| Nu Beta in the 1920's
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| Home Page The House Personalities Alumni Contribute |
The first year of the decade of the 1920's saw the advent of an annual Fiji occasion which was to reverberate through the end of the twentieth century. In January 1920, 73 brothers attended a gala 'Alumni Smoker'. This proved to be the predecessor of the Pig Dinner, in April, held at the Hotel Klein. This was only a part of a lively social season which included the Junior Prom and Sophomore Hop weekends. That Autumn saw a pledge class of twelve freshmen, under the leadership of Francis Christie, ably assisted by H. Lea Mason, Claude Hawkins, Edmund Burhans, and Abram Duryee. There was good representation on all campus sports that year, and the debating team, as well as on the Daily Targum. Two brothers were members of Phi Beta Kappa. Pig Dinner was held on the anniversary of the Chapter's installation, and was preceded by a smoker. In April, a cabinet consisting of Daniel Kuhlthau, Ralph Stone, Leslie Black, Frank Johnson, and Ernest Palen was elected. The house stressed scholarship during the 1921-22 academic year. Any brother or pledge deficient in five or more hours could not leave the campus on any study night unless excused by the Executive Committee. Realizing that a permanent house was needed for the growing Chapter, the Trustees began looking for a site, and on April 5 1922 a larger house was purchased. This new abode was at the corner of Bishop Place and George Street, overlooking the Raritan. In those days, pledge rush was a 'cut-throat' competition for good men, and fraternities often pledged young men before they even matriculated. Due to several Prep School Days and Spring Rushing Bees over the Spring and Summer, ten new pledges were on their way to becoming Fijis by Fall 1922, with three more to follow in Spring.Stronger ties to the alumni were sought by the undergrads, with a meeting on October 7 as its
culmination. The cabinet of 1922-23 (Thomas Summerill, Kearny Kuhlthau, Eugene Duryee, George Wirth and Harry Geib), along with the rest of the house, planned a gathering with the alums in the Fall. In Summer 1922, the Nu Beta Alumni Association of Phi Gamma Delta was formed,
which took title on all property of the Chapter. The standing committees were Finance, Undergraduate Cooperation, Membership and Nominating. What won Brother Watson a place in the hearts of then-current students, and in the annals of our Chapter, was the methodical and professional application of his business acumen to the issue of proper alimentation, and his informal role as mentor and counselor to troubled young men at a trying time in their lives. Brother Watson believed that most undergraduates suffered from poor diet, and were therefore less able to succeed in their academic career. Mr. Watson made his home at Nu Beta, and worked on a manual for fraternity house stewards, which he published. The 1923-24 cabinet saw the younger Kuhlthau, Kearny, as President, following Dan. George Seibert, Albert Colville, Leonard Metzger and Arthur Homeyer rounded out the cabinet. Members of the House were found on all major sports teams and campus organizations. Howard Butcher was captain of the baseball team, and one of the seven members of the Casque and Dagger, the Junior honorary society. He was also President of his class. National President Horace Brightman, National Secretary George Snyder and Field Secretary Phillip Lyon ranked among the notables present at the sixth annual Norris Pig Dinner on April 5, 1924. Bayard van Cortlandt van Resellaer, Howard Butcher, Charles Johnson, Hugh Babbitt, and Robert Rhodes comprised the cabinet in April 1924. 1924-25 was a good year; nine men pledged, Nu Beta won the intramural basketball crown for the second year running, and the social life was more than adequate. Once again the Chapter had more than its share of sportsmen, managers and campus leaders. Fifteen freshmen were initiated in February 1926, a marked increase over prior years. University of Pennsylvania Brothers visited for a while, and Nu Beta Fijis did 'road trips' to Cornell and Syracuse. David Williams and Otto Schuster were elected President and Historian, respectively, of the Freshman class. Robert Johnson was a member of the team that broke the Intercollegiate Relay record. In the Spring, Chapter news of Rutgers, N.Y.U. and Columbia was consolidated into a single newspaper, published jointly, and distributed to all interested men in the three communities. May saw the cabinet of Robert Rhodes, Richard Kuehn, J. Thorton Plummer, F.Howell Baker, and Charles McKinney yield to Charles McKinney, Edwin Ludwig, Walter Harris, Arthur Burkhardt and John Mutch. There was a Fall football dance, a Section II convention, a Parents Tea, Pig Dinner and testimonial to Brother Watson, the "grand old man" of Nu Beta, on Dec 13 1926. The prominence of Fijis in the realm of sports managers continued, as 1927-28 saw one assistant baseball manager, one assistant football manager, the fencing manager and sophomore manager of rifle. Pig Dinneron February 11 1928 preceded a Section II dance and convention at Hotel Alamac in New York. In March, the old cabinet of Norman Lindgron, John Mutch, Robert Johnson, Arthur Burkhardt and Russell Mann turned over power to John Winant, C. Henry Tiger, Robert Johnson, John Ahlgren and Frederic Le Rocker. Whitey Stager and Willis Bilderback starred in football in the latter years of the decade, while busy Frederic Le Rocker starred in the Queens Players, the Literary Society and Phi Beta Kappa. Edward Epple was treasurer of his class and member of the Scarlet Letter Council along with Robert Downs. Glee Club and Choir had Harold MacArt, Phill McLaughlin, Marsh Walsh and Richard Hadden. January 1929 will always be remembered as a solemn month, as it marked the passing of Brother Watson ad Astra . Badges were draped in black for a month. |
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