"Highest in Brotherhood, Greatest Ever Known"
Phi Kappa National Fraternity
More Battles
When the war ended the fraternity gathered on the coast with Tau as host to welcome the end of hostilities and the return of our heroes. But one month later in Jackson, Mississippi, the General Assembly of the State of Mississippi, met and unexpectedly outlawed the high school fraternities from the public school system within her sovereign borders. The Governor, at that time a Phi Kappa father, vetoed the bill. The Lt.. Governor, a former father, fumed and fussed when the legislature passed the bill over the veto. In letters to the fraternity, they both urged that the same action be taken against Mississippi as was taken against Tennessee. But the action had sent Phi Kappa spinning. She was almost dead. Death or injuries caused entirely by the atom bomb dropped from Capitol Hill in Jackson, Mississippi.
The fraternity retreated to Mobile, Alabama, and on August 23, 1947 surveyed her broken ranks in an effort to gird herself for the awful fight to come. Alpha Beta, Chi, Lambda, Tau and Omega were all the actives left of this once proud brotherhood. The first actions were to gather back the lost chapters into the fold.
Tau played host to a business meeting on November 29, 1947, but already the war-torn Chi Chapter had slipped away from the fraternity. A fraternity father, Earle Wingo, a prominent lawyer in the State of Mississippi, addressed the convention and was promptly appointed the lawyer to fight the state. A very few weeks later the Alpha Omega Chapter was chartered in New Orleans on December 17, 1947.
Early in 1948 Delta joined the ranks of her brothers and pledged herself to do battle against the unconstitutional law. Chapters began regrouping after the fraternity showed that it would fight and August of 1948 was the scene of the Monroe meeting attended by Alpha Beta, Alpha Omega, Beta, Delta, Lambda, Kappa Alpha, Eta, Mu Theta, Omega and Tau. But several of these chapters were not really strong enough to ever completely rejoin and they were eventually lost on the roadside.
The fraternity re-met in Laurel and heard the progress report of Mr. Wingo. He was sure of victory and pointed out the loop-hole in law. Beta and Theta were now reaching top strength and contributing heavily to the fraternity. Tau acted as host to the final meeting of 1949.
In 1950 all worries about the fraternity future were briefly put aside as the members joined in the Golden Anniversary Revel held in Memphis on June 20. In 1951 the convention returned to the Coast and Tau. But a death knell sounded that caused a shudder to go up each member's spine. Mother Mu Theta was no more. The Gulf Coast Military Academy was closed and purchased by the Federal Government. Alpha Beta was the first to fall by the side of the road. She was soon followed by Kappa Alpha. Mu Theta’s death was a very hard blow to the Fraternity.
The convention was returned to Memphis in 1952. But this time it was without the comradeship of Alpha Omega. The second New Orleans chapter had disbanded though holding dearly to their charter. The question was how long 'til there were no more. Gone were the days of yearbooks and Heralds. The fraternity could hardly afford to mimeograph the secret messenger, the Key. And yet a note of joy was struck. The original members were worse off than the present ones. They had nothing. Phi Kappa now at least had seven chapters.
In 1953-1954 was a quiet, sad year until Ed Hislop, Grand Master of Eta Chapter and later National Corresponding Secretary, reported to the national office that he had received a letter from a group in New Orleans which was operating under the name of Phi Kappa. The report was strengthened when a sophomore member of Theta Chapter reported that he had run into this mysterious and rather unorthodox group in a New Year's Eve party in New Orleans. Hislop invited the chapter to send representatives to a business meeting in Monroe on February 13, 1954. A member did arrive and told the story that the last Grand Master of Alpha Omega Chapter had, upon the disbanding, saved the rituals and charter, and on May 1, 1953 had gathered five boys led by John E. Harris and administered the ritual to them. The next week five more were pledged and in the fall 13 were pledged and admitted. The amazed Assembly accepted his credentials and the chapter. A chapter had dropped into their laps.
At the 54th in Biloxi, Phi Kappa changed the jeweler to Burr, Patterson and Auld, changed the system of national dues, and prayed for the return of a chapter or so. Bill Wheelis, Eta, was elected Chairman for the year. The fraternity had a banner year as all dues were paid and each chapter visited by the national officers at least twice. The prayer was answered. In late August the members of Beta Chapter crossed the Mississippi and initiated the Zeta Chapter of Phi Kappa in the town of Marion, Arkansas. The fraternity rolled along until the conclave where over 100 happy brothers accepted the petition of a Pensacola, Florida group and the Theta Sigma Chapter had begun.
The 55th Convention went to Mobile. Entertained by a large round of parties the fraternity still found time to work. A system for attendance incensement at conclaves and conventions was begun. Brother Bill Patterson, past Vice-Chairman, began work on the first yearbook in eleven years. Billy Long, the outstanding Grand Master of the year, was chosen to head the Council. The fraternity met next in Hattiesburg on February 11, 1956, with 127 brothers in attendance. Plans were made to re-enter the Interfraternity Congress, a committee began work on the Constitution, revision continued on the ritual, a scholarship trophy was placed under consideration and the fraternity okayed the printing of the Scimitar.
1956 found Phi Kappa meeting for the first convention in New Orleans. After some of the longest meetings in the fraternity's history, a complete scholarship program was worked out, more work done on the ritual, the Constitutional committee report was accepted, and the fraternity exercised for the first time, her power to levy and collect fines against chapters. Jerry Reel, past National Corresponding Secretary and the outstanding member of the year, was elected National Chairman. And a first was recorded as television cameras recorded parts of the meetings.
In July, 1956, the Scimitar, edited by Patterson and James Largue, at last appeared. The Council held a two-day meeting in Hattiesburg in August and by September the Herald reappeared. Finally the dream of all councils had come true — a functioning publications department.
One hundred thirty Phi Kappas met in Pensacola, Fla., in 1957 for an outstanding social success. The tide against fraternities began to change for the state juvenile officer visited the conclave and commended the group on their sterling behavior and reputation.
The Founding
(1900-1916)
The Early Years
(1916-1922)
Vital Expansion
(1922-1941)
The War Years
(1942-1946)
More Battles
(1947-1957)
The Golden Era
(1957-1960)
The Sixties
(1961-1969)
The Prosperous
Years
(1970-1974)
The Diamond
Anniversary
(1975-1979)
The Decade of
Determination
(1980-1989)
The Nineties
(1990-1997)
Covington and After
(1998-2002)
A New Attitude
(2003-the future)
The History
of Phi Kappa National Fraternity
By: Robert L. Pugh &
Frank Liddell (1900-1970)
Patrick D. Thrash (1970-1985)
William Kyle Ingle (1985-1993)
Gerald Everett and Brent McCarty (1993-2004)