| About Us |
 |
 |
 |
|
The year 1891 was very important to the University of Nevada. The President of the University is Stephen A. Jones. There are three major buildings – Morrill Hall, Stewart Hall, and the Agricultural Experiment Station. A hole in the ground represents the beginning construction of what will become the Mining Building. There is also an old, wooden barn behind Morrill Hall to which the “day” students tie their horses. The rear of the grounds is used for military drill. Noticeable and unnoticed changes are occurring at Nevada State University. August 20, 1891, Professor Nathaniel Estes Wilson starts as a chemist at the Nevada Experiment Station. At the September 5th Board of Regents meeting, Mr. Richard Brown is hired as an Instructor in Mechanical Arts and to do all the repairing on University buildings. A mechanical shop was desired and at the same meeting, lacking money for new construction, the Regents ordered Mr. Brown to move the existing barn to an area northeast of the Station building and to make a shop out it. It would be fitted on the first floor for woodworking and machine work. Mr. Brown supervised and many of the boys who were attending school did the labor. It was in this building that the T.H.P.O. fraternity was born. The May 12, 1902, T.H.P.O. petition to Phi Gamma Delta lists the year of the Fraternities inception as fall 1891. The March 4, 1909 petition to Phi Gamma Delta also lists 1891 as the year of inception. Early Artemisias and “The Student Record” are vague or silent. However, the 1916 petition to Sigma Alpha Epsilon uses the spring of 1892 as the birth year. Since only the first floor was to be used for mechanics, the second floor became a de facto dormitory for men. The upper portion of the shop would be affectionately referred to as “the ram’s pasture.’’ The quartz mill and another barn were also located in this area. The physical proximity of the mining and agricultural mechanics schools would show in the early membership of T.H.P.O. The story of the founding according to Silas Ross’ oral history is that the boys in the dormitory were hazed by the boys in Reno. “In order to hold their own, they got together and formed a little association, and they called it “the hill protective organization”.” As early as 1893, there were baseball games between the downtown students and the T.H.P.O. In 1895, football games were added to the rivalry. No one group was the constant winner of these contests. It seems the games were quite severe as David W. Park was still confined to his bed a full nine days after the first football game. The November 15, 1897 issue of “The Student Record” also seems to confirm this animosity when it notes that the public school students began hissing when the university students gave the college yell in a theater in Reno. They repeated the yell and hissing again was heard. The college men noted the offending parties and were about to deliver some justice when they noticed the “tear-stained faces” of the young men and let the lesson in manners pass. This was noted in both the “Nevada State Herald” and “Carson News.” Editor of “The Student Record” and T.H.P.O., J.J. Sullivan also talks of previous, unfounded charges against the T.H.P.O. by the “Carson News” in the issue of December 1, 1896. “The Student Record”, November 1, 1896, edited by T.H.P.O., George R. Bliss, talks of pleasant times in the “old pasture.” It goes on to note “how all the followers of T.H.P.O. held together and aided one another as one man, for in unity is strength.” The 1900 Artemisia said T.H.P.O. is a group of men who “band together for purposes of mutual friendship and aid.” Membership was open to men in the dormitories by application which had to be approved by a vote of 80 % positive. Prior to the completion of Lincoln Hall in 1896, men were housed on the second floor of the Mechanical building and also in Stewart Hall. The number of members in 1896 was 30 out of the total number of 80 dormitorians. Another version of the name is also given by Silas Ross in his oral history. Professor Nathaniel Estes Wilson told him that they put the names of the boys in a hat. They picked four and used the first initial. T. H. P. and O. were picked. Silas says Thompson, Henry, Powers, and O’Brien were the names picked from the hat. In researching the early student records printed in the Index to the Journal of the Senate and Assembly cross-referencing those names to the T.H.P.O. newspaper and Alumni record, there are some probable errors. Thompson started in 1894 and would not have been present in either 1891 or 1892. There first O’Brien is listed as a member of the class of 1906. There are, however, William F. Tucke, class of 1893, John Mitchell Lafayette Henry, class of 1896, Frank J. Powers, class of 1895, Emmet A. Powers, class of 1896, and Ralph Lemmon Osburn, class of 1895. Others listed in the classes of 1896 and prior are Albert Wallace Cahlan , class of 1896, whose family history lists him as a founder of T.H.P.O. , Fred R. Carpenter, class of 1893, Samuel Clark Durkee, class of 1895, James S. Egan, class of 1896, Claude Robert Ford, class of 1893, Winfield John Flood, class of 1895, Albert James Flood, class of 1895, Arthur Page Mack, class of 1896, Thomas Moore, class of 1896, William Henry North, class of 1895, Otto Thompson Williams, class of 1896, and John William Wright, class of 1895. Edward E. Hardach was present as early as 1893 but is listed when he got an honorary degree for service in the mining industry in 1900. Also listed as deceased members are Adam Hjul, class of 1890, the aforementioned William F. Tucke, class of 1893, Hugh Smith Swan, class of 1893, Frank Henry Saxton, class of 1895, Andrew Hanson, class of 1896, and Ralph W. Travers, class of 1896. In regard to using the initials of four of the members, there seems to be one bit of supporting grammar. In all the early records, T.H.P.O. is listed with periods after each letter. The Hill Protective Organization would not require such punctuation. A note of distinction is necessary to the name theory. Ralph Lemmon Osburn was from Reno and therefore, a downtown student. His father was the first mayor of the incorporated city of Reno according to Thomas Wren in his 1904 History of Nevada. How could Osburn be a founder of the T.H.P.O.? The answer is in the 1880 Census. Osburn and T.H.P.O. founder Albert Wallace Cahlan are childhood neighbors on Sierra Street and probable best friends. Ralph Osburn is listed as a member of the T.H.P.O. in the 1914 newspaper of the organization. Given the animosity between the groups, he must have been a secret member at least for a time. In 1893, he was the winning pitcher for the town team. It seems he may have been living two lives. There is no independent confirmation of Truth, Honor, Purity, and Obedience from any contemporary source or person. It is listed in a file on T.H.P.O. at the University of Nevada Library Special Collections section. Denver Dickerson, a noted Sigma Alpha Epsilon and T.H.P.O. fraternity historian, feels that may have been used in the several petitions to the national fraternities Phi Gamma Delta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. The old mechanical building was destroyed by a fire on November 2, 1895. All the contents, including the original records of both “The Student Record” and the T.H.P.O. fraternity were lost. The nearby quartz mill and smelter were also lost. John Newton Evans lost in excess of 235 tons of hay with many small fires starting but being extinguished on other surrounding ranches. At the fairgrounds, poultry, horse, and general purpose sheds were all lost even though they were separated from the university by more than a mile. The male students from the University, who had lived in the old mechanical building, were then housed in one of Bishop Whitaker’s School dormitories until Lincoln Hall was completed in 1896. It should also be noted that some male students were housed in Stewart Hall in the early days. These men would also have been possible members of T.H.P.O. In 1896, Richard Brown was appointed the Master of Lincoln Hall. He is to become in Silas Ross’ estimation, “the most appreciated man on campus.” T.H.P.O. was reorganized after the fire of 1895. Lincoln Hall Room 6 would become the normal meeting place on various evenings often at the stroke of midnight. Guards were posted inside and outside the door and strict secrecy was maintained. Information only came out of those meetings if the members wanted it disseminated. New initiates were given first, second, and third degrees. Both Nathaniel Estes Wilson, 91-07, and Richard Brown, 91-12, were members. The reservoir and the former Catholic cemetery, across Virginia Street from Lincoln Hall, played a part in the initiation according to Joe McDonald in his oral history. These men were the followers of Cacem Cacem. On the darker side, November 4, 1897, T.H.P.O. Charles Gustav Steiner of the Normal Class of 1898 became the first person to die in Lincoln Hall. J. A. Champagne, class of 1907, accidentally shot and killed himself while examining a pistol in Lincoln Hall during February 1906. Perhaps the most intriguing member of T.H.P.O. was Clarence Hungerford Mackay. While he was at the University for the Dedication of the football field, Mr. Mackay was surreptitiously taken from a reception at President Stubbs’ home on campus. He was removed to Lincoln Hall and dressed as a senior. They spent the entire night on the town (Mackay had informed his wife.) and the next morning Mr. Mackay bought a breakfast of ham and eggs at the Riverside Hotel. Clarence H. Mackay, University Benefactor, is listed first as an alumni member of T.H.P.O. in the 1909 petition to Phi Gamma Delta. Other prominent alumni were George Russell Bliss “97”, Robert Mauro “Toby” Brambilla “97”, Floyd S. Bryant “15”, Hugh James Gallagher “08”, Harry Herbert Dexter “99”, Thomas Henry Edsall “19”, Ben Allen Evans “04”, Pierce R. Evans “09”, Raymond J. Gignoux “09”, Royce A. Hardy “10”, David Walker Hayes “00”, Melvin Jepson “11”, Walter C. Jepson “16”, Joseph F. McDonald “14”, George Wilson “Molly” Malone “17”, Charles Mayer “01”, David W. Park “98”, Silas Earl Ross “09”, John Jerome Sullivan “98”, Charles Gustav Steiner “Normal 98”, Alfred Reinhold Sadler “01”, Charles E. Southworth “02”, Harford Clay Southworth “02”, George Arvin “Pop” Southworth “09”, Stoddard Southworth “09”, George Washington Springmeyer “02”, Thomas P. Walker “15”, Otto Thompson Williams “96”, Nathaniel Wilson “13”, and John William Wright “95”. Around the turn of the century, the T.H.P.O. fraternity evolved from a “protective organization” to more of a social order. Unity was still a very important concept as had been noted in the November 1, 1896 “Student Record” by T.H.P.O. and Editor George R. Bliss. Also held in the highest regard by the fraternity were leadership positions in the military program, in the athletic programs, in the academic support societies, and in the Student Body organizations. During its entire history, the T.H.P.O. members dominated these positions. When Silas Ross joined the fraternity, Dad Skinner, the president, addressed Silas and others, saying that their obligations were first to the University, second to learn to live together, and third to develop themselves to meet competition. Most important was leadership in selecting an objective and then working toward its accomplishment. Positions they considered important were “Cadet Major, President of the Student Body, President of your respective class, Editor of the student paper, and business manager of the student paper.” Athletics were very important also – especially the team captains in football, track, and baseball. Two T.H.P.O. members were Rhodes Scholars, Floyd S. Bryant “15”, and Walter C. Jepson “16”. A third, Thomas Henry Edsall “19” passed the examinations and was eligible for appointment but died prior to being able to attend the prestigious program. As the need for protection lessened, social events became the highlights of the year. The most important T.H.P.O. event was the social and dance held in the gymnasium on the eve of Washington’s Birthday. The gym rafters were decorated in black and white, the colors of the fraternity. Live music and refreshments complimented the other extensive decorations which made the building not seem like a gymnasium. Alumni of the fraternity were invited along with special guests. The other very important social event was a hay ride and dance at Huffaker’s Hall. Wagons loaded with hay and drawn by horses would pull up to Manzanita Hall. The T.H.P.O. members, dates, and chaperones would travel through the night singing along the way. The beat was kept by the rhythm of horse foot falling. Dancing to live music was the main entertainment with a meal served at midnight. Return was by the same conveyances under the light of the moon. Life for the T.H.P.O. continued much the same until they were accepted into the Realm of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. No less than the immortal Billy Levere conducted the ceremony March 9, 1917, in which those T.H.P.O. members and alumni became brothers in the Realm. All in all it was a remarkable run for a bunch of country kids who just wanted to protect themselves and uphold the honor of the University. Related Links: |