Kappa Kappa of Sigma Chi

Frances DeSimone Becque, Ph.D.April 26, 2004

Information courtesy of University of Illinois Archives and the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing

This history was produced as part of the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing’s Greek Chapter History Project.The Society was founded in 1988, with the goal of preserving the historic buildings that embody the history of the nation’slargest Greek system, and educating the public about the historical significance of fraternities and sororities on theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Dues paid by member fraternity and sorority chapters anddonations from chapter alumni fund the Society’s work. In keeping with their mission, the Society began the GreekChapter History Project in May 2000 in conjunction with the University of Illinois Archives. The GCHP aims for nothingless than producing a complete historical record of fraternities and sororities on the University of Illinois campus byemploying a graduate assistant to research and write histories of campus chapters. Making the work possible are theextensive collections of the University of Illinois Archives, especially its Student Life and Culture Archival Program.Supported by an endowment from the Stewart S. Howe Foundation, the heart of the SLC Archives is the Stewart S. Howecollection, the world’s largest collection of material related to fraternities and sororities.

© 2004 The Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Allrights reserved.

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The University of Illinois was to become home to one of America’s largest and best

fraternity systems, yet the history of Sigma Chi’s Kappa Kappa Chapter indicates that a

different climate existed in the early years of the University. Kappa Kappa was founded

in 1881, and its first decade was fraught with anti-fraternity sentiments and bitter

disappointments. The tenacity of the chapter members and the loyalty they felt for the

Fraternity, in the face of these anti-fraternity sentiments, make Kappa Kappa’s story very

different from those of the fraternities whose chapters at the University of Illinois were

founded a decade later.

Sigma Chi Fraternity was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford,

Ohio. Six of its seven founders had been members of the Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa

Epsilon. A dispute arose over the election of poet of the Erodelphian Literary Society.

The Dekes refused to endorse one of their own for the position. The chapter was divided

over the this refusal to cast ballots for their fraternity brother. Six men, Thomas Cowan

Bell, James Parks Caldwell, Daniel William Cooper, Benjamin Piatt Runkle, Franklin

Howard Scobey, and Isaac M. Jordan withdrew their membership in Delta Kappa

Epsilon. Joined by William Lewis Lockwood, they started their own society and called it

Sigma Phi. Unbeknownst to the seven men, there was an eastern society with the same

name. On June 28, 1855, the badges were worn in public for the first time. A new

constitution and ritual were prepared in 1856 and the name of the fraternity was changed

to Sigma Chi.1

The University of Illinois was founded as the Illinois Industrial University in

February of 1867. Five years later the Beta Upsilon Chapter of Delta Tau Delta was

chartered. Apparently there were some problems and the chapter was short-lived.

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Moreover, the chapter’s brief existence may have propelled the Illinois Industrial

University faculty toward a strict anti-fraternity policy.2

With the selection of Dr. Selim H. Peabody as Regent in 1880, it was assumed that

Peabody, a fraternity man, would be more liberal in the policy toward fraternities. There

were three groups of students who were ready to seek charters from the national

fraternities of Beta Theta Pi, Phi Gamma Delta and Sigma Chi.3 The leader of the group

seeking a Sigma Chi charter went to the Inter-State Oratorical Association meeting at

Oberlin, Ohio in May 1880.4 There he met Walter S. Montgomery of Sigma Chi’s Chi

Chapter at Hanover College. It was through Montgomery and other members of the Chi

Chapter that a petition from the University of Illinois students was presented to Sigma

Chi on November 8, 1880. Four seniors, two juniors, and two sophomores signed the

petition. The petitioners wanted to keep the action under wraps until the charter was

secured, but a letter was sent from the national organization to Peabody. Peabody’s

report of the petitioners was so satisfactory that the vote to grant the men a charter was in

the affirmative.5 A charter was granted soon after the Sigma Chi Grand Chapter meeting.

A problem surfaced causing difficult consequences for the petitioners. It was a

school tradition for the senior class to plant a tree. However, the goal of some of the

underclassmen was to try to do harm to the tree. The senior class planted a tree on the

northwest corner of campus near where the old University Hall once stood. The

underclassmen, including three of the Sigma Chi petitioners, tarred and feathered the tree

and hung the empty tar bucket on the tree. One of the underclassmen involved told on

1 Anson & Marchesani, 1991.2 The Sigma Chi, December 1885, 5(2), p. 82.3 Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1896, 15(3), pp. 245-8.4 Pritchard, no date, p. 1.5 The Sigma Chi, December 1885, 5(2), p. 82.

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the others and was forced to make an apology to the senior class. In retaliation, the

underclassmen chopped down the tree. The seniors planted another one and that tree was

cut down too. In all, eight trees were planted and chopped down. The “Tree Imbroglio”

became very bitter and the Sigma Chi petitioners divided into two separate camps - the

seniors and the undergraduates. Sigma Chi sent Oscar H. Montgomery, another member

of Chi Chapter, to investigate the situation. He left Champaign with little but conflicting

statements. His recommendation, however, was that the charter be granted to the

underclassmen. The Chi Chapter was authorized to install the new chapter, but due to the

difficulty of travel between the two campuses, the job was given to the men of the year-

old Delta Chi Chapter at Wabash College.6

The original four underclass petitioners Henry L. McCune,7 John G. Wadsworth,

Arthur M. Bridge, and Edward H. Swazey, were joined by David Eichberg, Clarence E.

Brady and Richard E. Dorsey. These seven are considered the charter members of Kappa

Kappa. The initiation was conducted by Horace King, Andrew Reynolds, William Lamb,

and William Loomis of the Delta Chi Chapter. The installation took place in the early

morning hours of May 31, 1881; the preceding night and the first two hours of the day

were devoted to banqueting and to the entertaining of the chapter’s first sweethearts.8

On September 13, 1881, Peabody told the Board of Trustees about the Sigma Chi

chapter. The Trustees, instead of taking a stance, left the matter to the faculty. The

faculty knew of the case of Thomas P. Hawley, a member of Sigma Chi, who sought

6 The Sigma Chi catalogue and history 1890, pp. 454-5.7 Henry Long McCune (1862-1943) graduated in 1883 and earned a law degree from Columbia University.He was a member of the Kansas City Bar for 52 years and served as a Circuit Court Judge and CityCouncilman. After he retired from the bench in 1909, he returned to the practice of law. His brotherMyron Quillon McCune, from the class of 1886, was likely the chapter’s first legacy. In 1913, McCune’sson Joe, was initiated into the chapter. The elder McCune was the last surviving charter member of KappaKappa (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May 1943, 62(2), p. 117; The Illinois Sig, April 1936).

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admission to Purdue University and was denied based on his fraternity membership. The

decision of Indiana’s lower courts was in favor of Purdue. Shortly thereafter, the Illinois

Industrial University’s Regent made the announcement that all applicants must sign a

pledge stating: “I hereby promise, that while I shall be a student at the Illinois Industrial

University, I will not be connected with any college secret society, as a member or

otherwise.”9

Peabody was helped in his persecution of the fraternity men by Board of Trustees

member Emory Cobb. To strengthen its numbers, Kappa Kappa initiated several

freshmen and sophomores, and the men were intent to do all they could to keep the

chapter alive.10

In the fall of 1881, the chapter rented a chapter hall on the third floor at 41 Main

Street in Champaign.11 The chapter hosted a “grand masquerade hop, the most select

affaire of the season,” and raised funds to furnish the chapter’s hall.12 In January 1882, in

the face of the University’s anti-fraternity stance, the men gave up the chapter hall. The

furniture, reminders of a few precious happy days as a chapter, was purchased by the

members. The funds were used for a final banquet on January 9, 1882 and the rest was

given to charity.13

On March 14, 1882, the pro-fraternity students petitioned for the allowance of

fraternities, perhaps as upperclass societies as was the custom at some eastern schools;

the request was denied.14 While Peabody, a fraternity man himself, was considered an

8 The Sigma Chi, December 1885, 5(2), p. 82.9 The Sigma Chi, December 1885, 5(2), p. 83.10 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1896, 15(3), pp. 245-8.11 The Illinois Sig, October 1921.12 The Sigma Chi, 1881-1882, 1(1), p. 166.13 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1896, 15(3), pp. 245-8; Kelley, 1913, p. 39.14 Kelley, 1913.

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anti-fraternity figure, chapter founder McCune related an incident about what he called

“the sub-rosa days”15 that shows minor support of McCune’s activities in the early days

of the chapter. McCune was elected delegate to the Sigma Chi 1882 Grand Chapter in

Chicago:

I wanted to go to the meeting but was afraid to apply to President Peabody for

permission to leave for a week of the University’s activities. I finally decided that I

would go to him boldly and ask if he would permit me to go. Dr. Peabody was a

pretty good fellow and he gave me the necessary permission to go but said for me to

keep my name out of the papers. During the first meeting of the Grand Chapter

Walter L. Fisher, who was presiding, asked me to conduct the meeting for the day

in question. I was very much embarrassed because I was afraid my name would get

in the Chicago papers and Dr. Peabody would think that I hadn’t played squarely

with him. So I talked it over with Fisher and told him I was not willing to

preside….I have always remembered Peabody with some pleasure on account of his

action in this matter.16

Several members were added to the roster in the fall of 1883, despite the chapter’s

sub-rosa status. Initiation took place on Thanksgiving eve and it was followed by “a big

spread.”17 The University chapel was the scene of a meeting hosted by one of the literary

societies and the Kappa Kappas were represented in the literary and musical programs. A

life-size statue entitled “Excelsior” by sculptor and alumnus Lorado Taft was unveiled.

The men boasted that it was through the influence of the chapter that the sculpture was

obtained. Chapter alumni, as small a group as it was, were present and McCune

15 Sub-rosa fraternity chapters operate without college or university approval.16 Sigma Chi Quarterly, April-May 1943, 62(2), p. 118.

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delivered the Alumni Address. The Kappa Kappas hoped that the meeting reflected

“much credit upon our chapter.”18 Chapter correspondent Fred Rugg19 stated “We have

reason to believe that our universal conduct has been such that we have gained the

respect of both Trustees and faculty; and all that is now needed is some external force to

break the ice of a mistaken prejudice.”20 It seemed, however, that the chapter’s efforts to

showcase the positive aspects of fraternity life fell on deaf ears.

The front page of the April 1884 issue of The Sigma Chi asked the question, “What

shall be done for Kappa Kappa?” The chapter’s letter in the same issued described the

chapter’s resolve “Kappa Kappa shall never die.”21 The chapter asked Sigma Chis living

in Illinois for their assistance, and urged them to discuss the situation with State Senators

and Representatives. The chapter correspondent spoke of the support of Governor John

M. Hamilton and Speaker Lorin C. Collins, Jr., both members of the Fraternity.22 The

Hawley case was decided favorably in Indiana’s Supreme Court giving the Delta Delta

Chapter at Purdue University the right to exist on that campus. Cobb, the President of the

Board of Trustees, had resigned, but Peabody was still a formidable opponent. The hopes

that the chapter had for a quick resolution did not come to fruition and the state

legislature was no help in ending the chapter’s troubles.23

17 The Sigma Chi, December 1883, 3(2), p. 116.18 The Sigma Chi, April 1884, 3(4), p. 249.19 Frederick Daniel Rugg (1862-1932) first studied liquid air as an avocation, but it soon became his career.He lectured to civic clubs, social organizations, high schools and colleges and universities and he spent twoseasons performing his experiments on the vaudeville circuit. Rugg was one of the local alumni whoshowed life-long devotion to the chapter. He was also the first Kappa Kappa member whose son became amember of the chapter (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1928, 47(5), p. 515).20 The Sigma Chi, April 1884, 3(4), p. 249.21 The Sigma Chi, April 1884, 3(4), p. 199-201.22 Ibid.23 Ibid.

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Kappa Kappa began the 1884-85 year with six members and added two more.24

According to an account written by Charles Kiler, the sub-rosa chapter men carried on

under such names as “Bivalves” and the “Ten Tautological Tatogs.” Kiler added, that

while the chapter was operating sub-rosa, “the boys met under a board walk where it was

elevated as a bridge over the boneyard on University Avenue between Second and Third

Streets.”25 Eichberg told of initiating Rugg at his boarding house and someone else at a

downtown hotel.26 Sigma Chi was the lone fraternity on the campus, trying to be proud

and upstanding, yet inconspicuous. Despite the chapter’s sub-rosa existence, its resolve

was still strong and again the chapter compared its situation to Delta Delta’s, “like our

Purdue brothers we will never give up.”27 By the semester’s end, however, the chapter’s

frustration was apparent, “What can a chapter tell whose sole history for three years is

summed up in one word, OPPRESSION! We need encouragement, and much of it, for

we labor under fearful odds….In the ban against fraternities, is our greatest obstacle.”28

The great event of the 1885 commencement week was the official announcement of

the change in the university’s name from the Illinois Industrial University to the

University of Illinois. The five seniors who graduated felt the burden left to the six

undergraduates:

For the last month or so we…have been longing with fear and trembling for June

10th to come, the day which would break our fetters and set us free from those anti-

Greek tyrants, lest we should be apprehended at the last moment and be summarily

dismissed; but the gods befriended us and now we can breathe freely, as with gay

24 The Sigma Chi, October 1884, 4(1), p. 50.25 The Illinois Sig, June 1939, p. 6.26 The Illinois Sig, October 1921.27 The Sigma Chi, June 1884, 3(5), p. 321.28 The Sigma Chi, February 1885, 4(3), p. 180.

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hearts we hasten to join the ever increasing army of alumni Sigs; but there still

lingers a shade of sadness away deep down in the bottom of our hearts for our

unfortunate brothers who are left behind to the tender mercies of our enemies.29

The chapter went inactive during the 1885-86 year. The history of the chapter was

chronicled in the Fraternity’s magazine:

The existence of Kappa Kappa, though brief, will not be forgotten at

Champaign….The fraternity is better and stronger to-day for the life and work of

Kappa Kappa; and thus the chapter ends - a chapter sad, and yet fraught with

memories of strong attachments, of meeting of kindred souls, of the clasping of

hands whose touch is still warm, though gone forever.30

According to William “Dad” Heath31 the local alumni met once every year, on

Thanksgiving evening, “and those still remaining at the university, met and mourned and

feasted, and so kept alive a little spark of hope.”32 A Sigma Chi catalogue published in

1890 lists 40 men initiated between 1881 and 1890.33

Peabody resigned on June 10, 1891. Dr. Thomas Jonathan Burrill’s appointment as

Peabody’s replacement signaled a new era for student life at the University of Illinois. In

September 1891, the Board passed the following resolution: “Resolved, That the pledge

29 The Sigma Chi, June 1885, 4(5), p. 309.30 The Sigma Chi, December 1885, 5(2), p. 84.31 William Ames Heath (1862-1940) was initiated in 1883. Heath was one of the nation’s leading bankerswho began his banking career as a messenger with the Champaign National Bank. He worked his way upto cashier and then became an Illinois State Bank Examiner. In 1904 he became vice president of theHibernian Banking Association of Chicago and five years later was named president of the Live StockExchange Bank. He remained there until 1917 when he was named Chairman and Federal Reserve Agentof the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, in which capacity he continued until his retirement in 1930. Hewas one of the founders of the Illinois Banking Association. Heath served the chapter his entire life and“Dad” was the name given to him by Kappa Kappa members. He was elected Sigma Chi’s Grand Quaestorat the 40th Grand Chapter. Heath was the father of two Kappa Kappa sons. A large group of chapteralumni attended Heath’s funeral at Champaign. Four of the pallbearers, Charles A. Kiler, George MMattis, Charles F. Hough and James G. Thomas were Kappa Kappa Sigs (The Magazine of Sigma Chi,September-October 1931, 50(4), pp. 482-3; The Illinois Sig, October 1940, p. 3).32 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1896, 15(3), pp. 248-9.33 The Sigma Chi catalogue and history 1890.

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hitherto required for candidates for entry to the University in regard to college fraternities

be omitted, and that the subject of these fraternities be referred to the committee on

rules.”34

The anti-fraternity laws were rescinded in early December 1891.35 Heath and other

local alumni anticipated the situation and requested that the Sigma Chi Grand Council

send a representative to examine the situation and make a recommendation on reviving

the chapter. James Todd of Chi Chapter at Hanover College visited and reported

favorably.36

The Kappa Kappa Chapter of Sigma Chi was re-established on Tuesday, December

22, 1891. Sigma Chis from the chapters at Illinois Wesleyan University, Purdue

University, and Northwestern University and several alumni from the old Kappa Kappa

Chapter joined in the festivities. The guests arrived in the early afternoon and toured the

campus. Supper was served at the Columbian Hotel. Initiation took place at eight in the

evening at the Knights of Pythias Hall. Heath and Rugg conducted the ceremony and

were assisted by the Sigs from the three visiting chapters. By 11 p.m. the initiation was

over, and the Sigma Chis went back to the Columbian Hotel, where a banquet took

place.37 Sixteen men -Charles W. Cross, Albert W. Merrifield, Charles A. Kiler, Royal

Wright, Robert H. Forbes, Franklin G. Carnahan, John B. Morgan, Charles A. Gunn,

Christian J. Toerring, Albert Locke, Edward Barrett, James W. Cook, Charles Wilder,

William I. Roysden, Charles A. Elder, and George Frederickson - all of at least

34 Kelley, 1913, p. 20.35 Carlson, 1990.36 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1892, 11(2), pp. 91-3.37 Ibid.

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sophomore status, were initiated. Kiler was elected Consul and the chapter members

were “hard at work making arrangements for a chapter house.”38

The installation of the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Kappa Sigma on December 8,

1891 seems to have sparked a rivalry between the two groups.39 The Sigma Chis reported

that in an early 1892 Kappa Sigma fraternity magazine the Kappa Sigs:

were very caustic in reference to Sigma Chi as the only other frat here, and claimed

to have all the best men in school. Now at that time there were but fifteen men in

their chapter. Since then they have taken in several more, presumably not so good

as the first batch containing all the best men in school. We claim to have twenty-

two of the best men in the university, and base our claim on substantial records, not

on wind.

The Kappa Sigs boasted about their chapter’s athletic ability, a claim that seemed to

rattle the Kappa Kappa correspondent, “At the recent meet of the Western Inter-

Collegiate Association here, the University of Illinois won first place; twenty-six of our

points won by Sigma Chi and three by Kappa Sigs. Further, seven of the twelve base-

ball team members are Sigs.”40

Eight Kappa Kappas graduated in 1892. The commencement also marked the

quarter-centennial of the University. Many of the Sigma Chi alumni returned “and a

more fraternal reunion you never saw.”41 According to Kiler, the chapter rented two

rooms on the third floor over Schweizer and Woody’s clothing store in Champaign as its

meeting place. Heath and Kiler picked out the furniture.42 The following year the

38 Ibid; The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1896, 15(3), pp. 245-8.39 Kelley, 1913.40 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1892, 11(4), p. 277.41 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1892, 11(4), p. 278.42 March 11, 1931 letter from Charles A. Kiler; The Illinois Sig, June 1939, p. 6.

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chapter had “hopes that before the winter has long progressed we will have removed from

our present up-town quarters into a spacious and desirable though not a new house, which

we trust to hold the title to.”43

The growth of intercollegiate athletics gave Sigma Chi members the opportunity to

further fraternal ties. In the spring of 1893, the chapter reported meeting Brother

Huffner, a member of the Wabash College baseball team.44 During that summer, the men

of Kappa Kappa were provided another opportunity to interact with fellow Sigma Chis.

The Columbian Exposition in Chicago was the backdrop for the Fraternity’s Grand

Chapter meeting, and “The memories connected with the ride on the whaleback, the

banquet at the White Horse Inn, and that trip down Midway (not forgetting the many

other events of convention week) will long remain green in our memory.” Alumnus

Kiler ran the University Hotel that was headquarters for the Grand Chapter.45 The 10

chapter members who attended could also be proud of the University of Illinois’ exhibit,

said to be one of the finest displays there.46

On October 12, 1893, the chapter hosted a waltz party in honor of its three new

members. The chapter felt that the chapter rooms were not adequate for entertaining.

“For this reason and the impossibility of at present getting into a house,” the chapter

planned to move into nearby quarters consisting of a suite of seven rooms.47

43 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1892, 12(1), p. 75.44 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1893, 12(3), p. 245.45 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1893, 13(1), p. 60. In 1948, Kiler wrote “I wondered as I went withme to this year’s Seattle Grand Chapter if there would be anyone left of those who had stayed at my hotelin 1893. Wonder of wonders, there are five men (at the 1948 Grand Chapter) who attended the 1893convention and who had stayed at the University Hotel” The Magazine of Sigma Chi, September-October1948, 67(2), p. 71.46 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1893, 12(3), p. 245; The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1895, 14(4), p. 357.47 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1893, 13(1), p. 60.

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The brothers and sons of Sigma Chis were often invited to membership. Kiler’s

brother William was pledged in 1893.48 The Illinois men’s fraternity system was growing

and by the end of the 1893-94 year there were four other men’s groups on campus -

Kappa Sigma, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Sigma and Delta Tau Delta.49 At the start of

the 1894-95 academic year there was great promise for the chapter. Future Grand Consul

Herbert “Bert” Arms, in a letter to the Fraternity’s magazine, wrote “A house is among

the possibilities and certainly we all appreciate the fact that we must have one. We are

enthusiastic on the subject and read the article in the May QUARTERLY with a great deal

of interest.”50

The chapter’s hall was entirely renovated over the holidays. A hardwood floor was

installed and new wallpaper, rugs, chandeliers and furniture were added. The chapter

numbered 21 and there were a dozen resident alumni.51 During the spring of 1895, the

initiation of two men was held in the woods and ravines bordering Crystal Lake.52

According to Arms, who would be the chapter’s delegate to the 1895 convention, the

sentiment of the chapter was “Get to the Sig convention if you have to borrow money and

walk.”53 Keeping Kappa Kappa’s alumni connected to the fraternity was a chapter goal

and thus the first annual reunion banquet took place at the Columbian Hotel on June 7,

1895. Thirty-five collegians and alumni attended the first of what was hoped to be an

annual June reunion “when the young members can meet the alumni and learn from them

that the loyalty to Sigma Chi never dies.”54

48 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1894, 13(2), pp. 163-5.49 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1894, 13(3).50 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1894, 13(4), p. 382.51 Resident alumni were sometimes referred to as “fratres in urbe.”52 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1895, 14(3), p. 254.53 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1895, 14(3), p. 255; The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1895, 14(4), p. 357.54 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1895, 14(4), p. 357.

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Sigma Chi members continued to be involved in University activities and athletic

teams. In 1895, it was noted that since the chapter’s reappearance, there were no less

than two Kappa Kappa men on any of the teams.55 Arms served as editor of the first

edition of the Illio class annual yearbook and it was Arms who chose its name.56 The

chapter also provided its members with a social outlet. On January 16, 1896, a mandolin

waltz party was hosted by alumnus Robert D. Burnham and his wife. A series of

Saturday afternoon “informals” was begun, and the chapter had “one ‘swell’ party, a

coon hunt and several ‘house warmings’ and ‘smokers.’”57

At the start of the 1896-97 academic year a chapter member lamented, “There

seems to be only one thing that is just beyond our reach, and it is that most coveted and

most wished for object, to-wit: a chapter house.” A dozen chapter members were

rooming together in a house “but that only heightens the desire for a house of our own.”58

Hope sprung eternal and at the start of the following year, it was stated that “In a few

months we expect to be quartered in our new rooms, fitted especially for our purpose, in a

new building shortly to be erected.”59 In May, 1898, it was reported that the chapter

purchased a billiard table and expected to enter new quarters at the start of the 1898-99

year.60 In the spring of 1899, it was noted that the Phi Delta Theta chapter had moved

into a house but that Sigma Chi had “done nothing toward this movement.”61

Although the chapter was lacking a house, music was an important part of chapter

life. Chapter members formed a Sigma Chi orchestra consisting of a cornet, clarinet,

55 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, July 1895, 14(4), p. 303.56 Kelley, 1913.57 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1896, 15(2); The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1896, 16(1), p. 50.58 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1896, 16(1), p. 50.59 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1897, 17(1), p. 65.60 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1898, 17(3), p. 249.61 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1899, 18(2), p. 149.

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violin and piano. It was “about as fine as they make ‘em…the boys are all ‘willin’ souls’

and furnish us all the music we can wish.”62 A few years later, the chapter’s song

“Glorious Sigma Chi” was set to orchestra music, and the chapter was using it as a waltz

at its dances.63

Despite years of talking about a chapter house, it was not until the fall of 1899 that

the chapter moved from its hall to a house. Although it was a rental house the chapter

considered the home at 410 East John Street as its own. When it came time to move from

the chapter hall to the house “All the local ‘Sigs’ formed an impressive procession

marching from the old chapter hall, carrying with them the sacred bones of Constantine

to the new house, where a most happy house-warming was given.”64 During the spring

semester, the chapter numbered19 including six local men who lived at home, and 10

who lived in the chapter house.65 At the end of the year, the chapter house experiment

was considered a success and the chapter leased it again for the 1900-01 year.

The new century was accompanied by growth and seemingly limitless possibilities

for the University of Illinois fraternity system. By the start of 1900 there were eight

men’s fraternities. The fraternities had an average membership of 20 and all had moved

into houses although Kappa Sigma still had its old hall.66 Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Beta

Phi, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Alpha Chi Omega provided women the opportunity for

sisterhood. Fraternity life at the University of Illinois continued to be “active and full of

62 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1899, 18(3), p. 250.63 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1906, 25(4), p. 385.64 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1899, 19 (1), p. 52.65 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, March 1900, 19(2), p. 141.66 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, December 1900, 20(1), p. 45.

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rivalry” and there was talk of the Board of Trustees interest in the establishment of a

fraternity quadrangle.67

On December 19, 1901, a fire at the chapter house awakened the chapter members

at 3:30 in the morning. It was discovered that one of the hot air pipes feeding from the

furnace had carried a spark and started a fire. The fire department answered the call

within 15 minutes. In the meantime, the chapter members removed furniture, personal

items and the chapter archives while the fire was traveling under the floor and in the

walls. The chapter was aided in its efforts by the men of Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Delta

(soon to become Beta Theta Pi) and Delta Tau Delta. Professor Arnold Tompkins, the

owner of the house, was in California. The fire caused more than $1,000 damage to the

house and more than $800 in water and smoke damage to its contents. The piano was

carried out of the house into the frigid winter air and a newspaper report recounted that “a

young frater sat down…and gleefully rattled off the air, ‘A Hot Time in the Old Town

Tonight.’”68

On January 10, 1902, four fraternities, Alpha Tau Omega, Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma

Delta (Beta Theta Pi), and Sigma Chi, formed the Illinois Club, in hopes of fostering

fraternity relations.”69 Also in 1902, the chapter took on home ownership as a primary

chapter goal.70

The chapter’s big social event was the “Annual” with a house party following it.

The correspondent noted that “the party we gave this year, being the 12th anniversary, we

think is the best Kappa Kappa has ever given.” On the evening following the party, Mrs.

67 The Sigma Chi Quarterly June 1901, 20(3), p. 236.68 Champaign Daily Gazette, December 19, 1901.69 Kelley, 1913, p. 51.70 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1904, 23(3), p. 290.

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John R. Trevett71 hosted a juvenile party for the men and their guests.72 There were strict

rules for social events, and in at least one instance, Kappa Kappa was reprimanded for

breaking the rules. On May 30, 1903, the chapter was censured by the faculty for holding

a dance on a forbidden night.73

Until 1903, no fraternity on the Illinois campus owned its own home. At a meeting

in the spring of 1903, the issue was rehashed yet again and the members had high hopes

of returning in the fall to a house owned by Sigma Chis.74 By January 1904, the chapter

accumulated $1,000 towards its goal of home ownership. The house at 410 East John

Street was purchased for $7,000 from Dr. and Mrs. Tompkins on January 25, 1904.75

Two blocks from campus, the lot had 132 feet on John Street and extended 194 feet along

Fifth Street. The title to the property was held by the Kappa Kappa Building Company, a

non-profit corporation, incorporated in Illinois on January 1, 1904. Burnham served as

president and Kiler served as treasurer of the Building Company.76 There was a stable on

the lot and it was sold in September 1905 for $250.77

The chapter started the custom of a formal annual banquet combining initiation and

an alumni reunion. In the fall of 1904, 53 Sigma Chis attended the first banquet.78 A

year later the Illinois-Michigan football game provided an opportunity to continue the

71 Helen Lennington Trevett (1856-1938) was a lifelong resident of the university community. In 1875 shemarried Captain John R. Trevett (1854-1926), a member of the University’s Board of Trustees. Theyhosted many Sigma Chis in their brick home on Elm Street. A patroness of the chapter, she was “Gram”Trevett to the Sigma Chis. Although her son was a Kappa Sigma, her son-in-law and grandson were KappaKappas. After her death, a Sigma Chi stated, “There will never be another Gram Trevett, but it is a comfortto the Kappa Kappas Sigs that her character and personality were such that a lasting impression wasblazoned on the hearts of hundreds of boys who wear, as did Gram, the White Cross of Sigma Chi” (TheIllinois Sig, March 1939, p. 5).72 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1903, 22(4), p. 380.73 Kelley, 1913, p. 52.74 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, June 1903, 22(3), p. 270.75 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1914, 34(1), pp. 46-9.76 Ibid.77 Ibid.78 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1904, 24(1).

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tradition. Thirty Kappa Kappa alumni attended the banquet and were joined by four

other alumni including Past Grand Consul Howard Ferris and Fielding H. Yost, the

University of Michigan football coach. At the Hotel Beardsley, nine courses were served

on a table in the shape of a Sigma Chi cross. Grand Tribune79 Arms served as

toastmaster. Table decorations were pink carnations, the chapter’s flower.80 A third

annual banquet took place on November 10, 1906 after the Illinois-Wisconsin game.81

After much discussion it was decided to build a new chapter house on the property

at 410 East John Street.82 The active chapter kept up its payment to the House Fund and

with the help of alumni, the debt was reduced to $700 and there were pledges from

alumni totaling more than $5,000.83

During the summer of 1908, the old house was sold for $1,500 and moved off the

lot. The funds from the sale enabled the chapter to pay off the property.84 At the annual

banquet on November 7, 1908, after the Illinois-Iowa game, alumnus George L. Rapp85

submitted preliminary plans for a new chapter house.86 With but a few modifications the

plans were approved. Burnham loaned the holding corporation $10,000 and bids were

sought. One contractor’s bid was $5,000 less that the architect’s estimates, and a contract

79 The Grand Tribune is the Fraternity’s spiritual leader and fellowship advisor (Carlson, 1990).80 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1905, 25(1), pp. 17-8.81 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1907, 26(2), p. 118.82 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1907, 27(1), p. 64.83 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1909, 28(2), p. 191.84 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1914, 34(1), pp. 46-9.85 George L. Rapp along with his brother, C.W., formed Rapp and Rapp and became renown for thetheaters they designed - notably the Paramount in New York’s Times Square, the Chicago Theatre and theTivoli in the same city, and St. Louis’ Ambassador Theatre. Rapp’s Kappa Kappa nephew, Daniel HarmonBrush, Jr., was also involved in the firm as later was Kappa Kappa Mason Rapp, who designed the FisherTheater in Detroit. Mason Rapp served as architect for the Sigma Chi quarters in Evanston and the early1960s rebuilding and remodeling of the Kappa Kappa house (The Magazine of Sigma Chi Quarterly, 1926pp. 270-83; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1962, 81(2), pp. 12-3).86 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1908, 28(1), p. 53.

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was signed. The contract called for the completion of the house by the start of the 1909

academic year.87

The chapter spent the 1908-09 academic year in a rented house and it was hoped

that the new house would get underway in the spring.88 There were 25 men in the chapter

and they adopted some customs to facilitate brotherhood, “Each evening after dinner we

sing a few college and fraternity songs, while on Sunday in addition to the songs, we

have George Moor, the local Baptist minister conduct a class for us in Bible study.”89

The builders used stock building materials and $20,000 was spent on the house and

an additional $5,000 on extras and furnishings.90 All hopes were that the house would be

ready for occupancy at the start of the 1909 academic year.91 It wasn’t ready and the

chapter had to scramble for a month until the men moved into the house on October 9.

The formal dedication took place on October 30, 1909, in conjunction with the initiation

of 13 pledges and the sixth annual alumni banquet.92 Among the 75 alumni present were

four who had had major roles in making the house a reality - Heath, Burnham, Rapp, and

Kiler, who spearheaded the fund raising efforts. In appreciation, the chapter gave Kiler a

diamond-studded gold watch.93

The long-awaited chapter house was built facing east. It was early Elizabethan in

style and it had several gables as well as a long brick terrace on its front. In the center of

the house, a long hall, with a fireplace, connected the large living room on the south with

the dining room on the north. There was a fireplace in the library. The card room was to

87 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1914, 34(1), pp. 46-9.88 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1908, 28(1), p. 70.89 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1909, 28(2), p. 211.90 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1914, 34(1), pp. 46-9.91 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1909, 28(3), p. 336; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, September 1909, 28(4),p. 475.92 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1909, 29(1), p. 7.

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the right of the vestibule. It was the only spot in the house where card playing was

permitted. The old oak table, on which cards were played, had carved on its top the name

of every Kappa Kappa since 1891.94 The kitchen, connecting with all the closets and

pantries, rounded out the main floor. The second floor contained a guestroom, shower

baths, and 16 study rooms, each accommodating two men. On the top floor were shower

baths, four study rooms and two dormitories - one heated and the other a “Klondike” cold

dorm. The basement contained the chapter hall, laundry, trunk room and servants’

quarters. The entire house had both gas and electricity, and hot water heating.95

In order to increase the chapter’s library, Arms donated 23 issues of The Sigma Chi

Quarterly. Grand Consul George Ade96 promised the chapter a complete set of his

works. During 1909’s Christmas vacation Sigma Chi Burr McIntosh97 appeared in

Champaign, in the “Gentleman from Mississippi.” The actives who were in town, along

with local alumni, hosted a dinner for McIntosh at the chapter house.98

Ade’s farm, Hazeldon, in Brook, Indiana, was the site of many Sigma Chi activities.

On Sunday, October 8, 1910, he invited the Delta Delta and Kappa Kappa members to a

picnic. The Purdue men were able to bring their female friends, but the Kappa Kappa

men could not due to “unfavorable railroad connections.” Ade rectified the situation by

inviting local young women. There were games and contests between the chapters. The

93 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1914, 34(1), pp. 46-9.94 At the 1915 alumni reunion, charter member Edward Swazey carved his name on the card room table. Itwas his first visit since graduation (The Bunkem, October 16, 1916).95 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1914, 34(1), pp. 46-9.96 George Ade, a member of the Delta Delta Chapter of Sigma Chi, graduated from Purdue University in1887. He was a prolific writer and acclaimed author who often collaborated with his Sigma Chi classmate,cartoonist John T. McCutcheon. When Ade died in 1944, it was Kiler, one of Ade’s closest friends, whoread the Fraternity’s White Rose Ceremony at the gravesite. All the Sigma Chis wore white roses in theirlapels and placed them on the casket at the conclusion of the service (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, October-November 1944, 63(5), p. 118).97 Burr McIntosh was an alumnus of the Phi Chapter at Lafayette College. He was a stage and screen actorin the early days of the film industry. One of his last film roles was as the Professor in the 1933 screenproduction of “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.”

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Kappa Kappa men won a stationery box that was placed on the bookcase in the chapter’s

library.99

The University of Illinois was the site of the nation’s first Homecoming celebration.

Illinois Sigs were among the 4,000 alumni who returned to campus on October 15, 1910.

It was such a success that it became an annual event and provided a model for similar

celebrations across the country.100 Chapter loyalty was also apparent. That fall, Dan

Rugg, son of Fred Rugg, was the first son of a Kappa Kappa to be initiated into his

father’s chapter. The Ruggs were the first of many father-son Illinois Sigs.101

As the number of fraternity chapters on the Illinois campus increased, inter-

fraternity activities and sports competitions became a mainstay of chapter life. During

the 1910-11 year, the 17 national fraternities had their annual Pan-Hellenic smoker and a

Bible study class was revived under the direction of Dean Thomas Arkle Clark.102 The

chapter hosted the first formal dance and house party in its new home on March 31 and

April 1, 1911.103

The chapter’s thirtieth anniversary was celebrated at the annual banquet on

November 25, 1911 after the Homecoming Illinois-Minnesota game.104 The highlight of

the spring social calendar was the annual dance and house party on April 26 and 27,

1912. New shrubs were planted and a tennis court, a gift from Heath, was installed.105

The chapter seemed to be on top of the world, “With a large majority of the chapter

98 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1910, 29(2), p. 188.99 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1910, 29(2), p. 37.100 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1910, 30(1), pp. 77-8.101 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February-March 1924, 43(2).102 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1911, 30(2) pp. 197-8.103 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1911, 30(3), p. 297.104 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1911, 31(1), p. 85.105 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1912, 31(3), p. 415; The Illinois Sig, April 1936, p. 3.

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returning and the house, lawn and tennis court in the best of condition, we expect to clean

up on this fall’s rush.”106

A damper was put on the chapter’s enthusiasm when, in the fall of 1912, the

university ruled that pledges could not be initiated until the second semester.107 Among

the visitors to campus that fall were two charter members, McCune and Dorsey.108 In the

spring, one of the chapter’s best athletes, Jake Stahl,109 was a guest when the world

champion Boston Red Sox visited for a three-game series with the University’s team.

The chapter was also proud of its latest athletic award, the Interfraternity Council

bowling trophy, a large silver ball mounted on a pedestal.110

During the fall of 1913, a new dance craze, the tango, created a battle between the

faculty and the students. The Illinois Sigs felt fortunate that their two social events, a

house dance, and the Junior Prom house party took place before the new dance was

106 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1912, 31(4), p. 531.107 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1912, 32(1).108 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, January 1913, 32(2).109 Garland (“Jake”) Stahl (1880-1922) was the captain of the 1902 Illini football team as well as a baseballstar. In the spring of 1903 at home game with Michigan, Stahl hit a game-winning homer “so hard and sohigh that it struck amid the upper limbs of a tree almost down to the football field.” The soft maple treebecame known as the “Jake Stahl Tree” until the late 1940s when it was cut down because of advanceddecay. After graduation in 1903, Stahl joined the Boston Red Sox playing first base. Later he wastransferred to Washington, Chicago, New York and then back to Washington as playing manager. He wentback to the Red Sox as manager. His team won the 1912 World Series. In 1906, he married Jennie Mahan,a classmate and a member of the Delta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. In the off-season he worked withthe Washington Park National Bank in Chicago, of which his wife’s father was founder and president.Later he became the bank’s president but his health failed and the family moved to the West Coast in anunsuccessful effort to regain his health. At his interment in Chicago in 1922, the chapter placed on hisgrave a large white cross of Sigma Chi roses. The alumni at Kappa Kappa’s homecoming on October 21,1922 drank a silent toast to his memory. That evening Kiler told of the origin of the nickname “Jake,”“Garland Stahl came over from Elkhart (Illinois), and he was as green a country boy as they make ‘em. Inhis freshman year he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and as he played the cornet, he was immediatelymade a member of the house orchestra. One night a special feature at the house was to be an orchestraprogram, but when the time came to begin, Stahl was nowhere to be found. The fellows searched the houseand finally found him hiding away on the second floor. They dragged him down and asked him what thetrouble was. ‘Aw, I ain’t got no lip,’ said Stahl, and he started to walk away, when Jack Allen, 1902, one ofthe musicians, stopped him with, ‘Come on, ya darn old hay jake, and play anyway.’ Stahl played, but fromthat time on everyone who had heard the affair called him ‘Jake’ until it just grew into his name.” Stahlwas a loyal Kappa Kappa alumnus, donating generously to the building fund and giving the chapter aVictrola (The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1922, 42(1), p. 62; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, July-August 1948, p. 9).110 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1913, 32(3), p. 450.

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banned.111 Clean up day in the spring of 1914 was spent working on the tennis court,

driveway and lawn.112 The chapter house provided a place for the men to dine together.

During the 1915-16 year, chapter member “Dobby” Robinson served as the house

manager “and outside of the inevitable dish of prunes and the ‘milk or dry toast’

breakfast which he gives us we can register no complaints.” Clay Brown was the cook

and, it was said that the Illinois Sigs knew “that where Clay presides there is food for the

wandering brother.”113

The upkeep of the chapter house was a constant endeavor. During the summer of

1915, the bathroom was redecorated with an imitation tile wallpaper and “little jobs of

plumbing and carpentry, and a thorough cleaning up of the house, have removed any

signs of ‘dilapidation’ which may have appeared.”114 Heavy green floor-length draperies

were hung on the downstairs doors, and the living room had two new large, soft rugs.

There was a house furnishing fund and, with the help of an additional donation, a large

“Sleepy Hollow” chair was purchased. The women who attended the Junior House Party

gave the chapter a piano bench and music cabinet.115

Pledging involved pledge duties and, as was the custom of the day, the pledges

were hazed. A picture of the 1917 pledge class had as its caption, “Hell Week.” In a

picture taken before initiation, the pledges were wearing dark knee length pants, white

shirts and socks. The socks had the letters, “Sigma” on one sock, and “Chi” on the other.

The shirts had the skull and crossbones as well as the letters.116 Ben C. Fisher in his 1981

111 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1914, 33(2), p. 206.112 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1914, 33(3), p. 351.113 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1916, 35(2), p. 232.114 The Kappa Kappa News of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, April 1916.115 Ibid.116 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, July-August 1946, p. 128.

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Centennial speech noted that his father, Ben S. Fisher, “always said the only reason he

got pledged was to keep the house spotlessly clean. Pledge labor was and is cheap.”

World War I left a noticeable mark on the campus. According to the chapter

correspondent, the fraternities at Illinois were hard hit but Kappa Kappa was more

fortunate than others. Several Illinois fraternities were “bunking” together in order to

maintain a house. The correspondent asked, “Can you imagine anything more ridiculous

than two fraternities rushing in the same house? Well it was done in more than one

instance at Illinois this year.”117 The two Kappa Kappa members serving as house

managers were “eager to show the visiting brothers that the Sig meals have not been

Hooverized.”118 Sigma Chis in the aviation school at Rantoul visited the chapter and

sometimes enjoyed a “regular” meal. One of those in the Aviation Corps, Brother Ernst

of the Illinois Wesleyan chapter, allowed the chapter use his automobile for rushing

purposes.

The chapter house had been taken over by the Student’s Army Training Corps

(S.A.T.C.) and was returned to the chapter on January 1, 1919. After the turnover, a new

coat of paint was applied to all the walls, the floors were polished and new rugs and

curtains gave the place a fresh look. The study-rooms were given new wallpaper and the

new guestroom was furnished. A Schmer grand piano was purchased and the tennis court

had a new foundation.119 Sigma Chi was, the chapter correspondent boasted, “the first

chapter at Illinois to greet its alumni with a chapter of pre-war strength.”120

117 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1917, 37(1), p. 107.118 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1917, 37(1), p. 108.119 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1919, 38(3), p. 424.120 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1919, 38(2), p. 243.

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With World War I over, the campus was returning to normal and the social side of

fraternity life flourished. The second Sig Smoker of the year was held for transfers and

alumni on February 29, 1920 and a patroness tea took place a few weeks later on March

14. The chapter had exchange dinners with Phi Kappa Psi, Beta Theta Pi, Psi Upsilon

and Delta Tau Delta.121 The bowling team won the divisional championship and the

chapter hosted several tournaments on its tennis court. 122 Kappa Kappa ranked first in

scholarship among the national social fraternities.123

The University enacted a regulation that in order to be initiated, a freshman must

have passed with satisfactory grade 11 hours of work. Sigma Chi members from other

chapters were attending the University and the chapter entertained them at a series of

smokers.124 The Illinois Club gave several exchange dinners and one dance to promote

friendships among the four chapters. Dad’s Day was celebrated for the first time on

November 20, 1920. The Illinois-Ohio game was part of the festivities. Kappa Kappa

was a major force in the movement to make Dad’s Day an all-university affair. The

weekend had been such a success that the mothers wanted a similar party.125 Alumnus

David H. Carnahan was the dean of foreign students and he asked the chapter to entertain

foreign students on December 20, 1920. The chapter correspondent told of his surprise at

this novel activity “which we all thought would be considerably boresome but which

turned out to be a very enjoyable affair.”126

The theme of the May 6, 1921 spring party was “A Wild Night in Greenwich

Village.” Alumnus Vaughn Flannery, a designer working in Chicago, supervised the

121 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1920, 39(3), p. 284.122 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1920, 39(4), pp. 456-7.123 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1920, 40(1), p. 113.124 Ibid.125 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, February 1921, 40(2), p. 303.

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party’s decorations. The correspondent rationalized the party’s expense by noting “We

give only one dance a semester; consequently we can afford to have a worthwhile

party.”127 The party must have been a success for the next spring the chapter planned to

decorate the house like an Italian garden to make the May 12, 1922 party bigger and

better than the previous one.128

On the third annual Dad’s Day, 15 dads attended a session after the Saturday night

banquet. The chapter’s organization was explained to them and the Sig Dad’s

Association had a meeting. The Illinois Club was still an “especially successful way of

getting the freshmen of the four largest fraternities acquainted.”129 The name of the

chapter’s newsletter was changed to The Illinois Sig130 and it was sent to alumni to

continue to keep them current on chapter’s activities. The new Memorial Stadium, with a

price tag of $2,500,000, was funded by contributions. The Kappa Kappa chapter pledged

$1,000 in addition to the large individual pledges, for a memorial column in honor of its

three war heroes - Leonard Hoskins, 1917, William Wheeler, 1915, and Frederick Hadra,

1886.131

Edward E. Barrett, one of the 16 men who reestablished the chapter in 1891, was

elected President of the University of Illinois Alumni Association in 1922 and again the

following year.132 The chapter house required constant upkeep. During the early 1920s,

changes were made to the plumbing and heating system, a new slate roof was put on and

126 Ibid.127 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1921, 40(3).128 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1922, 41(3).129 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November 1921, 41(1), p. 137.130 The Bunkem and The Kappa Kappa News of the Sigma Chi Fraternity were names the newsletters usedbefore it took on the title The Illinois Sig.131 Frederick “Fritz” Hadra is not included in the Sigma Chi catalog and history 1890, but Kiler, in anaccount of the chapter’s founding, specifically noted that Hadra was part of the chapter.132 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1922, 41(4), p. 722.

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a $3,500 bathroom, a gift of the alumni, was installed.133 In addition, a landscape

architect completed extensive work on the property.134

Sigma Chi attendance at the 1925 Homecoming shattered all records. The chapter’s

kitchen served more than 350 lunches before the Illinois-Michigan game. The chapter

entertained nearly all of the Theta Theta Chapter’s collegians. Sigma Chi visitors again

included Ade and Yost.135 The banquet featured Grand Historian Joseph C. Nate136 who

delivered the principal address.

Under the direction of chapter alumnus and Peoria architect Robert J. Hotchkiss, the

chapter house had $27,500 in improvements done during the summer of 1926. The first

floor and study rooms were refurbished with new furniture and rugs. Two bathrooms

were added. The highlight of the improvements was a new $8,000 Memorial Chapter

Room. The Committee on Memorial Chapter Room, appointed after the 1925

Homecoming banquet, consisted of Chairman Chester W. Cleveland,137 Callistus J.

Ennis, Charles A. Kiler, Ben Duvall,138 and William C. Wilkinson.139 On Sunday, March

6, 1927, the Memorial Chapter Room was dedicated. There were delegates from 10

133 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1921, 40(4), p. 692; The Sigma Chi Quarterly, September 1922,41(4); The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November-December 1924, 44(1), p. 92.134 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, May 1923, 42(3).135 The Sigma Chi Quarterly, December 1925, 44(5), p. 547.136 Nate was a member of and adviser to the Alpha Iota Chapter at Illinois Wesleyan University inBloomington. It was noted that “Dr. Nate was proud of this close relationship of the two chapters and heseemed always to have the same ardent and enthusiastic interest in the welfare of our chapter that he had inhis own” (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1933 52(5)).137 Chester W. Cleveland, a 1920 initiate, was an influential figure in Sigma Chi circles. He was Editor ofThe Magazine of Sigma Chi for more than 25 years and he also served as Grand Historian. Cleveland wasthe force behind the Significant Sig Award, the Magazine-Life Membership Endowment Fund, and he tookgreat pride in furthering the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi in its many forms - the song, the movies, and thechapter sweethearts. Cleveland fell from grace when it was discovered that he was getting kickbacks fromFraternity business. He was expelled from membership in the 1950s. His two sons, one of whosegodfather was former Grand Consul Lloyd G. Balfour, were Sigma Chis. (The Magazine of Sigma Chi,September-October 1948, 67(4); Carlson, 1990).138 Ben Duvall served as Consul during the early 1920s. After his term of office, he presented a diamondbadge to be worn by Consuls during their terms. He also instigated the Kappa Kappa placement program in1947. The program was adopted by the General Fraternity in 1949 (The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November-December 1924, 44(1), p. 92).139 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, September 1926, 45(4), p. 570.

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chapters, national officers and more than 30 alumni present. Ten freshmen were initiated

prior to the dedication. Harold G. Baker, the youngest United States District Attorney in

the nation, presided as Consul and it was “a most impressive ceremony. The lodge room

with its complete regalia, paraphernalia and electrical effects made a great additional

imprint on the minds of both initiated and alumni.”140 Cleveland presented to Consul

Foster W. Lamb the original key to Kappa Kappa’s first chapter hall. The key was

obtained from Charles T. Wilder, one of the 16 men initiated in 1891. Many of the items

in the room were given as memorial gifts. Ade presented the Ade Memorial, the

Annotator’s altar, in memory of his nephew John O. Ade.141 Robert D. Burnham II

presented the Burnham Memorial, in memory of his father who financed the chapter

house. The Stahl Memorial, in memory of Kappa Kappa’s famed athlete, “Jake” Stahl,

was given by his wife. The Wolk Memorial, in memory of Wade Franklin Wolk, was

presented by members of his pledge class. The Wheeler Memorial was presented by Mr.

and Mrs. William Wheeler in memory of their son William Wheeler who was killed in

World War I. The Pillsbury Memorial in memory of Arthur L. Pillsbury, was presented

by his wife.142 The Hoskins Memorial, a specially designed candelabra, was presented in

memory of Leonard Hoskins,143 “Illinois’ greatest war hero.”144

The Kappa Kappa charter, dated December 22, 1891, and signed by Walter L.

Fisher, as Grand Consul and John T. McCutcheon as Grand Annotator, had a place of

140 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March 1927, 46(2), p. 155.141 John O. “Jack” Ade, was initiated with the class of 1914. He died of influenza on October 11, 1918 (TheMagazine of Sigma Chi, October-November 1944, 61(4), p. 140).142 Arthur L. Pillsbury (1869-1925) was killed in a traffic accident on his way home from the Homecomingfootball game on October 25, 1925. He was an architect and played on the first Illini football team. Hisfather, William Low Pillsbury, was the University’s first registrar, serving from 1893 to 1910 (TheMagazine of Sigma Chi, January 1926, 45(1), p. 108; Kelley, 1913, p. 4).143 Army Lieutenant Leonard Cunningham Hoskins was killed when he entered a shell swept area in searchof wounded comrades in the action near La Chappelle, France (The Sigma Chi Quarterly, November, 1918,pp. 72-3).

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honor on the wall. The basement room was truly a memorial to Kappa Kappa brothers.

On the west wall were two large bronze plates with the names of the 148 Illinois brothers

who fought in World War I. There were individual plates for Hoskins and Wheeler, both

of whom perished.145 Other furniture and the smaller items such as the Holy Bible, gavel,

transparencies of the badge, and seal and light fixtures served as memorials to Kappa

Kappa members. Cleveland designed the officers’ chairs, altars and pedestals and the

items were made by Otto Ihling, Theta Theta, of the Ihling Brothers Everard Company.

A large replica of the pledge pin and silk flags of the United States, Canada, and Sigma

Chi completed the decor. The 44 seats in the circle were sold at $25 each to alumni, and

their names on gold plates were affixed to the chairs. Pledges, rushees and university

women could not enter and smoking in the room was not permitted in the room.146

At the dedication, Duvall spoke on “Traditions.” Duvall had conducted a drive for

a new skeleton to replace the one that disappeared during the house’s remodeling. His

letter brought in contributions and many “stirring accounts of earlier skeletons and the

‘inside’ secrets concerning them.”147 The attendees, with Heath at the organ, sang “A Sig

I Am.”

The 1926 Homecoming festivities included the crowning of a Hobo Queen. When

University administrators decided that no female student should have that title, the men

took the initiative. Illinois Sig Robert J. Hotchkiss, Jr. was the winner as “Miss Frances

Wilson, Queen of Hobos.”148 At the annual Homecoming reunion in October 1927, a

144 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March 1927, 46(2), p. 155.145 Other sources cited Frederick Hadra as a Kappa Kappa war hero. It appears that Hadra was a memberduring the chapter’s sub-rosa period and his name did not go on the official chapter roll.146 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March 1927, 46(2), pp. 151-8. This article contains many pictures of theroom and the memorials.147 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March 1927, 46(2), p. 155.148 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, January 1927, 46(1).

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tribute was paid to Heath for his dedication to Kappa Kappa. A portrait of Heath, the gift

of more than 150 alumni, was presented to the chapter. It was painted by Baroness Violet

Wenner and it was unveiled by Heath’s two sons, William and Nathaniel, both of whom

shared the Kappa Kappa bond. The portrait was hung in the living room.149 The chapter

was also honored that one of its own members, “Bert” Arms was elected as Sigma Chi’s

twenty-fourth Grand Consul, serving for the 1927-29 term.

The 1930s were a time of transition for the chapter. The decade began with the

chapter’s fifthieth anniversary on May 23, 1931. McCune, one of the four living charter

members, served as toastmaster.150 On December 1, 1932, John A. Ramsey, from the

Beta Lambda Chapter at Duke University, an Assistant in Romance Languages and a

doctoral student, accepted a position as the chapter’s tutorial advisor.151

The Miami Triad formal dinner dance, sponsored by the three fraternities founded

at Miami University - Sigma Chi, Phi Delta Theta, and Beta Theta Phi - took place on

March 10, 1933. Kappa Kappa Hall Macklin’s orchestra furnished the music.152 On

November 22, 1933, the chapter had a high ranking Sigma Chi in its midst when Lloyd

G. Balfour153 visited the chapter during his wife’s initiation into Pi Beta Phi.154

It the spring of 1934 it was noted that the chapter was to be the first fraternity on

campus to employ a housemother. Hiring a housemother had been a long debated

question. Although there were a few nay votes, the housemother system was adopted.

149 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1928, 47(5), pp. 542-3.150 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1931, 51(5), p. 627.151 The Illinois Sig, April 1933, p. 12.152 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March-April 1933, 52(2), p. 184.153 Balfour served Sigma Chi in many capacities including as Grand Consul from 1937-39 and as Chairmanof the National Interfraternity Conference. Balfour owned a company specializing in fraternity jewelry andrelated items. His first wife, Ruth DeHass Balfour, was an initiate of Pi Beta Phi’s Indiana Gamma chapterat Butler University. Her death was the impetus for his donation of the Balfour Cup to Pi Beta Phi. Itremains the award given to Pi Beta Phi’s top chapter. He remarried and his second wife, Mildred McCannBalfour, was initiated as an alumna into the Illinois Zeta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi on November 22, 1933.

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The men seemed “certain of the predicted improvement in general appearance and

welfare of the Chapter. The brothers feel that this is a definite step toward a better

organized, more efficient and improved active chapter.”155

The University felt the nation’s economic depression. Lessened enrollments

combined with stressed financial situations, made keen the quest for new fraternity

members.156 The concerns of decreasing pledge numbers may have been for naught as

the chapter pledged 23 men in the fall of 1934, making it one of the largest pledge classes

in the chapter’s history.157 The main event at Homecoming October 13, 1934, was the

unveiling of a portrait of Kiler, the first Consul of the revived chapter.158

Athletes were prime pledge material and in 1934 the chapter boasted that it had

more “I” letterman than any other fraternity.159 Eddie Gryboski made the All-Star Sig

football team in the guard position. He was also named captain of the team and was

presented with a ten-karat miniature football made by Balfour’s company.160 Throughout

the next several decades, Illinois Sigs were honored on the All-Star Sig football and

basketball teams. A few years later Wib Henry became the University’s first nine-letter

man in 17 years.161

There may have been a problem with the manner in which maintenance and

improvements were made to the chapter house. At the 1935 December meeting of the

Housing Corporation, Elmer Roberts was appointed to approve furniture and equipment

purchases. In February 1936, Frigidaire equipment was installed in the kitchen and it was

154 The Illinois Sig, December 1933, p. 2.155 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March-April 1934, 53(2), p. 80.156 The Illinois Sig, April 1933, p. 12.157 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1934, 53(5), p. 121.158 Ibid.159 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1934, 53(5), p. 124.160 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, January-February 1935, 54(1).

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hoped that the purchase would bring “greater efficiency and economy in the operation of

the commissary.”162 A few years earlier, an automatic furnace stoker was installed to

improve the heating of the house. In 1936, Irving L. Peterson, a landscape architect, was

hired to improve the grounds. The tennis court was no longer needed, and was plowed up

and seeded. Peterson’s plans included planting shrubs along the concrete wall at the end

of the property and landscaping the terrace between the driveway and the tennis court.

The 51 trees on the property were tended to, dead shrubs were replaced and the lawn re-

seeded.163 During the summer of 1937, the living room and library were replastered,

repainted and refurbished. A smaller, more attractive fireplace replaced the one on the

west end of the living room. The study rooms floors were sanded and refinished. New

lamps and ashtrays were purchased. 164

The men’s fraternities adopted referential rushing with the rushee designating his

preference for the first date of pledging. Sigma Chi faired well and the chapter had one

of the largest lists of preferentials of any of the fraternities with 250 men visiting the

chapter during the six-day rushing period in 1937. A year earlier, Herb Kastien had

devised a system to help the chapter keep track of the visitors. He designed a master card

system and mimeographed lists of rushees for every chapter member showing who

attended each session.165 In the spring of 1938, the chapter supplied alumni with a

postcard for rushing recommendations. The alumni were explained the urgency of the

request for names of potential Sigma Chis. There were more than 50 fraternities and they

were each making dates with high school students who planned to be Illini freshmen in

161 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April 1937, 37(2), pp. 104-5162 The Illinois Sig, March 1936, p. 7.163 The Illinois Sig, April 1936, p. 3164 The Illinois Sig, October 1937, p. 1.165 The Illinois Sig, October 1937, p. 3.

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the fall. The dates were set up as early as possible. The rushee could pick the chapter

where he wanted his first pledging date. Since he could be pledged then and there, it was

important that Sigma Chi meet the best candidates as early as possible, because “with the

number of dates that we have with a prospect severely curtailed, it is up to us to know

about the best prospects from your town.”166

The fathers who visited during Dad’s Day in the fall of 1937 saw the Illini play the

University of Chicago’s team. More than 20 Sigma Chi mothers met at the Urbana-

Lincoln Hotel and adopted by-laws for the Mothers’ Club while the 30 dads held their

meeting at the chapter house. “Gram” Trevett was named the Mothers’ Club’s honorary

president.167 The mothers also met during the Mother’s Day weekend and the club

purchased items for the house.

More than 40 alumni braved wintry weather to celebrate the fifty-seventh

anniversary of Kappa Kappa’s founding on April 9, 1938 with a banquet at the Inman

Hotel.168 The highlight of the celebration was the burning of the mortgage on the $65,000

chapter house. Heath held the burning mortgage as Kiler assisted. The chapter was

presented with a picture taken in the fall of 1881 and it was noted that two of the charter

members, McCune and Eichberg, were still alive.169

The chapter received a Sigma Chi honor when Phillip D. Simon won the 1937-38

Balfour International Award. The award was based on scholarship, personality, fraternity

service and student activity. Simon was presented the award at the regular weekly

166 The Illinois Sig, May 1938, p. 1.167 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, December 1937, 56(5), p. 21.168 The Illinois Sig, May 1938.169 The Illinois Sig, April 1938; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April 1938, 57(2), p. 52.

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luncheon of the Chicago Alumni Chapter on September 23, 1938. A chapter member

said of Simon:

As a freshman Phil plunged right into fraternity work, for he saw that there was

work to be done. The chapter was at that time at the low ebb of the inevitable bad

year - good year cycle. Freshmen were still being paddled; there was a lot of

drinking going on; scholarship was low. But when Phil gave the Charge at his first

meeting down in the chapter room after his initiation, (he had been the freshman

chosen for this honor), every member there that night saw in his eye a light that was

to lead the chapter out of its darkness. They knew he would see to it that the ideals

of Sigma Chi would be lived, not just talked about…At the end of his sophomore

year he was elected Magister…he put into effect his own ideas of Magistership.

These ideas were absolutely of his conception; he had thought them out during the

summer. They astounded everyone. I was a sophomore at that time, fresh from the

‘rule of the paddle’ pledgeship which had always been used at Kappa Kappa. I can

remember the adverse criticism which was thrown at Phil when he announced at the

first chapter of the year that the days of the paddle were over. The seniors fully

expected the new class to be running the house in two weeks. But this was not the

case. Instead the new class functioned as no class had ever done. Phil’s words took

the place of a paddle and inspired in the new pledges hitherto unknown realization

of the ideals of Sigma Chi. And what is more, this realization became imprinted in

the hearts of the Active Chapter as well.170

Due to lack of room in the chapter house, only 12 out of town men were pledged to

live in the house in the fall of 1938. In addition, five town men who did not need to live

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in the house were pledged. Kappa Kappa alumni were also active in University and

Fraternity circles. Charles Wham was reelected as President of the Illinois Alumni

Association.171 Ben S. Fisher, Grand Trustee, was elected to the Office of the Chairman

of the Board of Grand Trustees, and Charles F. Hough was reappointed the Chairman of

the Executive Council.172

In the late 1930s, the chapter newsletter, The Illinois Sig, was in contention for the

Cleveland Chapter Publication Award and had been a runner up several times. In 1940

the coveted award was finally won. The Illinois Sig would win the award a number of

times over the next decades.173

The chapter continued to attract top athletes. Bill Hapac was chosen as captain of

the basketball team after having completed the best two-year modern scoring record in

Illini history. He scored 338 points, including 223 in Big 10 games. Tommy Riggs was

the 1940 Illini Football Team’s Captain.174

In 1939, the preferential system was dropped in favor of open bidding, but the

fraternities again adopted the preferential system for the 1940 rush. The chapter

continued to seek alumni help in locating potential members because the rushee could

choose the house where he wanted to be entertained at the “all important first pledging

date.”175

170 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November 1938, 57(5).171 The Illinois Sig, October 1938, p. 3.172 The Illinois Sig, December 1938.173 The award was renamed the Chapter Publication Award after Chester Cleveland’s fall from grace. In1952, it was renamed the Charles Ross Memorial Award (The Illinois Sig, March 1939, p. 5).174 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April 1939, 58(2), pp. 78-9; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, December 1939,58(5), p. 72. The cover of the December 1940 issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi shows the captains ofthe Rose Bowl teams - Ed Dempsey, of Southern California, and Tommy Riggs, of Illinois. Both Dempseyand Riggs were Sigma Chis. Riggs was named to the All-Sig team for two years (The Magazine of SigmaChi, February 1941).175 The Illinois Sig, June 1940, p. 1.

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New University dormitories were to be completed in 1941 and the chapter members

were concerned about what it might mean for the chapter. “The fraternity” said a

member, “cannot do too much to fortify its future position on the Illini campus.”176 The

University also compiled a set of standards for fraternity houses. In the summer of 1941,

the University stated that the chapter had too many men living in the house. The chapter

was given the choice to either restrict the size of the chapter or use two houses. The

Kappa Kappa Corporation agreed to purchase the house and property next to 410, “but

two years’ experience with the plan proved to us that it was not satisfactory in that the

men living there became a separate group. Their common grievance, living in the

‘annex’ seemed to hold them together.” Thought was given to building a new house or

an addition to the current one, but instead the house was remodeled. The sleeping

capacity was increased by four. Willard Walker, Sigma Chi’s Grand Annotator, was an

architect and “worked miracles” in remodeling the house.177

The Pledge Dance in the fall of 1941 featured the music of Brother Bob Barnes’

orchestra. A “hard-time party and radio dance” took place before Thanksgiving recess.178

It may have been a harbinger of the hard times that were to follow the news of the attack

on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The chapter tried to carry on as usual. The

chapter scholarship ranking was above average and the chapter boasted that Bill Hocking

had been honored by the Bronze Tablet, reserved for the upper one percent of students.179

The chapter won the 1941-42 Daniel William Cooper Scholastic Award and on campus

the chapter was first in scholarship and eighth in intramurals.180

176 The Illinois Sig, March 1940.177 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, December 1941, 60(5), pp. 100-1.178 Ibid.179 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April 1942, 61(2), p. 92.180 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, December 1942, 61(5), p. 91.

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By the fall of 1942, three members had joined the Armed Forces and at least three

seniors would be leaving in February for the Army but, “barring unforeseen events,

Kappa Kappa will come though the war in good shape.”181 A report in early 1943 told a

different story, “Our chapter, like all the rest, has given many men to the armed forces,

but, even with a 58 percent loss, we are maintaining our high position on the campus.”182

A fire on the night of Saturday, March 13, 1943, caused $3,000 in damages. The

fire began when everyone was asleep, and was confined to one room. However, there

was smoke and water damage to the rugs and curtains and the room’s three occupants had

most of their clothing destroyed.183 Chapter member Thomas Dwight “Dike” Eddleman

set a new record at the Daily News track meet in Chicago and an alumnus, Lloyd Oleson,

was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The chapter also mourned the loss of

McCune, Kappa Kappa’s last surviving charter member.184 The Fraternity’s 1943 Grand

Chapter meeting was cancelled. Ben S. Fisher had been elected the Fraternity’s thirty-

second Grand Consul and instead of being installed at the Grand Chapter meeting, he was

inducted at a special luncheon of the Chicago Alumni Chapter on August 24, 1943.185

The chapter house was taken over by the Army in the fall of 1943 and “it was so

sudden that all the boys had to scatter around and find their own living quarters.” A

chapter room was set up in the old annex at 408 East John Street and chapter meetings

were held every two weeks with an average attendance of 12. The chapter was

considering pledging legacies but “any pledging other than this would be merely a show,

as there is no place available for training.” Alumni, the correspondent added, were to

181 Ibid.182 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May 1943, 62(2), pp. 116-7.183 Ibid.184 Ibid.185 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, July-August 1943, 62(3).

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“rest assured that Kappa Kappa will do all in its power to keep going during these trying

times.”186 By the spring of 1944, the chapter had a new wartime headquarters at 707

South Wright Street in Champaign. The use of the room helped the chapter have a

successful pledge program.187

In the spring of 1945, the chapter was making steady progress getting back to its

pre-war strength. The chapter had 31 active chapter members - 15 civilians and 16 V-

12s.188 The spring pledge class consisted of 14 men. The chapter’s commissary opened

and the chapter’s cook, Mrs. Allen, was rehired.189 The chapter was also proud of its war

heroes. Captain Oleson, who was with the first troops shipped overseas, and was

awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf

Clusters, visited the chapter.190 Major General Rapp Brush,191 and his 40th Division helped

recapture the Philippines and win the Pacific War.192 Sadly, several Kappa Kappa men

were killed during their service in the Armed Forces.

As Ben S. Fisher finished his Grand Consul term, Charles F. Hough193 was installed

as Grand Consul for the 1945-47 term. They remain the only Grand Consuls who were

initiated in the same chapter and served consecutive terms.194 The cover of the January-

186 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, December 1943, 62(5), p. 108187 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May 1944, 63(2), pp. 101-2.188 The Kappa Kappa members who participated in the Navy V-12 program gathered for their 50th reunionin October, 1993 (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1993-94, 112(3), p. 39).189 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May, 1945, 64(2), pp. 121-2.190 Ibid.191 Brush was a member of the class of 1913. His brother Daniel H. Brush Jr., was a member of the class of1906. The Brushs’ uncle was George L. Rapp, a member of the class of 1899, and the architect whodesigned the chapter house in 1908. Rapp Brush’s son Rapp Brush, Jr., was a member of the University ofVirginia Sigma Chi chapter.192 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, July-August 1945, 64(3), p. 145.193 Hough was the chapter’s delegate to the 1921 Grand Chapter and attended every one after that one. Hewas the first recipient of the chapter’s Kiler Award, an award given to an outstanding alumnus. Hough wasboth a Significant Sig and a Constantine Sig (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1969, 88(1)).194 Their paths had crossed years before when during Hough’s senior year at Champaign High School,Fisher served as his basketball coach (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, January-February 1946, 65(1), pp. 21-5).

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February 1946 issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi shows Fisher placing on Hough the

original badge of Founder Daniel William Cooper.

Ten men were pledged during the summer of 1945, and another 12 were pledged on

October 5 after formal rush. The chapter correspondent asked the Kappa Kappas who

were planning to return to the University to contact the chapter as soon as possible and to

include information about intended return date, semesters to be completed, marital status,

and undergraduate or graduate status.195 With a record breaking student body of 18,500

at the University in the fall of 1945, accommodations were hard to find. The chapter had

60 men, including 24 returning from service for their first semester since the end of the

war. Two houses adjacent to “410” were used in order to accommodate these men and

the Sigma Chis from other chapters who were studying on campus.196 As an incentive to

strive for high scholastic standards, Kiler gave a jeweled badge to be handed down to the

senior with the highest-grade average for the preceding three years. Chapter Adviser

Bill Rice promised a steak dinner to the class with the highest average at the end of the

semester.197

With the war over, the mood on campus changed considerably. Alumni returned

for a joyous Homecoming celebration and the attendance at Dad’s Day set a new record.

Five of the players on the 1945 Big Nine championship football team, Bill Heiss, Dwight

Eddleman, Vern Seiliger and pledge brothers Perry Moss and Russ Steger, were members

of the chapter.198 Kappa Kappa had “I” men on every major sports team for the 1946-47

year.199 Moss and Steger had a hand in the 1947 Rose Bowl 45-14 victory over UCLA.200

195 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, January-February 1946, 65(1), p. 114-5.196 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1946, 65(5).197 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, January-February 1946, 65(1), pp. 81-2.198 Ibid.199 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May-June 1947, 66(3), pp. 81-2.

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Homecoming 1947’s game with Michigan brought back more than 150 Kappa Kappa

alumni and friends. Also part of the Homecoming weekend were the Homecoming

decorations, designed by Jack Blackman and constructed by Don White and Bill Moore.

The chapter, paired with Pi Beta Phi, had one of the hit acts of the Stunt Show,

“Seacopation.”201 Robert Bischoff made his debut as Chief Illiniwek at the Illinois-Army

game on October 11, 1947 at Yankee Stadium. Bischoff was ninth in a long line of Boy

Scouts who donned the Chief’s headdress.

The chapter also acquired another portrait of an influential Kappa Kappa. Eleven

Kappa Kappas, all college friends of former Grand Consul Arms, presented an oil portrait

of him to the chapter in December 1947. The portrait was painted by F. R. Harper and

was a duplicate of the likeness given to the Fraternity in 1935.202 The portrait of Arms

joined the one of chapter founder McCune whose widow gave the oil portrait to the

chapter a few years earlier.

By the end of the 1947-48 year, the overcrowding was easing and the chapter no

longer needed the three houses it was using. The rental house at 406 East John Street was

the first to be let go. In addition to “410” the Corporation owned the house at 408 East

John Street, likely making it the “only chapter in the Fraternity - probably in the entire

Greek letter world - owning two mortgage free homes.”203 During the summer of 1948,

Ben Chatburn Fisher was awarded the Balfour International Award. Fisher, the son of

Past Grand Consul Ben S. Fisher, was the most honored graduate of the class of 1948.

His chapter honors included winning the Chester W. Cleveland Award given annually to

200 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, January-February 1947, 66(1).201 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1947, 66(5), pp. 125-6.202 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, March-April 1948, 67(2).203 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May-June 1948, 67(3), p. 23.

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the outstanding senior and the Kiler Award. A Phi Beta Kappa, his name was inscribed

on the Bronze Tablet, and he was twice the Class President.204

Rush Week 1948 culminated in 18 men being pledged. The chapter was proud of

its members’ achievements. Wally Roth, a junior, was a contestant on Horace Heidt’s

November 14, 1948 show on the NBC network. Three Kappa Kappas, one more than any

other fraternity, were chosen for Ma-Wan-Da, the senior activity honorary.205 On the

weekend of March 5, 1949 alumni attended initiation and five Kappa Kappas were

awarded the coveted Constantine Sig medal for service to the Fraternity - Hough,

Cleveland, Kiler and the Rev. George Caleb Moor.206 Ben S. Fisher was unable to attend,

but his son read his acceptance letter.207

Eddleman was welcomed back from Europe where he scored in the 1948 Paris

Olympic high jump and won a number of first places in post-Olympic track meets. He

was captain of the Fighting Illini basketball team, and led the team to victory over Yale in

the Eastern NCAA conference. The team won its game with the University of Oregon

and took third in the national playoffs.208 Until Eddleman came to Champaign from

Centralia, the record for Illini letterman had been nine block “I”s. Eddleman won 11

letters, many awards, and is considered Illinois’ greatest athlete.209

The Illinois Sig won the 1948-49 Chester W. Cleveland Award, making it the first

chapter publication to win the award six times.210 During the Homecoming 1949

festivities the chapter’s decorations won the first place award. The chapter’s scholarship

204 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, September-October 1948, 67(4).205 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, November-December 1948, 67(5), pp. 131-2.206 George Caleb Moor, 1901, was the Pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City(Nate, 1930). He was likely the minister who conducted the Bible Study classes the chapter referred to in1909.207 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May 1949, 68(2), pp. 118-20.208 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May 1949, 68(2), p. 199.

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was also high during the fall of 1949, ranking the chapter sixth out of the 56 men’s

fraternities.211

Eddleman had won the student-voted University’s Athlete of the Year Award twice

and the honor again fell to a Kappa Kappa member when, during the 1949-50 year, Ruck

Steger took the all-campus title and the $100 watch that accompanied it.212

On January 7, 1951, in an effort to promote better relationships within the

Fraternity, Kappa Kappa invited the Alpha Iota Chapter at Illinois Wesleyan University

for a visit. Athletic contests followed a Sunday buffet.213 A second Alpha Iota-Kappa

Kappa Field Day took place in Bloomington on December 9, 1951. By winning two of

the three athletic contests Kappa Kappa retained possession of the “skin.”214

The Illini Sig won the Chapter Publication Award in 1949-50 and 1950-51 giving

the chapter its second string of four consecutive victories and its eighth victory in the 21

years in which the award was given.215

Five members of the chapter, Chuck Studley,216 Stan Wallace, Herb Neathery, Joe

Cole, Paul Luhrsen, were on the 1952 Big 10 championship football team. The Illini

went on to triumph over Stanford 40-7 in the Rose Bowl.217 Luhrsen stated “For ‘The

Class of ‘54’ the 1952 Rose Bowl is one of those events that they will never

forget….Every brother can crisply remember exactly where they were and who they were

with on January 1, 1952.”218 Due to the winning margin, Luhrsen, a member of the team,

209 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, July-August 1949, 68(3), pp. 9-11.210 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, February-March 1950, 69(1), p. 63.211 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1950, 69(2), p. 102.212 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, August 1950, 69(3).213 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1951, 70(2).214 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1952, 71(2), p. 120.215 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, October 1951, 70(4), p. 80-1.216 Studley also made first string on the All-Sig team.217 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1952, 71(2), p. 119.218 Luhrsen, 1995, p. 34.

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said that all 44 members of the travelling team saw playing time.219 The chapter’s Stunt

Show collaborations made the finals in 1952 and 1953 and, in 1954, the chapter, teamed

with Kappa Alpha Theta, took first place.220 Kappa Kappa’s academic ranking was also

high. There were six Sigma Chis among the 100 Top Seniors .221

The Kappa Kappa Chapter and Sigma Chi Fraternity suffered a huge loss in

September 1954 when Ben S. Fisher died. At the time of his death, he was planning the

Fraternity’s Centennial celebration.222 Honor, too, came to the chapter when B. (Byron)

Kenneth West won the 1955 International Balfour Award and Harv Schmidt toured the

Soviet Union with the United States Basketball Team.223

The expanded and renovated chapter house was dedicated on October 1, 1960. The

festivities included lunch at the chapter house, the Illinois-West Virginia football game, a

cocktail party at the Champaign Moose Lodge, and a banquet at the Moose Club that was

followed by a dance at the Champaign Country Club. Alumnus Harold M.

Boeschenstein,224 president of Owens-Corning Fiberglas was the keynote speaker. Also

in attendance was Mason G. Rapp, the designer of the new “410” and the consulting

architect for the Sigma Chi Memorial Headquarters in Evanston. The University’s new

football coach, Pete Elliott, was an alumnus of the Theta Theta Chapter, and he, too,

attended the open house. The four-story $253,000 addition was designed by Rapp and

219 Ibid.220 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1953, 72(2); The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1954, 73(2), p. 112.221 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1954, 73(2), p. 112; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1955, 74(2), p.115.222 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, December 1954, 73(5), pp. 22-4.223 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, May 1956, 75(3), pp. 41-3; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, June 1958, 77(3),p. 17.224 Harold M. “Beck” Boeschenstein was hired in 1921 by Kappa Kappa brother William E. Levis to jointhe Levis family firm, Illinois Glass Company of Alton. Boeschenstein served as Vice President andGeneral Manager of the firm and then became President of the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation.During World War II, he also served as acting director of the War Production Board’s Forest ProductsBureau. Although he retired from Owens-Corning in 1967, he was a Director of the company until just

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Rapp, the same firm that designed the original house. Included in the design were 10

new three-man and four new two-man study rooms, thus increasing the housing capacity

to 79 men. The new dining room seated 95 people. A stainless steel kitchen, new

heating plant, and entire house electrical rewiring were part of the project as were a new

dormitory and ladies powder room. The main floor was entirely refurbished. A two-year

fund-raising effort provided the money for the improvements.225

During the 1960-61 year, chilly weather threatened to cancel the Sweetheart

Weekend picnic, and a barn was quickly rented to save the weekend. The outgoing and

incoming Vice Presidents of the junior men’s honorary Sachem, Jim Brady226 and Milt

McClure, respectively, were members of the chapter.227

While campaigning for the Presidency in the fall of 1961, John F. Kennedy spoke

on the quad. Sigma Chi’s Little Sisters became a part of chapter life and by the end of the

decade the Little Sisters would become an accepted part of fraternity life until a concerted

effort was put forth to disband these organizations.228

October 27, 1962 was Henri Stegemeier Day. The Illinois Sigs surprised him with

a testimonial program and luncheon to mark his twentieth year as chapter advisor.

Stegemeier, a German professor, was a 1932 initiate of the Rho Chapter at Butler

University. He was summoned to the house on Saturday morning in order to meet with

before his death in 1971 (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, April-May 1944, 63(2), pp. 25-7; The Magazine ofSigma Chi, May-June 1933, 53(2), p. 381; www.owenscorning.com).225 Champaign Urbana Courier, Sept 28, 1960.226 James “Jim” Brady also served as Chapter Consul. In January 1981, Brady was appointed Assistant toPresident Ronald Reagan and White House Press Secretary. On March 30, 1981, he was seriouslywounded in the assassination attempt on President Reagan’s life.227 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, September 1961, 80(3), p. 62.228 The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), the umbrella organization of the 26 women’s fraternities,issued a resolution in 1967 that looked with disfavor upon membership in the Little Sister organizations.Resolutions in 1972, 1983 and 1988 reaffirmed the previous resolutions. It is NPC’s belief that theseauxiliaries threaten the single-sex nature of men’s and women’s fraternities. The North AmericanInterfraternity Conference adopted a resolution against Little Sister organizations at the 1987 House ofDelegates.

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the Kappa Kappa Corporation President Merrill. E. “Boz” Prichard. While the two were

meeting, Stegemeier’s friends and family gathered along with chapter members and

alumni in the renovated dining room. Stegemeier was a hands-on advisor who had

missed few chapter meeting night dinners and had served as a strong force in rushing, as

a chaperone and a counselor to the Illinois Sigs. His portrait was presented to the chapter

and the Kappa Kappa Corporation presented him with an engraved watch.229

In the early 1960s, the chapter was the recipient of the Order of the Scroll and $250

in library awards for the chapter’s outstanding scholastic achievements. There were five

Sigs among the Top 100 seniors. The spring semester also found the chapter members

receiving scholarships totaling $4,400 from the Kappa Kappa Corporation. Proportional

amounts were received by those men whose first and/or second semester averages for the

1961-62 academic year were above the all men’s average. In the annual Illinois Bike

Race, the chapter won three of the five trophies and finished third in the over-all

competition, first in the speed lap and first in the ‘Miss Handlebars’ contest due to the

efforts of Leroy Gust. Mother’s Day Weekend was attended by 40 Sig moms. They

were invited to a dinner party with the Kappa Alpha Theta moms. Afterwards, the sons

initiated the Sig moms in a very moving ceremony and it was followed by a serenade.230

Sigma Chi, along with three other fraternities, opened the University of Illinois

social season in September 1965 with the first dance of the year. In the spring, the Sigs

brought the Kingsmen to campus for a dance attended by 3,000 University students. Jane

Heggie, one of a long line of Sigma Chi Sweethearts, was crowned on May 21, 1966.231

229 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1963, 82(2), p. 30. Stegemeier died in 2001. His son Henri sharedthe Sigma Chi bond as a member of Kappa Kappa Chapter.230 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1963, 82(2), p. 30.231 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1966, 85(3), p. 46.

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At the 1966 Homecoming banquet, chapter adviser William H. Rice, Assistant to

the President of the University of Illinois, was named winner of the Charles A. Kiler

Memorial Award. Previous winners of the Kiler Award were Past Grand Consul Hough,

Grand Trustee William T. Cameron and former Kappa Kappa Corporation President

Prichard. Rice was presented with the Kiler watch, the beautiful gold timepiece Kiler

often displayed at the chapter house.232 In 1978, the watch was presented to the Sigma

Chi Foundation Headquarters Museum in Evanston. The watch has a Sigma Chi crest on

it and is likely the watch that was presented to him in gratitude for his fund-raising efforts

in making the chapter house a reality.233

Philanthropic endeavors became a focus of chapter life. During the 1965-66 year,

Kappa Kappa raised $325.10 for the Pediatrics War at Burnham Hospital. The money

was used to purchase new equipment in the children’s ward and to entertain the patients

at a hall party.234

In 1967, the chapter’s newsletter, The Illinois Sig, won the Charles G. Ross

Memorial Award for the fourteenth time. The chapter won the award in 1938, 1939,

1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960,

1961.235 The chapter would go on to win the award in 1967, 1973, 1979-80, 1980-81, and

1997.

Fire and its aftermath seemed to set the tone for the early 1970s. In May 1970, an

electrical malfunction on the second floor started a fire. The firemen left after

extinguishing the flames, but were summoned back when fire broke out in the ceiling

232 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1966, 85(4).233 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1978, 98(1), p. 32.234 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1966, 85(1), p. 45.235 The Illinois Sig, November 1967, 57(1).

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beams. The fire caused $70,000 in damages. There was major damage to the roof and

nearly half of the older portion of the brick and wood structure had fire, smoke and water

damage. Luckily, none of the 59 chapter members were injured.236

The second fire did much more damage than the earlier one. A Pledge Walkout

was scheduled for Thursday October 18, 1973, according to Mark Anderson, Sigma Chi’s

current Executive Director, who was a pledge at the time and whose room was one of the

rooms destroyed in the fire. At 5:20 p.m., a fire was discovered, and an alarm was called

in to the Champaign Fire Department. The quickly spreading fire was caused by an

electrical overload in an outlet of a second floor room. In the few minutes it took the

firemen to respond, the fire took hold. Flames in a corner portion of the house escaped

through an open window and spread to the third floor and roof. The 35 city firemen and

two University support companies worked on the blaze for 90 minutes. Although the

1960 addition escaped the actual fire, most of the roof on the old portion of the house was

burned away. There was significant smoke and water damage and the water was as high

as four inches deep on the first and second floors.

The Pi Lambda Phi chapter house at 52 East Armory Street was vacant and the

University’s Housing Division furnished some beds and mattresses and moved 56 of the

members into the house. Four members moved to an apartment, and the other 12 were

permitted to live in the Kappa Kappa house basement as it suffered no damage.237 No

one was injured, but with the exception of the basement, the chapter was not able to use

the house for the remainder of the academic year.

236 Carlson, 1990, p. 463; Chicago Tribune, May 21, 1970.237 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1973, 92(4), p. 13.

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The 1973 fire must have seemed like a déjà vu experience for the Kappa Kappa

Corporation. Julian “Jud” Collins238 was President of the Corporation when the 1970 fire

occurred. His third term as President was about to expire in November of 1973, but “he

took personal charge, negotiated a very good insurance settlement, and served as

construction superintendent.”239 A fund-raising drive led by Max Hopper and Ben Duvall

augmented the insurance settlement. The repairs called for no major structural alterations

but interior changes were planned. They included new paneling, carpeting and tiling on

the first floor along with new living and dining room furniture. A basement washroom

was enlarged and there was a full modernization of all electrical, plumbing and heating

facilities.240 Collins was awarded the Fraternity’s first William T. Bringham House

Corporation Officer award for his exemplary efforts.

On May 1-3, 1981, the chapter celebrated its Centennial. The event’s Co-chairmen,

John Wunderlich and Dave Prichard, spent two years planning the weekend. More than

300 alumni attended the festivities; the oldest was Wilbur Carter from the class of 1919.

The alumni, active chapter members and guests numbered almost 700. The festivities

began with a cocktail reception on Friday night. The Illinois Governor, James R.

Thompson, declared May 2 as Kappa Kappa of Sigma Chi Day. The Ritual

Exemplification was attended by 100 alumni. Saturday’s activities included an outdoor

lunch at the chapter house as well as playing a round of golf or a game of tennis. There

were house and campus tours and class reunions. The Centennial Banquet took place at

238 On June 1, 1951 Collins was rescued by two Sigma Chis when his Marine Corsair (F4U) plane crashedat Chicago’s Meigs Field. The fire was put out by the two Sigs who had been in the control room. Theydragged the unconscious Collins to safety. When the two Sigs stopped by the Kappa Kappa house 12 hourslater, they learned that the person they helped to rescue was a Sigma Chi, too (The Magazine of Sigma Chi,August 1951, 70(3) p. 153).239 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Spring 1975, 94(1), pp. 20-1.240 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Spring 1974, 93(1), p. 37.

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the Ramada Inn in Champaign. Sweethearts received a white rose with a blue and gold

ribbon at the pre-banquet cocktail party. There were old scrapbooks and memorabilia to

spark memories and conversations. The invocation was given by long-time chapter

advisor Stegemeier. “Boz” Prichard241 served as toastmaster and a Centennial Chorus

supplied entertainment. A highlight of the night was to be the awarding of the Significant

Sig medal to five Kappa Kappas. One of these was to go to James Brady, Kappa Kappa’s

former Consul, who was serving in President Reagan’s administration. Those plans were

thwarted when Brady was severely injured in the attempted assassination of President

Reagan. Although the Bradys were unable to attend the festivities, the Significant Sig

medal was awarded to him via a special telephone hookup from the banquet hall to

Brady’s hospital room. James B. Wham, a Kappa Kappa from Brady’s hometown of

Centralia, delivered a tribute to Brady. Ben C. Fisher, the 1948 International Balfour

Award winner, gave the keynote address. Stanley Ikenberry, the President of the

University of Illinois, delivered a toast. Glenn “Duke” Biard was the eleventh Kappa

Kappa member inducted into the Order of Constantine. As the youngest and oldest Sigs

present cut a cake, the chapter members and alumni sang “A Sig I Am.”242

When the legal drinking age became 21, alcohol use and abuse in the fraternity

system came to the forefront. In the fall of 1982, the use of alcohol was prohibited

during formal fall rush and during spring rush weekends. During the spring informal

rush, the chapter rented a local racquetball and athletic club for an evening.243 While

alcohol was prohibited during recruitment activities, “beer nights” with beer companies

241 Pritchard was the former Editor of The Magazine of Sigma Chi. He was hired in 1948 as the first fulltimeAssistant Editor under Cleveland, and took over when Cleveland resigned from the position. He alsoserved as Executive Director of the Fraternity, Editor of The Illinois Sig, and President of the Kappa KappaCorporation.242 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1981, 100(3), p. 56.

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or bars donating a percentage of sales to the sponsoring organization to be used for

charitable contributions was part of the campus culture. The chapter’s philanthropic

endeavors included tutoring Washington Elementary School students, coaching

basketball at the Y.M.C.A., and sponsoring with the women of Delta Delta Delta a Red

Cross Blood Drive.244

Formal Spring Rush in 1984 was an opportunity for high school seniors who were

accepted at the University, as well as men who were already enrolled, to visit the

fraternities. During the first stage on Friday night and Saturday morning the rushees

could visit 13 chapters of their choice for 30 minutes each. The second stage took place

on Saturday evening. The rushees visited six chapters for 40 minutes each. The rushee

could visit three chapters for Sunday’s third stage. After this last stage, the chapters are

allowed to offer bids. Alcohol was not permitted at any stage. The Kappa Kappas were

proud that 356 rushees, more than visited any other chapter, chose to meet the chapter. A

similar, smaller rush took place in the fall.245 A Greek reunion weekend took place on

July 6-8, 1984. The chapter hosted a barbecue party for the Little Sisters on the new

patio.246

During the 1984-85 year, the chapter revived the Miami Triad party. According to

the chapter correspondent, the chapter hadn’t had a Miami Triad for about 20 years. In

addition to the three fraternities founded at Miami University, five sororities were invited.

Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets provided entertainment, elegant food was served and

five limousines provided rides to the ladies. The chapter’s new acquisition was a VCR

243 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1983, 102(2).244 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1983, 102(3); The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1984, 103(2).245 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1984, 103(4), p. 49.246 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1984, 103(3).

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for the TV Room. There were also new dining room tables. Nearly every member was

on an intramural football team and the chapter was considered an IM (intramural)

football powerhouse. The chapter fielded one “A” team and five “B” teams, more than

any other chapter.247

The Mothers Club sponsored an auction of handcrafted items and used the funds to

help the chapter. A new computer system was one of the club’s gifts as was the

renovation of the ladies’ restrooms. A few years earlier, the club helped pay for a new

patio in the rear of the house.248 Derby Days took place September 9-13, 1985. The

events consisted of contests, parties and a banquet. The funds that were raised through

local businesses, t-shirt sales and tickets to the Queen’s Banquet were donated to the

Burnham Hospital crisis nursery and the Wallace Village for Children.249

Dr. Henri Stegemeier, a chapter advisor for more than 40 years, was honored again

when chapter alumni funded the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award. It is a fraternity-

wide, cash award citation presented annually by the Sigma Chi Foundation honoring the

most outstanding faculty advisor. It is based upon length of service and extent of

involvement in the chapter. The recipient need not be a Sigma Chi. The announcement

came at an April 5, 1987 luncheon banquet and was a complete surprise to Stegemeier.250

More than 100 years after Kappa Kappa was founded, singing was still a part of

chapter life. The tradition was that a week before an exchange with a sorority, the

chapter visited the sorority house at dinnertime to “serve them champagne and sing them

247 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1985, 104(3), p. 73.248 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1985, 104(4), p. 47; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1986,105(4).249 The Wallace Village for Children became the Fraternity’s first suggested service project in 1967. Todayit is known as the Cleo Wallace Center. Located near Denver, Colorado, it is a residential psychiatrictreatment center for children and adolescents (The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Spring 1986, 105(1); Carlson,1990).

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‘The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.’” The chapter joined the women of Kappa Kappa

Gamma in entertaining the residents of three nursing homes. The highlight of the

evening was a request by the widow of a Sigma Chi to sing her the same song.251 The

chapter’s football team was still a powerhouse, winning three major tournaments and a

berth at the National Collegiate Flag Football Tourney in New Orleans.

Derby Days was a part of fall activities. The money raised during Derby Days was

usually donated to two charities. One was the Wallace Center; in the late 1980s the

second recipient of funds was the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

From November 1988 to March 1989 the chapter contributed $6,300 to the Wallace

Center.252

The Inter-Fraternity’s Council alcohol policy was one of B.Y.O.B. for those of legal

age. Every chapter member was required to watch for violations, as consequences of

violating the policy could result in a fine or social probation. Kegs or drink dispensers

were prohibited. All alcohol at the events was to have been brought by the purchaser.

Alcohol could not be purchased with chapter funds, nor could it be distributed to

attendees. The amount in the social budget was the same as it had previously been, the

funds that had been earmarked for alcohol were used for barn dances, canoe trips, and a

trip to Disney World for a lucky couple at the end of the chapter’s “Florida party.” The

Inter Fraternity Council also eliminated formal rush, making informal summer rush

parties a valuable rush tool. The television room was refurbished, and the house had new

windows and a parquet tile floor in the dining room.253

250 The Illinois Sig, June 2001; The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1987, 106(2), p. 49.251 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Spring 1987, 106(1), p. 65.252 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Spring 1989, 108(1); The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Summer 1987, 106(2).253 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1990, 109(4), p. 34.

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The Mother’s Club may have been inactive for several years in the 1980s, as it was

reconstituted after the 1988 Mom’s Weekend. The club’s goal was to “add a mother’s

touch to their sons’ college experience.” The group had an auction each spring. The

Mother’s Club paid for a piano repair, purchased computer equipment, gave scholarships

to the most improved students, and supplied healthy exam week snacks.254

Famed Kappa Kappa athlete Dike Eddleman was honored in Illinois on May 17,

1995 with the day being declared “Dike Eddleman Day.” An award winning Olympic

high jumper, Eddleman earned 11 letters in basketball, track, and football.255

The chapter had spent 90 years in the same chapter house and times had changed.

The Kappa Kappa Corporation had some issues to consider. In a letter dated July 23,

1993, “Boz” Prichard, chairman of the Corporation, discussed the chapter house problem

with the alumni. Renovation and reconstruction was advocated over building a new

home. Two separate engineering studies showed that the basic structure was sound.

Reconstruction would also allow the house to remain open during the school year. Issues

to resolve included the outdated dormitory-sleeping configuration. It was no longer

required by the university, as it once had been, and it was highly unpopular with the

college students of the 1990s. Many fraternities had shifted towards a catered meal

service rather than an on-site cook. There was also a decline in freshmen pledging and

the trend was toward upperclassmen seeking apartment living. It must have seemed as if

prayers had been answered when a 1.1 million-dollar bequest from the estate of Jeanne

and Edwin C. Fisher was given to the Corporation.

254 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Spring 1995, 114(1), p. 9.255 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 1995, 114(3), p. 100.

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Thirty-three members, only a quarter of the chapter members, spent the 1995-96

year in the former Alpha Chi Rho house at 311 East Armory Street. The other three-

quarters of the chapter were on their own for housing while the house was renovated.256

On Saturday October 5, 1996 the modernized and reconstructed house named for the

Fishers was rededicated. Rodney A. Reid, Beta Omicron, designed the 2 million-dollar

renovation. There was a suite for the Balfour Fellow, as well as comfortable lounging

areas, and special accommodations for seniors. Other features included three stained

glass windows in the library - as well as state of the art computer capabilities and security

measures. Before his death, Fisher asked that a sizable front porch, like the one that had

been there until the late 1960s, be added to the house. The dining room, study rooms,

and dormitories were completely refurbished. The Memorial Chapter room was restored

to its rich character and to meet local safety requirements an additional exit was added.

Jesse R. “Bob” Stone funded the Consul’s suite as well as the library windows. 257

As the century came to a close, the fraternity system at the University of Illinois,

like its counterparts across the country, was still tackling with alcohol issues. The

B.Y.O.B. system used hand stamps and tickets to distribute alcohol brought by those of

legal drinking age. No alcohol was to be purchased with chapter or “pooled funds.” In

the fall of 1997, the chapter was cited for failing to properly serve alcohol at a chapter

event. Consequently, the chapter received a social suspension from both the University

and Fraternity.

256 Pritchard, no date.257 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 1996-1997, 115(4), p. 35.

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From April 17 to May 3, 1998, alumnus Scott Altman went where no Kappa Kappa

had gone before - outer space! He was the pilot of the space shuttle Columbia.258 Altman

is a veteran of two other space flights and he has spent more than 38 days in space.

On November 18, 1998, Ed King, Delta Rho, educational advisor for Sigma Chi

Foundation, spoke to the chapter and it was one of the highlights of the fall semester.

Derby Days consisted of events such as the blood drive, the lip-sync competition, Rent-a-

Sig and a volleyball tournament. More than $5,000 was raised for the Children’s Miracle

Network, an alliance of 165 hospitals. It became one of Sigma Chi’s projects in 1992.259

Kappa Kappa was one of seven chapters participating in the Stone Mentor Program.

Funded by chapter alumnus Stone, the program attempted to change behavioral attitudes

through alcohol education and heightened scholastic expectations. It also placed “the

expectation upon the mentor to work with the chapter to find deeper more meaningful

solutions to enhance the character and decision making skills of our undergraduate

members.”260 Chapter member Tim Swindle spearheaded the idea of making an alcohol

awareness video to be distributed around the country. After speaking with Sergeant Scott

Friedlein of the Champaign Police Department about the video the chapter chose to use

$7,000 of the Stone Mentor funds to help the Champaign Police Department fund the

project.261

258 The Illinois Sig, June 1998, 95(1).259 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, February 1999, 118(1), p. 2.260 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Fall 2001, 120(3), p. 77.261 The Illinois Sig, June 2001, p. 7.

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In the early 2000s, the chapter, working with the Sigma Chi Foundation’s director

of education, reemphasized a focus on academics. To work towards this goal, a

renovated $23,000 computer lab was added to the house.262

In April 2002, a portion of Fourth Street between Kirby Avenue and Peabody Drive

was designated as “Honorary Dike Eddleman Way.” Eddleman also had been honored in

1993 when the male and female athletes of the year awards were renamed in his honor.

On April 13, 2003, at 410 East John Street, a 40-foot flagpole, flying a large

American flag, was dedicated. The project was funded primarily from gifts from the

classes of 1946-52 and friends and family of Michael Miller. The flagpole was dedicated

to “All Kappa Kappa Sigs who have and will serve in the United States military forces”

and “In memory of Michael Miller ’61.”

As the Kappa Kappa Chapter of Sigma Chi approaches its 125 anniversary, more

than 2,275 men have been initated into the bonds of its brotherhood. The chapter has

won the J. Dwight Peterson Significant Chapter Award 14 times and innumerable alumni

have given generously of their time, talents and resources to the chapter and the

Fraternity.

262 The Magazine of Sigma Chi, Winter 2001-2002, 120(4), p. 54.

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Bibliography

Anson, J., & Marchesani, R. F., Jr. (Eds.). (1991). Baird’s manual of American

college fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird’s Manual Foundation.

Carlson, D. R. (1990). The history of Sigma Chi Fraternity 1955-1980. Evanston,

IL: Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Champaign Daily Gazette

Champaign Urbana Courier

Kelley, J. H. (Ed.). (1913). The alumni record of the University of Illinois. Urbana-

Champaign, IL: The University of Illinois.

Luhrsen, P. H. (1995). The class of 1954, Kappa Kappa Chapter of Sigma Chi.

Atlanta, GA: Luhrsen’s Vanity Publishing.

Nate, J. C. (1930). The history of Sigma Chi, Volume 3. Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Pritchard, D. A. (No date). A brief history of the Kappa Kappa Chapter.

The Bunkem

The Illinois Sig

The Kappa Kappa News of the Sigma Chi Fraternity

The Magazine of Sigma Chi

The Sigma Chi

The Sigma Chi Quarterly