Cross & Crescent

The photograph is well known within the Fraternity, having appeared in such publications as The Paedagogus, our 1992 history book, and on the cover of the 1996 directory. A dozen men are pictured holding a banner bearing the Greek letters Lambda, Chi, and Alpha, which might be a little misleading to those who fail to recognize some of the faces or read the caption, if one is included.

The photo was first published in the October 1939 issue of The Cross & Crescent and was taken at the Ninth, and final, Grand Chapter of Theta Kappa Nu in Birmingham, Alabama, after the merger had been approved. One of the gentlemen making the transition into Lambda Chi Alpha was a province archon named Carlos G. Spaht (Louisiana State 1929). This story is about him.

Spaht (pronounced “spate”) was born on a Holstein dairy farm in Albany, Missouri, north of Kansas City on August 2, 1906, just four months following the Great San Francisco Earthquake. He would be the oldest of six children. His favorite subject in high school was history. After he graduated in 1924 his ailing father, for health reasons, moved the family to Louisiana. His father wanted the children to be near a college town, so after a seven-day trek over dirt roads, they arrived in Baton Rouge, home of Louisiana State University (LSU). Carlos entered LSU in the fall of 1925.

At that time, LSU was strictly a military school striving to be the “West Point of the South,” and Carlos enrolled in the Army ROTC cadet corps. He later recalled the discomfort of wearing a hot wool uniform seven days a week. As in high school, his favorite subject was history, though he majored in engineering and later switched to law.

Joining Theta Kapp Nu

In his sophomore year, late 1926 or early 1927, he joined Theta Kappa Nu. There was no fraternity row, but they rented a house and held dances every Saturday night. There was also no formal rush, and although some fraternities on campus hazed, Theta Kappa Nu did not. It was against the rules. By the fall of 1927, he’d been elected chaplain. His brothers Froman and James Spaht also joined Theta Kappa Nu at LSU.

He graduated in 1929 and entered the law school that fall, receiving his degree in 1931. He opened a law office and ran his own practice from 1931 until entering World War II. Although the practice languished during the Depression years, he married in June 1935. When Huey P. Long was murdered on September 8, 1935, Carlos – along with an estimated 100,000 others – attended the funeral. During this time he remained loyal to Theta Kappa Nu, acting as correspondent of the Louisiana Alpha alumni to the Theta News in 1936, and was serving as a province archon at the time of the 1939 union with Lambda Chi Alpha, or as he affectionately called it, his “Lambdy Alf.” It was at this point that the photo was taken.

Spaht had been commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in ROTC, and as WWII loomed he entered active service in July 1941. He was promoted through 1st lieutenant, captain, lieutenant colonel, and eventually full colonel. Overseas he served in China on the Burma Road with the 8th Army and returned in September 1945 to Baton Rouge, where he continued his military service by activating and commanding the local reserve post.

In 1946 he was appointed judge for the 19th Judicial District by Louisiana Gov. Jimmy Davis for a two-year term, then won election for another six-year term. During this time Gov. Earl Long included Spaht in a 15-member commission to investigate the deplorable conditions at Angola Prison, setting for the film “The Green Mile.”

Politics and Civil Rights

Gov. Earl Long, unable to run for another consecutive term, tapped Spaht to run in the 1951-1952 gubernatorial campaign. Some say that Spaht was chosen as a ringer, to lose the election so that Long could easily take back the office in the following election; others saw Spaht as Long’s puppet. Spaht rejected both of these notions and campaigned vigorously during the primary, often driving from town to town and speaking from the back of a pickup truck equipped with a loudspeaker. He won the first primary, which included Hale Boggs, but lost in the runoff to Robert Kennon who went on to win the general election. Later, Spaht distanced himself from Long and declined a spot on the ticket for state attorney general when Long ran (and won) in the next gubernatorial election in 1956.

Spaht was opposed to segregation and never saw the justification for separate restrooms, water fountains, and other facilities for blacks and whites. “So I served on the racial committee, which took an active part when integration of schools came about, creating public opinion that would cause us to peacefully integrate,” he said. He also played an active role in integrating downtown Baton Rouge restaurants in accordance to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Further, working for Gov. McKeithen, he drafted a code of ethics for elected officials and state employees.

Order of Merit Recipient

As he did with Theta Kappa Nu, Spaht continued his involvement with Lambda Chi Alpha. In 1970 he was presented with the Order of Merit. He was elected to the Grand High Zeta and served as Grand High Gamma from September 1, 1970, to August 15, 1974. As such, his signature appears on the charters of 31 chapters and innumerable initiation certificates, including my own, dated April 29, 1972.

When my chapter, Beta-Nu at Florida Tech, was installed on May 20, 1972, Carlos Spaht, accompanied by James Vickery, traveled to Melbourne, Florida, to be the featured speaker. His address was titled, “Is our Fraternity Worth-while?” Very few brothers would hesitate to answer that question in the affirmative, least of all Brother Spaht. But at the time – and until quite recently – I was unaware that he’d originally been initiated into Theta Kappa Nu. In the 1970s we considered ourselves living in modern times, and yet here was a Theta Nu’s signature on my certificate, just below Lew Plourd’s. Is his signature on your certificate too?

Along with his long and valued service to Theta Kappa Nu, Lambda Chi Alpha, the state of Louisiana, and our country, Spaht was a member of the Lions Club, Kiwanis, and the Rotary. He raised funds for the Boy Scouts and was president of the local YMCA. He was the LSU Alumni Federation president and a member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, an organization that combats prejudices and anti-Semitism.

He died in Baton Rouge on April 29, 2001, at the age of 94. He was a thoroughly modern man.

Editor’s Note: The use of The Cross & Crescent only relates to the time period in reference. Today, the current title we use is simply Cross & Crescent.