So....this is the 100th anniversary of Homecoming at the University of Illinois. Why do I feel like I've been to every one of them? :) One of my fraternity brothers, C.F. "Dab" Williams came up with the idea with Elmer Eckbaw, who was a member of another fraternity. They were sitting on the steps of Illini Hall, the old YMCA on Wright Street, after a meeting of the Satchem committee. Now realizing this was 1909, they probably didn't have a lot to do at night. I mean, seriously, there was no electricity, therefore no radio, tv, ipod, computers... you get the picture. And one of them says "hey, let's invite our fraternities back 'home' for a football weekend." Sounds pretty reasonable!
Dab loved his fraternity. His brother Howard was a charter member in 1904. And the previous year they had all moved into a new house on Fourth Street! The house is still standing by the way, and Phi Kappa Psi is still there. Dab went on to be the national fraternity's first executive director. They called it Executive Secretary back in those days, but you get the idea. And Dab came back to Illinois every year until about 1961.
One of Dab's protege's, Ralph D. Daniel, who became Phi Psi's second Executive Secretary/Director, told me that he and Dab would come back and walk through the quad every year. Dab kept up on all the new building projects...Lincoln Hall, the Auditorium, The Illini Union...etc. etc. Ralph "Dud" Daniel and I walked campus once when I was an undergrad and I was amazed at how much he knew about our campus. Dud was from the U of Arizona after all. Dud told me, "I had the #1 UI historian teach me on our annual walking tour."
So this weekend we celebrate the 100th anniversary! Pretty cool when you think about all the men and women who have come back for the own campus walks over the years!
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