History of Alpha Chi Rho
The Reverend Paul Ziegler was a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, CT in 1872. In the 1890s, he wanted to send his son, Carl Ziegler to that same school. Early on, Carl became friends with two other men, William Rouse and Herbert Sherriff. These men were not invited to join Paul's old fraternity Beta Beta. This prompted Reverend Ziegler to write our first exoteric manual. It was 6 pages of printed material. This short manual put forth the purpose, beliefs, and ideals of Alpha Chi Rho. It was accepted on January 1, 1985. This was the birth of Alpha Chi Rho. This first chapter was made up of our founding fathers: Paul Ziegler, Carl Ziegler, William Rouse, Herbert Sherriff, and William Eardeley. The four undergraduate brothers exchanged vows of brotherhood in Northam Towers at Trinity. This first chapter was named Phi Psi.
By the time Carl and Herbert graduated graduated in 1897, there were 17 brothers. That made them one of the largest fraternities at Trinity. They included some of the top students and athletes the school had to offer. The first chapter hall was a rented room at Trinity, and offered a meal plan. After leaving Trinity, Carl and William were living in New York. They wanted to start the expansion of AXP, and approached a man from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Three men started the Phi Chi chapter there, making it the second chapter. William then went to the University of Pennsylvania and met with a student by the name of Howard Long. Together, they formed the third chapter, Phi Phi.
By the end of 1900, there were five chapters, a national magazine named Garnet and White (after the primary colors of AXP), and held a national convention. In 1903, the National Council was formed, consisting of graduate brothers in charge of running the fraternity as a whole. The first national president was Henry Blakeslee. He helped to form Alpha Chi Rho into what it is today. He served as president until 1908. The fraternity motto became "Slow but sure", referring to the expansion. By 1909, there were 11 chapters. Although small, they attended the first meeting of the National Interfraternity Council, and have remained an active member ever since.
World War 2 drained the colleges of men, and chapters had to turn in thier charters due to lack of members. However, Alpha Chi Rho was able to stay alive through the war through the work of the national president, Robert B. Stewart, the national secretary/national director Wilbur "Curly" Walden, and the continued publication of the Garnet and White. After the war was over, men returned home. Through the GI Bill, more men than ever wanted to attend college. This boosted greek membership, and brought fraternities back to their previous luster.
Fraternities were seen as "The Authority" during the 1960s and 1970s. Due to this, membership dropped significantly, and growth slowed. By the 80s, however, the wounds were healed. On August 20, 1983, Robert B. Stewart National Headquarters was established in Neptune, NJ. This gave a permanent center for Alpha Chi Rho. In 1989, the fraternity adopted a risk management policy. This allowed chapters to purchase liability insurance at reasonable rates.
After over 100 years, Alpha Chi Rho has come a long way. It's beliefs have remain practically unchanged, and brothers continue to live by the landmarks. It has grown incredibly fast in such a short time, currently with over 40 active chapters.
Local History
In March 1965, 5 freshmen and a junior decided to organize a new fraternity. They were Richard Brodeur, Charles Kleman, John Kokoska, Warren Bentley, John Gahagan and Robert Betrand. They wrote up a declaration which stated:
"Whereas, we te undersigned desire the furthering of our social development and
Whereas we also desire to be bound together with strong ties of brotherhood
We hereby form the Delta Sigma Tau Fraternity..."
They drew up a temporary set of by-laws, and ritual. They also initiated 3 new brothers: Jeffrey Semmel, Stephen Schwarm, Robert Hickey. They had to spend thier first year living in thier dorms, and held thier meetings in the basement of Sanford Riley. By the end of the year, though, Delta Sigma Tau got 11 more members. They were up to 22 members by the end of the first year.
In order to get thier own house, the early brothers incorporated the fraternity. They assigned the fathers of brothers Hickey, Schwarm, and Semmel as thier board members. The board advised the fraternity and represented them. In the spring of 1966, Lambda Chi Alpha sold thier two houses on Trowbrodge and Schussler. DST rented the house at 30 Trowbridge Rd from WPI. The brothers moved into this first house during the summer of 1966. The house's party room had a small stage for live music and was open to the back of the hill.
In 1972, WPI declared that they were going to raze 30 Trowbridge Rd in order to build a new dormitory. Before the summer was over, DST negotiated with WPI and moved into the current house at 8 Boynton St. The interior of the house was almost completely renovated. The party room was not added on yet, and events had to be held in the dining room. Due to the small size, they drew up plans for the party room, and completed construction by the summer of 1973.
In the fall of 1977, undergraduate Dave Konieczny talked to Jeff Semmel. A professor by the name of Ollie Olson wanted to become a faculty advisor, but would only advise for a chapter of Alpha Chi Rho. Meetings were set between officers of Alpha Chi Rho and Delta Sigma Tau. Through the meetings, they decided that the ideals of AXP were closely related to thier own. By November 1977, the Delta Sigma Phi colony of Alpha Chi Rho was established. One year later, they were initiated as a full chapter.
