance efforts of the Beta Foundation, contact an Administrative Office staff member in Oxford at 800.800. BETA or www.beta.org.
COBB | SHEPHERD
Jacket art and design by Sarah Shepherd, creative director, Oxford, Ohio.
“There is nothing small about Beta Theta Pi.”
BETA BROTHERHOOD
L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96, a native of Nicholasville, Ky., has served the Fraternity’s Administrative Office staff in a variety of roles since 1997. Former director of expansion, director of the Men of Principle initiative, and current Foundation director of advancement and Editor/director of communication, Cobb lives in Oxford and enjoys staying fit, red wine, real estate and embellishing tall tales.
— L. Martin Cobb, Eastern Kentucky ’96
A concept that was years in the making, Beta Brotherhood is meant to be a book of entertainment, inspiration and reinforcement.
BETA BROTHERHOOD a 175th anniversary tribute
In its 175th year, a respectful and humble nod to history is all that can be asked of this new addition to the library of Beta books. Certainly the great writers of yesteryear are the authorities on all things Beta history. And thank goodness for the diligent and thoughtful photographers through the years who have captured the sentiments and special moments that would take dissertations to explain — yet still fall short.