I have an invitation for the October 8 First Semester initiation of Omicron of Psi Upsilon probably 1911. It lists, among others the above Bill Holden, my wife's paternal grandfather and I believe the U of I quarterback. Also, Fielder, Lawless, Pudney, Egan, Hanley, Acer all '14 and Gibbs, Jr. and Checkley , both '13. Please let me know if you want a copy of this document.
Steve Reff
With the chapter on the verge of its centennial year on campus, this was a wonderful surprise. Alumni secretary Dave Komie '92.5 started a correspondence with Mr. Reff which is published below, along with the invitation in question and a photo of our 1912 Illio entry showing Brother Holden at second row from bottom, third from left.
Hi Mr. Reff:
Thank you for your wonderful email. Yes, we'd be delighted to get a copy of such a document. I personally am the alumni secretary and have become sort of chapter historian, too – so getting an offer like this is music to my ears.
In my library, I have a 1912 Illio yearbook and have scanned the pages below to see your wife's grandfather as a freshman. I would be interested to hear also if you have documentation of his football playing days, as the official Illini all-time letterwinners list doesn't have his hame on it. I've found that athletics back then can be tricky to follow. The freshman class had a team, the sophomores, etc – so I have our old alumni newsletters with all sorts of athletes in there, but they played for the class team, not varsity.
The men listed along with your wife's grandfather are nearly founding members – one I suspect is a brother of a founder, though I have no second source to prove this. Did he pass along any college or fraternity stories?
Yours very truly and with appreciation,
Dave Komie '92.5 – Secretary, Omicron Alumni Association
David,
Attached is the invitation. Unfortunately, Mr. Holden died of influenza in 1920 and the only thing I ever heard of him was from my mother-in -law who has since passed away. You can use whatever you deem appropriate. If I run into anything else, I will forward. I do have his team picture from Elgin Ill in 1908 but probably not appropriate.
