The Annals of Psi Upsilon
Peter A. Gabauer, ed., Annals of Psi Upsilon; 1833-1941 (Executive Council of Psi Upsilon, New York, 1941)
Omicron specific chapter: pages 292-300
OMICRON CHAPTER – UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
MAY 28, 1910
Nearly eight years were to pass be fore Psi Upsilon added to its Chapter roll. From the Golden Gate the scene now shifts to the middlewest where the Iota, Phi, Omega, Mu and Rho were firmly planted. On May 28, 1910, at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, which had been founded in 1868, the Omicron Chapter was born, the twenty-fourth jewel to be placed in the crown of our Order.
The beginning of the associations, which were to lead to the establishment of the Omicron, was in the spring of 1903. From Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, a bulwark of the Chapter as he has been of the Fraternity, we learn of these early days:
It was then that six men in the College of Engineering, Class of 1906, after several months acquaintance in class and shop, rooming-house and eating places, found themselves missing some of the greater freedom, regularity and comfort of the homes left some months earlier. They had seen the “home” advantages of organized houses, called fraternities and clubs, and there must be others of their acquaintance who felt the same need of a different college background.
If, in a fast growing university, they had not come to the attention of the existing organizations, then too, whatever glamour or social preferment they might represent held no great attraction. The objectives of any organization of theirs, then, would be a wider circle of intimate friends, with increasing good fellowship and mutual helpfulness. Ultimately there would be that ‘home” in which all this might be best accomplished and accommodated. This is dwelt upon as being the fundamental groundwork upon which the organization took form and the guiding spirit which culminated in the Omicron Chapter of Psi Upsilon. Who shall say that the idea of a fraternity connection was not in embryo but it was not thereby declaration.
Led by the energetic ability of Harmon V. Swart ‘06, those six freshmen each brought another friend into the circle so that by the close of the college year in 1903 there were twelve men of this one mind.
These six men were—Harmon V. Swart, W. K. Henning, George S. Pope, Dwayne C. Young, June I Freeman, and William L. Stanrad. All but the last two were to become members of our mystic band.
From the Aztec notes made by Jus tin W. Shrader ‘11, we read:
Each was for close loyalty and identical sympathies and feelings. True friendship was to be the aim of the organization. All summer they lived, dreamed, slept and talked ideas.
On reassembling the following autumn, the process of choosing new friends continued. They gathered about them men in whose hearts burned the same warm desire for friendship and whose shoulders were ready for the load of responsibility. Meetings were held in the various rooms of the group. In February of 1904, The Aztec Club was formally organized, officers elected and a constitution adopted. The records for February 8, 1904, contain the following entry:
The first meeting was held in the room of Pope, Cramer and Henning in the house on Daniel Street, second one east on the south side from Fourth Street.
Concerning the name of the Club, Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, has written:
The name Aztec proved to be an attractive one, but it was without significance. In fact it was a second choice. The name originally chosen, and again obviously without significance except to show how little the group knew, was “Archon.” Happily it was discovered that this was a title common in fraternity organizations before it ever became public as the name of the Club. The name Aztec perhaps can be said to be a literary or dictionary discovery. The Club needed a name, and the A to Z quest yielded it within the first letter of the alphabet. It might be noted in passing that there was a deliberate effort to avoid anything that smacked of aping the Greek letter designations.
By the end of May, 1904, nineteen men had been chosen who had signed the constitution and paid the initiation fees.
With the courage of youth and in experience, the new Club leased for five years a twenty room house at 606 East Green Street. But a few steps from the center of the campus on what was at the time the main thoroughfare for many students trekking to and from classes, as well as between Champaign and Urbana, the location of this house was to play an important part in bringing an other wise inconspicuous group to the attention of the college community. Thus The Aztec Club was ready to enter in the autumn of 1904 the organization life of the University of Illinois.
The group of nineteen which started the academic year of 1904—05, was made up of students in the classes of 1905, 1906, and 1907. During the first month six more were initiated. With twenty-five members, the house was comfortably filled and the financial operation well in hand. For some months internal operations and an effort to gain a definite place as an organization in university affairs were to occupy the group.
Almost immediately The Aztec Club began to attract attention well beyond the expectation and desires of the members. But in this way a morale was quickly built which under less public scrutiny might have taken much longer to establish. The members soon realized that Aztec faced comparison with the older clubs that were petitioning for Delta Kappa Epsilon, for Phi Kappa Psi, and for Delta Upsilon, and with three organizations of no earlier vintage than Aztec—Pi Theta, the Oax Club, and the Comus Club which were seeking Alpha Delta Phi, Theta Delta Chi, and Chi Psi respectively.
With the unheralded appearance of The Aztec Club at the opening of college in the autumn of 1904, there was an undercurrent of campus belief that it had been formed to secure a chapter of some fraternity, it is probable that due to the curiosity of outsiders gradually generating greater interest in the idea than had previously existed, the thought really began to take hold within the group. In the meantime, Professor Pickett of the Law School, who was the guiding Delta Kappa Epsilon director of the Sphinx petition, came directly to the point by suggesting that the Aztecs seek Psi Upsilon. The Sphinx petition was expected to be granted very soon, as was that of the group in quest of Phi Kappa Psi, while the Alpha Delta Phi and Delta Upsilon petitions were said to be well along.
The history of national fraternities at the University of Illinois goes back to the resolutions of the Board of Trustees in 1876, and 1881, forbidding a student to enter the University until he had pledged himself not to join a fraternity. No student could be graduated until he had certified that he had not belonged to any fraternity while in college. Later, however, in 1890, the Board of Trustees passed the following resolution:
That the pledge heretofore required for candidates for entry to the University in regard to college fraternities, he omitted, and the subject of these fraternities be referred to the Committee on Rules.
Since that date societies have had official sanction.
By 1903 eleven fraternities had been established. The next year chapters of Phi Kappa Psi and of Delta Kappa Epsilon were installed, which were to be followed in 1905 by Delta Upsilon, in 1908 by three others, and in 1909 by Zeta Psi. Not until 1911 was Alpha Delta Phi to have a chap ter at Illinois.
The setting seemed auspicious for a chapter of Psi Upsilon on the campus of this great State University where such remarkable progress was being made. In fact that possibility had already been discussed among the Aztecs. Indeed, there was already a determination on the part of several that if the young Club did not obtain a charter of Psi Upsilon it would continue to function as a local society. But matters progressed slowly and it was not until January, 1905, that the fraternity issue came to the fore.
By that time the Psi Upsilon endeavor had become crystallized. Dr. Charles M. Moss, Pi ‘77, a professor of Greek, who over the years had found that Greek letter men all too disinterested in the subject of his life work, was then the sole Psi U on the Illinois faculty. At first not too much encouragement was to be found within his sanctum, but before long he became an ardent, if conservative, supporter, contributing, as an act of faith and interest, a son who was one of the first petitioners, Charles T. Moss ‘07.
In January1905, two Aztecs journeyed to nearby Danville to seek the support of the next closest resident member of Psi Upsilon. Dr. Stephen C. Glidden, Phi ‘93. Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, one of the two, records:
A reception of warm encouragement and cooperation by a personality that left no doubt that the quest was worth while.
In February Dr. Glidden wrote to the Phi espousing in warm terms the Aztec cause and asking his Chapter to investigate its forthcoming petition.
It was while following the course suggested by Dr. Glidden that, through the good offices of Professor Pickett, the Aztec Club was brought to the attention of Dr. Augustus F. Nightingale, Xi ‘66, in the spring of 1905. Of him Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, writes:
of
Dr. Nightingale, an educator of high rank, had been President of the Board of Trustees, University of Illinois in 1901, and was still actively associated in its affairs. Of him much might be most deservedly written in connection with the success of the Aztec Club in seeking a chapter of Psi Upsilon. Of high repute as an educator, with an special University of Illinois background; beloved of Psi U men everywhere; he was unceasing advocate of the Aztec cause. How much he smoothed the path can be known but to a few. But he did more than that. A frequent visitor, he brought good advice for the conduct and living of the moment; told of the ideals men should have and how they had been given expression in Psi Upsilon; held out the goal that only through living up to these ideals could Psi U be gained; adjured that only by their observance could Psi Upsilon be maintained. With all due deference to the many Psi U friends of Aztec days, Dr. Nightingale unquestionably was its chief source of encouragement in the face of discouragement, its very inspiration. The debt of the Omicron is everlasting. Without him it might not have come to pass.
From this point, the history is one of steady expansion of Psi U acquaintance. Any petitioning body from the University of Illinois must from obvious necessity earn the confidence of the Psi U alumni in the middlewest, largely centered at that time in Chicago, as well as the comradeship of the middle-western Chapters. An interest in the growth of the Fraternity led not a few of its graduate members to visit the Aztecs to see for themselves whether the judgment of others who had been convinced that the petitioners merited a charter was correct. From time to tune the Aztecs sent visiting delegations as did the Chapters. Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, made a tour of the Phi, Omega, Iota, Mu, and Rho.
In the spring of 1906 and at the request of the petitioners the Psi Upsilon Alumni Association of the Northwest, with headquarters in Chicago, sent a committee of investigation composed of Frederick W. Mehlhop, Phi ‘88, Farlin LI. Ball, Rho ‘95, and Herbert P. Zimmerman, Omega ‘01. After a thorough canvas of the faculty and of the existing fraternities, this Committee’s report was such that the Association unanimously endorsed the establishment of a chapter at the University of Illinois, with the Aztec Club as the recipient.
In the interval the five mid Chapters—Iota, Phi, Omega, Mu, and Rho—had given their endorsement. The Aztec Club thereupon presented its first formal petition to Psi Upsilon at the 1906 Convention held with the Beta Beta. This petition, signed in twenty-four members of the local Club, contained a history of the group, the University, and was accompanied by letters from the several deans, and from Charles M. Moss, Pi ‘77, Harry T. Nightingale, Phi ‘95, the son of Augustus F. Nightingale, Xi ‘66, an instructor in History; Henry Wailer, Omega ‘04, a special student; and from other prominent mid-western alumni—Francis W. Kelsey, Upsilon ‘80, Luther L. Mills, Phi ‘69, Augustus F. Nightingale, Xi ‘66, Humphrey H. C. Miller, Phi ‘68, Judge Harry Higbee, Beta ‘75, Sidney C. Eastman, Phi ‘73, Frederick L. Bliss, Phi ‘77, Matthew Mills, Beta ‘00, President Herbert Welch, Xi’87, of Ohio Wesleyan University, and Dr. Stephen C. Glidden, Phi ‘93. It was stated:
The Club has recently purchased two very choice lots just across from the campus, upon which it intends to build a permanent club house upon the expiration of the lease on its present quarters.
The petitioners, prepared for unfavorable action, received more encouragement than they had dared expect. The Aztec Club was now before the entire Fraternity.
The 1907 petition was less formal, but no less sincere. By that time it was realized that the road leading to the diamond badge was not to be a short one. The mid-western Chapters, whose approval was vital, stood by their earlier judgments, but among the alumni in the same section there developed some doubt, if not opposition. This led to the appointment in February of 1908 by the Psi U Club of Chicago of a committee of three who were chosen because they were very definitely opposed to the Aztec petition. Josiah MacRoberts, Phi’86, William Beye, Rho ‘02, and John R. Bensley, Chi ‘00, representing the then Psi Upsilon Club of Chicago, according to the record,
Gave a very careful and thorough report, endorsed the petition unqualifiedly for immediate favorable action
which the Club voted unanimously.
In the early spring of 1908, Walter T. Collins, Iota ‘03, accompanied John H. Craig ‘07, on a visit to the Eastern Chapters in order to stimulate interest in the Aztec cause. In his History of the Omicron James F. Donahue, Jr., ‘38, writes:
In the history of any organization there always appear the names of a few individuals on whose shoulders has rested the greater part of the responsibility and through whose efforts the goal of the group has he reached. Of this type are John “Scrubby” Craig ‘07, and Walter T. Collins, Iota ‘03. Their trip to the Eastern Chapters which they made between the dates of February 8, 1908, and March 7, 1908, was the determining factor in the admission of the Aztec Club into Psi Upsilon.
In May the petition was presented to the 1908 Convention held with the Delta, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Fraternity. It again failed, but by a narrower margin, being ratified by all but the Lambda and the Tau.
At the 1909 Convention held with the Omega in May of that year, the Aztec petition passed the Convention and all that was needed was ratification. This proceeded very slowly. But the confidence of the petitioners was growing as is indicated by circulars sent to their alumni. A special letter of November 8, 1909, suggested the organization of an Alumni Association:
believing that the influence of the alumni, which is at present greatly diversified, would be concentrated within a unit, which in turn would be instrumental in shaping the future policy and destiny of our fraternity; and that, by this means the preservation of our traditions would he insured. From the standpoint of the active chapter the benefits are self-evident.
A letter of February 23, 1910, records:
The vote of ratification has only recently been called for, and it is practically certain that we will receive a favorable vote from all except Columbia. Regarding the latter chapter a vote was to have been taken several days ago, the result of which we have not as yet learned.
And a little later:
Our fraternity campaign is progressing slowly but nicely. Mr. H. L. Bridgman and Walter T. Collins are, as usual, working hard for us, and with such men en listed in our cause, we fail to see anything before us but success.
Not until April 26, 1910, was The Aztec Club informed that all of the Chapters had voted favorably on its petition. At long last its goal was about to be achieved. On Saturday, May 28, 1910, Herbert L. Bridgman, Gamma ‘66, and Earl D. Babst, Iota-Phi ‘93, installed the Omicron Chapter and initiated the charter members. Following the initiatory rites was a faculty reception; and in the evening a memorable banquet. Brothers Bridgman and Babst wrote to the Executive Council as of May 31, 1910:
We respectfully report, that in accordance with the Constitution of the Fraternity and Resolution of the Council, May 16, 1910, we initiated at Champaign, Ill. Saturday, May 28, 1910, the 43 petitioners In the University of Illinois into the Fraternity. . . . We also record our conviction that in personnel and environment the new chapter is of exceptional promise and that the Fraternity may be congratulated on its acquisition.
In the archives of the Executive Council is a telegram sent to Herbert L. Bridgman by Charles T. Moss ‘07:
Following are names of charter members—George Fulton Daniel Zimmerman, William Alexander Pegram, Edwin Harris Waggoner, Richard Woleben Bardwell, Christian Harrison Solfisburg, Charles Wallace Graham, Max Wesley Kegley, Thomas Francis Hanley, Jr., Gerald Clark Smith, Harold Sydney Fielder, and Justin Winfred Shrader.
At that time many of the pioneers of the Psi Upsilon movement became privileged to wear the coveted diamond badge of our Order.
The Daily Illini for May 29, 1910, carries the following account:
A reception to President James and the Deans of the Colleges was held at the chapter house at four-thirty in the after noon. The installation banquet was held at the Beardsley in the evening. Among the visiting members of the fraternity present were Dr. A. F. Nightingale, Mr. S. R. Smith, and Mr. W. T. Collins of Chicago. The faculty members present were Professor C. M. Moss and Mr. H. T. Nightingale. The in who were initiated into the fraternity are J. A. Craig, A. C. Cromer, O. E. Staples, Jay Briggs, C. W. Bridenthal, L. H. Bremer, L. J. Dykes, H. E. Ercanbrach, C. P. Fletcher, F. L. Gibbs, R. S. Isaacson, N. H. Jacobson C. T. Moss, H. H. Morgan, R. R. McDowell, G. S. Pope, R. E. Taylor, H. E. Wilson, Frederick Green, F. H. Rankin, G. F. Zimmerman, W. A. Pegram, F. H. Waggoner. R. W. Bardwell, C. W. Graham, H. F. Gonnerman, H. S. Fielder, J. W. Shrader, C. H. Solfisburg, T. F. Hanley, Jr., M. W. Kegley, G. C. Smith, H. A. Acer, H. O. Bock, P. N. Chase, O. M. Henn., S. B. McFadden, F. X. McGrath, G. B. Richmond, R. C. Rottger, E. B. Shinn, B. C. Snider, and E. L. Murphy.
The Omicron born on May 28, 1910, has had four hundred and twenty members, of whom three hundred and eighty-one are alive today. This youthful Chapter, now but thirty-one years old, has held one memorable Convention of the Fraternity in 1931, has contributed Alfred Hammond Morton ‘19, to our Executive Council. The foundation was laid; the task remained of erecting thereon a structure that would be of credit to our great Fraternity.
The next two decades were years of steady advancement. The Chapter became more and more an important factor in the life of Illinois. The Omicron feels, and justly so, that it has contributed much to the development of Alma Mater—its sons have helped to build the great University of today.
From a letter of December 15, 1910, we learn that the first payment had been made on the lot in Urbana. February 12, 1911, President William Howard Taft, Beta ‘78, visited Urbana and Champaign. The records state:
Brother Charles W. Graham was introduced to the President while on the reviewing stand, and they exchanged the grip in hearty fashion.
A letter of January 30, 1911, by Brainerd C. Snyder ‘13, to Earl D. Babst Iota-Phi ‘93, who had aided in the installation of the Omicron, said:
Financially, we are in good shape. We have laid the foundation for a new Chapter house by acquiring desirable lots, and by establishing a fund with that portion of our income that was formerly devoted to obtaining a charter. . The future ahead of us is bright, and with Psi U ideals ever before us, it is our aim to strengthen the tie of the “diamond fetters” between ourselves and the other chapters.
Earl D. Babst, Iota-Phi’93, in the report to the Council of his visit to the Omicron, early in 1914, stated:
The Chapter itself has been incorporated under the laws of Illinois and holds in fee the two lots acquired for chapter house purposes. The Alumni, however, have a separate voluntary alumni association of which H. E. Wilson of Peoria, Ill., is President, O. E. Staples of Urbana, Ill., Treasurer, and C. W. Graham, of Urbana, Secretary.
The Alumni Association is devoting its efforts exclusively to a building fund and up to the present has not assumed any other relation to the chapter.
Each member during his freshman year signs ten notes of $10 each, to the order of the building fund, payable within the succeeding ten years, one note falling due annually.
The Chapter does not lack in the desirable talent of student-life, which is evident from the fact that it has not lost a bid during the rushing year.
Volume One, Number one of the Omicron Owl which appeared in July, 1919, carried the following account:
About the first of September 1918, the Psi Upsilon House was taken over by the University Trustees as cadet barracks for the student Army Training Corps of the U. S. Army.
During the time the house was occupied by the army, the chapter rented temporary headquarters in the Harvard apartments, used for meetings and a club suite and lounging headquarters. This arrangement proved satisfactory under the circumstances.
The Omicron Owl continues:
Articles of incorporation for the Alumni Association of the Omicron Chapter of Psi Upsilon were taken out July 9th. The directors include brothers N. Jacobson ‘08, E. L. Murphy ‘07, I B. Foster ‘17, W. B. Hayne ‘18, and N. Utley ‘18. The officers are E. L. Murphy, president, I A. Foster, secretary, and W. B. Hayne, treasurer.
In the autumn of 1924 the Omicron moved into its new home, 313 Armory Avenue, on the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Armory. At the time of the installation the Chapter House had been at 606 East Green Street. Later a move was made to 410 East Green Street. The Diamond for November, 1924, records:
The mass and outline of the building develop a natural, rather than contrive picturesqueness. The style shows the same spirit which animated the Sixteenth Century Englishman, when he built in native style and period. Precisely the same careful attention to line and proportion, and right adaptation of features to their purposes are apparent throughout the building.
The front is dominated by two large chimneys and centered between them on the axis of the lot and circle is the main entrance of stone. This feature rises to a height above the second story window sills, where it is topped by the Ancient Owl, and because it is symbolic, it becomes the main feature of the exterior of the building.
The materials used chiefly for the walls are a rough textured brick which will he treated with a special whitewash. The window lintels are of stone, as are also the porch piers of the living porch on the south.
The Committee of loyal alumni whose hard work has made possible this splendid and unique addition to our chapter houses deserve a very considerable expression of appreciation. Under their direction the funds were collected and the plans were drawn by an eminent architect of Chicago. The speed with which the house was completed is further testimony of the ability of this committee. We could not neglect to mention the generosity of the alumni of the Omicron who have made it possible to erect this fine new monument to Psi Upsilon. These tangible aspects of love for the fraternity give expression to those finer sentiments which most of the time do not appear to the public eye, and while Psi Upsilon does not advocate the building of unduly expensive chapter houses it does take pride in having its undergraduates well housed.
On May 3, 4, 1985, the Omicron celebrated its Silver Jubilee, marking twenty-five years as an integral part of Psi Upsilon, twenty-five years of which the Omicron can justly be proud. Eighty-three Psi U’s attended the ceremonies at which the President of the University spoke. The Omicron Alumni Association presented a bronze plaque to the Chapter which is affixed to the front out side wall of the house.
The Omicron is a young Chapter, but its foundations have been care fully laid. Today it stands at the head of the fraternities on the campus of the University of Illinois. Its sons have brought eminence and success to Psi Upsilon and the Omicron. Dean Fred H. Rankin ‘87, arid Professor Frederick Green ‘89, did much to build the Chapter of today. The pioneer work of Professor Charles M. Moss, Pi ‘77, and Dr. Augustus F. Nightingale, Xi ‘66, will always abide in the memory of the Omicron.
It is impossible here to mention all of the sons of the Omicron who through the years have been its de voted and loyal supporters. Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, Franklin T. Kegley ‘08, Harmon V. Swart ‘06, have been bulwarks of the Chapter. Roy E. Taylor ‘07, George S. Pope ‘06, Harrison F. Gonnerman ‘08, Hal E. Ercanbrach ‘09, Richard W. Bardwell ‘10, Charles W. Graham ‘10, Cyrus W. Bridenthal ‘11, Justin W. Shrader ‘11, Roger S. Isaacson ‘11, Harold S. Fielder ‘11, Thomas F. Hanley ‘12, Joseph H. Checkley ‘13, Russell C. Rottger ‘13, Harold H. Egan ‘14, Cassius P. Fletcher ‘14, prominent in diplomacy, Daniel F. Comstock ‘15, Burtis J. Dolan ‘15, John L. MeKeown ‘15, famous Olympic hurdler, were among the many early builders of the Omicron. They were followed by Vernon W. Behel, Jr., ‘16, Christian I Gross ‘17, prominent diplomat, Earl W. Anderson ‘18, of the faculty of Ohio State University, Francis C. Hardie ‘18, Nelson M. Utley ‘18, Alfred H. Morton ‘19, of the Radio Corporation of America, and many others.
The Omicron has had its share of scholars; C. Lyman Emrich ‘32, a lawyer in Chicago, who was a Rhodes Scholar; great athletes, such as John L. McKeown ‘15, John C. Depler ‘21, Charles R. Carney ‘22, and Tracy 5, Barrett ‘28, to name but a few.
The Omicron’s foundations have been well laid; its future is secure, a bright jewel in our fraternal crown.
No sadness e’er can enter here,
Joy smiles upon us all the year;
While hand in hand like brothers true,
We faithful stand to old Psi U.
Oscar Kuhns, Xi ‘85.
Material has been submitted and suggestions made by Frederick Green ‘89, Emmett L. Murphy ‘07, and James F. Donahue, Jr., ‘38. The latter in 1937 prepared a short History of the Omicron.