"No Chapter of the Fraternity, not even Alpha, has had a greater impress on her history."
- Freeman Hansford Hart, The History of Pi Kappa Alpha (1934)
Facing the adventure of leaving home and starting a new stage of life
in college, two young men met on a train headed for Stewart College in
Clarksville, Tennessee. The year was 1877, and the world in which the
two grew up was, needless to say, a very different place. Unlike
students beginning their undergraduate studies in the fall of 2003,
Llewellyn Price and Charles Mallard had no concept of such modern
conveniences as the internet, cellular communication or travel by
airplane. For that matter, the radio and the automobile were still
unknowns, and Alexander Graham Bell’s famous first telephone with his
assistant had only taken place during the previous year. America was
not a country of 50 states, but of 38. The Statue of Liberty had not
yet adorned the New York City skyline. The miracle cure penicillin was
50 years away. The two travelers no doubt carried matches to light
candles for their studies since Thomas Edison would not patent his
electric light bulb until 1879. However, in a little over a year, a
common factor between this time and the present would emerge. Price and
Mallard would be members of an organization of men banded together as
brothers for life, known by the name Theta Chapter of the Pi Kappa
Alpha Fraternity.
Price,
from Vicksburg, Mississippi, and mallard, a native of New Orleans,
became friends while traveling to their new home. After arriving in
Clarksville and becoming acquainted with college life, they considered
the social opportunities afforded by joining a Greek organization, but
they were unimpressed by the one fraternity currently operation on
campus. During this time of adjustment, the college changed its name to
Southwestern Presbyterian University, and Price and mallard became
acquainted with a fellow student named James Howerton, who had come to
Clarksville from Kentucky. Howerton also expressed an interest in what
Greek life had to offer, and the three friends began correspondence
with students attending other institutions in order to find out the
qualities and reputations of Greek Societies on those campuses.
Into the Second Decade
Now
a decade into its existence, Pi Kappa Alpha was in an aggressive
campaign of expansion, directed by the founding chapter, Alpha, at the
University of Virginia. Many charters were discussed, and prospective
establishment at Southwestern Presbyterian and at the University of
Louisiana/Louisiana Medical College (Known today as Tulane University)
was being pursued simultaneously. In March of 1878, Alpha initiate
Henry Dickson Bruns was given permission to initiate a friend of his
attending Louisiana, and the Eta name was at least preliminarily
assigned to the Louisiana location; even though that chapter was not
officially chartered until January 14, 1879.
Some
of the five new chapters were not as successful as Alpha had hoped, and
were forced to disband after being issued a charter, due to financial
hardship or institutional restrictions.
In
the meantime, another Alpha member named Eli Bemiss befriended the
three inquisitive students at Southwestern Presbyterian, and on October
21, 1878, Alpha granted a charter to the newly christened chapter under
the designation of Theta. Distance prevented any Alpha member from
attending the installation in person, so the chartering documents were
mailed to Clarksville and Price, Mallard and Howerton took turns in
administering the oath of membership to one another. Therefore, while
Theta follows Eta alphabetically, Theta is the Fraternity’s seventh
chapter. Due to this situation, Alpha requested approval from the
membership of Theta before allowing the name Eta for the men at
Louisiana. Theta agreed, and by the end of the University’s session,
Theta’s charter members would initiate seven additional men into the
bonds of brotherhood. Although new to the campus and the Fraternity,
the chapter made a conscious decision to remain selective and only
added four members to their roster in the following semester.
Difficult Times
Just
as Theta was strengthening its roots and growing its membership,
prospects for the Fraternity as a while began a downward turn. By May
of 1880, only Theta and the Grand Chapter remained. In the academic
year that followed, Alpha only initiated three new members and
communicated its discouragement to Theta by opening discussion about
merging with another more established national fraternity. Theta
responded by purchasing “the full initiatory regalia” which previously
had not been affordable for the chapter. They consequently inducted
many new members and informed Alpha of reluctance to join any other
organization, and offered to serve as the Grand Chapter if Alpha was
resolute in its decision.
Despite
its steadfast optimism, Theta also began to lose heart by spring of
1881. Chapter minutes record debates regarding Alpha’s proposition, and
neither chapter pursued new members during that semester. Following
that spring, both chapters experienced successive periods of
alternation strength and discouragement, and research concerning a
prospective merger was begun again. A renewed interest in expansion
during the 1883-84 academic year helped to dampen thoughts of
extinction, and advice from the alumni of each chapter was strongly
negative toward any sort of merger. Alumni response was so strong, in
fact, that the option of dissolution was dropped.
With
varying degree of success, Alpha and Theta attempted to plant chapters
at other institutions. Theta continued to send annual dues to the Grand
Chapter, and encouraged the adoption of official colors in order to
establish a distinctive personality in the fraternity world. The
expansion effort, while heartfelt, was met with many obstacles, and the
two chapters began to quarrel. Neither could decide which one was
making the greatest effort of cooperation with full enthusiasm. Theta
then began negotiations with another fraternity, going so far as to
write a proposal and present it to Alpha, but Alpha did not agree. The
question of a merger was present through the summer, but new initiates
in fall of 1884 brought a strong new class to Theta, giving it more
hope for a future. Another national fraternity began lobbying to take
of the chapters as it struggled, but Theta’s minutes recorded that the
membership voted to “stick to dear old Pi Kappa Alpha like a leech.” In
the wake of the proposed takeover, Theta and Alpha agreed to put aside
their differences and work together to the best of their abilities in
order to keep the Fraternity alive.
Staying the Course
Early
after beginning the 1885-86 sessions at Southwestern Presbyterian,
Theta again profited from an encouraging class of new initiates and
decided to no longer consider the possibility of merging with another
organization. From that point on, Theta would be a chapter of Pi Kappa
Alpha or else its members would voluntarily leave Greek life entirely.
The stand would prove to be a bold one, considering the events that lay
ahead. Much later, Theron Hall Rice would write about Theta during this
period that there was an “unwritten law among the men of that chapter
never to ask a man to join them who had not been asked by all the other
clubs on the campus.” The aim of Theta was clear, however uncertain its
future.
In
the fall of 1885, Alpha responded to Theta’s request to expand the
Fraternity to new schools by sending a supply of blank charters to be
used by Theta as it saw fit. Thus, Theta then assumed the
responsibilities of the Grand Chapter. Also that fall, Theta initiate
Richard Markus Kennedy had left the chapter to pursuer a degree from
Union Theological Seminary at Hampden-Sydney, Virginia. Kennedy’s
genial personality extended to the undergraduate population of
neighboring Hampden-Sydney College, and he quickly worked to establish
a new chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha on that campus. Serving as Grand
Chapter, Theta granted a charter to Hampden-Sydney, and Iota Chapter
initiated its first members on November 14, 1885.
Theta
extended its new administrative duties by organizing a convention in
Louisville and reviving Zeta Chapter, although Zeta only survived
through the ongoing academic term and again went silent. The convention
in Louisville proved to be both a time of bonding for Theta and Iota,
as well as a time for political struggle. Alpha and Theta vied for
dominance in decision-making and Iota was caught in the middle as the
newest chapter, while still having strong ties to Theta. During this
convention, Iota exhibited leadership in proposing that the Fraternity
should be accepting of expansion across the nation. The desire for a
regular schedule of conventions was also expressed.
The
establishment of Iota at Hampden-Sydney proved to be providential, for
it was on that campus that the convention known as the “re-founding” of
Pi Kappa Alpha occurred in 1889. Theron Hall Rice, who transferred to
Virginia from Theta, and John Shaw Foster, Theta’s own delegate, were
present, and became two of the four Junior Founders as they are known
today (along with Howard Bell Arbuckle representing Iota and Robert
Adger Smythe from Lambda at the Citadel). At the re-founding, a council
was set up to replace the authority of a “Grand Chapter,” and
geographic limitations concerning expansion were again debated.
Consensus on the design of the badge and regalia were also discussed,
as was the need for a formal publication.
In
the fall of 1889, only one man, John Shaw Foster, returned to
Southwestern Presbyterian as a member of Theta Chapter. Vigorous
alumni, however, came to the aid of Theta and helped Foster initiate
new men, keeping Theta alive.
Moving Ahead
Flash forward about a hundred years Theta continued to hold ground on a
small four-year liberal arts college in the south. In the intervening
time, the college had experienced a move from Clarksville to Memphis
along with a name change with its move in 1925 to Southwestern at
Memphis. In 1984 the college again changed its name to Rhodes College.
As with most national fraternities the chapter experienced periods of
growth followed by periods of difficulty. A lean membership during the
early 80s gave way to an upsurge in new initiates as the decade wore
on, and Pi Kappa Alpha because a domination presence on the Rhodes
campus by 1989. Today, Theta’s biggest hardship is wrangling a pledge
class that is as large as its active membership – an enviable, yet
daunting position. At a college of only 1,600 students and a fall rush
pool of a little over 150 men, Theta pledged its largest class on
record – 36 men.
At a reception coinciding with the College’s homecoming weekend in October 2003, Theta observed its 125th anniversary as Pi Kappa Alpha’s oldest continually existing chapter. The
actives attribute the chapter’s longevity to one quality that has held
fast throughout existence – it cannot be defined by a single
characteristic. The membership consists of Athletes, of scholars, of
gentlemen, of a combination of the three or some indescribable other.
Despite any differences, they continue to grow through interaction as a
group of “men banded together as brothers for life,” teaching each
brother in turn a lesson he might learn and assimilate, in order to
become a more complete person. This is a testament to the great name of
Pi Kappa Alpha.
~
Kevin
Collier is a 1987 initiate of Theta Chapter at Rhodes College. He
excerpted portions of Dr. Freeman H. Hart’s The History of Pi Kappa
Alpha (1934) for this article. Brother Collier is employed with Rhodes
College in Memphis, Tennessee. This article was published in the Winter 2003 issue of the Shield & Diamond of Pi Kappa Alpha magazine.
~
