The History Of Tau Kappa Epsilon-Delta Nu Chapter
The story of the people and events that helped to form the organization we are today.
Northwest Missouri State University, founded in 1905 as a Normal School, became NW Missouri State Teachers College in 1919, with the privilege of granting bachelors degrees. The name was changed to NW Missouri State College effective September 1, 1949. The college became a university in 1972.
At the time Alpha Omicron Colony was established the enrollment of the college was approximately 800 students. A new men’s dormitory and a Student Union were recently erected. Other new buildings soon to be built included a fieldhouse and a National Guard Armory.
There were two fraternities on the NW campus, Sigma Tau Gamma and Phi Sigma Epsilon. Alpha Omicron Colony was established January 19, 1953. The colony was housed in the College owned dormitory, Quad 4, described by a letter sent to TKE national, as “a handsome $50,000 brick structure housing some 35 men. The college also provided a housemother.
1953 Colony
On January 14, 1953, Mr. Dick Hall, Field Secretary for Tau Kappa Epsilon, came to Northwest Missouri State College to establish a colony. During the next two days, he made contact with a group of students who were interested, and with Professor John Taylor, a member of Alpha Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon and an instructor at the college. With Mr. Taylor acting as Colony Advisor, the group organized as Alpha Omicron Colony of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
At this time, there were two fraternities situated on the campus, but increased enrollment had created a need for a third. Because of this situation, membership increased rapidly.
At the first regular meeting, officers were elected, and the colony moved into the social events of the spring semester. These included: A spring formal, a formal banquet to introduce Tau Kappa Epsilon to the college administration, and the election of student body officers, in which the colony candidate was defeated by a narrow margin of votes.
In the fall of 1953, the colony reorganized and new officers were elected. The colony immediately began the work of participating in the annual homecoming celebration. Because of its hard work, the colony received a good deal of recognition in the competition for honors. The colony also had a successful winter formal in November.
During this fall semester a Colony Board of Control was organized. The members were: Dr. Wayne Wilson, a successful dentist in Maryville; Mr. John Mauzey, a jeweler; Mr. Maurice Hamilton, proprietor of a shoe store; and Mr. Everett Brown, Director of Field Service for the College.
Members of the colony were engaged in many activities. Some of the honors attained by the members were: Editor of the Year Book; Vice President of the Student Senate, and three senators; Co -captain of All-Conference Basketball Team; Co-captains for 1952-1953 and 1953-54 Football Team; Conference Champion Sprinter; State Tennis Champion for 1952-53; Outstanding Athlete of 1952-53; Vice President and Treasurer of Freshman Class of 1953-¬54; Vice-President of Junior Class; and Treasurer of Senior Class. Members were also active in departmental Clubs and Organizations, in Band and Choir, and on the College Paper and Year Book Staff.
Activities for the spring semester of 1954 were limited to acquiring new members at the rush party and participating in the annual All-Greek Dance. However, the Colony looked forward with anticipation to May when they would be initiated as members and the chapter would be installed.
The Colony
The Membership of the colony that petitioned Tau Kappa Epsilon:
| Reid Anderson (Sr) (Clarinda,IA) Aldon Anderson (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) George Brown (So) (St. Joseph, MO) Arthur Buckingham (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) Allen B. Carr (Fr) (Grant City, MO) Robert Davis (Jr) (St. Joseph, MO) Roger Dearmont (Fr) (Mound City, MO) Richard Dinkel (Fr) (Greenfield, IA) Cyril N. Dougherty (Sr) (Fairfax, MO) Daryl Flint (Fr) (Martinville, MO) Donald Francis (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) James R. Gromer (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) William Groom (Jr) (St. Joseph, MO) Charles F.Groton (Fr) (New Market, IA) James Hamilton (Jr) (Corning, IA) J.D. Hammond (Jr) (Maitland, MO) | Marshall Hatfield (Sr) (Maryville, MO) Bernard Hatton (Jr) (Corning, IA) Jack Hill (Jr) (St. Joseph, MO) William Hunt (Fr) (Grant City, MO) George Jensen (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) Jack Kinder (Jr) (Mound City, MO) Martin F. Maune (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) Leon Plummer (Fr) (Burlington Jct., MO) Gordon Sickler (Fr) (Corning, IA) James Sapp (Fr) (St. Joseph, MO) Thomas J. Stephens (Jr) (Norfolk, NE) J.W. Stone (So) (Fortesque, MO) Franklin Thackeray (So) (Grant City, MO) John Lee Thompson (So) (Maryville, MO) Richard Tilton (So) (St. Joseph, MO) Maurice Tobin (Jr) (Maryville, MO) |
Delta Nu in the 1950’s
May 15-16, 1954 Delta Nu became the 109th unit of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Thirty-seven men were installed as members, and a total of forty one were entered on the scroll as charter members.
The first year on the NW Missouri campus (1954-55) saw the homecoming float go up in flames during the parade, but this didn’t stop the new founded fraternity as they teamed up with the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority for a ball during the first semester. At Christmas time a party was held for the Noye’s Home, an orphanage in St. Joseph. This started a tradition that continued for many years.
Smokers were held in September and February and the membership started to grow. Delta Nu inhabited Quad 4. The housemother was Mrs. Faye Sherman. J.D. Hammond was the Prytanis this first year and he, along with Jack Kinder and Reid Anderson were members of the Inter-Fraternity Council.
The 1955-56 school year was the golden anniversary of NW Missouri, which during the summer of 1955 started offering graduate study in the fields of Education, Business, English, History, and Social Science.
Delta Nu in their second year on campus, under Rush chairman Ralph Barnett, pledged 27 men. Tau Kappa Epsilon won the scholarship trophy for 1955-56. Fourteen orphans were entertained at Christmas.
1956-57, the third year on campus, saw Delta Nu rise to the heights of campus politics when Art Buckingham was elected Student Body President. Homecoming became a success as the TKE Jalopy ran away with 1st place in its division. A 1st place in the clown division and high finishes in other divisions awarded the Tekes the Parade Participation Trophy.
The pledge class of 38 men took a precedent setting “pledge skip” to the TKE house at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Construction of the largest pledge paddle ever at NWMSC was a highlight and editor/publisher Bill Cordoneir initiated the bi-semester Delta Nu newsletter.
1958-59, Delta Nu’s fifth year on campus, began with an attitude of confidence based on past accomplishments. The high point of Homecoming was the election of Frater Ken Jacobs to the position of Homecoming Chairman.
A pledge class of twenty-five saw some new ideas for pledge training, such as, line meetings, pledge courts, and a new “Gig” system of discipline. The pledge skip found 16 pledges and three actives on their way to Edmond, Oklahoma where they were guests of Epsilon Sigma Chapter.
The annual Christmas Orphan’s Party saw 31 children from the Noye’s Home in St. Joe being all day guests of Tau Kappa Epsilon and Alpha Sigma Alpha.
The first issue of the Delta Nu Review was published in December 1958. The editor was Jim “Tiger” Marley, assisted by Larry Brown. In this first issue was an article about a new house…… “Those fraters who shall graduate this year will eagerly hope to return during Homecoming of 1959 for coffee and TEKE sessions in the new house. The TKE house will be located on one acre of land…….the building will be a two-story frame….French provincial style. The front will have eight twelve-foot columns flanking the east facade. The study and sleeping quarters consist of twenty 2-men’s rooms and two singles all equipped with built in desks and bookcases. The social activities will center around the 24’ X 40’ living room and the recreation facilities in the basement.”
Of course we all know this did not happen.
During the second semester another TEKE first was boasted. A pledge class of forty men set a record for the largest 2nd semester pledge class on the NWMSC campus.
Delta Nu in the 1960’s
The year 1959-60 was a major milestone in the history of Delta Nu chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon. A dream came true as a house was purchased at 222 W. Cooper and the chapter moved into their new home. Mrs. Clarice Holleman became the housemother and beginning November 1,1959 meals were served in the house with Mrs. Carl Potter being hired as the cook.
Thirty-eight men were pledged and the homecoming highlight was the election of TKE’s candidate, Miss Gaye Laughery (ASA), as Homecoming Queen.
In 1960-61 Delta Nu was named the Top Teke chapter in the province. At Homecoming, Tau Kappa Epsilon won firsts with their humor float, jalopy, and group clowns.
In the second year of the “new” house at 222 W. Cooper, the year started out with the addition of new furniture. The new pieces were made of solid maple and Naugahyde cushions. This made quite a change and gave the TEKES the best-decorated house on campus. The fall pledge class gave the house carpeting for the stairs and the entire chapter painted the outside of the house changing the appearance immensely. There were 26 men living in the house and 50 eating there.
Frater Joe Merrigan was elected President of the student body and J.C. Combs, Bob Cotter, and Norm Wilcox were elected to the Student Senate. Delta Nu TKE controlled the political functions on campus for the year.
The spring pledge class of twenty-three pulled off a surprise pledge skip to Washington University in St. Louis, MO. The active chapter was preparing for a house party the weekend the pledges grabbed actives Dwight Grantham, Bob Cline, and Russ Phelps and left for an enjoyable weekend while the remaining actives postponed their party. Delta Nu won the Scholarship Trophy for the first semester.
The1961-62 school year started out with a pledge class of fourteen. At Homecoming, TKE placed second in the beauty float division and Dennis Rhodes won best clown. In the spring of 1962 Delta Nu had another first. Forty-three men were initiated out of an initial class of fifty-one, the largest pledge class ever on NWMSC campus. This pledge class “skipped” to Beta Gamma Chapter in Stillwater, OK.
A new tradition was started in the spring of 1962 when a ring was presented to the pledge who has done the most for the fraternity and comes the closest to being the ideal pledge. Charles Henry Allison III, or as he was better know, “Butch”, wore this award until the next pledge class was activated.
Tau Kappa Epsilon, in its tenth year, was celebrating being named the small college Top TEKE Chapter in the nation. Also during the 1963-64 school year Delta Nu captured the Campus Bowl and then gained notoriety in intramurals with first place finishes in bowling, track, Tug-o-War, and football. Homecoming brought an overall first place with 1st place in the beauty float and clowns, and a second with the skit.
The spring pledge class netted 31 men, second largest number to be initiated into Delta Nu. “Dumping” was reinstated and this pledge class used it to the utmost. The dumping of Hegemon Ron “Bubbles” Zimmerman and his assistant Jay Schug had to be a story for all time. The unaware hegemons were tied up on a Thursday night, watched in a Pledge brother’s room until Friday morning. The trip to Hannibal, Missouri then began. In Hannibal they were taken to Turtle-Toe –Head Island in the middle of the Mississippi River. The pledges headed for Maryville leaving the pair alone on the island with a flashlight, a couple of Cokes, cigarettes, matches, and a dime. The story told by Ron and Jay when they returned was this. They hailed a fisherman, got a ride to shore, told their “sob” story to people they met on the street and collected enough money to return to KC by plane. From Kansas City they were retrieved by some Alpha Sigma Alpha friends and in the end almost beat the pledge group back to Maryville.
2nd ROW: Alberto Rodriguez, William Templer, H.L. Poynter, Lonnie Hinders, Charles Kilpatrick, Joe Peirce, John DeMaio
Throughout the remainder of the sixties, Delta Nu remained a Top Teke Chapter winning the award in 1964-65 again and was the Missouri Province Top Chapter several more times before the end of the decade.
In 1964-65, Delta Nu won the campus Scholarship Trophy with an all member grade point of 2.67. Also that same year, TKE was awarded the first School Spirit Trophy.
The 1965-66 school year brought an excellent year for intramural sports. Tekes won tennis singles and tug-o-war. They also placed high in football, swimming, and basketball.
The Daughters of Diana were founded April 19, 1965, as an auxiliary of TKE. It was composed of undergraduate women who have shown a sincere interest in Tau Kappa Epsilon. It was established to act as sisters of Tau Kappa Epsilon and to help in social and other fraternity events.
Just before the end of the decade, Delta Nu was the sponsor for a TKE affiliate on the Missouri Western College campus in St. Joe. TKE again won the Spirit Trophy as it had many of the years since the competition began in 1965.
With the initiation of a chapter advisor, a hold over pledge and thirteen new pledges the scroll numbered 500 plus in January 1969.
Starting in the 1968-69 school terms Delta Nu was having some problems. It was a series of peaks and valleys and the year closed with a massive job ahead, including finding a new advisor, who had resigned amidst the troubles during the year.
The fall semester of 1969 netted only 4 members that were initiated in January of 1970, but a class of twenty-five began pledgeship in March.
House Mothers
Delta Nu in the 70’s
There was a nation wide decline in the Greek population on college campuses during the early 1970’s. The NWMSC campus was no exception. The mood had changed with the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings. Even the NWMSC Tower did not have a Greek section in it. The Delta Nu Tekes continued on the NW campus and maintained some of the traditions. Events such as the children’s Christmas Party had made some changes. It now entertained the handicapped because there no longer was an orphanage.
Homecoming in the fall of 1973 provided a memorable and ironic experience when the float titled “The Chicago Fire” pulled by the fire truck burst into flames during the parade. Using smoke bombs for special effects seemed like a good idea at the time.
By 1974, after the nationwide anti-Greek era, Delta-Nu began its climb back up the ladder. The active membership in this year reached seventy-nine.
Progress was not an overnight happening but reached a peak in 1977 when Delta Nu was named a Top Teke Chapter out of 310 chapters internationally. Also, another first for Delta Nu, was the selection of John Moore (697) as a Top Teke Individual Award recipient. Before the end of the decade Delta Nu would win two more Top Teke Chapter awards. This made three in five years.
On Campus TKE was winning the intramural Supremacy Trophy for three years in a row.
In 1977 the house at 222 W. Cooper was remodeled and a dormer added.
In 1979 Frater B. D. Owens (77) accepted the position of Grand Hegemon. He was also President of NWMSU at this time. The membership in this year including pledges reached 110 an all-time high for Delta-Nu.
Delta Nu in the 80’s
This decade started with Delta Nu being at the top and looking to stay there. They became the leaders on campus and would be involved in charity fund-raisers to the utmost. There were Jump-a-thons, Bike for St.Jude’s and later, Barrel Roll for St. Jude’s. At halftime of the Bearcats basketball games the Tekes of Delta Nu sponsored free throw contests.
During the decade Rush was exceptional beginning in the spring of 1983 under chairmen Ron Beaver and Chris Mooberry. A large pledge class of 46 nearly doubled the size of the chapter. A new emphasis was placed on ritual functions and scholastics. This helped the chapter achieve being named the Most Improved Chapter in the region.
During the middle 80’s the rules changed for Greek organizations. There was a “crackdown” by the ruling bodies of college campuses and “dry-rush” was one of the new rules. Also, first semester freshmen became eligible for pledgeship and a grade point of 2.0 was required.
Spring1983-Delta-Nu chapter had one of the largest Pledge classes in Delta-Nu history as well as the history of Northwest Missouri State University. The chapter had 47 active members and a spring 83′ bid day netting 46 Pledges. Not only did this surprise Prytanis Mark Witthar and the rest of the chapter, but Rush Chairmen, Chris Mooberry & Ron Beaver had surprised themselves, TKE international Rush coach, Mark Fite, had visited just prior to the spring rush. Some of the now famous rush parties that they lined up during his visit included: A Pac Man Party complete with video arcade games all over the house. As rushes and ladies entered the TKE house through an air-pumped Pac Man head’s mouth to join the party. The next night the Pac Man head became a pumped Izod Alligator as the theme for the night was A Preppy Party. It was straight out of “the Preppy Handbook”. Prior to bid day, the Delta-Nu Rush chairmen had one more trick up their sleeve. With the creativity of Frater Beaver, the TKE Island was born! A live waterfall graced the “Red Room” and Hawaiian garb adorned all the guests along with Tiki torches surrounding the outside of the TKE House and grounds.
With the 46 accepted bids for pledging, every member of the chapter had to have a pledge son with the one exception, Ron Beaver who also served as Hegemon. Needless to say, the campus, the community, the neighborhood knew of TKE since they had instantly doubled in manpower. Forty of these pledges went on to complete the pledge program after a memorable pledge skip to Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Spring 1984- TKE goes 7-0 in Greek Week Boxing!! Greek week 1984 was a proud moment for all the fraters of Delta-Nu. In the Greek Week boxing competition, TKE had more entrants than any other fraternity with a total of 7 TKE boxers. We surprised the other fraternities as Fraters Scott Meier, Mark Rinker, Tom Burson, Tony Dorrel, Curt Claycomb and Craig Shaw all scored victories. TKE had gone undefeated in the 1984 Greek night at the fights!! Most definitely a great night to be a Teke and a proud moment for the boxers of Delta-Nu.
Fall 1985- Homecoming was really a chore this year. According to Treasurer Jeff Rutledge, the budget was extremely tight and we did not have enough money to participate in the Homecoming parade.
Not having a float in the parade was not an option due to the backlash we feared from the TKE Alumni. Prytanis Steve Moss and Epiprytanis Jason Sloan went to Nodaway Valley Bank and approached Mr. Wiles, Chairman of the Delta-Nu board. The fearless TKE leaders proceeded to Mr. Wile’s desk where numerous fraters before had sat for guidance, assistance with balancing a check book (Their personal check books or the books of Delta-Nu.) or just to visit as was expected every so often. After the situation was presented, Mr. Wiles agreed that Delta-Nu must have a float entry. Our plan included the destruction of an old farmhouse to supply the lumber for the float construction and the house decoration. He liked the idea and even wrote us up a modest loan from the bank to purchase chicken wire. He proceeded to give us a pep talk and told us that if we won we could even make a little money on the deal!!
Being frustrated by the lack of progress, we urged the float chairman to dismantle the farmhouse, so the construction of the float could begin. With the reputations of the Prytanis and Epiprytanis on the line with Mr. Wiles we pulled several all-night float constriction sessions. Eventually, we were ready for the parade. The Phi Sigs, notorious for their float expertise had sound effects and a speaker system with their entry that year, so Frater Smith, thinking on his feet, recruited several other fraters who were hunters. They made duck calls and other animal noises from behind the scenes of Noah’s Ark, making the float really come to life! TKE took the first place trophy.
Mr. Wiles was right all along and we did make money on the float that year. What an experience!!
The years of 1985-1987 saw other awards being won . One of only five given internationally, Delta Nu was named a recipient of the TKE Public Relations Award. A Regional Outstanding Participation Award was also received.
On February 3, 1986 Delta Nu became the youngest chapter to initiate 1000 men into Tau Kappa Epsilon International Fraternity. The fortunate Frater was Kevin Rugaard.
Delta Nu in the 90’s
As the last decade of the millennium starts the Delta Nu Tekes are moving towards the top. Gaining the largest pledge class since 1986, they increased by 28. From the spring 1991 Delta Nu Review is an article that tells the story. (unfortunately no author was named).
“Every time a new member joins our fraternity of Tau Kappa Epsilon, they hear the word brotherhood over and over. It honestly takes time to develop the deep feelings for fraters’ beliefs and faults. Although brotherhood has been present in every generation of our chapter, it has just recently risen to the surface; making us really feel what it.
Three semesters ago our chapter fell to twenty-three members and faced huge financial difficulties, feeling as though we were buried in failure. These twenty-three members were forced to reflect on concepts taught to all fraters during the time of pledgeship. The result was every member picking up their weight and the weight of brothers who were not there. When the realization of where we were heading set in, every member responded as needed. Participation in rush, fund-raising and image building reached an incredible high.
In the last three semesters we have increased membership by an amazing two hundred percent; our active chapter now stands at seventy-one. We pride ourselves on the fact that our standards increased at the same time our membership did. When any of our members walk in our house and see the twenty-three-man composite next to the seventy-one-man composite, they know that we have become the meaning of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
On behalf of the chapter, we thank you, the guys who left us with values, heart, and a love for the place that really matters.”
The chapter won two international awards in 1992-93. One was for Recruitment and the other for Superior Chapter.
On campus they were also improving. During Greek Week they were awarded Most Spirited Greek Week Song, Outstanding Banner, and the most coveted, Overall Greek Games.
1993-94 brought another Top Teke Chapter Award with a superior rating. Also there was a National Alumni Award.
Darkness fell on Delta Nu, November 16, 1996, a fire that began on the south side of the third floor destroyed that floor and rendered the entire structure a complete loss. The fire was declared accidental by the fire marshal and business continued on for the Delta Nu as Frater Larry Apple made a space behind his business available. Losses included personal belongings of eight members, some files and the computer that had just been donated to the chapter that held alumni files. Fortunately, no one was injured and the scroll, all ritual equipment, original woodwork of the house and seventeen composites were recovered. After serving Delta Nu for thirty-seven years the structure at 222 W. Cooper was razed on January 18,1997.
Building the New House
Delta Nu reached another plateau on May 5, 1997 as seven new members were initiated. Among them was Brent Sneed, who received scroll number 1300. The total scroll reached 1303, which make Delta Nu the youngest chapter (109th) with a the most men initiated into membership.
Also in May of that year saw the first meeting of a group of fraters that would dedicate lots of time and energy during the next 2-3 years to place Delta Nu in position to become the first on NWMSU campus to build a house specifically to house a fraternity. On November 15,1997 groundbreaking ceremonies took place. It was a very cold and windy day at the 555W. 9th St. site but the ceremonies were well attended. Fraters representing each decade of the chapter since its inception would dig into a frozen ground to begin the “Dream “ of all fraters since 1954.
The active chapter did not fold after the devastating fire. At International Conclave in August 1997, Delta Nu, along with four other chapters received the Publication Relations Award for Excellence in communications with the public.
The chapter continued on, using a temporary “house” at 108 W. 5th St. that would be used as meeting room, social hall, rush parlor and any other purpose it needed to be for the next couple of years
This building was due to the generosity of Frater Larry Apple, the President of the Board of Control. Frater Apple would be one of the main persons in seeing that the new house gets erected.
Even without a house, rushes would be among the best on campus. At Homecoming in 1998 the chapter would place 2nd overall with several divisional first places. The above campus average for men, grade point of the actives and pledges put Delta Nu near the top of the Greek system scholastically.
Among the community projects carried out by the fraters were helping at a nursing home and helping Dr. Robert Foster, past-president of the university and father of Frater Bob Foster, rake his leaves in the fall.
Delta Nu in the 00’s
The 5th decade of Delta-Nu Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon is packed with many awards both locally and nationally as well as some significant challenges. As always the young men of Delta-Nu have demonstrated their belief in the fraternity’s motto: “Better Men for a Better World” and met all challenges as has become the traditional fashion of Delta-Nu. Thanks to good leadership, hard work and dedication.
The 2004-05 school year was led by Jason Mehrhoff, 1422. The fall pledge class led to the initiation of 26 new fraters while the spring class added 6 more.
The chapter gained 26 new fraters from the fall class, which was the biggest rush class in over five or six years. Recruitment had been down for a few years and because of low numbers we were not only working to be “Top on Campus” but we were looking to keep our house and stay oncampus. However, in true TKE style with the help of national, alumni fraters, and actives we were able to step up to the challenge and sign over 40 pledges. We incorporated more rush techniques and used more resources to recruit top notch pledges. Another item that was different from the past was a changing role of Rush chairs as the ones that would get the events taken care of instead of doing most of the rushing. The rushing was up to the chapter as a whole and the actives stepped up to the challenge in a big way. The pledge class was actually larger than the active Frater numbers. This class not only infused new life back into Delta-Nu, but also into the entire Northwest Community with new dynamic campus leadership.
The chapter was not without growing pains during this school year, but was able to use the new recruits to gain more membership in leadership positions on campus and perform better in Homecoming and Greek Week. TKE placed first in Jalopy for Homecoming and second overall in Greek Week.
In 2005,Jordan Lenger, 1438, served as Prytanis in the fall and Keaton Guess, 1444, as Prytanis in the spring. The fall pledge class included 19 new initiates and the spring class added 2 more.
2006-2007
The chapter was next led by Prytanis Michael Russell, 1467, in the fall and spring, the chapter pledged 26 new initiates in the fall and 3 in the spring.
The chapter experienced an excellent year and won several awards from TKE National including:
– Award of Excellence/Academic Success
– Award of Excellence/Alumni Relations
– Award of Excellence/ Chapter Size
– Award of Excellence/Community Service
– Award of Excellence/Extracurricular Activities
– Award of Excellence/Recruitment Results
Topping off the list of National Awards was the chapters’ 6th Top TEKE Chapter recognition. What a great year!
Frater Russell has gone on to serve Tau Kappa Epsilon by making his services available to the Office of the Grand Chapter at the International Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN.
The chapter was next led during the 2007-08 school year by Cameron Hill, 1491. The best way to follow up a 2006-07 Top TEKE Chapter winner, of course was to come through with another Top TEKE Award for a second straight year making it a total of 7 for the life of the chapter. The chapter also won Awards of Excellence in Academic Success; Alumni Relations; Chapter Size; Community Service; Extracurricular Activities and Recruitment Results with a Top 5 Recruiting Class Award initiating 25 in the fall and 2 in the spring.
This year the chapter focused more on campus involvement. Over 70 % of the active chapter members were involved in two or more campus organizations other than TKE. The chapter was very successful in Homecoming and Greek Week as Jordan Lenger was named Zeus of Greek Week and the TKEs made a serious push for overall supremacy points during Homecoming activities for the first time in years. To top it all off, 555 W. 9th Street had a full load of actives living in the house. Seniors to sophomores, all rooms and halls were full and there wasn’t a better place to live in Maryville. This made for exciting times during mixers with all the sororities on campus and annual philanthropy events like Trick or Treat for Cans, Rock Out for Alzheimer’s and Camping for Cans. Others serving as jeweled officers were, Vice President External, Joe Masciovecchio, Vice President Internal, Vince Tobin, Treasurer, Tom Hutchinson, Secretary, Todd Sexton, Historian, Joel Gordon, Chaplin, Chris Williams and Sergeant-at-Arms, Alex Smith
Cam Hill, 1491, led the chapter in the fall of 2008 and passed the leadership torch to Todd Sexton during the spring of 2009. Nineteen new initiates were added in the fall and two more in the spring. The chapter continued to do well in all aspects of the fraternity winning national awards for Most Improved Chapter; Excellence in Academic Success, Chapter Size, Community Service and Extracurricular Activities. They also received Honorable Mention for Alumni Relations and Recruitment Results. Homecoming was another big success with the Fraters placing 1st in Clowns, 2nd in Jalopy, 2nd in Mini-float with the Tri Sig’s, 2nd in Skit with the Phi Mu and 4th in Float. In the spring Jordan Stephens was crowned Zeus during Greek Week which made it the third consecutive year that Delta-Nu was honored.
As always, the chapter was very involved in philanthropic activities which included “Rock for Alzheimer’s” and “Trick or Treating for Cans” in the fall and “Camping for Cans” in the spring which brought in hundreds of pounds of food for the Maryville Food Pantry. Topping off a good year, the chapter earned the best GPA for all fraternities on campus for the spring.
During the spring of 2008, the Delta-Nu’s chapter web site, www.nwtke.com, got a major facelift. Several new features were added including an excellent Frater Search feature which makes it very easy to find in many cases addresses, phone numbers and in some cases an email address for long lost friends.
Delta-Nu alumnus Michael Russell joined the TKE HQ staff as an Expansion Consultant with the goal of growing Tau Kappa Epsilon. Frater Russell pledged in the fall of 2005 and later served the chapter as Rush Chair, Grammateus, Prytanis and Philanthropy Chair qhich gave him a well-rounded view of what it takes to make a great chapter.
Alumni Chapter began a big push to become more effective and relevant for all alumni members and to support the active chapter. The Board of Advisors increased its efforts to build the Alumni Association, to continue to grow its scholarship assets, to help the active chapter in recruitment and management, and to improve the infrastructure of the fraternity house. Continued improvements in the chapter’s website added new features and improved layout.
Philanthropy: Working with the women of Alpha Sigma Alpha, TEKEs were able to collect nearly 400 pounds of canned food for the Maryville Food Pantry during the “Trick or Treat for Cans” event. The 3rd annual “Rock Out for Alzheimer’s” was held with two live bands playing at the TKE house with over 250 paid attendants to help raise over $1,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association. Others serving as jeweled officers were: Vice President External, Tommy Hester
Vice President Internal – David Lewey, Treasurer, Nate Retzlaff, Secretary, Joe Herman, Historian, Kyle Andrew, Chaplin, Joe Masciovecchio and Sergeant-at-Arms, Brian Ascheman
Delta Nu in the 10’s
After a very successful Rush to start the 2009 -2010 school year, the chapter pledged 34 young men with 30 making it all the way. This was the largest pledge class on campus.
Frater Kenneth Hamilton, 1436, took over as Prytanis in the spring of 2010 and helped lead the chapter to another round of national awards including: Most Improved Chapter; Excellence in Alumni Relations, Chapter Size and Community Service as well as Honorable Mention for Academic Success and Recruitment Results.
Philanthropy: The men of Tau Kappa Epsilon once again continued the tradition of Trick or Treat for Cans with Alpha Sigma Alpha and collected canned good items for the Maryville food pantry. The 4th Annual TKE concert was held at the house, but actives voted to donate the money raised to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The combined brotherhood event and philanthropic activities associated with “Camping for Cans” were continued in the spring.
In the fall of 2010 Joe Masciovecchio was elected homecoming King and also hosted the annual variety show. TKE participated in the variety show with Phi Mu, in float with Alpha Sigma Alpha, and mini-float with Tri Sigma.
School spirit was high this year as the Bearcats, under Coach Mel Tjeerdsma, won their 3rd National Championship in 12 years at D-II. As always, TEKEs were there to support the team. Go Bearcats!
The 2010 Red Carnation Ball was held in Centerville, Iowa at the Honey Creek Resort. Attendance was outstanding and a great time was had by all. Frater Tommy Hester was selected as the Active Frater of the Year and Gunner Sumy was selected as the New Member of the Year.
Kansas City area alumni also have become very active and held their annual Bowling Tournament. Fraters Yeager, Batiner, Dorrell, Ooton and Brightwell rolled the fewest gutters, thus took home the new traveling trophy for the year. The active chapter held a ‘Work Weekend’ in April with all of the actives coming to the house to do general cleanup, painting, yard work and power washing. It proved to be a very successful weekend. Flowers for new landscaping were donated by the Maryville Hy-Vee and a portion of the flowers (and flower pots) were given to the Women’s Shelter of Maryville.
Also during the spring, the chapter placed 2nd in the annual Greek Week competition. The TKE chariot was the victor, as Zeus candidate Zach Crawford, towed by Tommy Hester and Sean O’Gara, finished the 100 yard sprint first. Joe Sanders constructed the magnificent feat of engineering that carried Zach to the Promised Land.
Frater Gunner Sumy, 1564, was the recipient of the Blue Key Honor Society’s Outstanding Freshman Leadership Award. He was also named the IFC Student of the Month and received the IFC outstanding scholar award for that semester. Good job Gunner.
In national news, Frater Brooks Swanson received a position with TKE National and Frater Michael Russell got a promotion to Region 4 Director.
The 2010-11 school year started with another successful rush with 28 new pledges and the high expectations that the active chapter always sets for itself.
For community service and philanthropic activities, the chapter elected to: power wash several university buildings, repaint a porch for a Maryville citizen, clean the creek and street area around the house, can recycling, and the 5th Annual Rock Out at the TKE House for St. Jude’s raising $1,100. Recent alumni Tommy Hester and his band from Omaha Nebraska headlined the event. Twenty actives also took part in the Jennifer Suhr Walk for Asthma and helped raise over $5,500 total. Jennifer is the late wife of TKE Frater Troy Suhr. Throughout the year TKE totaled more than 7,000 philanthropic man-hours, thanks to the lead of external Epi-Prytanis Chris Fuller.
Dick Wiles Bell Dedication: A new bell and stand were dedicated in the name of Frater Dick Wiles with actives and alumni both involved in the program. The event started with a TKE Tailgate party at the house with a lot of tasty food. Most of the Wiles Family were present for the dedication of the bell in the name of the late Frater Wiles. The Wiles family was very touched and moved by the ceremony and the amount of time and detail that the chapter put into the event. The day ended with a slide show of Dick and Marcella’s life together in the newly renovated Chapter room. The slide show was created by Frater Hal Martens.
Frater Jeff Borchardt, CEO and President of the Kansas City Board of Trade, gave a very inspiring key note address centered around having respect for our fraternity traditions and to be vigilant caretakers of the Chapter House so that both could be passed on to future Delta-Nu Tekes. With 158 alumni and actives and guest present, this was a very good day for all. Other events included a concert at the TKE House in November to benefit breast cancer research. Frater Cole Deshler among others provided entertainment.
Frater Kenneth Hamilton, 1436, chapter Prytanis, was elected to the IFC Vice President of Membership and Recruitment.
The Rah-rah jacket makes a big comeback. The jacket was very popular during the 60s and 70s but faded out for a while and is now starting to pop up again. That’s a good thing.
The 2011-12 school year started out on a high note with an alumni/active work weekend toward the end of July. Twenty-one alumni and 15 actives joined forces to paint, clean and do general repair work in the house in preparation for the new school year. Much of the 11-year old carpet was also replaced. Chaired by Steve Fox, 806, the weekend was a tremendous success. Good job Steve.
Frater Bobbie Nielsen, 640, was selected to chair the project to restore many of the composites that had been lost during the fire that destroyed the TKE house at 222 W. Cooper. He also oversaw the replacement of those lost due to the ravages of time and neglect. Many fraters were involved and supported this project including Fraters Tim Golden, Ryan Jackson, Mike Reiff, Hal Martens and Richard Reetz but before the project could be completed, tragedy struck again: Fire at the TKE House the weekend before school was to start was deliberately set and did more than $650,000 damage to the property. The members of the Property Board scrambled to find other accommodations for the 32 men that had signed to live in the house for the first semester.
The fire was reported in the early morning hours while three members of the undergraduate chapter attended the Tau Kappa Epsilon Bi-Annual Conclave in San Antonio in August of 2011. Prytanis Gunner Sumy, External Epiprytanis Nathan Beaver, and House Manager Joe Sanders, along with BOA VP Frater Brad Shelton, were just waking up at 6:00 AM, of the second day of Conclave. Frater Shelton received a call from Campus security that the TKE house was on fire. The officers and alumni who were attending Conclave proceeded to contact all the active members of the chapter to spread word of the tragedy to the rest of the membership and TKE alumni.
The following report was sent out by Mark Witthar, 853, Chairman of the Board of Advisors, for Delta-Nu:
“Dear Fraters, as you know by now we had a fire at our house the morning of August 5th. Just prior to the fire many hours of work were put into new paint, carpet, restored composites, etc. We had spent almost $25,000 in repairs and upgrades. The good news is some of those items had not yet been installed (flat screen TV, new router, etc.). On top of the fire, we had a second loss the evening of August 18th with a violent hailstorm that created a second insurance claim and a whole new roof! It was determined that the fire was intentionally set. The authorities are still looking for the culprit(s) and a $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.”
Maryville Frater Bill Ingels, 508, became the General Contractor for all of the fire restoration and repairs and oversaw the upgrades to the house. Through his leadership the TKE House is better and safer than ever. Major safety improvements included sprinkler system and security system installs. Bill was able to get the house back to a point where some actives could move in for the second semester. Great job Bill!!
Gunner Sumy, 1564, was the Prytanis during this difficult period and the active chapter rallied around Frater Gunner and the other officers and we completed an outstanding year. Starting with a strong rush that pledged 39 new members, the chapter was off to a good year on campus.
Gunner: “The fire was definitely the low point of the summer for the actives but we did have some outstanding accomplishments to somewhat negate the news. The very day we heard about the awful tragedy, we also received five of the six excellence awards at Conclave – Recruitment-Chapter Size, Involvement-Alumni Relations, Involvement-Community Service, Achievement-Academic Success, and Achievement-Extracurricular Activities.”
Delta-Nu was referenced several times in the August 2011 Teke Magazine as the chapter won several Excellence Awards. Ms. Candice Wolf, NWMSU Greek Life Administrator was recognized by the magazine for her work in helping the chapter through these difficult times.
Gunner Sumy also received the Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Scholarship Award.
The chapter was spread out throughout several satellite houses in the fall, but did not miss a beat. It was truly a testament to the brotherhood TKE cherishes. Hypophetes Brock Spinner led the brotherhood charge, planning a TKE active retreat. Rush went very well with 28 new initiates ranking them in the Top 10 in the TKE Nation. The TKE Welcome Scholarship was a very positive influence on the rush process. In the fall, the chapter finishing 2nd in float during homecoming and again crowned a homecoming king, with Gunner Sumy taking the award. The fire did not slow down the chapter as they remained very involved in campus life, holding 11 campus leadership positions as well as participating in 10 intramural sports leagues and claiming four championships in team sports.
During the spring of 2011, Frater Chris Kerwin, 1578, was elected Prytanis. Under his leadership the chapter made an effortless transition moving back into the newly refurbished TKE house. Chris noted that the chapter recovered well from the fire and that 21 men were able to move back into the house for the second semester.
In the end, Delta-Nu received another of the highest honors given out to TKE chapters nationwide as they were recognized as a Top TKE Chapter for the 2011-12 school year. This is the third time in the past five years that Delta-Nu has been so recognized and the eighth overall.
Gunner Sumy summed up the year by stating, “TKE has always prided itself on having a diverse group of men. From intramural champions to Student Ambassadors to Northwest athletes, the chapter continues to bring together men, not for wealth, rank or honor, but for personal worth and character.”
After the fire in August 2011, the men of Delta-Nu still found ways to excel. The Delta-Nu Alumni Association worked tirelessly throughout the fall to rebuild and upgrade the TKE House. In addition to the reconstruction that needed to be done, student safety was made a top priority with the installation of a state-of-the-art fire sprinkler system and security monitoring system. Insurance money does not always cover all of the losses. The alumni of Delta- Nu came through once more and with the donations of many, were able to help cover the cost of the additional expenses needed to bring the house up to our new standards. Thanks to all who helped and to Steve Moss, 927, for his leadership in this fund raising endeavor.
Chris Fuller, 1538, became Prytanis in the fall of 2011 when Frater Kerwin became too ill to return to Northwest and Max Sollars served as Prytanis for the 2012 spring and 2013 fall semesters.
Rush produced 24 new pledges with Hegemon Nate Beaver, 1552, leading the way to help prepare these young men what it meant to be a Delta-Nu TKE. Nate is the son of Delta-Nu Frater and former Hegemon Frater Ron Beaver, 858, another proud legacy.
To begin the year’s philanthropy events, Delta-Nu joined with Alpha Sigma Alpha for a bowl-a-thon to help raise money for Special Olympics. A pool tournament was also held at Frater Carson’s Sports Grill in downtown Maryville. Scholarship: Some changes to the TKE Scholarship for Delta-Nu Active Members were changed to better reward the actives for their commitment to TKE and to academic excellence. The scholarship will now be shared by all Tekes who live in the house and have attained 3.5 cumulative GPA.
The Peter Greve Memorial Scholarship winner this year has become the first to join Delta-Nu TKE as winner Wyatt Long pledged this fall. Congratulations Wyatt.
Frater Phil Burmeister -315, donated 100s of hours refinishing the trophy case and china cabinet from the old TKE house at 222 W Cooper to its old glory.
The trophy case is now displayed in the main entry way and the china cabinet serves as a mail center near the back entrance.
Community Service and Philanthropy projects has Delta-Nu Tekes logging more than 4,236 hours in 10 projects including rebuilding buildings, cleaning residence halls, parking lots and streets; donating time to the Humane Society, performing skits at the Greek Night Live event and raised more than $1,000 and toys for the Children’s miracle Network. More than $1,000 was raised for St. Jude Hospital with the Rock Off concert and also made donations to other charitable groups of more than $7,335.
Extracurricular activities saw TKEs winning championships in 4 intramural sports and 13 members in leadership positions in other campus organizations in addition to holding 9 mixers with sororities on campus.
In addition to all the philanthropic activities of the chapter, Delta-Nu did extremely well in intramurals taking 1st is basketball and ping pong and 2nd in football, walleyball and 3 on 3 basketball giving them the overall title for the year. School spirit and support of NW athletics won the chapter a cash prize for their support of the basketball team. The chapter plans on having a tent set up for all home football games.
TKE was also well represented on the Student Senate with three members as officers. Max Sollars was the treasurer for the IFC, Tobias Weddle was initiated into Blue Key and Brock Spinner served as the President of Blue Key. Being the most involved and supportive of campus activities is a major goal for Delta-Nu.
During the summer of 2013 Fraters Cory Jung, 1587, and Tobias Weddle, 1597, attended the TKE Conclave in Washington, DC. Delta-Nu received several awards including Excellence in Campus Involvement, Alumni Relations, Chapter Size and Chapter Recruitment. Frater B.D. Owens, 77, was inducted into the TKE Educational Foundation Circle of Excellence and Frater Gunner Sumy received the highest honor that TKE International gives to undergraduates, The Top Teke Award.
Frater Gunner is the 4th Delta-Nu Frater in our 60 year history to win this award. The other 3 winners were Frater John Moore, 697, Frater Steve Moss, 927, and Frater Mark Gerling, 1044. Another fantastic year for Delta-Nu!
Delta-Nu’s 60th year is being led by Frater Max Sollars, 1592, in the fall and Frater Jesse Birkenholz, 1612, in the spring as Prytanis.
History of Tau Kappa Epsilon
Founded in 1899, Tau Kappa Epsilon is the world’s largest social fraternity, with over 257,000 initiated members and more than 291 undergraduate chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada. The TKE Vision is to be the best lifelong collegiate social fraternity; the TKE Mission is to aid men in their mental, moral, and social development for life; and the TKE Purpose is to contribute to the advancement of society through the personal growth of our members, and service to others.
The men of Delta-Nu Chapter are proud to have been a part of this tremendous journey for the past 60 years and look forward to the future in building ‘Better Men for a Better World.’ This plaque now hangs in the house.
The History of the TKE Crest Display is now also in the house.
First Prytanis of Delta-Nu
In the fall of 1951 a young man started at NW after graduating from Maitland,MO in a class of 12 students. “I forewent invitations to join the other two fraternities as I saw no point in the degradation that occurred through the typical hazing of hell week, or whatever it was called.” When the TKE colony was formed in 1953, this college student remembers being impressed by the TKE National Grand Prytanis. Although he cannot remember his name, he recalls that he was an attorney from Kansas City. “I was impressed with his remarks and his sense of humor.” The rest is history and J. D. Hammond became the first Delta-Nu Prytanis.
Some more memories of the fledgling days of the newest fraternity on the NW campus as recalled by Frater Hammond; “During my last two years at Northwest, I served on the Student Senate and as Vice—President of the Student Body. Though I believe it was the year after I left, there was the Homecoming parade float of TKE, which caught on fire. Gold-sprayed torchbearers did not count on the wind blowing flames into the flammable materials of the float. That event made national news and occurred, I believe in the fall of 1955. The TKE chapter’s homecoming skit was superb; with the Knights of the Roundtable performing right on the edge of what was then permissible on campus. As a matter of fact, we had to change a line or two for the second performance. One line, which was axed, was: “Enough of this chit chat about chatting about chit.” Another era.
There was, of course, no chapter house and our meetings were held in the student union. All paraphernalia was stored there as well. The faculty advisor was John Taylor and an outside board advisor was John Mauzey who owned the Time and Gift Shop in Maryville. His wife Elaine, was a Professor of French.
Delta-Nu was not quickly accepted by the other fraternities, but success in recruiting showed we were there to stay. Northwest at that time had something under 700 students, and it was easy to know most everyone on campus. The football team was a far cry from the present Bearcats. The late Ryland Milner was the coach.
Northwest was a life-changing experience for me and that is owed to the close relationships that existed between faculty and students. One faculty member in particular, Sterling Surrey, changed it all for me and another, John Harr, had a significant impact. So did TKE. It was quite a triumph to have a fraternity that valued the worth of individual dignity.’
Dr. J.D. Hammond, 1955 graduate NWMSU, doctorate from Univ. of Penn., assistant professor at Ohio State, associate professor Penn State (1964), and Dean of Smeal College of Business (11 yrs.).
Frater Hammond has interest in golf, reading and speed, having driven a NASCAR race vehicle at 154mph on the Charlotte track. Professionally, he continues to serve on corporate boards in NY and Boston. Frater Hammond was named a Distinguished Alumni of NWMSU in 1976.
House Mothers of Delta-Nu
In a Delta-Nu Review dated May 1962, Frater Norm Wilcox summed up the appreciation that must, he afforded to the Housemothers of Delta-Nu over the years. Here in part, is what he said.
“…Of all the girls that 1 have known, the dearest one to me…”
My girl is certainly the dearest of all that both my fraters and I have ever known.
“…is the girl who wears above her heart, the badge of TKE.”
Not only does she wear a Teke Badge, but also a white blazer, in which she attends all teas and other college functions in order to shed a better light on TKE. But, this Teke sweetheart not only wears TKE, she works, lives, puts up with, and smooths the rough edges of Tau Kappa Epsilon.
” No other girl could he so fair, so loyal and so true.”
How much truer could any girl be than one who doctors us through ill-health, sews our clothes, plans our meals, fixes our refreshments, polishes our many crude manners, and advises fraters and pledges alike.
As far as loyalty is concerned, how could any girl be more loyal than one who has gone steady with the same group of men? Can you imagine being a mother to all the Fraters and pledges that have gone through the halls of Delta-Nu?”
Delta-Nu Bells
When the old Teke bell became cracked like the Liberty Bell this fall, the word went out that the famed Teke bell (which was rung at all the football games) would ring no more. However, as in the past, the Tekes were not down for long.
We, the men of Delta-Nu chapter, are now the proud possessors of a marvelous 30-inch church bell mounted on a sporty trailer. This accomplishment was not an easy one. Here is the story.
After the bell was cracked while ringing at a football game, our ambitious house manager, John Campbell, came up with the idea of getting a bigger and better one to replace it-“upward and onward”. John found an old church near his home town which was purchased for use as a corncrib. This is where we purchased the bell. Getting the bell down from the steeple is a story in itself.
John came and asked the men of the chapter to mount the bell on a trailer. Frater Steve Drake’s father built the trailer.
The bell was then returned to the Teke house garage with its new car-carriage. Frater Paul Walker, Frater Kent Bryan, and Frater Steve Drake then proceeded to paint our new creation. After it was painted, Drake painted a coat of arms and a big TKE on the bell part. They finished just in time for the fall smoker. There it was an A-number-one exhibit.
The men of Delta-Nu were planning to pull the bell in the homecoming parade and ring it at the game, but . . . first of all the car that was to pull the bell in the parade overheated part way through the parade. The bell was returned to the house, but . . . the cast mountings (which were meant for sitting in the top of a church) broke from the vibrations while driving over the Maryville streets. The bell collapsed in front of the house; its frame shattered.
There was a mad scramble to try to get the bell frame repaired in time for the homecoming game, but it was too badly damaged.
The men returned the dilapidated bell and carriage to Steve Drake’s father’s welding shop where they braced it up with steel supports. Fraters Walker and Drake restored the beauty to, the masterpiece. The bell is now rolling and ringing and it is a prized possession of Delta-Nu in front of the new house at 555 West 9th Street.
Fire Truck History
The inspiration for the Delta-Nu fire truck began in the spring of 1962. As a sophomore in high school Alan Peterson (379) attended the celebration of Veisha at Iowa State University. While staying at the Farmhouse Fraternity with his friend, he noticed a lot of activity at the fraternity across the street. In the midst of building a large float, he saw a Red Fire Truck coming in and out of the other fraternity’s parking lot with several sorority girls riding on top. A few minutes later a second fire truck appeared doing the same thing. On both trucks appeared the big letters “TKE”, a sight he never forgot.
Alan enrolled at Northwest Missouri State University in the fall of 1964 and pledged TKE the spring of 1965. During the summer of ’65, with the memory of that weekend at ISU, he began looking for a special red fire truck to take back to NWMSU. With luck, a truck was found in the small town of Griswold, Iowa only 16 miles from his home. Alan and Danny Josephson, his pledge brother and roommate, purchased the truck from the city of Griswold for $500.00. With an oil change, it was ready for the road and the trip to Maryville that fall.
Insuring it was the next hurdle for the fraternity. By insuring it as a farm truck and registering Alan and Danny as the only drivers, the truck was finally ready to become part of Delta-Nu’s history. The TKE Fire Truck was an active part of Delta-Nu during the fall of 65, spring of 66 and fall of 66. It was a frequent visitor at the girls’ dorm throughout the spring and fall of each year. Bill Yeager also remembers that duringthe Holiday Season, the TKE Fire Truckwas taken to some retirement homes, St Francis hospital and to an orphanage with several Fraters dressed up as Santa Claus. The older residents and the children were amazed to see and hear the truck and to see multiple Santa Claus’s come to visit them.
During pledge training the history of Delta-Nu and the fire truck was revealed through photo albums and tales told by the actives. As new pledge classes replaced the old, the truck was stored on the Peterson Farm for several years. It wasn’t until the spring of 1973 that a serious effort was made to find the old truck and bring it back to Delta-Nu. The 1940 Ford, with a Flathead V-8, was in excellent condition and started almost immediately.
An ownership group was formed that included Randy Buxton (602), Brian Lahafer (564), Gary Heuwinkel (593), Tim Tieg (629) and Bruce Barlow (533). The active chapter set up a fire truck fund with small dues paid by the members that enabled the truck to be insured, maintained, and full of fraters whenever there was an activity.
The fire truck had a huge impact on promoting TKE from the time it was brought to campus. The truck was used for all kinds of campus activities from picking up a sorority for a mixer to attending a football game. The University halted driving the truck into the stadium for football games, because too many fraters and dates were riding into the game in the back and they felt it was too much of a security risk.
There are many tales of the truck, but probably the most infamous was its use in the Homecoming Parade in the fall of 1973. The float was titled “The Great Chicago Fire” and was pulled in the parade by the fire truck. With borrowed fire helmets, coats, and a Dalmatian Dog, the truck was in full fire ready appearance. The float was built on a flatbed trailer depicting high rise buildings with flames and people trying to get out of the windows. Rumor has it that at pre-judging, the TKE float was ranked in first place. The sad thing was it didn’t make it to the judging stand.
Several fraters were inside the float burning smoke bombs in coffee cans to give the float a realistic effect of smoke billowing out of the top of the buildings, and it worked for several blocks. Something went wrong in the back and the crepe paper on the side of the float caught fire. The float went up in flames. The Maryville Fire Department was leading the parade with their fire truck and in “Animal House” fashion the truck turned around and came back down the parade route scattering cheerleaders, bands, clowns and other floats. By the time the city fire truck arrived, everyone had bailed out safely and all that was left was a charred mass of 2x4s and chicken wire attached to the flat bed. Seeing no need to continue on down the parade route, the crowd parted and the fire truck headed towards 222 W Cooper. All the hard work and fun put into the float by the chapter had gone up in smoke in less than a minute.
Graduation has a lot of different effects on students, but the most telling for our fire truck was that as all the owners graduated and left Delta-Nu, those who remained were unprepared to take over the ownership. Randy Buxton eventually took the truck to his home in Creston, Iowa in the Fall of 1975.
It stayed stored in his machine shed for several years and then out of the blue Randy received a phone call from a member of the Griswold, Iowa Fire Department. It was the man whose father had originally purchased the truck for Griswold and he had been trying to locate it for some time.
Good News: The truck was pulled out of the shed and it fired right over. It was returned to its original home at the Griswold Fire Department and was restored to its original condition. The Griswold Fire Department now uses the truck for parades and display.
More good news: The TKE Fire Truck returned to Delta-Nu for the weekend of the 60th Anniversary Celebration on Friday and Saturday, May 30 and 31, 2014. Jim Wyman of the Griswold Volunteer Fire Department brought the fire truck to Maryville for the big event. We thanked them for their support of this event as the fire truck was a great attraction for many fraters who were able to experience firsthand making memories with the beloved TKE Fire Truck.
Awards won by Delta-Nu and it’s members since 1954
Top Teke Chapter Awards
TKE Youngest Chapter to initiate 1,000 Men – 1986
Individual Awards Won by Delta-Nu Actives and Alumni
TKE International Hall of Fame
– B.D. Owens (77)
Top Teke Individual Award
– John F. Moore (697) 1978
– Stephen E. Moss (927) 1986
– Mark D. Gerling (1044) 1991
– Gunner Sumy (1564) 2012
TKE International Key Leader
– Richard W. Wiles (365) 1976
– Keith J. Jorgensen (438) 1992
– Paul R. Northup (350) 1994
– Stephen E. Moss, CFC (927) 2004
TKE International Knights of Apollo (former TKE HQ staff)
– Dale Cooper (110)
– Pete J. Greve (580)
– Stephen E. Moss, CFC (927)
– Michael Russell (1467)
TKE International Triangle Award
– B.D. Owens (77) 1977
Order of Omega National Greek Honorary Society
– Steve Moss (927) 1988
– Wm. Keaton Guess (1444) 2006
– Cameron Hill (1491) 2009
Top TKE Recruiter – TKE International
– Kenneth J. Hamilton (1436) 2007, 2008
TKE International Volunteer of the Month
– Daniel R. Canchola (873) May 2005
– Brad Shelton (651) November 2010
Distinguished Young Alumni Award – Northwest Missouri State University
– Wm. Keaton Guess (1444) 2014
Northwest Turret Alumni Service Award
– Dan Runde (842) 2012
– Don Beeson (78) 1988
Northwest Distinguished Alumni Award
– Richard W. Wiles (365) 2004
– John Moore (697) 2001
– Donald Beeson (78) 1992
– J.D. Hammond- (21)1976
– Jack A. Kinder- (27)1973
– Dr. B.D. Owens (77) 1972
Distinguished Northwest Faculty Award
– Russ Northup (350) 2004
Distinguished Northwest Faculty Emeritus Award
– Dr. Ed Farquhar (62) 2012
Scholarship Winners
All Teke Academic Teke Scholarship
– Ross B. Crouch (1399) 2005
– Cameron Hill (1491) 2008
TEF Member’s Scholarship
– Michael W. Reiff (1120) 1992
Wallace G. McCauley Memorial Scholarship TEF
– Mathew R. Sevart (1347) 2001
Raymond W. Franklin Scholarship TEF
-Michael Russell (1467) 2012
Lon G. Justice Scholarship TEF
-Gunnerson Sumy (1564) 2012
Delta-Nu Fraters who served on Northwest Foundation Inc. Board of Directors
Don Beeson (78) President
Gweldon Long (63) President
Art Jablonski (604) President
Bob Cotter (212) President
Dan Runde (842) President
Current member on the Northwest Foundation Inc. Board
Jeff Borchardt (419-146)
Owen Straub (961)
Delta-Nu Housing Corporation Board Chairmen
John Mauzey (38) 1958-1963
Richard Wiles (365) 1964-1988
Todd Schuler (871) 1989-1993
Larry Apple (325) 1994-2005
Dan Canchola (873) 2005-2006
Mark Witthar (853) 2006-Present
Chapter Advisors
John S. Taylor (Alpha Chapter)
John L. Thompson (33)
Charles L. Johnson (41)
Leon Miller (45)
Edward L. Farquhar (62)
Peter A. Jackson (169)
B.D. Scott (223)
Paul R. (Russ) Northup (350)
Burton L. Richey (362)
Richard Wiles (365)
Ron Woolsey (633)
Jeff McNeely (818)
Bill Coit (942)
Bill Disney (Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity)
Mark ‘Coach’ Rosewell (Theta Chi Fraternity)
Tracy Bottoms (1174)
Matt Johnson (1230)
Coach Matt Johnson
Top Teke Individuals
The TOP TEKE individual award is designed to honor those undergraduate leaders who exemplify the ideals of Tau Kappa Epsilon. These men are individuals who have been involved in all phases of fraternity activity….chapter, campus, community, athletic, philanthropic, and academic. TOP TEKES contribute to their individual chapters and the International Fraternity far beyond basic expectations. Their dedication to the chapter, scholastic achievement, and the campus community, in which they live, has earned the respect of all Tau Kappa Epsilon. Delta-Nu has had four men achieve this high honor.
1978 — John Moore (697) Frater Moore was Delta-Nu Prytanis in 1977 and then became the Regional Officer for the area surrounding Delta-Nu.
1986 — Steve Moss (927) Frater Moss served as Prytanis, Rush chairman, social chairman, and IFC representative. In addition to his involvement as an officer, Steve served on several chapter committees and represented Delta-Nu in intramural competition. Steve later became the McNutt Regional President. He was responsible for 52 chapters in the Midwest.
1991 — Mark Gerling (1044) Frater Gerling served two terms as Prytanis, 1988-1990. The events that brought Mark the Top Teke Award are described here in his own words.
“When I was elected Prytanis in 1988 we were down to approximately 26 fraters that were active. As a group we truly joined together as brothers and swore we were not going to let TKE die at NWMSU. When I stepped down from my second term as president of TKE we were 90+ strong, at the top on campus. Sure my award was given to me because I was president, and I was involved at home civically, but the award really went to the chapter and my brothers who strived so hard to make our chapter a TOP TEKE chapter. I will never forget receiving my award in New Orleans in August of 1991, and being so proud to say I was a TKE.”
2013 –Gunner Sumy (1564) Frater Sumy pledged in the Fall of 2009 and majored in Political Science and served the chapter as Internal VP; Prytanis, Rush Chair and Senior at Large. On campus he was in Blue Key/President, NW Ambassadors/President, Student Senate/V President, Order of Omega, Alpha Chi Honor Society and Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honorary.
“Joining TKE was the best decision I ever made in college. It provided an amazing experience alongside the best friends I could ever ask for. My time in TKE taught me many skills and opened my eyes to leadership. Serving on the TKE exec board is similar to running a small business. There are many facets to the fraternity, and overlooking those facets was an invaluable experience. Everyday brought forward a new lasting memory. Delta-Nu offers an amazing opportunity for all members of the bond to create new memories of their own.”
Past Prytanis List
| Reid Anderson (8) Colony President J.D. Hammond (21) Bill Hunt (25) Richard Dinkel (13) Bill Morse (74) Dave Hansen (81) Hugh Hadden (113) Dick Krambeck (147) Dick Devers (190) Bob Lewellen (269) Bob Cotter (212) Phil Burmeister (315) Ron Howitt (373) Bill Andrews (367) John Mundy (421) – deceased Steve Connor (406) Leroy Kariker (456) David White (524) Bill Lantz (500) – deceased Boyd Campbell (534) Merle Jones (541) Pete Greve (580) Benson Krull (595) Dick Rabenold (626) Brad Shelton (651) John Moore (697) Tom Mussalem (737) Glen Gude (730) Steve Brightwell (775) Jeff McNeely (818) – deceased | Mark Witthar (853) Dan Canchola (873) Chris Sams (870) Steve Moss (927) Randy Wolf (970) Rodney Hernandez (964) Kevin Rugaard (1000) Erich Beeson (992) Brett Cooper (1046) Mark Gerling (1044) Kip Hilsabeck (1047) Todd Hansen (1073) Dustin Bieghler (1101) Chris Johnson (1167) Tracy Bottoms (1174) Joe Brannen (1221) Chris Peasley (1248) Bill Eckles (1244) Kent Turpin (1259) Bryan Hyer (1316) Jake Akehurst (1329) Brian Carroll (1354) Brent Steffens (1384) Juon Brandon (1379) Jason Merhoff (1422) Jordan Lenger (1438) Keaton Guess (1444) Michael Russell (1467) Cam Hill (1491) |
Delta-Nu TKE Houses
We Dedicate this History of
Delta-Nu Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon to
Mr. Richard W. Wiles
Richard W. Wiles, a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, served for 3 ½ years as a medical corpsman in World War II. When he returned home, he began his 40 year career at Nodaway Valley Bank. He married Marcella in 1948 and they raised five children together.
He was always active in community affairs and served as a scoutmaster, member of the American Legion as well as the Nodaway County Historical Society. Frater Wiles also dedicated 28 years to helping Delta-Nu Tekes. He was initiated as an associate member on January 10, 1964.
In 2004, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Northwest Missouri State University. We are proud to remember Richard W. Wiles as a brother, fellow alum and friend to the Delta-Nu Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon.