Historical Background

       On  December 16, 1925,  at  Lafayette  College  in  Easton, Pennsylvania,  the service  fraternity  Alpha  Phi  Omega  was  founded.  Fourteen  charter  members were  initiated  on  the  second  floor of  Brainerd Hall, (now Hogg Hall) to form the fraternity's Alpha Chapter.  These members included:

                                   1. Frank R. Horton '26
                                   2. Everett W. Probst '26
                                   3. Thane S. Cooley '27
                                   4. Ephraim M. Detwiler  '27
                                   5. William T. Wood '27
                                   6. Lewis B. Blair '28
                                   7. Gordon M. Looney '27
                                   8. William W. Highberger '27
                                   9. Donald L. Terwilliger '28
                                  10. Donald H. Fritts '26
                                  11. George A. Olsen '28
                                  12. Robert J. Green '29
                                  13. Ellsworth S. Dobson '28 and
                                  14. Herbert Heinrich '27

Six advisors were also inducted, including four members of the Lafayette College faculty,

                                   President John H. MacCracken,
                                   Dean Donald B. Prentice
                                   Professors D. Arthur Hatch and
                                   Harry T. Spengler

One local Scouting official,
                                   Herbert G. Horton and

One national Scouting official, National Director of the Boy Scouts of America,

                                    Ray 0. Wyland.


     The idea behind the founding of Alpha Phi Omega was that of Frank Reed Horton, Lafayette Class of 1926. During World War I, Horton served in the US Navy on the minesweeper USS Whippoorwill in the North Sea. Because Horton had  attended  Boston University  Law School, he was appointed to try court martial cases in his division, a  task which brought to  his attention  cases of young sailors  getting into trouble at ports. The  experience of war and trying these  cases  instilled in  Horton  a desire to  do  two things: first, aid  young people  in  obtaining  the  right  start  in life as well as  holding before them a "standard  of  manhood;"  and  second,  to  assist  in  helping  nations  settle disputes in a more constructive and peaceful manner than by war.
    
     Horton enrolled at  Lafayette  after the war and during his sophomore year became  acquainted with Boy Scout executive Herbert G. Horton (no relation), who helped  him  become deputy scout commissioner in charge of the  Easton South Side district. This  marked  Horton's introduction to the Scouting creed, something in  which he  found  the  standard of  manhood he sought. Horton's favorable impressions of Scouting were strengthened during the summer of his junior  year  when  he  served  as  an  Associate  Camp Director at the Easton Scout Reservation. Horton was impressed by the religious tolerance among the boys. Furthermore, as a senior, Horton noticed that members of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, who stood out for "clean living" were former Scouts.  

    Horton decided there was a need for an organization that would strengthen former  Scouts  in their  early  ideals, develop  friendship with other students who were former Scouts,  and  provide an opportunity for leadership and the rendering   of  service. Horton  believed  that   such  an   organization,   with chapters  in  the colleges of the nations of the world, would motivate national and international leaders to aspire to the organization's ideals and the settling of international disputes peacefully.
 
    During  his  senior  year  in  1925, Horton  founded  Alpha Phi Omega.  He selected  the  Greek  words  and  their  meaning, the motto "Be a leader, Be a friend, Be of service,"  and  created  the  initiation ritual, the constitution, and by-laws. From  1925-1931,  Horton  served as Alpha Phi Omega's first national president. During  this  period,  eighteen  chapters   were  established. Horton served  as  editor  of  the first  national publication, The Lightbearer, which he established in  1927  and  which  later  became  the  Torch and Trefoil. The national  organization  was  incorporated on January 11, 1927. By 1929 Horton secured  a  copyright  from  the  United  States  Patent  Office to protect the fraternity  trademark  and  in  1930  he  entered    Alpha Phi Omega   in  the 12th edition of Baird's Manual, American College Fraternities.
 
    The  second  chapter  of  Alpha Phi Omega, Beta, was established at the University of Pittsburgh in 1927. After this the fraternity grew rapidly. By 1931 Alpha Phi Omega  was officially  and publicly endorsed by the national office of the  Boy  Scouts  of  America. By 1950  Alpha Phi Omega  had  expanded to 227 chapters  and  also   spread  internationally  with  the  founding  of  Alpha Chapter of  Alpha  Phi  Omega  of  the  Philippines  at Far Eastern University in Manila. In  1967  the  Fraternity's  incorporation  was  moved  to  Kansas City, Missouri. In  1974 the Fraternity adopted legislation which allowed chapters to initiate  women  as  affiliate members and by 1975 it had more than doubled in size, expanding to 577 chapters - more than any other collegiate organization.
 
    Since the inception of  Alpha  Chapter in 1925, membership records indicate active participation in  the Chapter until the early 1970s. By 1974 membership dwindled until  only  one  active member  remained. The  Chapter underwent a revitalization  and  flourished  until  the  1980s,  when interest  in the Chapter declined. Following  a second brief reactivation in 1988, Alpha Chapter ceased to exist  as  an  active  organization at Lafayette College. While active, Alpha Chapter provided service to both the college and community. It took an active interest in local boys' clubs and Scout troops. During the 1930s, it cooperated with Brainerd  Society in distributing food and clothing to the local needy. The Chapter  contributed  donations  to  the  Jerry  Lewis  Telethon  for  Muscular Dystrophy, the  National  Association  for Retarded Children, and the American Cancer  Society.  It  participated  in  the  Lafayette  Alumni Phon-A-Thon and sponsored   swim  and  wrestling  meets. Other  services  rendered  by  Alpha Chapter  included  maintaining  a  portion  of the Appalachian Trail, organizing tuberculosis and blood drives, assisting with freshmen orientation, ushering for theatrical performances,  paper recycling,  operating a campus lost and found, and  aiding  campus  student  government  elections. It also decorated Colton Chapel at Christmas, raised  charity  money  through  the "Ugly Man" contest, and contributed money to Lafayette scholarship funds.

 

 

 

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