There are times in a young man's life when he makes decisions which at the time seem to be the most important for the present, but are to increase in value as time goes on, and after many years take their places as highlights in his life.

When the organization of another fraternity chapter at Illinois Wesleyan was being discussed and sentiment was crystallizing, there were many things to consider; we the prospective organizers had some definite ideas as to what we wanted that chapter to stand for and these conclusions were not haphazard but had been arrived at after much thought and discussion for many weeks.

The background an environment in which we were placed surely had much to do with our ideals. I wonder if I can help you fellows of the present time to get some of the atmosphere of that now-distant time. More than half a century has passed and many of the things which powerfully influence our lives did not exist then.

This, it seems to me, should first of all keep the present actives and the more-recent alumni who create for themselves a picture of those first days of Alpha Iota.

Almost without exception, the organizers were poor. Every one of them, as I knew them, were earnest, hard-working, ambitious students, whose first business was to get an education. The charge was made then, as now, that fraternities were social clubs, that their members were of the "holier than thou" creed, that they were socially exclusive, morally lax, and in many chapters, given up mostly to roistering and often to drunkenness. Day had not sent the eight boys to school, they had without exception come there for one purpose and that was, at all cost, if need be with real sacrifice, to fit themselves to be men. At that time, the "old building," as it was designated, was not being used by the University and the 32 thrifty-minded men secured it as a place in which to house a club. The lower floor was to be used to house a kitchen and dining room and as a dwelling place for the culinary department and its managers. The upper rooms were rented as a dormitory, each room, as a rule, occupied by two men. The projectors of this scheme believed it would be an economic advantage to those who found it necessary to practice strictest economy; and it proved entirely to the good.

Out of this club came one-half of the organizers of Alpha Iota. I have no excuses to make for them; they need none. In this club were some of the ranking students of the University. They were not drab plodders; they were virile, wide-awake, fun-loving fellows--- they studied hard and played hard and sometimes they got noisy. Study hour in the club was over at 9pm, and everyone was at ease from 9 to 10:30.

As a sideline to these facts, the following anecdotes may shed light: Prof. DeWalt of the mathematical staff, broke his right leg in a fall and was not able to do his classroom work for a time. I was one of those who took some of his classes during his absence. I used to attend faculty meetings to report progress and receive instructions. At the close of one of the meetings, Prof. Moss, a damper little fellow, said he had a matter which should be brought to the attention of the faculty. He proceeded to relate at some length a series of complaints against the members of the club. Dr. W.H. Adams, the president, told him to state his complaints. In substance, it was that the men in the club were noisy, independent, often uncivil, practical jokers and were getting out of control, and that they should be disciplined and the club should be closed. After giving the names of those he deemed the principal offenders, Dr. Adams called for the scholastic standards of each man and found they ranked among the highest in the school. Dr. Adams asked, "What will you do with men of such standing?" The silence was oppressive.

Yes, the organizers were poor in purse but not lacking in standing and you of these now prosperous days need make no excuses for them.

These young men had definite ideas as to what they wanted and did not want. They did not want a drab, colorless, dull career. And neither did they want a careless, wholly selfish, unreliable, roistering bunch of associates or affiliation with a national fraternity which tolerated these things - so the choice of a proper affiliation was a serious matter to them.

They did want to foster scholarship, mutual helpfulness, development of character, and that fraternal brotherliness needed by all men. Where was the right place to find these in most abundance? After we had secured the best information available to us, it was decided that Sigma Chi came nearer the ideal than any other, and formal application was made to the parent body; then followed several weeks of anxious waiting. We became more and more anxious as time passed and we continued to wait. We did not question Wesleyan's acceptability, but we did become somewhat doubtful about ourselves. Some were saying, "What do you think they can do?" "They must have a high opinion of themselves!" "They are crazy!"

The more sarcastic these comments became, the madder we got and the more determined. Finally, when we were almost in despair, word came that the chapter had been granted and a day was set for the organization. The ceremonies, very simple and brief, were held in the parlors of the house of Brother Leoun L. Loehr, (1885,) and there was formally added to the chapter roster of Sigma Chi, Alpha Iota Chapter.

Now we had a charter and no place to hang it; a chapter and place to house it. Instead of our troubles being over, they were multiplied. The visiting organizers were gone and we felt very much alone; we were young and tender meat for the vicious animals, timid and lonesome, no home, no one to counsel with, and no alumni to lean on. We were thrown to the wolves.

You know it is often a good thing to have to rely on yourself; it makes you tough.

We were not too welcome; we were few and had no past triumphs toward which to point; our past was a blank and our future a question, but if we had no past to point to, neither did we have one to explain away - we didn't have one single failure to live down and sometimes that is an asset. We had some good friends who opened their purses to us and we met in their parlors. But that was not satisfactory and after several other trials, we secured the privilege of using the southwest room of the third floor of the music building, and when our letters were placed on the transom and the keys duly delivered, we felt that we had arrived - and we had.

We were snubbed like an unwelcome stepchild, laughed at and even ignored. The greatest care was taken to select pledges who would be a credit and add strengths to the chapter. It was not easy to get the kind of men we wanted; competition for that kind was keen. Our competitors were dug in and we did not always win - but sometimes we did. Our growth was not spectacular but it was healthy, and if was slower than we sometimes liked, it was healthier. Our competitors made it hard for us and twitted us with our youth. Finally, they seemed to forget us and let us live in peace and, when decisions of the chapter interest were to be made, they came to counsel with us. Then we know that we had arrived.

I was away from central Illinois and out-of-touch with Sigma Chi and Alpha Iota for many years, so I was wholly unaware of what had happened, except that I knew it was carrying on and had turned out a constantly increasing number of strong and virile men - doctors, lawyers, editors, business men in every walk of life to add to the pride of Alpha Iota.

When I look back over the past and contemplate that brilliant pageant, I am deeply moved. It has been my good fortune during the past years to attend the annual banquets, and to me they are times of great refreshment.

The first time I saw "The House" with its beloved letters over the door, my heart swelled with pride and joy. I had left it poor, almost homeless, and obscure. I found it honored and a force for good. I was happy to see the splendid fellows and to know that they were at home and, to add to my joy, they even had a housemother to comfort and counsel them. The grand fellows in the active chapter and the loyal alumni testify to their superior judgments and loyal support.

Of the eight founders of Alpha Iota, I alone am left. The others have marched over the hill in the sunlight and down into the valley, not to pass this way again. I wish I could tell you all about each of them, but I can' t. I know that three of them were ministers, one was a lawyer, and one was a farmer. But I do know that not one of them brought reproach upon himself or the Fraternity or put stain into the White Cross.

You may boast that you are a younger Sig than I, that you are richer than I, and I will not question you; but no man has loved Alpha Iota so long as I and, in all of these more than 70 years, it has been to me an inspiration in the object of undimmed affection. My great desire is that it may go on from victory to victory, never letting its light grow dim.

Elbert H. Alford
Alpha Iota 1886