Saturday night history and tradition brought Kappa Sigma’s old and new members to the DC Ranch in Perrysburg to celebrate 55 years of memories.
Epsilon Eta, the branch of Kappa Sigma that was founded at the University in 1947, is currently the oldest fraternity at the University. Of the six original members that founded the chapter, only two — Tom MacDonald and Elmer Brown — are still alive.
Brown came to Bowling Green as a student after returning from duty in WWII. Using a house on Wooster Street and furniture give to them by the University, they started a fraternity which has grown to mean so much to so many.
“That first semester we started Kappa Sigma here, we were able to get 40 pledges,” Brown said. “We took kids from every facet of the University: music, athletics and education. We felt diversity was the key, and we turned out to be right. Diversity is where brotherhood is.”
Through the years Kappa Sigma evolved not only into one of the largest fraternities on campus, but also the source of countless fond members for its members.
“When you come back to an event like Kappa Sigma’s 55th, you’re hit with all these memories,” said Terry Nigh, a Kappa Sigma alumnus. “You see guys you haven’t seen for years and everyone starts talking about all those old times and how much fun college was. It just dawns on you how much you owe this fraternity. Kappa Sigma was such an integral part of why I enjoyed my college years at Bowling Green.”
For decade after decade Kappa Sigma continued to play a large part in hundreds of young men’s lives, teaching them values and skills that allowed them to become successful not only in college, but also in life.
However, in 2000 the fraternity, which had only known success up until that point, stumbled on hard times. Financial problems and an extravagant social life, left the fraternity houseless in 2001.
Many of its members chose to drop out of the fraternity, instead of facing the difficult challenge of keeping the fraternity alive.
“A couple of years ago, I was very discouraged because I thought the whole thing was falling apart,” Brown said. “These kids refused to give up though, Kappa Sigma just meant to much to them.
They endured the hardship and have turned it around. Their the reason I can sit here tonight at the 55th and feel content.” “There were some rough times,” said Craig Murray, vice president of Kappa Sigma. “A lot of the older guys who were running the fraternity dropped out after we lost our house. So we basically had to figure out how to run a whole fraternity and figure it out fast.”
Although Murray and other new members had to quickly learn there was never any question of whether they should try and keep the fraternity going.
“We definitely felt the pressure to keep it alive,” said Ryan Tolone, president of Kappa Sigma. “I just remember thinking so many guys through the years have been a part of this thing. We can’t let it die. It just wasn’t an option and it still isn’t.”
Given the current state of the fraternity, members feel that the option to let it die fades more and more with each Kappa Sigma success. Since loosing their house Kappa Sigma has increased their involvement with campus organizations, sports and philanthropies as well as boosted their GPA. They’re also taking part in programs like Adopt-A-Highway allowing them to give back their community.
However the most impressive accomplishment of the Kappa Sigs since the loss of their house could be the fact that they continue to gain pledges without having a house. This fall alone Kappa Sigma has one of the largest fraternity pledge classes.
“They are all really easy going guys, who are a lot of fun to hang out with,” said Troy Trice, a Kappa Sigma pledge. “There aren’t any cliques in the fraternity, everyone just gets along really well no matter what year you are in school or where you came from.”
Although Kappa Sigma is flourishing without presently having a house, their is no doubt that obtaining one is their next goal.
“I would like to see Kappa Sigma get a house,” said Bob Sebo, Kappa Sigma alumnus, who also happens to be the largest financial donor to the Bowling Green athletic department in the history of the school. “A house would help us even more with recruitment and also raise camaraderie even higher.”
As Saturday night came to a close, many of the members of Kappa Sigma, past and present, gathered around one of the founders, Elmer Brown, for a picture. The picture is a symbol of Kappa Sigma’s brotherhood — one that extends generations.
