Cross & Crescent

Editor’s Note: The following contains excerpts from: the 1992 publication of The History of Lambda Chi Alpha; the April 1930 publication of Purple, Green, and Gold; and the August 1962 issue of the Cross & Crescent.

Albert Cross (Pennsylvania 1913) is considered a major figure in the early development of Lambda Chi Alpha. While Warren A. Cole (Boston 1912) is credited as the sole man to start the Fraternity, Cross and his companions played a vital role in building a strong foundation for continued success. His passion for the growth of the Fraternity helped establish Lambda Chi Alpha on many campuses, including the Univeristy of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, University of Michigan, and jointly at Cornell University and Bucknell University. Cross’s dedication to the Fraternity landed him a position on the first national executive committee on which he served as the first national secretary.

“Monty,” as he was called by his friends, was the first Penn man contacted by Cole, then president of a Fraternity with a single chapter in Boston. Epsilon came into Lambda Chi Alpha nine days after the chartering of Gamma, the second chapter at the University of Massachusetts, then Massachusetts Agricultural College. Cross’s name is first on the Penn chapter roll.

Three Musketeers

A sudden shower fell on Philadelphia on a summer day in 1910. A pretty girl stood waiting for a street car. Along came a University of Pennsylvania student, Cross, protected by his umbrella. This he chivalrously offered the coed, but he was not destined to be drenched himself, for along came Jack Mason (Pennsylvania 1913), another student also intending to take the street car. He offered Cross the shelter of his umbrella and, when the car came, the two young men occupied a seat together.

A third Penn student was Raymond H. Ferris (Pennsylvania 1912). When he entered French class with Mason, whom he had not yet met, he made it a point to see what student answered to the name of Mason when the roll was called, for his older brother had been a friend of Mason’s older brother at the university, and Ferris wanted to perpetuate the brotherly relationship. Accordingly, he sought out Mason as the class adjourned, and a lifelong friendship between the two began.

Cross, Mason, and Ferris became the generators of what was to become not only Epsilon Zeta, but a highly creative influence on the International Fraternity. Cross was vigorous, outgoing, aggressive; he was a man of physical action, a fighter as well as idealist. Mason was quiet, thoughtful, studious, philosophical, with a sharp, whimsical sense of humor and a sensitive appreciation for the artistic. Ferris, a scholar, was the fun side of the triangle: lively, jovial, the boon companion. The three had a feeling of mutual loyalty and responsibility. So closely did the three youths work together and so admired were they by their associates that they became known as “Three Musketeers.”

Cross Calls for a Real Fraternity

Ferris recalled, “The ‘Three Musketeers’ became highly alarmed as certain facts disclosed themselves with reference to the Fraternity in the early days of Epsilon. They began to wonder what sort of organization they were in. It seemed to them that it was a very loose affair and most plastic in its policy…then Bert Cross ‘blew up’ so to speak. His gray eyes flashed and his jaw jutted forward. ‘By God! We’re going to have a real Fraternity, or none at all!’”

Fortune of Lambda Chi Alpha

Fortunate for Lambda Chi Alpha was May 27, 1912, for it witnessed the inception of the third chapter, that at Pennsylvania, and the admission of two men who were to have a marked influence on the Fraternity, Cross and Mason. Without their genius in building and developing the Fraternity, it is hard to tell what might have become of Lambda Chi Alpha. It is not too much to believe that it might have experienced some such fate as has befallen scores of other organizations no longer active.

Epsilon Zeta Nationally Minded

Epsilon at Pennsylvania seems from the first to have been nationally minded to an unusual degree. Cross soon caught from Cole a conviction that success lay in the direction of quickly securing a substantial chapter roll, and spent much of his energy in working to that end. Each trusting in the other’s capacities, Cross and Mason united in many demands upon the president for destructive and constructive measures. In particular, Cross was responsible for establishing 1909 as the year of our founding: thus we are celebrating the Centennial in 2009. With the president, they rapidly came to be a national executive committee, at first informally and later formally.

Fading Away

Cross did commendable work for almost three years, and then dropped from the picture by his own wishes. It is believed that Cross started to feel worn out on Fraternity work and refused further nomination. He served as Supreme Eminent Proctor from October 11, 1912 to January 15, 1913; Supreme Eminent Scriptor January 15, 1913 to April 11, 1914; and Grand High Beta from April 11, 1914 to January 2, 1915.

While Cross does not have as long a history of service to the Fraternity as some other “Legends & Leaders,” his impact on the beginning of the Fraternity and the foundation he helped form is second to none. He died in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, on February 23, 1962, at the age of 70. Cross’s passion and work for the Fraternity are a major reason Lambda Chi is what it is today.