Cross & Crescent

Seventy-five years ago, the Theta News magazine reported (download 1.9MB PDF excerpt) that Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity held its Fifth Grand Chapter in Richmond, Virginia. For five days in June, representatives from 47 chapters and 10 alumni clubs met to conduct the business of the fraternity.

Grand Archon Leroy A. Wilson (Rose-Hulman 1922) presided over the largest national gathering of its members in the fraternity’s history. He spoke with justifiable pride in describing Theta Kappa Nu’s modern central office operations in Cleveland, Ohio.

Later in life, Wilson played an influential role in the merger of his fraternity and ours. He was one of the three Theta Nus who served on the merger committee that forged the union in 1939. He went on to establish a distinguished record of service with the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.

As in the case of Lambda Chi Alpha’s General Assemblies, the ritual of Theta Kappa Nu was exemplified during the Fifth Grand Chapter.

Unlike our current ritual team selection process, which can take months to complete, the Theta Kappa Nu Ritual Team was chosen 30 minutes prior to the presentation of the first degree. The editor of Theta News recorded that the ritual was a “…marvelous demonstration of how Theta Kappa Nu members make their ritual part of their lives.”

The Rev. J. H. “Dad” Krenmyre (Iowa Wesleyan 1917), a giant figure in the history of Theta Kappa Nu, made the following remarks about the importance of the ritual to the assembled delegates:

Ritualism is the heart of fraternalism. The alter is a sacred place. The more sacred, the more loyal each Brother will be. It has been my observation that the better a chapter gives the ritual, the more they put into it — the more of their own feelings, their own hearts and souls — the better the chapter is sure to be. It is the one thing that will weld your chapter together and make it a great force for brotherhood and fraternalism.

Krenmyre was so closely associated with the formation of Theta Kappa Nu, and so instrumental in the creation of its ritual, that he was the natural choice to work with Jack Mason (Pennsylvania 1913) to unify our two great fraternities. Today, members of Lambda Chi Alpha can see the results of Krenmyre’s and Mason’s collaboration in our Associate Member Ceremony, the Associate Member pin, and our coat of arms.

The Fifth Grand Chapter is important in many respects, but none more so than it serving as a platform for Wilson and Krenmyre to display their remarkable leadership skills.

The conference concluded with a trek to Washington, D.C., for a private meeting with President Herbert Hoover. President Hoover greeted the Theta Nus on the White House lawn and honored them by taking a place in the center of the group for an official photograph.