Gamma Omicron Local History
ΓΟ, 63rd National Chapter: Established May 19, 1903
The eleventh Grand Chapter of Sigma Nu, December 31, 1902 through January 2, 1903 saw the spiritual rebirth of the fraternity and the election of Grand Officers whose aim was expansion. George W. Cook was elected to the Regency and former Inspector Charles T. Jones was made Vice Regent while Grand Treasurer Ford Heywood and Grand Recorder Grant Harrington Woods were re-elected. It was at the Eleventh Grand Chapter that the charter for the University of Missouri at Rollo was authorized. Shortly after the close of the meeting, Gamma Xi was installed with ten charter members. This took place on January 23 with Inspector John B. Pew, Beta Xi, in charge with Vice Regent Jones assisting. At this time there were five chapters in Missouri, all but Beta Xi being in division VII. At this time, now-dormant Beta Lambda chapter was alive at Central Methodist College at Fayette, thus accounting for the discrepancy in the number of chapters presently active in the state.
The sixth chapter of Sigma Nu founded in Missouri came about through the efforts, primarily, of one man, Russell I. Tolson, Beta Lambda. Tolson entered the department of Law at Washington University in the fall of 1902, and was soon urged by Inspector Jones to try and formulate a chapter for the school.
The University was in its fiftieth year when these dedicated men took the challenge. Aiding in the formation of the chapter was Albert W. Brown, Beta Nu, also in the Law department at the university. Five fraternity chapters were already present on campus, Beta Theta Pi being the first organized in 1869, followed by Phi Delta Theta, 1891; Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1892; Kappa Sigma, 1902; and Sigma Chi, 1903.
The new chapter was the be designated Gamma Omicron, following the orderly, if not somewhat erratic, system of the National organization. From a perusal of the early history of the Fraternity, it is shown that Beta chapter, University of Virginia, was founded approximately seven times, each time bearing a different name, number or other means of designation. Early in the history of the Fraternity , chapters were recorded by Roman numerals, not Greek letter names, and each charter member of Alpha was given the privilege of granting one charter, which was given him upon graduation. This resulted in a somewhat inflated number of non-existent chapters during the early years of the Fraternity, the confusion of some having not yet been fully cleared.
Presiding at the installation of Gamma Omicron was Division Inspector Pew and newly-elected Vice Regent Jones. In attendance at this occasion held at Odd Fellows Hall, were the members of the newly chartered Gamma Xi chapter, and a great number of the St. Louis area alumni. There were ten charter members, including Founder Tolson: Tolson, Arthur M. Brown, John C. Comley, Fred W. Reinhardy, Thomas N. Dysart, Claude M. Erwin, Arthur E. Dennis, August V. Graf, Charles H.L. Cossel, and Edgar P. Hellmuth. Since the close of the academic year came close after the installation (May 23rd, 1903 - the charter was granted on May 19th, 1903) formal activities were not begun until the fall of the following year.
Almost from the start, it seemed that Gamma Omicron was destined to a short lived career, except for the constant work and guidance of a few dedicated brothers. Half of the men failed to return the next fall, and hope for the young chapter seemed to fall.
William J. Durcham and Clover Johns, signers of the petition for charter, returned to St. Louis and were initiated early in the fall of 1903. Also initiated was Elvin George and of the three initiated all were in professional schools. Of the five charter members returning, only three were undergraduates -- Donnis, Graf, and Cossell. It became painfully evident that soon Gamma Omicron would have no sustaining chapter life in the undergraduate divisions since only the three were in that area with the others being located at the various professional schools which at that time were located in different areas of the city.
With the initiation of Edward F. Paddock, Woodlief Thomas, and Stephen R. Culbertson, and the acquiring of quarters near the undergraduate department, the real chapter life began. It wasn't until 1904 that the University moved to its new quarters on the outskirts of St. Louis, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition grounds, that the chapter began to gain a strong footing. The University, seemingly more friendly to fraternities then, allocated Gamma Omicron the entire tower area of Lee Hall, now Karl Umrath Hall, on main campus. With the pledging and initiation of several campus leaders, Gamma Omicron took a prominent position in the campus life and activities.
The chapter maintained its strong position on the campus until the advent of World War I, at which time almost all of the campuses across the nation were depleted of its young men. As a tribute to the strength of the fraternity system, and to Gamma Omicron in particular, it was noted that the first to volunteer for military service were fraternity men, and that early in the fall of 1918, Gamma Omicron claimed only one active member, Jack Danglade. The rest had all gone off to military service. (Although the reason for Brother Danglade's remaining at home in uncertain at this writing, he probably was missing a few ribs and was therefore classified 4-f.) The men of Washington University were formed into the famous hospital unit which served valiantly in the war. In the fall of 1918, Danglade was the only remaining member when three brothers transferred from different schools: Walter Hesse, Gamma Xi; E.J. Campbell and Louis L. Roth, both from Missouri University. The reasons for the transfer of Brothers Campbell and Roth are short. Missouri had an Army training corps for the infantry. Washington, in addition to its hospital unit, had an army artillery training unit attached. Neither Campbell nor Roth liked to walk. Infantry walks, Artillery doesn't. They transferred. Although they didn't affiliate immediately, they wondered where the chapter was. When they found out that Danglade was the only member left, the four of them decided to see what could be done about rebuilding the chapter.
Brother Roth met a neighbor of his, Sydnor Hall, who was a new freshman and, realizing the potential of this young man, and his access to an automobile, which were scarce, invited him to a rush party, using his car. At this party were fifteen other men, all of whom were pledged. Upon interview, Brother Roth was quoted (somewhat inaccurately at best, but the sentiment remains) "We didn't monkey around too much in those days." The very next day, the Army issued an order that stated that fraternity chapters were to be disbanded for the duration. Well, in order to keep that chapter going, the sixteen men pledged the previous day were taken to dinner at the home of long-time chapter advisor Hal Lynch, after which they were put through the formal pledging ceremony and then through the initiation services. The next day, the group was broken up by training assignments and didn't get back together again until the second semester, at which time war was over, and the country returned to normalcy. The season of 1918 was great for Washington U with its football team being one of the best, if not the best, in the nation.
When the fraternity was getting back on its feet again, the Independents were the strongest organization on the campus. It was this group, then, that Gamma Omicron drew one of its most capable men: Andy Hall. He was president of his class and sat on the Student senate for three terms, while three other Sigma Nus sat with him. By 1920, the chapter was at its height again, listing among its members a great share of the football team, outstanding still, and many of the campus leaders and personalities. Then it collapsed in a fit of complacency only to be rebuilt again with men such as John Virhees, Walter Hassey (a great tennis player, winner of the Missouri Valley Conference singles and doubles championship) and the Vaughans: Russell and Bill. Dr. J. Russell Vaughan was one of the greats of our history although not many know of him. He, along with Spence Thomas and others, saw to it that we got our first chapter house, located at the corner of Skinker and Waterman. Vaughan later served as chapter advisor for over fifteen years and practiced medicine here in St. Louis, as did his father.
In the middle twenties, Sigma Nu and others felt the need for fraternity housing and through the efforts of the alumni, a home was secured at the Skinker location. Although the University would do nothing to help in the financing or location, they did approve, which was all that was needed. With Spence Thomas and Hal Lynch leading the way, a campaign for fraternity housing on the campus was launched after the initial hurdle was crossed. Gamma Omicron stayed at its off-campus house only three years when the University gave in and built houses on the North-Western edge of the campus for the fraternities. Men like Gil Pitcher, who also served as chapter advisor for a number of years, Chauncey Ballwin, and Russ Vaughan were instrumental in seeing that the chapter house on campus was properly outfitted and, with the whole group, undertook the financing and other necessary arrangements. In the fall of 1927, Gamma Omicron moved into its new house at Number Four Fraternity Row. With the addition of the Kappa Sigma House, it became Number Five. With the destruction of three houses to make room for the Anheuser-Busch Law Building, it became Number Two.
Bill Vaughan, unlike his brother, was a more bit wild, a trifle less sedate and possessed of a great sense of humor and a knack for the humorous side of life. Like James Settles, whose claim to a place in the annals of Sigma Nu ride with his striking conception of the founding, Vaughan could seek out and tell the funniest things about the apparently most serious events. His columns of political and topical satire were syndicated in over one hundred newspapers and are available in book form.
In the thirties, Gamma Omicron's roles grew to around four hundred. But just as the chapter was thriving, again was took its toll on the system. As was the case in the First World War, the fraternity men were the first to volunteer for service in the second war.
The Second World War saw the militarization of the fraternities at Washington University and their houses. The Navy had established a flight training center at the school and in order to house the cadets, the fraternity space was "nationalized." When the war ended and the great influx of servicemen began, Gamma Omicron's membership had dwindled to a pitiful few, headed by the very able Commander Bill Deen. He started the reconstruction period with only five men on the roster and, in order to help get the chapter back on its fett, he called the alumni for help. They responded, with some of the same faces again showing up. Louis L. Roth was there again with two other stalwarts and these nine men began a rebuilding program with the alumni heading up the activity concerning the house and getting it in shape for the fall rush of 1946 and the active chapter, what there was of it, concentrating on selecting men to be pledged.
The fall rush was a success with the house being filled to over-capacity. Among the most influential men among our alumni helping in this and other periods in the chapter's history, was Col. Joe Vollman. When the Army needed airstrips in Europe for the Allied bombing of Germany, it was he upon whom they called. Another outstanding alumnus is Dave Millar who has been poking in and out of the chapter's history since almost the founding and who served a number of years as the mayor of University City and still is a highly respected lawyer in the area. It was he who, with Robert Brooking, guided the rebuilding program for University City, and teh two of them are honored by a street bearing their composite names: Millbrook Blvd.
The chapter saw some of its greatest years in the times after the war, especially in the late forties and early and middle fifties. The chapter at times exceeded 100 in numbers claiming some of the greatest athletes and leaders of the campus community. Ralph Stocker was quarterback of the football tram during his years here and served in executive positions in the Interfraternity council. He is but one example of the men Sigma Nu has produced at this campus. Much credit also must go to James Settles who immortalized Gamma Omicron with his painting of the Founders, and who later became one of the foremost illustrators of his time. Gamma Omicron can claim many local and regional leaders, not the least of whom are Dave Millar and Spence Thomas, but also Russ Vaughan and Bill Nebbe and C.A. Vegely, most of whom are unknown outside of the St. Louis area, but are singular in their personal and fraternal achievements. Within the fraternity as a whole, it is Louis L. Roth who gave Gamma Omicron its greatest fame. He served the national organization in many capacities, ultimately rising to Vice Regent and then to Regent of the Fraternity. After retiring from this position, he took up an active role as Treasurer and Vice President of the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC). He has been outstanding in his achievements with the chapter, helping twice in periods of crisis to rebuild the chapter from virtually nothing to a position of prominence on campus.