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Rho Phi Chapter History - 1971 - 1972

The major effort undertaken during the summer preceding the school year was the excavation of the crawl space. One entire weekend was devoted to breaking through the 12-inch thick reinforced concrete, and two more weekends saw the removal of 100 tons of dirt to form much needed storage space. Also during the summer, the chapter received third place in the Coon Plaque and sixth in the Jordan Bowl during Fiji Academy held at Indiana University.

The fall Honors Convo was the occasion for many Fijis to receive awards. Jim Graham was honored for having the highest average at the end of his junior year. He was also elected to Who's Who, along with brothers Joel Sanders, Fred Franzwa, and Cecil Whitaker. As usual, Rho Phi took home the Scholarship trophy.

Homecoming '71 was a weekend for the chapter to point for, and a party was planned around the building of the float. The float depicted Rosie dressed in a flowering skirt and lei, holding an Iowa Wesleyan tiger on a rod over a boiling volcano. John Temple and committee were still putting the final touches on as October 30 dawned. The float did not place in the competition, but the purple passion party that night ranked among the year's best, lasting until 5:30 in the morning. Another party followed the Fiji Olympics, which were forced inside to the fieldhouse because of rain. This was the first year for an event soon to become the most popular among seniors, the Fiji kiss. Additional reason for the seniors to be happy was that they saw the Fiji intramural football team victorious for the first time. Not merely settling for one win, the team went on to post a .500 record.

Another area where teamwork paid off was in rush, as 17 men were wearing the white star for the first time on December 13. Just after Christmas break, the chapter again journeyed to Spring Mill State Park for Retreat. Quarterback Tom O'Brien led the actives to an easy 24 - 6-3/4 victory over the pledges, followed by an even easier active triumph in the tug-o-war. That night Steve Goble talked about the founding of the chapter to the gathering of brothers, and the bull sessions went late into the night.

The first two months of 1972 were crammed with activities. The third annual Neil Garbo film fest was held on January 15, with many delightful short film subjects (and some longer ones). The Purple Garter dance took place at the house on January 29, and the next weekend a fifties party provided a change of pace. Besides sponsoring a biddy basketball team all year, the brothers also took time on February 5 to clean and paint the basement of the local Boys Club. New officers were elected February 7, those being:

Steve Thomas - President
Greg Harbin - Treasurer
Jim Tribble - Recording Secretary
Al Smock - Corresponding Secretary
Ron Andrews - Historian

It was time for the annual installation party next weekend, and on February 19, the chapter trekked to Indianapolis for State Day. This year they took home the Flowing Cup for their singing performance.

Spring quarter started off on a good foot as the pledges put on their annual Road Rallye, March 25. This year the Rallye was marred by three accidents, but all was forgotten at the picnic. The chapter took on another social service project on April 1, by manning the Terre Haute Recycling Center. Pig Dinner came the next weekend with Preston Albright (Colorado '28) as the main speaker. The first Rho Phi Open golf tournament was captured by a Rho Phi team at the Phoenix Country Club on April 15, the same day that Fred Franzwa was married to Melinda Redmond.

The final social activity of this very busy year was the best. Fiji Island '72 happened outside a small lake near Brazil, Indiana. A lot of Fijis tasted the lake, either from the rope bridge or fellow brothers. The marriage ceremony capped a fine weekend. Green Weekend gave us our customary fourth place position, due in large part to a spirited effort by the bike team, finishing in third place. Although not enough chapter members were present for our chapter to win songfest, the chapter turned in a superlative effort. The year ended on a high note at commencement as Jim Graham was voted the outstanding member of the senior class.

Note: This summary is from The Owl That Roared, history of the Rho Phi Chapter from 1969-1979. This book was edited by Paul Curtin. Contributors were Rick Cahill, Roe East, Frank Gavrilos, Blair Hughes, Dave Oakley, Dave Parker, Anil Patel, Paul Sechrist, Randy Shinkle, and Perry Stephens.