Lambda Tau - Texas Tech University

The Challege

The challenge for undergraduate Fijis remains the same as it has always been: "Honor your heritage. Learn from history. Strive every day in all things to adhere to the highest values and ideals that are PHI GAMMA DELTA. Never compromise the high standards which have been set. Leave the Chapter better than you found it,

and turn it over only to those who can be trusted to do the same". And when you have passed through your college years, never forget that your fraternity really is "not for college days alone", but is something that will constantly enrich the remainder of your life as it has the lives of so many men who came before you.

The Chain Gang Club and Kemas Fraternity

Lambda Tau Chapter had its beginning on January 26, 1932, at what was then known as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas, when ten (10) college undergraduates banded together in a local campus organization called The Chain Gang Club. A short time later the name was changed to Kemas Fraternity. Kemas existed until Lambda Tau Chapter was chartered by Phi Gamma Delta on December 11, 1954.

The Charter Members of The Chain Gang Club were Craig Leonard McNeese, Arthur Henry Whitely Norton, James Robert Pool, Anthony Gail Eubanks, Walter Nuegent Hicks, Vance Vannoy, Joe Delaney Wells, Gordon Brown, G. Hampton Anderson, and Carl Harris. Initiates of the first pledge class in Spring 1932 were James William Huffman and Morrison Woodrow Liston.

One of the ten original Chain Gang Club Charter Members, Gail Eubanks, wrote a letter dated June 3, 1959, recalling the start of the Chapter. He wrote, in part, as follows: "I believe it was in the fall of 1932 that a small group of us, living in a boarding house, conceived the idea of organizing a club of our own, more or less as a lark in rebellion to the "tea-sippers" social groups recognized on the campus at that time. We were a hail and hardy group of rebels, dedicated to the cause of democratizing the "la-de-da" upper strata of society on the Texas Tech campus. For lack of a more fitting title, we chose the name, "Chain Gang", to lend elegance and dignity to the Inter-Club Council of Texas Tech. We established our charter, elected our officers, and Craig McNeese, Vance Vannoy, and myself were chosen to represent our club in the Inter-Club Council for the first time in 1932. We were as at home in that first meeting as a pole cat in a Nieman Marcus perfume display. Nevertheless, the "Chain Gang" was thereby registered in the annals of history of Texas Tech that day."

Brother Eubanks went on to say, "This group, primarily composed of engineers, chose the name of "Chain Gang" as associated to a group of surveyors, rather than untrustworthy Penal inmates." This statement might be subject to question, however, since the officers bore such titles as "Warden", "Guard" and other names, none of which are in any way related to surveying or engineering. After all, Eubanks did say that they were a group of "rebels". According to Eubanks the pressures from the college administration and the club sponsor, Mr. Gillespie, " a rather debonair History teacher", made it obvious that a new name had top be selected for the organization. With the assistance of the late Mrs. W. C. Holden, wife of the long-time curator of the Texas Tech Museum, who was a student of American Indian lore, the men of the Chain Gang Club adopted the name "Kemas". She also assisted them in developing and writing the beautiful ritual of the fraternity.

"Kemas" is an American Indian word meaning "friends". The official purpose of the club was "to encourage scholastic achievement and promotion of fellowship between its members and the student body as a whole". The secret work of Kemas Fraternity carried out an historical legendary theme of ten Plains Indian tribes who fought each other until all ten tribes were reduced to only the ten tribal chiefs, obviously the strongest and most valiant warriors of the ten tribes. At that point those ten chiefs banded together in peace and formed Kemas, a lasting brotherhood of friends. There a total of 380 initiates into Kemas during its life. During the life of Kemas there were four (4) men voted out by the membership for various violations. The total net membership of Kemas during its existence was 376. There were other local clubs on the Texas Tech Campus, both for men and women, until the advent of Greek fraternities and sororities in the early 1950's. The other original local men's clubs were The Wranglers, College Club, Silver Key, Los Camaradas, Socii and Centaur. All of the other local clubs affiliated with national Greek fraternities in 1953. Kemas Fraternity, the youngest local club on campus, was also the last of the original local clubs to make a Greek affiliation. The choice of which national fraternity to petition was a long and cautious process undertaken by the Kemas brothers. They were actually not anxious to abandon their beloved Kemas, but the times were changing and called for national affiliation. After a long process, eleven Kemas Brothers arrived on September 1, 1954, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles to present the case for Kemas to the Ekklesia. They were Joe Floyd Lynch, J. Morris Womack, Jr., Charles M. Currie, Guy Robert (Bob) Beckham, Jerry W. "Slats" Jackson, Charles Edwin "Big Ed" Wilkes, Charles A. Holmquest, Eldon Lawrence Smith, Jr., James Bradford Wilde, Billy Jack Fraley and Benny Joe Bedford. With the granting of the charter by unanimous ballot - three days later - came the realization that Kemas had been tested and found worthy to bear the royal purple of Phi Gamma Delta as Lambda Tau Chapter.

Lambda Tau Chapter of the
Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta

The match of Kemas and Phi Gamma Delta well worth the wait. It was a perfect match of principles. Friendship and close brotherhood were key issues for both and provided part of the perfect Kemas - Phi Gamma Delta connection. The advancement of Scholarship was a common factor. Kemas had long been involved in services to the community and Texas Tech, and those factors were also a perfect match of goals and principles with Phi Gamma Delta.

On December 10, the Archons of the Fraternity held their official meeting in Lubbock. The next day, December 11, 1954, the brothers of Kemas were installed as Lambda Tau Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta and were initiated in ceremonies at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on 16th Street and Avenue X in Lubbock. The undergraduates were initiated at 8:30 a.m.. There was a photography session followed by a luncheon at Luby's Cafeteria in the 2400 Block of Broadway. Initiation of Kemas Graduates followed at 2:00 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. on December 11, 1994, the First Lambda Tau Norris Pig Dinner was held at Luby's Downtown Cafeteria where the Charter was officially presented by Legate Cal C. Chambers, Sr. (Wisconsin '12). Benny Joe Bedford, later to become the third President of Lambda Tau Chapter, Field Secretary, and winner of Lambda Tau's First Distinguished Fiji Award, was

the youngest Fiji there and had the privilege of greeting the "unsnout of the porker". Portions of the speeches made that evening are recorded in the March 1955 Phi Gamma Delta, but one was especially warm. It came from Howard W. Schmidt, an architect who was a Lubbock native and former Kemas President, who said, "There is a bond of fraternal spirit in our group, that is now joining yours, that is very strong and we feel will be of great assistance to the undergraduate chapter." On the following day, Sunday, December 12, 1954, an Introductory Tea, open to the public, was held at the Student Union Ballroom on the second floor of the Student Union Building.

Lambda Tau Chapter was the 82nd Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta and the third in Texas, following the chapters at The University of Texas and Southern Methodist University. It was the last local club to affiliate with a national fraternity. At the time Phi Gamma Delta came to Texas Tech, it was the oldest of the national Greek fraternities at Texas Tech. Other fraternities on the campus at the time were Kappa Sigma, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Delta Theta, Alpha Tau Omega, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Nu, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Sororities on the Tech Campus at the time were Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Delta Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Gamma and Alpha Chi Omega.

Throughout the following years many Kemas members who had already graduated returned to be formally initiated into Phi Gamma Delta at Lambda Tau, but not all did. A. C. Sanders, Jr., Kemas Member Number 21 was a member of the Second Kemas Pledge Class and was later initiated as a Fiji on December 11, 1954. He passed away in 2006, but provided some insight. He stated that many Kemas members wanted Kemas to remain "independent". Nevertheless, the chapter cherishes and honors its history and the foundation that The Chain Gang Club and Kemas Fraternity provided the chapter on the Texas Tech Campus.

CHAPTER CHARACTERISTICS

Examination of the Chapter from its inception in 1932 shows that there was always a great deal of diversity in the backgrounds and interests of the members. They took pride in that diversity, but they were even prouder of their close bonds of friendship with each other and the strict secrecy they maintained about fraternity activities. The 1955 La Ventana, Texas Tech Annual demonstrates the diversity of interests, the quality of men, and varied activities of Fijis on the Tech Campus and the importance they placed on campus activities in addition to their membership in Phi Gamma Delta. That characteristic has never changed. Kemas and Lambda Tau Chapter have consistently furnished Texas Tech with leadership in student government and in many campus organizations. Of prime importance was the fact that the men of Kemas were gentlemen. They encouraged the development of all the social graces and required good manners around women. Early day Fijis did not drink alcohol around women as a fraternity function except at the Annual Dinner Dance where champagne was served. Kemas stressed the importance of scholarship as well. The men of Phi Gamma Delta at Tech have gone on to many great accomplishments in their various careers, many of which have been documented by the Chapter.

HAZING

After World War II hazing was commonplace in fraternities, but hazing in any form is now a practice which can threaten the very existence of the chapter. It can start off very innocently and be only mild in degree, but like a cancer it cannot be controlled and will always escalate and ultimately kill the chapter. It is something that only understands a zero tolerance in the fraternity, since the very life of the fraternity is so threatened by it. The chapter had its troubles in the 1980's because of hazing, and Texas Tech banned the Fijis from the campus for two years and recommended that the Charter of Lambda Tau be completely revoked by the International Fraternity. However, the Archons placed the chapter under a Graduate Trusteeship for those two years. They rushed outside I.F.C., participated in intramurals under an assumed name, and were shunned by sororities and other fraternities. They re-installed and enforced standards of conduct regarding attendance at meetings, dress codes at chapter meetings, and conduct during chapter meetings. Under the guidance of Graduate Brother Glenn Moor they divided into teams which competed for points and awards in scholarship, attendance, social services, and the work of the fraternity, an organizational scheme later taught by the International Fraternity and successfully adopted by may chapters. When they were readmitted they had the foundation in place to begin the growth process that would lead by 1994 to a membership of almost 70 men, a new lodge on Greek Circle II, and international recognition, including the Cheney Cup in 1996.

KEMAS TRADITON

The only traditional practice of Kemas kept alive in the Chapter today is the "Toast of Friendship", a tradition unique to Lambda Tau Chapter. The Toast of Friendship was performed at the end of every chapter activity, whether it was a stag or date function, rush party, dance, intramural game, or whatever. The president of the Chapter called for announcements which any brother wanted to make, then called upon a brother to recite the Toast, with everyone in the circle repeating the separate phrases of the Toast after that designated member: "May the spirit of true friendship, which now exists among us, grow and develop through the years to come, so that we may be worthy of the name (Kemas) Phi Gamma Delta".

UNITY AS A KEY TO SUCCESS

Whether it be intramurals, float building, competitions of every kind, party set ups, social service projects, lodge improvements and cleaning, meetings of the chapter, or whatever, all the members and pledges are expected to participate. Unity and unified effort is still the key to chapter success. Doing things together also is the key to close fraternal brotherhood.

HISTORY OF CHAPTER HOUSING

At the inception of The Chain Gang and Kemas Fraternity in 1932 there were no dorms on the Texas Tech Campus, and most of the students lived in rooming houses and garage apartments east of what was then College Avenue (now University Avenue). Many of the out-of-town members of clubs would rent a room at the same house and would call it their club house, but the owner still maintained full control. The first real lodge or Kemas House was rented by Kemas Fraternity in 1936 at 2304 Broadway, later known as McDonald Funeral Home, and Mrs. Wolffarth was the house mother. The 1943 La Ventana states that the same club house had been maintained for eight years at 2304 Broadway "where club members reside and hold informal parties". The Kemas Scrapbook also indicates that members had marriages there. References in the March 1955 Phi Gamma Delta Magazine and other places to the address of the Kemas House being 2401 Broadway are wrong. It was definitely 2304 Broadway, south of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church on Main Street. There were no Kemas initiates in 1943-44 or 1944-45. Kemas became inactive during that period of World War II. It was reactivated either in the Fall of 1945 or Spring of 1946 by six members who quickly built the chapter back to full strength and prominence on the Tech Campus. It would be 1956 before there was another official chapter lodge. Meetings were held in campus buildings like the Administration Building or Aggie Pavilion. When the war ended and Kemas was reactivated, the men returning found a new rule at Tech outlawing off-campus residential housing, so no new lodge or house could be opened.

Residential fraternity and sorority housing was not allowed at Texas Tech because the administration wanted all of its dorms full, and as they built new and larger dorms, the rule against residential housing persisted. Kemas held meetings in the Administration Building on campus and large parties and dances at one of the hotels downtown. From 1944 until the Fall of 1956 the Chapter did not have a central fraternity meeting place or lodge. About the time the Fiji Charter was granted in 1954, there was a place known as "The 2318 Club" which was located just down the street to the east of the old Kemas house at 2318 Broadway. It was a Fiji gathering place.

The next "official" lodge (and the first after the granting of the Lambda Tau Charter) was located at 2417 A Main Street (the location known later as "Bash Riprock"), rented by the Chapter in the Fall of 1956. Until then, the Chapter met in the Administration Building on campus, and various other places around Lubbock like Manacapelli Dance Studio (which was located just south of 19th Street on the east side of Avenue R), and in the basement of what was then Citizens National Bank at 14th Street and Avenue K. Many members and pledges lived in the Tech Dorms. Some lived at home with parents in Lubbock and others were married and in apartments or small houses around town. Although dispersed, the full Chapter could be assembled in a designated place within 15 to 20 minutes. Communication was excellent, just like the rest of the chapter organization and participation. The lodge on Main Street was 75 feet deep and 25 feet wide, and when it was rented for $75.00 per month, it had a cement floor and one light bulb, with a small commode and sink at the back. The brothers secured carpet, lamps and furniture for the front room, 25 x 25, built a wall separating that room from a party and meeting room which was 50 x 25, then tiled the back room floor with the words "FIJI" in the middle. Each member bought a folding chair for $11.00. Curtains were hung in the front room. Several brothers almost flunked out of school because they spent so much time working on the remodeling. All weekly meetings, homecoming receptions and many chapter parties and dances were held there. The Chapter had about 65-75 men, and the facility was never thought to be too small for any function. However, major dances such as the Purple Garter Dance, Black Diamond Formal and Formal Dinner Dance were usually held at a hotel or in the Student Union Building Ballroom. Fiji Island Parties were also held at other places, like the V-8 Ranch and the top of a downtown parking building.

In the sixties the Chapter moved to a new location at 1617 University Avenue, now a restaurant. This lodge was the home of the Tech Fijis for many years. It was rented from Mrs. George Langford of Lubbock. It was a large facility which had previously been a dance studio. In addition to a reception room, it had a bar area and a pool room in the rear, along with a large ballroom on the north side that had a wooden dance floor and a small stage for bands. A small office was located at the west end of that ballroom. The Chapter redecorated that lodge at least once and stayed there for many years. It was later used by Farmhouse Fraternity before it became a restaurant.

The Chapter next moved to a lodge at the corner of 4th Street and Avenue S. It was small and not as nice or spacious as the lodge on University Avenue, but it did have separate offices, a small pool table area and a meeting room. It was more in the nature of a warehouse in appearance.

When the Chapter was later banned from the Tech Campus for two years due to hazing violations and was placed under a graduate trusteeship by the International Fraternity, the graduate Trustees rented a space at 1706 Broadway and completely remodeled the interior, providing two offices at the front, a canopy over the front door, silk purple clematis flowers of the fraternity in the entry planter boxes, a large party room with tile floor and a black diamond inlay, and rest rooms at the rear. It remained the Fiji Lodge until the erection of the permanent lodge at 1414 Orlando Avenue in September of 1994. Much as the Fijis had waited until last to pick a Greek Fraternity and got the best, they also waited 40 years to erect a permanent lodge, and it was by far the largest and best at Texas Tech. Old documents from Kemas Days reveal that the dream of constructing a permanent home for the fraternity chapter was on the minds of members as early as 1945 at the end of World War II. The lodge on Greek Circle II truly represents a "Dream Come True" for many, many Kemas and Phi Gamma Delta members. It is the physical proof of the long-standing devotion all those men have for the chapter and of the motto "Phi Gamma Delta is not for college days alone". It is more than significant that in August 1994 (just one month before the Lodge on Greek Circle II was opened) at the 146th Ekklesia of the Fraternity in Kansas City, Lambda Tau Chapter was awarded the Brightman Trophy for the highest achievement in graduate relations, the trophy which is engraved with that motto. That recognition was more than a recognition for one year of work. It was a confirmation of the love and devotion that is permanently stamped on the heart of every man who has been privileged to be a member of the Chapter at Texas Tech.

If there is one lesson to be learned by a review of the history of Kemas Fraternity and Lambda Tau Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, it is that "times change". Different traditions come along. Some last and some fade away. Somewhere along the way beer got a lot more abundant and drinking it became more of a "necessity" to have a good party. Girls who had to be in their own dorms at ten o'clock on weekdays and midnight on weekends no longer have those requirements and, in fact, sometimes reside in co-ed dorms. Fraternity men don't develop good friendships in other fraternities quite as much or as easily as brothers did in earlier days. Fewer men find it necessary to be involved in campus organizations other than their own fraternity. Instead of having one fraternity shirt that was worn for four years, there is a different T-shirt designed for every party. One only has to consider all the sociological and economic changes occurring from the 30's into the 90's, to track some of the changes, good and bad, that have taken place in college life and fraternities.

There are many of these types of historical reminders which one must consider in order to better understand the different circumstances in which Kemas and Phi Gamma Delta members have found themselves as they attended Texas Tech through the years. Such evolutionary changes will no doubt continue. But the principles of Phi Gamma Delta and the traditional spirit of Kemas Fraternity have never changed. Brotherhood has remained paramount. James Bradford (Brad) Wilde, First President of Lambda Tau, wrote once that "the natural, unaffected spirit of brotherhood which existed among the members of Kemas - that spirit so cherished by the founders - was recognized and respected by those with whom Kemas' members came in contact". Friendship and secrecy are still the watchwords, as are the development of good character and gentlemanly conduct, the attainment of high scholarship and the gaining of maturity, along with the development of a willingness and desire to serve mankind and the university are all still worthy goals that make Phi Gamma Delta the same proud and successful brotherhood it has been at Texas Tech since 1932. But at the bottom line is the development of enduring friendships. That was what "Kemas" actually meant. It is not only the sweetest influence of Phi Gamma Delta, but it is also the foundation on which all chapter successes have been and will be built. Fiji friendships are not the same as other friendships you will make throughout your life. They are distinctly deeper and more meaningful relationships than any other. Perhaps David McDougal, former President of the Chapter in the 1960's, put it best when he described Fiji friendships as "non-maintenance" friendships, so deep and meaningful that brothers who have not seen each other for many years will openly cry and hug each other when they meet again, immediately renewing a common bond that is unaffected by time and distance. That type of relationship is a Fiji Treasure.

It is obvious from an examination of history that it is not the size or quality of a lodge, or even the existence of a lodge, that defines Phi Gamma Delta at Texas Tech. If that were true, Kemas and Lambda Tau Chapter could not have maintained its character and quality and positively influenced so many lives over the years from 1932 to 1994 while camping out in rented houses, warehouses and store front buildings. The definition of what Phi Gamma Delta is at Texas Tech lies in the QUALITY of its members, the men who occupy the lodge or rent house or store front, the work they are willing to perform, the standards they are willing to maintain, the sacrifices they are willing to make, the love they exhibit for each other, and the extent of concern they have for the preservation of a fine heritage they have been given by those who have gone before them. Without those qualities and adherence to the basic vales and standards of PHI GAMMA DELTA, even the most beautiful and fantastic lodge can fast become a holding pen for undesireable, non-achieving failures.

Brother William S. Zerman (Michigan '49), once said, "You are not what you used to be. You are not what you are going to become tomorrow. You are what you are today". Translated, this means that the successes and failures of the past, though valuable as a learning tool, are really ancient history. Further, just talking and dreaming of bright tomorrows is pure vanity without the sacrifice and hard work of today that can make those dreams come true. The work of the fraternity, like the lives of its members, is always performed one day at a time. The standards and values remain constant and in place, always ready for current and daily application.