March 15, 1924, Volume 5, Number 6

10 years...
The Archi Staff are in a tizzy because in less than a month, the fraternity will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. Messages from such dignataries as Leo M. Bauer, Chandler C. Cohagen and Lorentz Schmidt send well wishes to the brotherhood in its current state, and waxes nostalgic for its infant days when we were a mere 2 interested parties. As of 1924, the fraternity has grown to 7 national chapters, and 1 soon to join the fray. I picture them each in a drafting smock late at night, carefully drafting these correspondence with fountain pens.

The Grand Council Directory
The bulk of this Archi consists of a directory of all members to-date. this is not the first of these directors to be published, but as someone who is painstakingly entering each name into a database, I can assure you that it's getting ever so long. I admit that it is pretty neat to look at the names and see their addresses. I find myself wondering if these places of residence are still there. So I took a random sample - 1 residence from each active chapter and entered it into google maps - here we go!

Anthemios - Adolf O. Budina: 618 10th St., Wilmette, IL ----BINGO!
Looks like it's still there. A house like this was likely built before 1924, and what a sweet little house it is too.

View Larger Map


Iktinos - Eugene D. Straight: 479 W. Willis Ave., Detroit, MI ----Hmmm..
For some reason google street view hasn't made it to Willis - and it's now being called Willis Street. It looks like the John C. Lodge freeway has been built on this site. Unfortunately, judging from the nearby interesection this is a blighted neighborhood.

Demetrios - Russell M. Krob: 1209 Hamlet Ave., Colmbus, OH ----DOH!
This is seriously the cutest neighborhood, with good old american four-square homes, built one after the other, except it appears that there's a vacant lot where brother Krob's used to be. You'll noticed that a house does comes up when you type in the 1209 but you can see the address number is not 1209. Well, at least you can get a sense of the neighborhood.

View Larger Map

Mnesicles - Howard F. Dunn: 1692 Princeton Ave., St. Paul, MN ----??
Darnit google! They haven't documented this neighborhood using streetview, but it appears that this house is still there. It appears to be a garden-style designed neighbohood, and he homes appear to be built in the late teens to early twenties. If it weren't for all the snow in the wintertime, I'd want to live in this neighborhood.

Kallikrates - W. Merle Brown: 810 Carter Road, Raleigh Court, Roanoake, VA ----So Close..
Once again, I am unable to find the exact house. I think that the homes of this area have been renumbered. I am able to verify the existance of a Carter Road, and this road is within a subdivision called Raleigh Court. According to Wikipedia, "the development of [Raleigh Court] reached its peak in the 1920's, so therefore the residences in this subdivision do fit into our time frame.

Andronicus - Paul E. Willhide: 1200 37th Pl., Los Angeles, CA ----SWEET!
The house appears to still be there. It's been severely remodeled, and currently houses a youth center, but the house is still there. The place is easily within walking distance from the USC Campus. No need to ride the red car.


View Larger Map

Paeonios - Lawrence Byers: 901 Carer Ave., Wichita, KS ---- Whew!
That took a bit of sleuthing - depending on what side of the street had the odd numbers, it was either this quaint little thing, or a PUD apartment complex (for shame). The house is located on a little peninsula of land surrounded by a river, and is not too far from a fantastic little place called the Castle Inn - it kind of makes me want to go to Kansas for the first time in my life.


View Larger Map

2933 Hobart Boulevard

OMG! It's still there!



View Larger Map

A Brief Diversion - Andronicus Photo Boards

At the Andronicus Alumni Meeting on 8/22/09, a number of historic boards were nearly destroyed by a leaky shower. Luckily, they were saved from harm, and are currently being restored by April Sommer & Michael Rabanera.
I had my camera with me, and I'd like to share the photos with you.
Be sure to click the images to get a close-up look!

First - The engraved announcement of the chapter installation...



The Very First Andronicus Chapter House, on Hobart Blvd...


Brothers at Work...
Recognize any names? Stanley Cundiff - the Archi Correspondent Extrordinaire? And there are 2 women in studio.

The students of 1923, and a little history of the program....

More brothers.. and another picture of Dorothy Witchers...

Another, more comprehensive group photo...

What an incredible find!!

February 15, 1924, Volume 5, Number 5

Living Single, in Denver


Brother Andrew S. Phillips (Anthemios 1923) is reported to be living in "Single 'blessedness'" at the Argonaut hotel in Denver. Happily, i can report that this structure is still in-tact. It is now the Argonaut Apartments, located at 1505 Grant Street, only a few short blocks from the former Adam's Mark Hotel, where we held the 59th Convention in 2006. See Image Above.



Stop Thief!

The Andronicus Brothers were allegedly ransacked by a wily group of young lady friends during a dance held in honor of the newly initiated pledges.

The items reported stolen include: pennants, ash trays, bric-a-brack, and APX paddles. Luckily, the paddles were recovered following drastic threats from brothers Baldwin and Andersen.
Sorrority girls.. hmmph.





For the Autophiles


Ex-Anthemian David Postle presently living in Los Angeles is now moving to New York to get married. He plans on taking his honeymoon in his brand-new Rickenbacker Roadster. The photograph above is an example of a 1923 model Rickenbacker Roadster. Pretty Fancy Indeed!

January 15, 1924 Vol. 5, No. 4, Part 2

Carl Juline is a Badass.
This is the same Carl Juline from Anthemios who moved to Los Angeles, who Brother Christen of Anthemios (it turns out), was trying to set up with his old girlfriend. Well.. Brother Juline has bought himself a fancy Christmas Present of a brand new 1924 Ford Coupe (picture above). Not to be the kind of guy with any old Ford Coup... oh no. Carl sprung for the red wheels, and further customized it with his initials on the doors. However, the coup de gras is the large letters "APX" emblazoned on the spare wheel cover.

If I were Lester Christen, I'd be looking out for my ex-girlfriend's reputation. Mr. Juline might be moving a bit to fast for that old gal. After all, the day that he showed up with the vehicle, a crowd of co-eds formed, which led to him getting 17 phone numbers.

I must say, Stanley Cundiff is one hell of an Archi Reporter. He knocks his articles out of the park every time.

January 15, Vol. 5, No. 4 - Part 1

Convention Recap!

A mere 11 days after the close of convention, the recap was already out to the masses. Being charged with the duty of putting out a similar recap for the past 6 years, their punctuality makes me blush, i have to admit.

If you have been following along with the Archi, many of the updates are old news. However, here afe a few items of business discussed at the 9th convention:

Dinocrates
A petition of the Delta Club from the University of Texas was granted approval, thus inaugurating the Dinocrates Colony. Though, they didn't necessarily call the colonies back then. This group, aptly lead by Professor & Brother Raymond Everett of Iktinos, has 11 interested bodies.

Los Angeles Alumni Group
The LA alumni group was officially recognized. Of the 3 board members, none were originally from Andronicus. Glen Ingles was initiated as Mnesicles, but transferred to USC, and thus became a member of the Andronicus Chapter (BTW, served as their WA for a period of time.)
The other oficers were David E. Postle Jr. of Anthemios (Son of Honorary Brother David E. Postle Sr.) and Chester L. Carolja of Mnesicles (former Archi Editor).

Alumni Associations
Alumni Associations, as we know them today, specific to each chapter, came to be at the 9th convention. The idea was known as "the Chicago Plan" as it was put forth by the Chicago Alumni Group. Until this time, all alumni associations were established by city. By 1924, we had alumni groups in Chicago, Minneapolis/Minnesota, Columbus, Detroit, and Los Angeles (see above). This change in structure allows for the city based organizations to remain in place, but operate purely as a social organization. Though the official plan hasn't been spelled out for us in this issue, it would seem to me that this change may have been the death knell for city based alumni groups.

The Sister Pin
The 59th convention brought out a lot of discussion about the sister pin. Funnily, 50 conventions previous, it was asserted that The Sister Pin, which in this issue is described as "A larger size of the crest than is now worn as a guard..." shall only be worn by blood relations. Are we meant to assume that giving said pin to the lady in your life was verboten by the convention? I think so..
This is not going to be the last time we see something about the Sister Pin.

Changes to the Ritual
The Grand Lecturer, Rexford Newcomb presented his revisions to The Ritual, and they were subsequently adopted. The intent of these revisions were to provide a means to which each chapter could easily provide the same show, and included blueprints, and costume drawings. Likely, this is the version of The Ritual that has been retained by the Andronicus Chapter. This is a must-read for all you Ritual-o-philes! Page 3, people.

But most fascinating is the Editorial located on page 4. Those crazy Anthemians presented a paper that proposed an ADDITIONAL 5 degrees. That's right. not a total of 5, but an addition of 5... for a total of 8. The additional 5 called for separate degrees to distinguish a brother upon graduation, upon recognition in the profession, to distinguish faculty members, and to distinguish master architects.

After the discussion at the 58th convention to incorporate an alumni oath into the ritual, I am beginning to have that sinking feeling that every new idea any of us ever had, in regards to this fraternity, may not, in fact, be new at all.

I bet you can guess how this discussion went down. but if you want to know for sure, the last line of the editorial reads: "All APX men are brothers on the same footing when initiated; let us safeguard that ideal no matter what the circumstances intervene afterwards." Well said.

January 3, 1924, Special Edition

Yay!! Convention is On!!

The 9th Convention of Alpha Rho Chi was held at the Curtis Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The image above is an image of the exterior of this hotel. Below is an image of the space in which our banquet was likely held.

This 1 page Archi is a special edition noting the immediate highlights of convention. In fact, if this issue was written in the middle of convention, considering the event was scheduled for January 2-4, 1924. The majority of the reporting is on the opening dinner dance, and is followed by items yet to be covered.

I wonder why they did this? Is this the closest the 1924 version of us had to instant messaging?

God Bless the Archi Staff to not only list all of the attendees, but also the ladies who accompanied them as their dates. It makes me wonder how each of these Lady Golden Gophers were assigned to each of our brothers. Were they matched up by height? Was there a lady-auction a la Pirates of Carribean? Why didn't Norman Palmquist of Paeonios get a date? Poor Norman.

We are also graced with the banquet menu, which was probably really fancy, but reminds me of an Anthemian Sunday Night Formal Dinner. In fact if we switched out the ice cream and cake or pie with "nilla wafers and pudding" it would be almost exactly the same.

Special thanks to Rick Jenkins in sleuthing out these photos.

December 15, 1923, Volume 5, Number 3

This issue of the Archi is a nice precursor to the impending convention, which will begin on Janury 2nd at 10am in Minneapolis Minnesota. This would mean that many of our brothers spent the new year in transit.

Just as Anthemios brother Fred G. Rounds gave us a little bit of foreshadowing by accepting a position as an instructor at Washington State University, in this issue, Paeonios Faculty Brother C. F. Baker has accepted a position as the head of the architecture department at the University of Cincinnati.

The Balance of the issue contains the Grand Council Directory, which contains every known brother and pledge, living & dead. It's fascinating to look and see that even back in 1923, our brothers were often flung far from their home universities to embark upon their architecture careers.

A number of our brothers had taken up residence at their local YMCA, undoubtedly a common option with few innuendoes at this time. According to the YMCA, the organization, which was founded in England, began including dormitories in their facilities around 1880. These dormitories were incorporated in the programs for all new YMCA facilities until the late 1950's. The photograph above, taken in 1915 is the YMCA in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Database Project - Post GC Directory

The 12/15/23 issue of The Archi includes the Grand Council's Directory, containing all brothers and pledges known to them at that moment. It's amazing to think that at one point, our entire membership could be printed on 6 pages!
Comparing what was in the database previously, here is where we now stand:

We are now 10 issues in. We now have 753 unique names.

The chapter breakdown is as follows:
Anthemios - 151
Iktinos - 161
Mnesicles - 122
Demetrios - 124
Andronicus - 40
Kallikrates - 20
Paeonios - 34

Some observations,

• Paeonios is HUGE for a chapter that has been active for less than a year.
• Iktinos went from 90 to 161, which to me, means they hadn't been specifically mentioning brothers by names in their updates. Let's see if that continues.
• There are a large amount of siblings who have joined the fraternity. It's interesting to me how during this time period, architecture in a lot of cases, was viewed as a family business. I wonder if that was because many young men were not granted the opportunity to choose their own destinies?

Database Progress

At this time, we are 9 issues in. In the database, there are 635 unique names.
The chapter breakdown is as follows:
Anthemios - 139
Iktinos - 95
Mnesicles - 108
Demetrios - 116
Andronicus - 30
Kallikrates - 19
Paeonios - 19

Those numbers do not add up to 635 because there is a great deal of brothers who have been mentioned but I couldn't determine which chapter they were from. Also, there are a great deal of non brothers mentioned; faculty, lecturers, employers, wives & parents. Though they are not brothers, I've committed to keeping them in as well. In many instances, those non brothers are initiated as honorary members, and those wives assist in many chapter events. Also, you'd be surprised at some of the influential parents some of our brothers had.

The next issue, dated 12/15/23 consists primarily of a Grand Council Database, and should round out all the members of the fraternity to date. I'm excited for the project. I'm not excited for my eyes and fingers. It will take a while, so please bear with me.

November 15, 1923, Vol. 5, No. 2 Part 2

Andronicus: Home Away from Home

Some things never change. A repeating theme in the Archi's thus far is the fact that the Andronicus Chapter continuously welcomes brothers from all over the country who visit, transfer, or settle down in the Los Angeles Area. It's nice to see that Andronicus has always had an "open arms" policy, especially since I have been on the receiving end of one of those Andronican Hugs for the last 7 years.

If you haven't figured it out, I'm completely in love with my hometown of Los Angeles, and one of the things that I love most about it is its cultural diversity; the blurring of Mexican, African American, Korean, Armenian, Japanese, Thai, Italian, Chinese, Greek, Peruvian, Russian, and so many more cultures. It's the reason why the hottest thing in LA right now is something called the Kogi Taco, which is a Korean Barbecue on a Taco, that is served from a roving catering truck. http://kogibbq.com/

In a way, Andronicus has always been the Kogi Taco of Alpha Rho Chi, mixing their fabulous weather and excellent football with Anthemian, Daedalan, Cossutian, Satyran, and Hadrian cultures. This point is illustrated by the fact that at the Sostratus Installation last April, people from 10 different chapters were present for the festivities. Half of the active chapters were represented!

In 1923, Andronicus was visited by brothers from Iktinos, Demetrios & Mnesicles. At the time, we had 6 chapters, so percentage wise, they had us beat.

Los Angeles in 1923

The Bimini Bath's Incident...
A Curious incident at the Bimini Baths - Andronicus Pledge was injured saving a young lady at the Bimini Baths. Having never heard of it, I did a little research.
The baths were located on the western edge of LA at the time, in the area that is now considered Koreatown. The western edge of the city is now considered the ocean, which is a good 15 miles further west of this site. The photograph below is a photo of the site. The baths could be accessed easily by our brothers using the Red Car, whose tracks can be seen in the photograph. Currently very little of this site remains. (Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library)

Thanks to the LA Eco Village Blog which already did the excellent footwork on this research project. http://laecovillage.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/ride-the-streetcar-to-the-bimini-baths/

The Hall of Justice...
Brother Roy Boxmeyer, Mnesicles, came to Los Angeles with the specific purpose of working on the new Los Angeles Hall of Justice. It was built as part of a massive overhaul to the Los Angeles Civic Center. In the photo below, the Hall of Justice is shown completed; the square building on the right. It is accompanied by the Los Angeles County Courthouse (center) and the Los Angeles Hall of Records, (Left) (Photo from the USC Digital Archives)


The Hall of Justice is the only 1 of these three buildings that remain. The building houses a series of courtrooms, jails and is capable of performing autopsies. It is historically known for jailing and trying notorious criminals such as Charles Manson & Sirhan Sirhan. Also it is known to have been the site of Marilyn Monroe's Autopsy. In popular culture, the building is extensively featured in television shows such as Dragnet, (which is about to get its own postage stamp), Get Smart & CHiP's.

The building was heavily damaged in the 1994 earthquake, however, it is currently undergoing extensive renovations and repairs, which is slightly visible in the current photo below. (Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library)

November 15, 1923, Vol. 5, No. 2 Part 1

Expansion: 1920's Style.

The early attempts at expansion for this fraternity seems to be dominated by brothers of a certain chapter becoming faculty at another university. The "new" chapters at USC, UVA & KSU were all initiated by faculty members who were brothers at other chapters.
At this stage in the project, less than 10 years since the foundation of the fraternity, we have faculty planted at North Dakota Agricultural College, North Carolina State College, Washington State College (that's right.. in Pullman), Harvard University, Iowa State University & New York University. However, most interesting of all are the brothers who are teaching at the University of Texas in Austin (Raymond Everett, Iktinos,), and Oklahoma A & M College (Joseph J. Patterson, Anthemios, '17).

We have the benefit of knowing that both of these chapters were established in 1925, and on page 3 of this issue, there's an indication that a chapter may be in the works at Texas. Knowing that Cass Gilbert was the master planner at this university and a Master Architect during this time period puts it all into deeper perspective.

For the Betterment...

A curious editorial on page 4 of this issue notes that many of our chapters have been planning events on the Sabbath. What's worse is, they're planning events on Saturday nights that go into the wee hours of the morning, therefore also violating the Sabbath. Tsk Tsk.
No disrespect from me, of course, for any brother or person who is observant of their particular sabbath. I would hate for anyone to sully the fair name of Alpha Rho Chi by holding events on the Sabbath. And Kudos to Mnesicles for instead holding their initiations and "oriental night" on one of the "other 6 days of the week."

oh sweet irony.

October 15, 1923, Vol. 5, No. 1 Part 2

Where are they Now?

The Chittenden Hotel, Columbus, Ohio - Location for the Demetrios Founder's Day celebration in 1923.
Unfortunately, this building was demolished in 1974.



The Seneca Hotel, Coumbus Ohio - Location for the Demetrios Pledge Dance on October 12, 1923
After years of being in a state of disrepair, this structure is now student housing, aptly named "The Seneca"
http://www.campusapts.com/Home.aspx?Proj=101&Name=Seneca



The Interlachen Club, Minneapolis Minnesota - Location for the Mnesicles Formal on May 11th, 1923.
This building is still used as a Country Club. - www.interlachencc.org/



Ye Olde Bull Pen Inn, Los Angeles California - Location for "Many Summer Meetings" of Andronicus Brothers over the summer of 1923.
Formerly located at 633 S. Hope Street, it has since been demolished.



The University of California, South Branch - The architecture department at this branch of University of California was discontinued, which created a windfall for the USC architecture department (And consequently was a windfall for the Andronicus Chapter).
The site is now the location of Los Angeles City College, and the Southern Branch of University of California moved to a plot of land west of Beverly Hills, and became UCLA.

October 15, 1923, Vol. 5, No. 1 Part 1

Thank you to the Prelinger Archives for this clip.

Page 6 of this issue includes an article by Berkeley Hardman, Demetrios, that vividly describes the Berkeley Fire of 1923. I find it interesting that a man named Berkeley ends up living in Berkeley. Was it predestined?

The clip is strikingly similar to the description supplied by Brother Hardman.


Changes to The Ritual?

See the letter on Page 5 from Grand Lecturer Rexford Newcomb, which outlines his thoughts about The Ritual. Many explanations can be drawn for the way in which our ritual is currently played out. Keep in mind, the fraternity was only 9 years old at this point, and the secret works may not have been viewed so much like "Gospel" as it we tend to do today.

March 15, 1923, Vol. 4, No. 5

If you're currently a pledge in a colony of Alpha Rho Chi (I'm looking your way, Severus), and you think you're going to put out the most bang-up, boss, swell, radical, bitchin, kick-ass petition for affiliation, you best be looking at the submission that Paeonios put together back in 1923.

Not ONLY did they include a dozen 7x11 inch views of the campus, individual pictures of all the petitioning members, and endorsements from the President of the School, the Dean of Engineering, the head of the Intra-Fraternity Council at the university, the Registrar and the Head of the Architectural Department, they also bound the thing in a soft, brown undressed leather cover, which bore the gold seal of the Kansas State Agricultural college.

The postage on that baby? $2.00. In today's dollars, that would be $24.11

I wonder whatever happened to that petition, described as a "masterpiece" by the Archi Editors.

In Other News..

There is a lovely response to the Archi Editors from an Alumnus, inquiring about an article in a previous issue:

"In the last issue of the Archi, there was considerable mention of the Alumni Association taken up at the convention. However there was nothing said of its purpose, development or benefit. It is the opinion of the members of the Chicago Alumni Chapter than an article should be published in the Archi giving some information regarding this issue."

Let this serve as a warning to you, my fellow brothers - people who stick their necks out like that end up getting elected Worthy Grand Architect. You see, the letter was signed by a G. A. Whitten. Yes, That would be future WGA, Silver Medal Recipient, and namesake of our annual Scholastic Achievement Award, George A. "So" Whitten.

December 1, 1922, Vol. 4 No. 2 Part 2

A trip down memory lane without looking at the dark and less than pleasant things is really no different than walking down Main Street USA at Disneyland.

As much as I love Disneyland, that's not our purpose here. And unfortunately, we find ourselves, once again, with a questionable comment that in our times would be considered quite racist. I'm doing my best to try to look at it through the context of 1922, but no matter how hard I try, I can't rationalize it, and that's why I've chosen to not quote it here.

But now I find myself quite curious about how race relations played into fraternities and sororities. I have known that there were fraternities and sororities specifically for African American and Jewish students; there were a number of each on the campus of my Alma Mater. I'm not naive enough to think that fraternities and sororities weren't segregated, even in states without Jim Crow laws. I had just never thought about it until now and for the sake of this project, I decided to dig deeper.

Stupidly, I started my quest typing into my google search "racism fraternity." It was a query that returned almost 260,000 hits, most of which are undoubtedly referencing recent events.

Narrowing down my search to fraternity and race relationships, I came across this story recounted by James Vorosmarti Jr. of Lafayette College, a brother of Phi Kappa Tau.
http://www.lafayette.edu/news.php/view/10558

His story is not unlike many others I discovered; stories that tell of "gentlemen agreements" that essentially barred chapters from initiating anyone other than christian white males.

In the stories I have read thus far, an awakening among the student population that this was clearly wrong, appears to have took place in the mid-to-late 1950's. The stories tend to mirror Mr. Vorosmarti's experience where certain chapters challenge the national organization on these mandates, and often end up seceding from the national fraternity in protest.

However if this is the case, we have about 30 years of Archi's where we may stumble into pronouncements like the one here on page 4.

I dismayed to discover in the March 15, 1923 issue of the Archi, that our fraternity was not one of the organizations that maintained a racial status quo with a "gentleman's agreement". Instead, being "white male" was listed as one of the requirements for membership in our National Constitution.

Shocking.

December 1, 1922, Vol. 4, No. 2 Part 1

Andronicus Brothers help with Political Campaign?

"Gump For Congress at Andronicus

Great acclamation and a series of stirring speeches followed the illustrious Andy as he rode down Broadway at Los Angeles when the A. P. X. of U of Southern California put on a real old time campaign. Pledge T. L. Pletsch played the part of Andy."

This is one of those entries that may have made perfect sense back in 1922, but today holds an enigma. The only Andy Gump I know is the guy who supplies port-a-potties to construction sites.
Turns out, the cartoon of the day called "The Gumps", which was written by Sidney Smith, and began its run in 1917. The strip featured a main character named Andy Gump, who in 1922, ran for congress. Subsequently, he ran for president in 1924.
What this has to do with our brothers play-acting a political campaign on his behalf, I have not yet been able to figure out.

Was this some sort of college age fad of the 1920's? (I mean, after all they were a good 25 years way from having televisions and movies weren't even talking yet).

What I do know is that there was a series of pinbacks made to promote these fictional congressional and presidential campaigns. The image included is one of them, dated to the 1920's.
Thanks to collector Mark Lansdown (www.marklansdown.com) for the image.

Database Progress

Just an update on the progress of the database itself.
I'm only 6 issues in, and already there are 443 names on the database. It's started to get unweildy to scroll from name to name, so I've started with the old "find" command. The last issue I entered, 12/1/1922 didn't have a lot of unique names in it.

So far, our most popular guy is Harold R. Peterson. It makes sense, since he's the Worthy Grand Scribe, AND the head of the Archi Board

November 1, 1922 Vol. 4, No. 1, Part 2

The Archi Staff re-printed one letter in full as a good example for others - and wouldn't you know it? It's from Myron Dassett's Mother!!

Myron Dassett, as you may recall from previous posts, is a Mnesicles Brother, studying at the Ecole des Beaux Artes in Paris, France. We've seen a picture of what might possibly be the apartment in which he resided, thanks to google maps!

His mother is writing to pay the $1.50 fee for "your little paper" so she can forward it along to her son. Also, she provides an address encouraging the brothers to write him. How sweet! What a great mom. It is signed Mrs. F. D. Dassett, and my next google treasure hunt began.

I wanted to just post this picture, but I don't want to pay 7 bucks for it. I try to be on the up & up in order to not sully the fair name of Alpha Rho Chi... therefore, Click on this link:

http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=142222&Page=1&Location=MH5%2E9%20MP3%2E1M%20p319

You will see a photograph dated 1895, showing the Mooney & Dassett Meat Market. Mr. F. D. Dassett is the second man from the left. His business partner, Myron C. Mooney is at the center. Can we assume that the son of Mr. & Mrs. Dassett was named after his business partner?

The site of this little market is now the site of the downtown Macy's store.

November 1, 1922 Vol. 4, No. 1, Part 1

pep
"vigor, energy," 1912, shortened form of pepper, which was used in
the figurative sense of "spirit, energy," from at least 1847. Peppy "full of
pep," first recorded 1922. Pep rally is attested from 1945; pep talk from
1926.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

It appears "Pep" was a huge buzz-word in 1922, and the new Archi Board sure liked to use it to describe the properties of this new publications.

The new board sent a letter to all alumni asking for suggestions, and I believe the response from this unnamed brother succinctly describes why the new, peppier version was sought:

"As a suggestion, I would like to offer this, that there be less of
articles which we can get in Architectural magazines and more of a personal new
and chapter information."

And thus, aspirations to have the Archi be a periodical contribiting to our professions were put aside for a period of time. A loss for the profession? Perhaps. For us, however, Archi Names Project Gold!

In this issue we begin to hear the first rumblings of the project to build a house for the Mnesicles Chapter. Not to spoil anything, but much more will come on this subject in the future.

In other chapter house news, it looks like the Anthemios chapter moved to a different house, which would explain why I didn't recognize that photograph in the later issue. The poem included in the article specifically references a big rambling porch, which was quite distinctive. Anthemios also, is in the process of purchasing land for a future chapter house.

There are 2 brand new chapters, and it seems that the Archi Staff feels quite differently about each of them.

The Archi staff is tickled pink about those Andronicans out in Los Angeles, as they sent in many updates about students, pledges and faculty members. Most interestingly would be the mention of Carleton Monroe Winslow, made an honorary brother, who had been awarded a major project in Los Angeles, where he would be working in conjunction with Bertram Goodhue. It's a building that I enjoy visiting regularly; The Los Angeles Public Library! - see photograph above, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

However, the Kallikrates brothers are having to face the painfully polite, yet passive agressive wrath of the Archi Editors.

"From Kallikrates we have received only the most meagre news and we shall be
expecting a perfect mess of it during the next few issues. Our suggestion is that about once a week a letter with such information as may be in hand should be sent to us to make it possible to be up to date..."

As a former Grand Council member, I have to say: some things never change.

After a few more comments about how each of the new chapters are doing on dues, theres a.. lamentable comment that wouldn't be right to ignore:

"As the old darkey said on the arival of his ninth heir, "Lawd, we's thankful
for what we have received, and may's we all be blessed even moh."

Whoa. reading something like that is cause to snap a person out of their nostalgic stupor, and be grateful for living in more tolerant times.

April 1922, Vol. 3, No. 1, Part 2

I'm going to have to say that my home chapter wins the prize for the most interesting updates of this issue.

Let's start with Anthemios's trip to Demetrios to attend the Illinois-Ohio State game in Columbus. Nine brothers made the 23 hour trek in their "reo 'speed-wagons'". I have to remark: "23 HOURS!" Man that is Brutal! How long would it take to get to Columbus in an REO Slow-Wagon? The image above is a 1917 REO Speedwagon, likely very similar to the vehicles taken by our brothers. (Thanks to Wikipedia).

Also, I find it curious that they took REO Speed-wagons, considering the band REO Speedwagon was founded by students attending the University of Illinois in the late 1960's.

When describing the game, I may be looking at it through a modern girl's eyes, but boy does it seem like the brothers were a little too.. um.. inebriated.. to follow every play. (Illinois won).

In OTHER Anthemios news, 2 of our brothers are soloists for John Philip Sousa! Holy CRAP! E.E. Newcomb (no relation to Rexford Newcomb) and Bill Snyder (Snyder is also noted as being Mr. Sousa's personal secretary). This fact had been noticed in the February 1921 issue, and that Mr. Sousa had dined at the Anthemios Chapter House, but I didn't note it here.

April 1922, Vol. 3, No. 1, Part 1

If you ever wondered how our fraternity dealt with the way architectural education shifted from a 4 year program to a more solidified professional degree, look no further than the article by Rexford Newcomb, called "Tendencies in the Architectural Education World. At first blush, it looks like a boring article about education, but don't be fooled. It is focused directly on Alpha Rho Chi. And what i find interesting is that the questions that he posed are questions we are still asking ourselves today: Who Are We? What are Allied Arts? How do we deal with some chapters having a 5 year program, while others have a 4-2 program? Quoting him:

"The Fraternity may find itself face to face with the difficulty of reconciling a double-headed condition, we may find ourselves eventually with chapters in which the men remain four years, other chapters in which they remain six years, and still others in which the period of study covers six years with the later four only given over to what may be called professional work."

Just this past weekend, at the summer meeting, we held a pretty tense discussion how to classify graduate students in a 4-2 program; does the member become an alumnus before or after the M.Arch?

For an Honorary Member, Brother Newcomb took a lot of care when writing this paper. It's inspiring whenever I see a faculty member develop a passion for this fraternity.

The majority of this Archi is dedicated to the 7th National Convention held January 2-3 in Champaign, Illinois.

This is the convention where Kallikrates AND Andronicus join the fray. Kallikrates sent two members (who we would today call colonists) where it appears they were promptly given their pledge pins (in ceremonious fashion, of course), and given a seat at the convention table. Later, they were incorporated into the Anthemios pledge class and made brothers. It is indicated that they would go back to UVA and with the help of the Grand Lecturer, initiate the rest of the members of the Kallikrates Club.

The Andronicus Club was approved to become a chapter. This decision was endorsed by Rexford Newcomb, as it was revealed that he taught at USC before coming to teach at the University of Illinois. (This little parallel between Rex and myself, I admit, has filled me with glee.)

This is also the convention where the distinction was made between Faculty Brother and Honorary Brother, and Cass Gilbert was approved to become a Master Architect.. Take note that this approval took place prior to the death of Nathan Clifford Ricker, which happens in 1924.

It is also reported that Dave, the father of Anthemians Dave & G.R. Postle, was initiated as an Honorary member. It didn't take that long for us to get some legacies, did it?

The Formal Banquet took place at the Beardsley Hotel, which was located on Neil Street, just north of Main. Apparently, it was the nicest hotel in town at the time. Photo provided above, thanks to the University of Illinois Archives.

February 1921, Vol II No. 2

This is the oldest Archi we have a copy of, so far. and as you might have guessed it, I unpacked my Summer meeting bags finally.
I'm first struck by the cover art on this issue, which you might recognize from the Pledge Education Manuals.
I have to admit that I couldn't get through the long article by Irving Pond, FAIA. I'm sure it is fascinating. If you read it, leave a comment and let me know whether its worth it.
There are detailed updates from each chapter and Alumni Chapter. The Alumni Chapters include Chicago, Detroit, Columbus & Minnesota, and highlight how our alumni arranged themselves prior to Brother Whitten's Chapter-Specific Alumni Association plan.
I find it funny that 95 years later we're recognizing the value of city-centered alumni groups. It seems as though these Alumni Chapters did still have an eye on their "nearby" chapters, but just by simply identifying yourself with a city may have generated a focus on the profession AFTER college.
Howard D. Smith is mentioned in an article about the new Ohio State stadium. The fact that 2 Demetrios brothers are working as his draftsmen, (Brother H. F. Richard being chief draftsman), it likely shows the blossoming of his relationship with that chapter.
I'm intrigued by the number of our brothers who have been bestowed so many prestigious awards. It makes me wonder if there were more awards, scholarships and competitions per capita, or if our current organization is lacking in collecting and recording this data.
Happily, we hear about our friend Myron Dassett again, noting that he is studying in Paris under Gromort. I'm lead to believe this is Georges Gromort who appears to be a bit of an expert on the Elements of Classical Architecture. http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Classical-Architecture-Georges-Gromort/dp/0393730514

One last curiosity: Mnesicles Brother Harry J. Korslund is the 1920 winner of the A. Moorman Traveling Scholarship, and there is Brother Al Moorman from Mnesicles, who is "A. A. A." of the Minnesota Alumni Chapter. Could this be the same person? A brief google search did not produce any results.

February 1, 1923 Vol. 4 No. 4 Part 2

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There's a lovely Letter from Myron Dassett of Mnesicles who is studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He remarks that he has been visited by 2 brothers, Ed Loye & Galen Oman, and enjoys his letters from Howard Gilman. Notably, he is also visited by Professor S. Chatwood Burton - The same sculptor who created the bust of Dr. Ricker.
During his visit, the two of them dined with the "famous mural painter from St. Paul." It sounds like it might have been an unforgettable evening for young Brother Dassett. A brief google search did not result in any signifcant hits on Mr. Lalonde.

It's noted that he lives at "No. 1 rue de l'Albaye. I was unable to find that address in a google search, and according to my Par Arrondisment book that street does not exist in paris. But could it be rue de l'Abbaye? I sure hope so. It's an adorable place on the left bank, walking distance to the Louvre, the Tuileries and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Another Famous Sculptor is making waves, as Mr. Lorado Taft is noted as "giving a series of lectures at the University [of Illinois]. Mr Taft is well known by our Anthemian Brethren as the sculptor of University of Illinois' beloved sculpture "The Alma Mater."

The inscription on that sculpture reads: "To thy happy children of the future, those of the past send greetings."

Fitting, no?

February 1, 1923 Vol. IV, No. 4 Part1

When I read through these issues the first time, Convention issues generated more glee in me than almost all of the other things they may have written about. It's hard to believe that our fore-brothers would hold Convention over the Christmas holiday, often times forcing our brothers to leave their homes the day after christmas for a 2-3 day trek.

The 8th Convention in 1923 took place at Demetrios, and this was a good one indeed. This convention marked the election of Dwight Palmer "Pop" Ely to the position of Worthy Grand Architect; a position he would hold for 30 years! However, this almost was not to be. In a race between himself and Harold Peterson, the incumbent WGS, the election was tied. The Convention took another vote, undoubtedly after a few additional endorsements for each nominee, and again, the vote was tied.
This was resolved when the nominator from Mnesicles withdrew his candidate, who was not present. It doesn't say whether Brother Peterson, who was also on the Archi Board, was aware of his nomination.

At the 8th Convention, our organization continued the discussion the idea of having Alumni Associations associated with each chapter "to which all graduates of that chapter would belong regardless of where situated." This would be in lieu of city based Alumni Associations, as they were operating presently. The scheme was introduced at the 7th convention by Brother George A. "So" Whitten, and though it appears to have been met favorably, they hadn't worked all the bugs yet. Can't wait to see what happens in the 9th!

On Page 3, there is a little gem:

Are baldheaded men considered more handsome, more brainy, more impressive, or more agressive than others? At least that was our conclusion after sizing up the bunch around the convention table, for fully fifty per cent of those there had no superfluous hair on their domes.

January 1st, 1923 - Vol IV, No. 3

I did intend to start at the very beginning, and work my way forward. But because I haven't completely unpacked my luggage from the summer meeting, the 1st four available issues which I printed to share with my brothers during that meeting, are still tucked away.

However, as an Anthemian, I found it to be only fitting that I inaugurate this project with an Archi issue that bears the portrait of Dr. Nathan Clifford Ricker on the cover. Hello Doctor Nathan Clifford Ricker, Sir!

This issue does talk a lot about the chapter houses of our chapters at the time. Theres a nice rendering of the proposed home for Mnesicles. There is a picture of a house for Anthemios that doesn't look like the house I thought they lived in prior to their current place at 1108. It is stunning.

There is a detailed article about Howard Dwight Smith, who is an Honorary Brother at Demetrios. It appears he used to work for John Russell Pope.

I never knew that the Memorial bust of Dr. Ricker was sculpted by a professor from University of Minnesota. (Not a Brother)

I have a feeling I will like the correspondence recaps the most.
For example.. Brother Christen (Chapter as of yet unknown), suggest that the archi start some sort of "Lonely Hearts" section:

"I wonder if i could make use of the Archi as a 'fusser' bureau? I have a couple of very fine young lady friends in Los Angeles, and should like to find out if any of the Andronicus brothers would be interested to meet them. They are both "good lookers" and mighty good scouts."

He continues:

"In fact, one of them was my sweetheart back in the days when I was in school. If Carl Juline Anthemios is in L.A. he might be interested."

Oh Carl.. you must have really made an impression on Brother Christen.

Note to self: research what it means to be a "good scout."

What is The Archi Names Project?

Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity has (as of today) a rich 95 year history. Of that history, we only truly know the tip of the iceberg.
Over the past year, Worthy Grand Scribe Emeritus, Rick Jenkins started posting scanned copies of our fraternity's Newsletter/Magazine, offering for the first time, all the primary resource information in our fraternity's history.. in the same place.. so it could be read from start to finish.

And one day, that's what I started to do. Starting from the beginning, I read each issue. I began to notice certain names coming up over and over again. Some of them are names we all recognize. Dwight Palmer "Pop" Ely... George A. "So" Whitten.

But there were more obscure brothers; brothers who did not end up on the Grand Council who also began showing up over and over. It made me wish we had some sort of index.

So this, the creation of an index of names from our past issues of the Archi is what the Archi Names Project is.

What does this have to do with this blog?
As I am reading through these issues and articles, I have been making sometimes noteworthy.. sometimes interesting and sometimes shocking observations.
The blog is intended to be a narrative of these observations as I go along.

How will this work?
I intend to read every issue of the archi, and add it to an excel spreadsheet. After each issue, I will create a blog entry and noting anything interesting that happened while I was reading. Maybe I'll feel compelled to do a little "where are they now?" or draw some connections between separate issues.

Why are YOU doing this?
Well.. Let's see.. If you look at the date of this post, you might notice that July 20 marks the date AFTER the Grand Council's 2009 Summer Meeting.. and this was the final summer meeting I attended as the WGAA. I had kicked this idea around my head for a little while, and while it would have been logical to share this vision at the meeting, I didn't say a word. I've always truly believed that with Alpha Rho Chi, you can do whatever project you want without getting permission from anyone.. the GC, your Chapter, or you AA.. assuming that this project does not depend on funds from those organization. This is such a project. I'm just doing this. I love this fraternity, I love our alumni and I love our history. I'm going to love every second of this.