...and the Short of It

Can You Afford This?
Human Service at its Best
First Honorary
Young at Heart
Master Orator
Homecoming and a Whistle
Official Officers
Fire I
First Closing
The Dual Membership Debate
What's Important?
First Interfraternity Conference
First Council Meeting
Acacian in The White House
Badge Adopted
You Are Here
Everybody Sing
Who Are You?
Acacia's Own Indiana Jones
Travelin' Man
Honorary Senator
Bang the Drum
War Conference
Good Advice
Masonic Requirements
Prehistory of the Pythagoras
Some Things Never Change
First Chapter Newsletter
First Recharter
A Triad is Born
A Prints of an Idea
Biennial Adopted
Masterful Tackler
The First Passing
The Evolution of Goldbooks
The Long Hard Road for a Subscription Fund
A Founder's Ordeal

Acacia's First Big Hit
But How Is It On Cereal?
Here Comes the Judge
No Longer Grand
Money Well Spent
Don't Trust Nature's Alarm Clock
Smoking Equals...Progress?
The Worst Fad Ever
Clutter on the Airwaves
Going for the Gold
Iron Man
Evolution of Leadership Training
Autograph of a Tyrant
How to Have Fun at Washington State (c.1936)
How Acacia Nearly Became Alfalfa
Good Publicity
Slacker's Best Friend
Rumbling of War
Husk That Corn
Big Step Before the Big War
Travelin' Men
Bang the Drum, Part II
Grable's Gams
"Glamorboy" Patterson
Acacia's Unsung Heroine
The Story of "Sweet Sioux"
Naval Hero
Finally, Recognition
Hell Week Hooligans
Mr. Acacia
All Three Channels
Don't Try This at Home
The First of Many Moves
Scholarship Boost
Bang the Drum, Part III
Fire II

Can You Afford This?
As reported at the first Conclave held June 26-30, 1905, in Ann Arbor, Michigan:

"Each active member pay through his chapter 25 cents per month, as national dues...each Acacia Alumni be assessed three dollars per year."

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Human Service at its Best
As reported in the Journal in 1907 by the University of California:

"A few days after the chapter birthday (April 15, 1906) we had to face the events of the San Francisco fire and earthquake. The homes of several members were destroyed by fire. The members took active part in the relief work or were on military duty as the University Cadets were called upon for guard duty in San Francisco and Berkeley."

(Ed. Note: "The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire" caused $500 million in damages and killed 3,000 people.)

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First Honorary
The first honorary member of Acacia was Louis Cass Goodrich. Goodrich was in part responsible for coming up with the name Acacia and in preparing the first Ritual of Acacia. He was made an honorary member on June 27, 1905, and died suddenly on August 7, 1905.

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Young at Heart
In the 1908 Journal the Kansas Chapter reported that:

"The average age of the now active members is just slightly under 29 years, which may, in part at least, account for the gratifying tendency towards development in the more essential things for which Acacia stands."

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Master Orator
William Jennings Bryan, future presidential candidate and a masterful speaker, appears on the Nebraska Chapter's pledge list in the 1908 Journal.

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Homecoming and a Whistle
In 1909, future Acacia National President W. Elmer Eckblaw, along with C.F. "Dab" Williams were brainstorming ideas in the Shield and Trident Senior Honor Society at Illinois University. They wanted to do something constructive for the university and they finally hit upon the idea of a "super-reunion" for alumni and friends to relive their college days. This nostalgic "Homecoming" idea was brought up to another honor society, Phoenix, and to President Edmund James and Dean Thomas Arkle Clark, and was met with approval. Eckblaw worked on the details and made the first-ever Homecoming a success, setting the bar for the modern-day celebration. Not to be outdone with creating one of America's best-loved collegiate events, Eckblaw sounded the first "whistle of Acacia" — the first four notes of the adjutant's call of the White-Throated Sparrow — at the Sixth Annual Conclave in Columbia, MO on September 10, 1910. It was adopted thereafter.

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Official Officers
In 1910, at the Sixth Annual Conclave at Columbia, MO the offices of President and Vice President were officially changed to Venerable Dean and Senior Dean, respectively.

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Fire I
On December 31, 1910, the Michigan Chapter house burns down. No one was killed or injured but the house, along with many historic artifacts, was a total loss. Michigan bounced back and by the 10th Anniversary of Acacia, it would build the first true Acacia fraternity house, built specifically for the fraternity on the same spot where the original building once stood.

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First Closing
According to records listed in the Journal and in Conclave minutes, on March 31, 1906, Dartmouth became the Zayin Chapter of Acacia. However, aside from the fact that Zayin paid its chartering fee, no other records remain about who was in the chapter or anything that happened with it. Subsequently, Dartmouth is the first Acacia chapter to be closed in 1908.

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The Dual Membership Debate
From its inception, the Constitution of the Michigan Chapter of Acacia stated that Master Masons would be eligible for membership, provided that they "are not members of any other organization which will interfere with any of [their] duties or obligations [to] this fraternity."

At the first Conclave it was determined that "If any member of this Fraternity join any Greek-letter Fraternity other than an honorary Fraternity, it shall be deemed cause for expulsion." This did not mean, however, that members of another fraternity could not later join Acacia.

At the time when the first question was raised about dual membership, Acacia was still getting the majority of its members from the faculty or graduate students. This meant older members, many of whom had joined Greek-letter Fraternities in their undergraduate days. Several chapters claimed that if dual membership were not allowed, they would collapse due to low numbers.

After 16 years of deliberation, the 1921 Conclave prounounced that no member of a Greek-letter general, national, social college fraternity would be eligible for membership in Acacia. In the end, 22 out of 25 chapters voted for the amendment, and National President Harry L. Brown proclaimed it law on March 21, 1921.

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What's Important?
Quoted from the February 1912 Journal by Columbia University:

"As a chapter we also believe that the recognition of Acacia by the Inter-Fraternity Conference is of no vital importance to the life of Acacia."

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First Interfraternity Conference
Despite some reluctance to accept the Interfraternity Conference, especially on the local level, Acacia was one of the charter members of the national organization in 1910. In the May 1912 Journal is the first published account of an Interfraternity Conference.

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First Council Meeting
The first called meeting of the "Grand Council of Acacia" took place April 12-13, 1913, in Champaign, Illinois.

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Acacian in The White House
The nation's 27th President of the United States, William Howard Taft, was initiated as an honorary member by the Yale Chapter of Acacia on June 4, 1913.

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Badge Adopted
At the second meeting of the Council in Manhattan, Kansas on December 6, 1913, the badge of Acacia as it appears today was unanimously adopted.

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You Are Here
The first directory of Acacia was printed in 1914. More directories would follow over the years and the same conclusion would usually be reached — by the time the directory was published, it was already out of date due to the fact that people moved often.

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Everybody Sing
After many years of gathering songs from chapters, the first Songbook of Acacia was printed in 1915. The cost was $1.25 for cloth or $1.00 for paper binding.

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Who Are You?
The first listing of Who's Who in Acacia was published in the February 1915 Journal.

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Acacia's Own Indiana Jones
On January 30, 1915, Yale initiated Hiram Bingham III. This explorer/archeologist uncovered the fabled Machu Pichu — the Lost City of the Incas — along with many other Incan wonders.

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Travelin' Man
At the 10th Annual Conclave held in San Francisco, Harry L. Brown of Michigan becomes Acacia's first Traveling Counselor. His job description was to inspect individual chapters and make sure all was running smoothly.

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Honorary Senator
Arthur Capper became an honorary member of the Kansas State Chapter of Acacia on April 26, 1916. At the time he was the Governor of Kansas. He would go on to Congress, where he would represent the State of Kansas for 50 years. He also started the Capper Foundation, still in operation today, as well as the 4-H movement.

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Bang the Drum
The Journal changed its name to The Acacia Spirit in September of 1917. The format changed to a much shorter news bulletin, and was mailed to Acacians in the armed services for free. This monthly publication covered news and Acacians during WWI.

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War Conference
In the midst of World War I, Acacia held a War Conference in Chicago on May 31, 1918. Fifteen chapters were represented by 29 men, most of whom were alumni. Nine chapters failed to send anyone. The Conference promised "to keep the home fires burning" while many Acacians were at war.

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Good Advice
Chapter Advisors were made a part of Conclave in 1919 in Champaign, Illinois. Like many newly-created positions, that of Chapter Advisor also took some fine-tuning before it became viable. Today, advisors are an integral part of every Acacia chapter.

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Masonic Requirements
After dealing with the dual membership question, an even bigger debate would arise in Acacia history. Following World War I, there was a time of prosperity for Masons and Acacia as returning Veterans quickly filled houses. Yet as the 1920s went along this surge lessened and pledging numbers started to decline.

By the late 1920s some chapters resorted to pledging the sons and brothers of Masons in order to keep their houses running. This was against Acacia law and some chapters were suspended because of their actions. At the 1931 Conclave in Estes Park, CO it was decided that in order to survive on a national level, the fraternity had to start admitting more undergraduate members. According to records, the discussion of this matter took up 100 pages in the minutes, but ultimately passed. The referendum vote to the chapters also passed, 21-7.

The pledging of sons and brothers of Masons was the first step towards the elimination of Masonic requirements altogether, which came at the 1933 Conclave, signifying a necessary change that allowed Acacia to more ably compete with other fraternities on a national level.

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Prehistory of the Pythagoras
At the 13th Annual Conclave in Minneapolis, MN the Conclave voted to adopt a uniform catechism for chapters in order to impart the history of Acacia to all pledges. Before this time, there was no system and some chapters had little knowledge of Acacia outside of their own chapter. This was the first step in creating a pledge manual, which ultimately resulted in the creation of the Pythagoras. In 1933 the Pythagoras handbook appeared in the December Triad and was later published as a separate manual.

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Some Things Never Change
From the Journal of May 1921 in the Michigan Chapter news:

"The golf bug has found over half a dozen boys in the house not immune. They daily pilgrimage to the course to the battle cry of 'fore.' Their most notable improvement is in the gentle art of swearing."

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First Chapter Newsletter
The first chapter publication to receive mention in the Journal was the Heth Hello of the Illinois Chapter.

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First Recharter
The first Acacia chapter to be rechartered was the Northwestern Chapter on May 12, 1921. One of the men responsible for this was Francis H. Case, who would go on to become a prominent Senator from South Dakota.

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A Triad is Born
At the 1922 Conclave in Lawrence, Kansas, The Triad was born. Despite a few ups and downs, editorial changes, and a disappearance for a time, it still remains Acacia's national publication.

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Prints of an Idea
From a letter written by G.P. Lawrence (Ohio '07) published in the January 1923 Journal:

"The other day, while visiting at the Ohio State Chapter house, Brother Harley Banks told us of the disappearance of Brother Albert M. Smelker. We discussed the likelihood of his having been killed or his being in some hospital or asylum the victim of amnesia.

"It occurred to me at that time that if there were a national bureau of identification, where the finger prints of all the individuals in the country were recorded, it would be the custom to immediately identify all persons, guarded by the police or hospitals, by sending their fingerprints to this national bureau.

"I would like to see Acacia lead of in this movement by requiring that every brother shall have his fingerprints taken as a part of the record made at the time of his initiation. The present blank could be modified so as to use about one-half of the back of the sheet for the finger prints, the rest of the sheet still being available for future data, as now intended. I am enclosing a copy of the form used by the United States Army, and would suggest that we adopt something similar.

"Every one knows that a great number of our soldiers dead in the late war would never have been identified if it had not been for the universal finger printing.

"If we should identify one of our brothers who would otherwise be lost, as the unknown victim of amnesia, accident or foul play, it would surely be more than worth the effort of making all the fingerprints of our Fraternity the country over. I would suggest that each chapter and alumni organization be urged to cooperate in order to record the prints of all living alumni...."

Despite its merits, Brother Lawrence's idea to fingerprint all Acacians never came to fruition.

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Biennial Adopted
Up until the 1923 Conclave in Wisconsin, Acacia held Annual Conclaves — with a few exceptions such as the War Conference during WWI — but switched to the current system of a Biennial Conclave, both to save money and to give National Officers more clearly defined terms.

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Masterful Tackler
In 1924, Acacian Edwin Weir became the captain of the Nebraska football team. During Weir's time as tackle, Nebraska would be the only team in the nation to defeat Notre Dame — coached by Knute Rockne and led by the famed "four horsemen." Rockne called Weir "the greatest tackle I have ever seen."

Weir would go on to become a Walter Camp All-American and be inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. He would also coach track and field at Nebraska and later have the track named after him. Weir remains one of the greatest athletes to come out of Nebraska to this day.

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The First Passing
On December 30, 1923, James M. Cooper becomes the first Founder of Acacia to pass on to Chapter Eternal.

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The Evolution of Goldbooks
The Acacia Fraternity Chapter Manual first appears in rough form in the January 1925 issue of The Triad as a series of bulletins focusing on single topics — Venerable Dean, Treasurer, Secretary, Chapter Advisors, Rushing, etc. This was the first step in creating printed material to help chapter officers with fraternal duties. "Goldbooks" were introduced at the 1960 Conclave at Bloomington, IN and have remained the official guide for chapter officers since then, albeit with many revisions along the way.

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The Long Hard Road for a Subscription Fund
After five years of planning, writing and sheer hard work, Grand Editor T. Hawley Tapping introduced a Triad Life Subscription Fund at the 16th Biennial Conclave held in Ocean City, NJ in 1925. This fund provided a life subscription to The Triad for a $15 fee upon initiation. The plan had gone over well at Conclave, yet a referendum vote by the individual chapters defeated it.

Without this voluntary subscription, the fund languished, earning a scant $15,000 in 20 years. By the time the plan was put into action, World War II began. After the war, The Triad Fund rapidly increased. By the time the Acacia Educational Foundation was formed, the fund totalled approximately $150,000, and provided the bulk of Acacia's assets during the period of economic growth in the late 1950s and 60s.

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A Founder's Ordeal
In July 1925, Founder Dr. Harvey J. Howard was kidnapped by a group of Chinese bandits. He spent 10 weeks in captivity before his escape/rescue. His book on the subject, Ten Weeks with Chinese Bandits, would go on to have eight printings in seven languages. Howard was in China serving as a physician to the Boy Emperor Pu Yi, the subject of the 1987 film The Last Emperor.

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Acacia's First Big Hit
James B. Tharp, an Indiana Acacian, wrote "Sweetheart of Acacia" in 1924. It was first performed on November 16 of that year by a male quartet at the "Annual Musicale" at the Illinois Chapter. The Grand Council ordered 5,000 copies of the song, which was sung at the 1925 Conclave and soon became one of the most popular pieces of Acacia music.

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But How Is It On Corn Flakes?
On a trip to Guatemala, Samuel J. Record, chapter advisor for Yale, discovered the first known "milk tree" or "cow tree" in the country. This unique species of tree, when cut or chopped, secrets a latex-like white substance. Far from being dangerous, the sweet substance was often gathered by natives to be put in coffee and tea. Later studies proved that the secretions were actually quite healthy.

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Here Comes the Judge
The position of Judge Advocate was created at the 1922 Conclave held at Northwestern. David A. Embury was the first to hold this position. In 1938, the position would be eliminated and all responsibilities shifted to the chairman of the Jurisprudence committee. In 1960, Acacia would again bring back the Judge Advocate position and has retained it ever since.

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No Longer Grand
At the 17th Conclave held at Estes Park, CO in September 1927, Acacia dropped the "Grand" title from officers and Conclaves, substituting "National" in its place.

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Money Well Spent
As reported in the May 1928 Triad by the Chicago Chapter:

"One of the prominent advantages of sharing the physical details of life with 30 other men, as do the actives and pledges in a college fraternity, is the ability of the group to afford luxuries far beyond the power of the individual.

An instance of this is the splendid new musical instrument, combining an eight-tube RCA radio with an orthophonic victrola, which now graces the living room of the Chicago Chapter house. The list price was close to a thousand dollars, and most people who listen to the machine think that it is quite worth it."

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Don't Trust Nature's Alarm Clock
Reprinted from the October 1928 Triad:

Northwestern: Frat Boys are Late to Class, and This, it Appears, is Why

"'Our alarm clock is sick,' explained some 25 members of the Acacia Fraternity yesterday morning when they were late to classes at Northwestern University.

"The professors smiled their incredulous smiles. To them it was just another novelty in collegiate excuses.

"'Indeed,' said one Acacian, 'he got a sliver in his throat.'

"'No,' said a second Acacian, 'he ate too many bugs.'

"'You're both wrong,' said a third Acacian. 'He was sick at heart because his date threw him over.'

"Then it developed that the Acacians' alarm clock is a redheaded woodpecker who for several weeks has come to wake them with his rat-tat-tat-tat on the tin eaves of the fraternity house promptly at 7 o'clock every morning. That is, until yesterday morning. And the Acacians, having thrown away their mechanical alarm clocks, were late."

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Smoking Equals...Progress?
Editor Hershel L. Washington, in an editorial for the May 1931 Triad, used the universal acceptance of women who smoked as an analogy on progress. When considered in the context of today's views on smoking, it acquires an entirely new flavor. The following excerpt of Washington's editorial is from the May 5, 1891, Kansas City Times:

"The pernicious habit of cigarette smoking by the fair sex finally has obtained a foothold in some rich New York circles, but it is done rather timidly. The swell restaurants there strictly forbid such coarseness. 'What would you do if a young woman came into your restaurant smoking a cigarette?' was asked of Hugh Lynn, owner of the Delmonico, West Fifth Street. 'Why,' he replied. 'I'd send her back to Third Street where she belongs. This is a respectable place.'"

Washington's editorial continues:

"On May 5, 1931, smoking among women is not confined to harlots — respectable women do it everywhere without tarnishing their good reputations. Even out here in the heart of the Bible Belt, even out in Kansas, the New Promised Land where the reformers reign supreme, the good people have repealed the anti-cigarette laws. The Taboos of yesterday have become proper social usage today. Nor is this transformation confined to morals and dogma. Business, churches and every form of human relationship are affected by the onward march of humanity.... Fraternities must make scholastic attainments the first order of business. The college fraternity playboy is doomed. The robot of the machine age is as heartless as the material from which it is made — those who cannot keep pace with the march of progress must ruthlessly perish by the wayside. The best minds and the best men of all fraternities will be hard put to cope with the situation."

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Worst Fad Ever
Chain eMail may be relatively new, but the concept isn't, as evidenced by this letter from the exchange department in the May 1931 Triad:

"Chain letters are abroad in the land. Although we have repeatedly called attention to the fact that chain letters are ridiculous, superstitious and a reflection on Masonic intelligence, the annual crop is pouring in. Not only have we received a number of chain letters at the Grand Secretary's office, but different brothers over the state have written in asking what they shall do....

"Our attitude was clearly shown in the Grand Lodge Bulletin of April 1930. 'It is the duty of every Mason to whom any of these letters shall come to break the chain and to denounce the practice to all brethren and others with whom they may come in contact. Moreover, they are contrary in spirit to the postal laws of the United States Government inasmuch as they convey a threat — if you break the chain you will meet with sad reverse. Masons are presumably light bearers. Let us cut out bunk and attack it wherever we may find it, and this is the most bunkistic of all propositions that are now going around.'"

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Clutter on the Airwaves
Hershel L. Washington, Triad editor from 1927 to 1948, bemoaned the state of radio in an editorial that might well have been written about today's mass media:

"Just how long the American public is going to put up with the inane, puerile, insipid trash which is currently transmitted by radio seems to be beyond prediction but we venture that the time is not far distant when a drastic revision of radio programs will be made. That hearing silly outbursts like 'How deep is the ocean?' and 'Say it isn't so!' every few minutes will ultimately get the better of most of us is certainly true. The potential benefits of radio are too great to be wasted so wantonly by absurd advertising announcement and more absurd crooners. Some solace, however, may be derived from the fact that a recent analysis of the popularity of programs indicates increased popularity of programs restricting advertising blather."

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Going for the Gold
Jack Van Bebber, an Acacian from the Oklahoma State Chapter, won a gold medal in the 158-pound wrestling divisio at the 10th Olympic games in Los Angeles. Van Bebber was a three-time national intercollegiate champion and a four-time Amateur Athletic Union champion and captained the 1931 undefeated Oklahoma State wrestling team.

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Iron Man
In the March 1934 Triad an article appreared entitled "Roy Clark — Northwestern's Iron Man," written by Elgin Narrin, a Northwestern alum. Narrin says of Clark "Roy has been perennially in evidence — a jolly companion and friend to every member, ever ready to lend a sympathetic ear to individual problems; an indefatigable schemer and worker for its progress; an experienced and far-sighted advisor."

By this time Clark had been at Northwestern for 14 years and was well on his way to becoming one of Acacia's greatest icons.

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Evolution of Leadership Training
The first regional conference was held October 26-28, 1934, in Lawrence, KS. Regional conferences soon took place in the northeast and on the west coast. In 1962, regional conferences were abolished. A province governor system, led by a group of alumni, took over to provide officer training for smaller groups of Acacians. In 1972, the name was changed to Regional Counselors, and they continued to assist chapters. RLA's made a comeback in 1984, but they were on-again, off-again. In 1995, the current process of holding Acacia Leadership Academies between Conclave years became the conduit for undergraduates to become fraternity leaders.

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Autograph of a Tyrant
What beats starting the world's first school of journalism? How about starting the world's first school of journalism AND receiving an autographed portrait of one of the world's most infamous dictators?

Walter Williams founded the Missouri School of Journalism in 1908, and became a member of Acacia the following year. His school became world-renowned and attracted many foreign students, many from Asia.

Williams would go on to become president of the university. It was during this time that Williams received a portrait of Benito Mussolini with this inscription:

"To Walter Williams with cordial regards — Mussolini, Rome, December 21, 1934 — Thirteenth year of the Fascist regime."

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How to Have Fun at Washington State (c. 1936)
Reprinted from the Washington update in the May 1936 Triad:

"Spring vacation had come and gone. Upon the return of the boys several cars were noticed. Some of the cars are nothing to brag about but they are potential picnic trips anyway and that's all that counts out here among the weeds. That and shooting gophers. That is one thing this school can brag about. We can sit on the steps of the fraternities and pick off varmints at random with our hog legs."

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How Acacia Nearly Became Alfalfa
After a significant amount of debate at the 1935 Conclave in Chicago, it was voted to keep the name "Acacia" and not change it to a Greek-letter fraternity. The number one contender for a Greek name was "Alpha Alpha Alpha" — to keep it first among fraternities in Banta's Greek Exchange — shortened to "Tri-Alph," or as some might refer to it: "Alfalfa."

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Good Publicity
In keeping with traditions of providing Acacians with good advice, a portion of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People appeared in the May 1937 issue of The Triad.

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Slacker's Best Friend
In the May 1938 Triad, the Nebraska Chapter lists under its initiates Cliff Hillegass, who would later become an idol to many a high school and college student when he created Cliffs Notes study guides.

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Rumblings of War
As reported in the October 1939 Triad, Northwestern alumni Gus Anderson was on the cabin liner Athenia in Europe when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. Anderson was rescued and sent to Britain. This occurred mere hours after the declaration of war was made in Europe.

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Husk That Corn
By 1939, one of the most popular sporting events of the day was a competition conceived by an honorary Acacian. Arthur Capper started a corn-husking contest in 1923 to further his support for the agricultural well-being of Kansas. According to The Triad, the 1939 contest was broadcast by the NBC blue network and was attended by over 125,000 people, making it one of the era's most attended American sporting events.

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Big Step Before the Big War
The 23rd Biennial Conclave at Purdue in 1941 was one of the most important Conclaves in Acacia history. Held just prior to the onset of World War II, it saw the birth of some of our most important legislation, including a compulsory life subscription plan for The Triad, the establishment of a central office for the fraternity, and the stipulation that membership in Acacia could only be terminated by death or expulsion. It was also the first Conclave to serve as an officers' training school.

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Travelin' Men
In Spring 1941, Acacia adopts the position of Traveling Secretaries. The name has changed a few times over the years — to Field Secretary in 1964 and Chapter Consultants in 1971 — as has the number of men employed at any one time. However, their job has always been the same: to visit chapters and colonies around the nation and observe and advise them. As such, they have provided invaluable service over many years.

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Bang the Drum, Part II
In the October 1941 Triad appears the first list of Acacians serving in the military. The total number: 70. By the time WWII ended, over 1,200 Acacians would be listed, not including those "lost alumni" or those from recently suspended chapters.

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Grable's Gams
To brighten the mood during war, Guy Buchanan of the Kansas State Chapter had just the ticket. In the May 1942 Triad it was reported that Brother Buchanan had recently been announced as the winner of the essay, "Why I Would Like to be Marooned on a Desert Island With Betty Grable." The prize? A 3-by-5-foot picture of the pinup queen, which, the Kansas State Chapter reported, was going to be autographed and prominently displayed at the house.

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"Glamorboy" Patterson
George F. Patterson, Jr. was initiated on February 15, 1942, at the Cincinnati Chapter of Acacia. According to the October 1942 Triad, "George 'Glamorboy' Patterson was instrumental for rush." George would go on to bigger things in Acacia and the National Interfraternity Conference, but not even he could escape a fraternity nickname.

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Acacia's Unsung Heroine
Edith A. May was appointed the first Office Manager of the National Headquarters in December 1942, and served Acacia faithfully until March 1958. During World War II many commented that Edith was the office due to the drafting of many of the top Acacians. It's estimated she handled over 100,000 letters during the war years.

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The Story of "Sweet Sioux"
In 1945, Northwestern University began a search for a token "trophy" to be traded with the rival Illinois University football team. They chose a traditional cigar store Indian and 21 "teams" competed — including the Northwestern Chapter of Acacia — to find the perfect specimen. Acacia was proclaimed the winner after an intensive search, and Venerable Dean Don Dickinson and Bill Brown (who located the statue in Chicago), presented "Sweet Sioux" during halftime in November 1945.

It was soon realized that the Indian was just too big to haul around and it was retired, and today the "trophy" for the Northwestern/Illinois game is the "Sweet Sioux Tomahawk." The Northwestern Chapter regained possession of the Indian, where it remained in the house, gazing sternly down on chapter meetings. It is presumed "Sweet Sioux" was lost when the Illinois Chapter house was the victim of arson in 1985.

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Naval Hero
Step back for a moment to 1945. The USS Indianapolis had carried parts of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, and on its way back was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Through a series of major foul-ups, the Indianapolis was never reported missing and for nearly five days the survivors of the ship battled against all odds to survive.

Adrian Marks, a Northwestern Acacian alum, was stationed at Pelilieu when a garbled message came across the line. He got a message for a rescue, but he thought he was delivering rations to one man in a boat. He took an amphibious plane, with a crew of nine, to the site specified.

When he got to the location, Marks instead was greeted by hundreds of men floating in a 50-square-mile area.

"When I saw the magnitude of the situation I said, 'to hell with this business of coded messages.' I broke standing orders and shot back a message in plain English."

Unfortunately a commander sat on the relay and the message didn't reach the base. Marks landed his plane in 12-foot swells and pulled 56 men aboard. Some were tied to the wings using parachute shroud.

Eventually a destroyer in the area came to rescue the remaining men. Out of the original 1,200 men, only 316 survived to be rescued. It was the worst naval disaster at sea for the United States. The initial attack, drowning and sharks took the others. Marks was made an honorary members of the "Indianapolis" for his rescue. The survivors, along with rescuers, started a reunion in the city of Indianapolis in 1960, meeting every five years.

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Finally, Recognition
Even though Acacia had been one of the original founders of the Interfraternity Conference in 1910, it wasn't until 1947 that an Acacian — David A. Embury — would be elected president of the organization.

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Hell Week Hooligans
While a blind eye was turned to early Hell Week activities, as more and more "accidents" occurred in the fraternity world it became impossible to ignore. As early as the 1930s, articles by both Acacians and the Interfraternity Conference began to stress the importance of eliminating Hell Week traditions.

It wasn't until 1946, at the first Conclave held after the end of World War II, that Acacia officially ammended its bylaws to provide for "the elimination of Hell Week, paddling and undignified activities." At the same time campuses around the country, spurred by the IFC, started "Greek Week" activities to provide a stable and safe atmosphere for fraternities.

In the 1950s a new idea arose called "Help Week." Instead of unconstructive activities, pledges were instead given community service events during the "Hell Week" period. This not only served to bring pledges closer together, it also helped better the image of fraternities in the eyes of the community and campus.

However, despite some the changes for the better, "Hell Week" was never entirely abandoned. By the mid-1970s, hazing was making an unwelcome comeback to fraternities. Many well-publicized incidents were frontpage news (thankfully none involving Acacia), putting the entire Greek system in a negative light.

In 1982, at the 44th Biennial Conclave, an amendment was made to the bylaws defining the term "hazing" and the actions that would be taken against chapters in accordance to Acacia's anti-hazing policy.

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Mr. Acacia
In the Spring 1947 Triad, National President Lloyd H. Ruppenthal wrote in a letter that is both a thank you to outgoing president Walter W. Kolbe and a welcome to newly-appointed Executive Secretary Roy Cecil Clark:

"I predict that Brother Clark's tenure of office will be marked by an improvement in our entire fraternity, both nationally and locally."

What a perfect introduction to the man who was "Mr. Acacia." After serving for the Northwestern Chapter through his early years as chapter advisor, Clark would go on to serve Acacia over the next 20 years as Executive Secretary — overseeing a period of impressive growth, both in size and prosperity.

In 1966 he was made Executive Secretary Emeritus at the Conclave in New Orleans. He would also be one of the elite Acacians to have an award named after him: The Roy C. Clark Outstanding Acacian Award. When Brother Clark died in May 1967, Acacia lost one of its greatest men.

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All Three Channels
Franklin was the first Acacia chapter to report the purchase of a television in the spring 1948 Triad.

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Don't Try This at Home
From the California update in the summer 1948 Triad:

"It seems that the pledges decided to take Senior Dean Jim Campbell on the "ride" customarily bestowed upon the occupant of that office each semester. Jim was taken from beneath our noses by the pledges, handcuffed, and spirited away in one of their cars.

"After some wanderings, stops for food, etc., Jim was dumped in the Carmel Mountains, some 150 miles south of the chapter. Uniquely, however, Campbell was attired...in a prisoner's uniform which was very authentic. After a walk of some few miles (20) Campbell was picked up by a deputy sheriff who took him to Monterey.

"After establishing his identity, Campbell was released to the custody of two alumni, Don Smith and Hiram Bishop. The unfortunate distortion by local newspapers, one whose owner is worldly famous for such, produced some wrath in the Dean's office. At this writing everything has been settled to the satisfaction of all concerned. The Dean felt some punishment was necessary and that was meted out accordingly, part of which was social restriction for the remainder of the semester."

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The First of Many Moves
The National Headquarters makes its first move to Evanston, IL in 1950. It would move many times in the upcomings year within the Evanston/Chicago area.

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Scholarship Boost
At the 1950 26th Biennial Conclave in Colorado, the National Council appointed Acacia's first Scholarship Chairman, Raymond A. Morgan.

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Bang the Drum, Part III
At the height of the Korean War, around 500 Acacians were in service.

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Fire II
In an eerily similar reflection of what befell the Michigan Chapter in 1910, the Kansas Chapter of Acacia lost its house to a fire on December 29, 1950. As was the case in Michigan, no one was killed or injured. The damage was estimated at $50,000, but more significant were the irreplaceable historical artifacts.

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