Centennial Blog

On Saturday, November 7^th, a small group of Lambda Chi Alpha brothers walked the streets of Boston where Lambda Chi Alpha’s first steps were taken.  We stood in front of the building where the “General Assembly” – a small gathering of college men – was held that really initiated our Ritual and the essentials of the Fraternity.  We took a photograph of the four student members of the current Grand High Zeta in front of that building, and I was struck by the reality that 100 years ago our founders looked like those men, rather than like fat and wrinkled old guys in their 50’s…like me.  We were founded by strong, energetic, focused, young men.  They started a brilliant institution!

We got on a bus and did something I expected to be a little silly – we drove the 45 minutes to where our 1^st Lambda Chi, Warren Cole, is buried.  Speaking for myself, this experience was not silly at all – it was moving and impactful.  Imagine a small group of brothers standing at Cole’s grave reciting the Creed of Lambda Chi Alpha, and doing so on behalf of nearly 270,000 men who have followed Cole and the “light” that is Lambda Chi Alpha.  We placed white roses on the marker which was busy and laded with symbols and writings about our Fraternity.  “Founder of The Lambda Chi Alpha, November 2, 1909”, it read.  That’s what they called it originally – The Lambda Chi Alpha.  I think maybe Warren and our early brothers knew then we were more than another Fraternity.

If you have read this far, I hope you will indulge my desire to close my centennial blog with a prayer, rather than a toast:

To our Heavenly Father:

May the men of the next 100 years be as committed to The Lambda Chi Alpha as those of the first 100.

May we continue to look outward beyond ourselves, to grow the sweep of the crescent as widely as possible.

May we keep the pre-eminence on the student members that we have today, while harnessing the power of the larger alumni base of men.

May we have faith in Lambda Chi Alpha and passion for its welfare.

May we have hope for the future of Lambda Chi Alpha and strength to fight for its teachings.

May we have pure hearts, that we may approach the ideal of perfect brotherly love.

May God’s hand rest upon Lambda Chi Alpha and each brother of the Bond.

May we follow the path of the bright light that has guided us for a century.

Amen.

The final celebrations and observances of Lambda Chi Alpha’s 100^th birthday are taking place over the next month.  On November 6^th and 7^th, the Grand High Zeta will be joined in Boston by a small group of alumni to see and remember where our earliest Lambda Chi Alpha brothers walked.  This group will blow out the candles on our sixteen month party that began in July, 2008.  I have one final entry to write in November, but this month, let the words of our wisest leaders allow you to contemplate what has been, is, and will be.

“Why must we celebrate 100 years?  The reality is we have to honor our past, we have to understand our DNA, we have to tell our stories, we have to revisit our roots, we have to know where we’ve come from, and then we have to rededicate our lives because we are the example of the greatest brotherhood in the world.” 

-       Dr. Murphy M. Osborne, Jr., High Point ’58

-       Grand High Alpha 1986-1990

“The uniqueness of our Fraternity is the spirituality of our Fraternity.  It is our Fraternity.  This is not an easy thing to talk about.  Things of the spirit never are easy to talk about.  Lambda Chi Alpha as a thing or product doesn’t exist – Lambda Chi Alpha is more.  It’s a spirit that’s alive, strong, and one that breathes life itself.  You can only share a century long story and act it out in your own life.”

-       Rev. S. George “Doc” Dirghalli, Florida ‘50

-       Grand High Alpha 1978-1982

 “For some unusual reason, karma, fate, or whatever….  We have always seemed to have the right people, at the right place, at the right time.  It’s the undergraduates and alumni – it’s the people of the Fraternity – that have made us the success we are in our first 100 years.”

-       George W. Spasyk, Michigan ‘49

-       Chief Executive Officer of Lambda Chi Alpha, 1968-1990

“We have all heard the sound, when someone said to us: ‘you, yourself, must choose your path, I can no longer be your guide’…. Our future is as bright as it ever has been.”

-       Murphy Osborne

Murphy and Doc and George are men alive today who have lead our first 100 years.  Who will lead the next century?

September, 2009.  All of the receptions have been held.  The summer centennial celebration is behind us.  The hugs of brotherhood have been shared.  The stories have been relived and retold.

Lambda Chi Alpha has a highlights video from our summer centennial weekend on our website…but, if you weren’t there, the excitement isn’t the same.

A book that is a pictorial reflection on our brotherhood was distributed during our centennial, but if you don’t know the people in the pictures, or have never heard “Doc Dirghalli”, or Murphy Osborne, or George Spasyk, speak, it really is just a pleasant item through which to flip the pages.

The True Brother Initiative continues gain attraction with our chapters, and among our 10,000 student members today, but to older alumni, we still may not understand how this differs from “associate membership” or even “pledgeship.”

BUT, HERE’S THE BEAUTY OF FRATERNITY….

You may not have been at THE international centennial celebration, but personally you have been to weddings, graduations, chapter anniversaries, or reunions, and each of us understands how special and satisfying these great celebrations are which mark milestones in our lives.  So, you experience events you did not attend through the lens of your own celebrations that have peaked emotions in your life.

You may not know me, or Bill Farkas, or Ed Leonard, or Doc, Murphy, or George, but personally you have many very special people in your own life.  You remember and cherish your best friend, your grand-father, your college roommate, your wife, and those people you hold near and dear.  So, you see these people in the Fraternity through a looking glass that makes you recall personal memories of “valuable others.”

You may not know the details that make True Brother unique, but you do remember your own fraternal experience, when you accepted a bid to join, spent weeks leading to initiation, continued as an active brother – perhaps even a leader – in your chapter, and now try to do the best you can to support the Fraternity in the best measure possible.  So, you filter the fraternal experience of the men today – one you may not possibly be able to relate to – through the prism of your own experience.  And, you know, at the core, it very much looks the same.

In September, 2009, we celebrate 100 years of Lambda Chi Alpha, remember the people that make it important, and hopefully allow ourselves time to reflect on our experience.

Randy Adkins, Marshall (86), Dave Arland, Butler (82), Bob Coffey, McGill (53), Nick DiBartolo, Eastern Michigan (95), Chuck Gibson, Pittsburgh (91), Mike Karrass, UNC Greensboro (83), Bob Lambert, Texas Tech (75), Phil Mazzuca, Valparaiso (78), Keath McKinney, UT Chattanooga (85), Jim Revello, St. Joseph’s (99), Scott Walz, Western Kentucky (88).

These names are but a sampling of the more than 35 alumni who lead, coached, assisted, and participated in the once-in-a-lifetime exemplification of the Ritual of Lambda Chi Alpha held before 800 brothers in the ornate, all wooden theatre in the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis on Friday, July 31, 2009.  They were chillingly superb in the execution of our historic ceremony.

Yet, let’s not get too serious about this to quick because, after all, some of them are old guy brothers…like me.

The number next to each brother’s name represents the year in which they were initiated into our Bond.  Take a closer look at Bob Coffey.  Now, Bob may have been initiated as an infant, or on the other hand he may represent one of the great love stories of our centennial – a brother for more than 55 years who, on his own dime, committed to practices and preparation to slip on that robe one more time.

There were those more portly brothers whose waistlines (or, perhaps in Ritual garb terminology, “sash lines”), are a bit larger than the last time they put on their masks.  There were jokes about “I hope no one sees my old, ugly toes”, and “man, even Red Bull is not enough to keep old bones up and moving this late!”  And, “when I was in school we had to be reminded to move slowly – now that’s the only way I move!”

I sat way up in the rafters, in the third or fourth level of the theatre, I believe, to watch this and almost cried with nostalgia.  “Are these guys awesome or what?”  I thought in the bold quiet of the moment.  My mind went back to Rituals of my past and brothers whom I stood next to during a time of solemn reverence to our deepest symbols and significance.

On July 31, 2009, a group of serious-minded alumni brothers – seven at a time – took on a role – one more time – for the other 265,000 or so who have witnessed and participated in these deep moments.  This was our centennial international ritual team, coached by another volunteer old guy, Kelley McCormick.  These were a band of proud brothers who are now part of Lambda Chi Alpha’s 100 year history.

So 900 brothers and guests have come to Indianapolis to celebrate Lambda Chi Alpha’s Centennial, and we did it in grand style.  We had “stars” with us:

–     Powers Boothe from Hollywood fame, who proved to be a genuine brother who was deeply interested in our ritual.

–     Woody Paige from ESPN television, who is the most popular celebrity brother I have seen among students.

–     Bill Rasmussen, creator of ESPN itself.

–     Bill Hayes, from Hollywood and Broadway fame.

–     Mark Schultz, a highly decorated Christian recording artist, who sang about relationships, bonds between people, and love.

–     Jerre Stead, perhaps our most successful alumnus from the business world.

–     U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas, who made a special trip in the midst of Washington politics to share inspiring words with the students.

–     Warren Cole, our first Lambda Chi in 1909 even showed up holographically (if that is a word).

–     Malcolm Cross, a modest alumnus whose father, Albert, recruited Jack Mason

into the Fraternity, and Jack was the man who wrote our Ritual.  

Malcolm Cross joined Grand High Alpha Ed Leonard, and Lambda Chi Alpha’s 1^st initiate of the new century, a new brother from UCLA, at center stage Saturday night to toast our first 100 years as a brotherhood.  This poignantly illustrated that we are indeed, a brotherhood of men whose hands are clasped across time.  Men from 18 to 86 raised their glasses high, hugged, and danced to celebrate.

We all know, however, that not all brothers’ names appear on the Marquee.

Over the long celebration weekend I met dozens of students and alumni, most of whom will not be famous or wealthy or powerful or historic.  In this case, I think of Terry Zinn, from Oklahoma City, who clearly dug right in to enjoy meeting as many brothers as possible.  I recall Daniel Miller, from High Point (but really a rising star on Indianapolis news television).  Malcolm “Mac” Chandler from Wisconsin was around all weekend, quietly radiating his unique enthusiasm for the Fraternity.  And I remember a great conversation with Mark (Mercer) and Debby Hayward, outside of the hotel elevator. 

A warmly interesting note to end this on is that I had my special opportunity of time with each of these brothers, and for each and every one of them, when I looked them in the eye and told them it was great to have them with us, to a man they essentially said:  “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Our centennial celebration weekend has passed, and brothers have returned to their homes in California and Canada, Louisiana and London.  Some return to their high profile lives, but not all important brothers show up on the marquee.