The history of Fresno Sigma Chi will span 100 years on November 10, 2021. The information collected below came from Fresno State yearbooks, thirty years of Sigma Tau monthly meeting minutes, Sigma Tau annual booklets, the printed Petition by the Sigma Taus to Sigma Chi International, monthly meeting minutes of the Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter and archive documents relating to the planning, funding, designing and finally building our new Chapter House.
The Sigma Tau Crest
From the 1922 Collegian Yearbook
Found in the 1937/1938 Sigma Tau booklet-Sigma Tau was founded at Fresno State on November 10, 1921 by five men, all of whom were still active in the Sigma Tau Alumni Association when Sigma Tau became Epsilon Eta Chapter of Sigma Chi thirty years later. The Sigma Tau Alumni Association was organized May 7, 1935.
Found in the 1940/1941 Sigma Tau booklet-The greatest achievement of the year was the acquisition of the present House at 1245 N Van Ness Ave. It was a ten-room, two-story house completely furnished with fraternity-owned furniture, and that it was now profitably maintained by the Active Chapter. Eighteen men were currently living in and twenty-three were taking their meals there. The House had proven to be a real stimulus to the fraternity, all meetings are held there and Mondays see all of the active members present for dinner. They gave credit to several alumni brothers who made the project happen. They mentioned that their housemother, Mrs Capleman, was an ideal housemother and a culinary expert. Also mentioned was a blue neon sign on the House reading Sigma Tau. Rodger Jensen was Premier (president) spring 1941.
1941 Sigma Tau Chapter House – 1245 N Van Ness Ave
From the Sigma Tau 1940/1941 20th Reunion Booklet
The five founders were Edmond A. Chevalier, John W. Greeley, William F. Peters, Dr. J. Mack Humphreys and Albert J. Wilson. All but brother Wilson attended the Sigma Chi installation banquet, he had to be in Louisiana that night. The installation banquet and ceremony were held at the Hotel Californian on February 22 and 23, 1952. Carol Schofner, who eventually married Order of Constantine Oran McNeil (52-T), was the 1951/1952 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, the first in Epsilon Eta history.
Found in the April 17, 1950 meeting minutes-The Sigma Taus secretly passed a motion to affiliate with a national fraternity. Those considered included Sigma Chi, Delta Tau Delta, Phi Delta Gamma, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Phi, Alpha Tau Omega and Delta Upsilon. Sigma Tau was the last local fraternity on the Fresno State campus to petition for admittance into a national fraternity.
Found in the December 18, 1950 meeting minutes-The Sigma Tau chapter had finally secured a Chapter House at 1239 Van Ness Ave, and the rent was $100 per month. It must have been too small to accommodate meetings because the Monday night meetings and parties were usually held at various locations like the Hotel Californian, the Hotel Fresno and the Legion Post 509. The last minutes we have, Monday, May 14, 1951, still reference “the house” so the conclusion is that when Sigma Tau became Sigma Chi, 1239 Van Ness Ave was still the Chapter House. Thus this location is our first. It was torn down to make way for the Drug Fair building which in 2021 is the Tower Market and Deli.
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The First Chapter House – 1239 Van Ness Ave
Significant Sig and Order of Constantine Phil Sanchez (52-T) served as the first Consul of the new Sigma Chi chapter in spring 1952 and served again spring of 1953. Phil was a natural-born leader and a true gentleman.
First Consul of Epsilon Eta Phil Sanchez (52-T)
In 1951 the Sigma Tau alumni petitioned Sigma Chi International for affiliation. They printed a document entitled, Petition, that included a rendering of what they hoped would be their permanent Chapter House.
1951 Rendering of Future Sigma Chi Chapter House
Found in the Articles of Incorporation-Sigma Tau created the Sigma Tau Association, a house corporation, on December 19, 1947. The California State filing fee was $11.20. Those Tau brothers signing the Articles of Incorporation were Ed Chevalier, Ray Harris, Clarence Harris, Max Hayden, Lloyd Kiggens, Al Appling and Significant Sig Oakley Hunter. The directors referred to themselves as the “Sigma Tau Directors Club”
The Sigma Tau Association was incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and it had set up the selling of 598 shares at $5.00 per share. Voting for legal matters were determine by the holders of the shares which were referred to as certificates of membership. It was planned that the shares would be increased to 10,000 as they got closer to building a Chapter House. The articles of incorporation specified seven directors and they are listed in the previous paragraph. When a brother bought a share, Clarence Harris mailed them thank you notes. Since it was a nonprofit corporation, shareholders should not expect dividends, and although property would appreciate, if the corporation is dissolved each member would get back $5.00 or more for each membership.
After the Sigma Chi affiliation, the Sigma Chi Association issued its own shares. The total shares issued by both entities are 2,687 all sold between 1954 and 1964. To view the list of shareholders, click the link below:
On April 30, 1953, May 12, 1954 and June 13, 1955 $200 payments were made toward the lot on fraternity row according to receipts in the archives. The checks were written to the Fresno State College Foundation with payments being $200 per year representing deposits for the property.
Found in the minutes of meeting May 25, 1955-On May 25, 1955 at 12:30 PM after affiliating with Sigma Chi, a meeting was held in the Pine Room of the Hotel Californian. At that time the current board of directors consisted of the following former Sigma Tau brothers: Significant Sig-Oakley Hunter, Max Hayden, Jack Murray, Ray Harris, Sy Tacchino, Rodger Jensen, Bud Fisher, Harold Paul, and Al Appling. The purpose of the meeting was to elect a new board of directors. After balloting, these brothers comprised the board: Max Hayden president, Sy Tacchino vice president, Al Appling secretary/treasurer, Jack Murray, Ray Harris, Clarence Harris and Harold Paul.
Found in the application signed by Max Hayden (52-T)-On May 31, 1955 a document was submitted to the California Secretary of State changing the name of the house corporation from the Sigma Tau Association to the Sigma Chi Association of Fresno.
On July 1, 1959, the board of directors of the Sigma Chi Association of Fresno considered purchasing the lot at 538 W Shaw Ave as the location of the Chapter House. This is the location of Whole Foods in Fig Garden Village. By 1960 the site of the future chapter house was cast in stone, and it would be located on fraternity row near the new campus.
The area around the old Fresno State campus had many two-story homes suitable for fraternity and sorority houses. Eventually the brothers rented the stately mansion at 1115 N Van Ness Ave affectionally named The White Elephant. They occupied The White Elephant from fall of 1952 through the spring of 1954.
Second Chapter House – 1115 N Van Ness Ave
John Mullins (52-T) was Consul during the fall 1952 semester, and Luis Ingraham (52-T) was Consul during the fall 1953 and the spring 1954 semesters.
John Mullins (52-T) – First Consul at Second Chapter House
Stories about The White Elephant to follow
Karen Adams – 1952/1953 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
The History of the Allen Barr Olson Endowment
Allen Barr Olson was initiated into Sigma Tau at Fresno State. In the 1936/1937 Sigma Tau Booklet he was pictured at a homecoming event and was referred to as “Barr” Olson.
Allen Barr Olson in 1937
On April 22, 1953 the president and secretary of the Sigma Chi Association, the name of our alumni association at that time, signed an agreement with the Fresno State College Alumni Association to create an endowment in the name of Allen Barr Olson, and they provided a $120 cash contribution. The signatures on the trust document were Sigma Chi alumni president Robert G. (Bud) Fisher (52-T) and secretary Richard (Dick) H. Swartz (52-T). This initial contribution, combined with the Allen Barr Olson and White Rose scholarship funds, would eventually become the largest fraternal scholarship endowment in the CSU System.
On October 30, 1975 a woman named Irene Josephine “Jo” Olson bequeathed to the Fresno State College Alumni Trust Council a portion of her estate to be used as a scholarship in the name of Allen Barr Olson, a member of Sigma Tau, but now Sigma Chi. The actual amount of the bequest was not stated, but was to be one-half of the “residue” of the estate.
Genealogy research by Rob Bell (95-F) – Allen Barr Olson (“Barr” Olson) was born in Sanger, CA in 1914. He was heavily involved in Sanger High activities, having played football and tennis, being a member of the school’s chorus, orchestra, theatre, stage crew, and serving as business manager for the school yearbook. Foreshadowing Brother Olson’s membership in Sigma Chi, he was also involved in Sanger High’s “Hi-V” Boys’ Club, whose purpose was to “raise the moral standards of the boys, and through them, the school’s.”
In 1932, Brother Olson attended Fresno State and joined the Sigma Tau Fraternity. After college, he started working as a salesman for his grandfather’s business in Exeter, Barr Packing Co. He was best man in his sister, Jane Olson’s, wedding to Brother Charles Hightower (T-52) in 1938, with groomsmen Alfred Appling (T-52), Ellsworth Cox (T-52), Gareth Gillis (T-52) and Darwin Knapp (T-52) also in attendance. Four years later, Barr joined the Navy where he served on the USS Heed in the South Pacific until the war’s end in 1945.
In 1948, Barr married Irene Josephine “Jo” Turner. Clearly, the fraternity was important to Brother Olson because in the marriage announcement it highlighted the fact that he was “a member of Sigma Tau Fraternity.”
The Olsons lived in Washington where he was a manufacturer’s representative for the Don Morrill Company, and she was a school teacher. Interestingly, Jo Olson was also a WWII & Korean War Air Force veteran, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retirement.
Twenty years after joining Sigma Tau, Barr and his younger brother John Anthony Olson (T-52) were initiated into the Sigma Chi Fraternity in 1952 at the Chapter’s Installation. He and his wife, Jo, intended to eventually move back to Sanger. But he was tragically killed at the age of 45 after being hit by a vehicle while removing a friend’s snow chains on Steven’s Pass Highway, 30 miles east of their Seattle home.
Barr and Jo had no children. And Jo never remarried. On October 30, 1975, aware of her declining health, Jo Olson bequeathed 1/6 of her and Barr’s estate to the Fresno State College Alumni Trust Council to be used as a scholarship in the name of Allen Barr Olson, who she identified in her will as a “member of Sigma Tau Fraternity, now Sigma Chi.” Clearly, the significance of the Fraternity had been conveyed and appreciated by his widow, who made certain to honor both her husband’s memory and his Fraternity through a perpetual scholarship.
At the time of the will, Jo was still living in King County, Washington, and she requested that she be buried in Sanger Cemetery next to her husband Allen Barr Olson. All Honor To His Name.
The scholarship funds lay dormant at Fresno State but they continued earning interest. In 1987 or 1988, Constantine Sig Brother Dave Reuland (69-F) was Chapter Advisor and Brother Kyle Stephenson (72-F) was a board member of the Fresno State Alumni Association. At one of the meetings someone asked the board if anyone had a contact with the Sigma Chi alumni, and Kyle became aware of the endowment. He contacted Dave who began giving small annual scholarships to undergraduate brothers. On several occasions Jane Hightower, sister of Brother Barr and spouse of Brother Charles, presented the checks to the students on Parents Day.
Dave Reuland
Time passed and as of June 2020, the Allen Barr Olson Scholarship Fund of 1975 totaled more than $139,000 and provided $5,000 in scholarships to our undergraduate brothers for the 2020/2021 school year. Which leads to the old expression, Never underestimate the power of compound interest.
After two semesters in The White Elephant, the fraternity moved to its third location, 175 N Van Ness Ave. They enjoyed that location during the semesters from fall 1954 through spring 1956. According to Significant Sig and Order of Constantine, Tony Flores (56-S), this house was in very bad shape and was demolished after we left. Is there more to this story?
Ray Fragie (52-T) was Consul in fall 1954, and again in spring 1955, and Frank Small (52-S) was Consul spring 1956.
Frank Small – Spring 1956 Consul
Genee McCamish – 1953/1954 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Joanne Johnson – 1954/1955 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
After occupying 175 N Van Ness Ave for four semesters, the chapter moved to its fourth location just up the street at 375 N Van Ness Ave. They stayed at that location from the fall 1956 semester through the spring 1959 semester. Fresno State was located at what is now Fresno City College, but it relocated to its present Shaw Avenue campus and held some classes there in the fall of 1956. At first the campus was small, and there were no suitable houses to rent as fraternity or sorority houses, so the Greek system stayed in the Fresno City College area for several years.
Fourth Chapter House – 375 N Van Ness Ave
We occupied this house six semesters. Consuls during this period were “Unknown” for the fall 1956 semester, George Marietta (52-S) spring 1957, Ron Dewing (53-F) fall 1957, Dave Hicks (55-S) spring 1958, Bob Buckenberger (56-S) fall 1958 and Victor Giraudo (56-F) lead the chapter during the spring 1959. Brother Hicks married the 1956/1957 sweetheart, Jeanette Winters.
George Marietta (52-S) – Consul Spring 1957
Barbara King – 1955/1956 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Jeanette Winters – 1956/1957 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Judith Hammett – 1957/1958 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Karlene Lowe – 1958/1959 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Sharon Anderson – 1959/1960 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
The next move was to 1509 N Moroa Ave which was the old Baker Hall, a women’s dormitory for Fresno State students until its move to the Shaw Avenue campus in 1956. This was our Chapter House from the fall 1959 semester through the spring of 1965.
Fifth Chapter House – 1509 N Moroa Ave
This was a particularly suitable building for a fraternity house, and we made good use of it during the twelve semesters we were there. Undergraduate Consuls during that period were Joe Davis (57-S) fall 1959, Jerry Bender (56-F) spring 1960, Joe Davis again for fall 1960, Rich Rose (58-S) spring 1961, Jerry Bender again for fall 1961, Tom Oliver (61-F) spring 1962, Significant Sig Dante Simi (58-F) fall 1962, Ron LaRocca (61-F) spring 1963, Ed Sowers (61-F) fall 1963, Joe Chappell (61-F) spring 1964, Terry Hogue (63-S) fall 1964 and Jim Wright (61-F) spring 1965.
Significant Sig Dante Simi (58-F) – Consul Fall 1962
Found in the 1963 Campus Yearbook-For several years, Sigma Chi put on the Kickoff Dance and invited the entire student body. In September 1962 they packed the Marigold Ballroom to capacity.
The Girl of Our Dreams – 1959-1973
Fondly written by Order of Constantine Chuck Sant’Agata (56-S)-In August of 1959 at our brand new Sigma Chi Chapter House at 1509 N Moroa, I was privileged to meet the person who was to be our first housemother, Mrs. Louise Underwood. She came to us from the state of Oklahoma, where she spent several years as the housemother of an “unnamed fraternity.” Her experience was extensive, and we were elated to have a woman of her stature as our housemother. Alumni Brother, Jerry Moore (Stanford), was our Chapter Adviser and was the Senior Partner at the Accounting firm of Moore & Grider. Jerry was a friend of Edwin Rousek, then Chairman of the Agricultural Department at Fresno State. So, when Jerry mentioned to him that he was looking for a housemother for Sigma Chi, he immediately told his wife and Mrs. Underwood’s daughter, Susan. She was thrilled to be able to have her mother near her, so Susan immediately called her in Oklahoma. Mrs. Underwood said she would consider it. After about a week, Jerry excitedly came to me and said he had a new housemother in mind for the Chapter’s new home, and then asked me if I would consider taking over his role as Chapter Adviser, as his business needed more of his attention. Also, he asked if I would be willing to meet her at the new Chapter House to give my blessing. Of course I said yes to both.
Edwin Rousek in 1959
Mrs. Underwood, Jerry, Consul Joe Davis (57-S) and I met in the large sunken living room of the former Mary Baker Hall Dormitory for Women at Fresno State. The 14,000 square foot, three-story building on Moroa Avenue, near the Fresno State campus was purchased for $41,000 under the leadership of the Fresno Sigma Chi House Corporation Treasurer, Order of Constantine Oran McNeil. It was remodeled and turned into our Chapter House. We first took her on a tour of the facilities, chatted with her, and she asked many questions. She finally said yes. We remodeled the suite next to the entrance, and a month later she moved in.
Fresno Sigma Chi had its first housemother and she was the first fraternity housemother at Fresno State!
The brothers in our Chapter slowly met her – first the officers, and then the Chapter at their first meeting in our new Chapter House. They all were delighted! She was the true vision of a housemother: warm, charming, and helpful, with a zillion ideas on how to improve the behavior of the Chapter and its new home.
After she had been with us for a while, Significant Sig Dante Simi (58-F), suggested a different name to call her instead of Mrs. Louise Underwood. He wanted a more personal name. After all, she was sixty-eight years old, was going to be our mom away from home, and she was going to give us guidance and direction.
So, Dante named her “Mama Lou”. It turned out to be the perfect name! Mama Lou taught us table manners, had us act as her chauffeur taking her in her new Cadillac to various destinations of her choice in Fresno, and teaching us to play pinochle, bridge and various other card games in her living room. In addition, and most importantly, she provided counseling or a listening ear for all of our brothers. Finally, Mama Lou acted as the supervisor of our chef and the meals they prepared for us through her fifteen years with us. Just ask any brother from 1959 through 1973 how much she impacted our lives. Mama Lou could be sweet, demanding, funny, and full of life. She was rather large, had white hair and an infectious smile and laugh. She was a true “Southern woman!”
Mama Lou
She was a treasure we lost in July of 1973. Her funeral was at the Chapel of The Light Funeral Home in Fresno where she is buried.
Every brother from 1959 to 1973 misses her dearly, and has fond memories of Mama Lou’s interaction with them. Just ask any one of them and they will tell you, she was, “The girl of our dreams!.”
Barbara Shiner – 1962/1963 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
We moved out of 1509 N Moroa Ave in preparation for our eventual move into our custom-build Chapter House on the new Fresno State campus. By 1963 the new Chapter House was in the conceptual design stage and fundraising commenced. The board now began planning for raising funds, buying a lot on fraternity mall, designing and building a new Chapter House and continuing to manage the property in perpetuity for the enjoyment of the our Active Chapter. The House Corporation now included Al Appling (52-T), Ray Harris (52-T), Clarance Harris (52-T), Max Hayden (52-T), Order of Constantine, Oran McNeil (52-T), Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Phil Sanchez (52-T), Glenn Sheets (52-T), Sy Tacchino (52-T), Dave Hicks (55-S), Significant Sig Leo Wilson (55-F) and Order of Constantine, Chuck Sant’Agata (56-S).
Found in House Corporation Progress Report, undated-In order to obtain a loan for the project, all of the House Corporation members were required to co-sign the note to the lender. The cost for construction was $160,000 and the cost of the lot was $10,000. The source of funds included a twenty-five year mortgage of $109,000 at 6-1/2% interest, proceeds of the sale of the Moroa house $20,000 and $31,000 in interest-free loans from Fresno Sigma Chi alumni. Groundbreaking was on September 12, 1966.
The lender was Standard Life Insurance of Indiana whose vice president and secretary was brother Harry V Wade, Grand Consul of Sigma Chi International.-from April 4, 1966 letter from Harry V Wade to Significant Sig and Order of Constantine Phil Sanchez (52-T).
Found in the April 28, 1966 House Corporation minutes-The April 28, 1966 House Corporation, then called the Sigma Chi Association of Fresno, elected these officers: Dave Hicks (55-S), president, Phil Sanchez (52-T), vice president, Oran McNeil (52-T), treasurer, and Al Appling (52-T), secretary. The other directors were Ray Harris (52-T), Clarence Harris (52-T) and Max Hayden (52-T).
Found in the August 26, 1966 letter from Grand Consul Harry V Wade-On August 26, 1966 Harry V Wade wrote a letter to Significant Sig Phil Sanchez (52-T) announcing the approval of the First Deed of Trust loan to the Sigma Chi Association of Fresno.
The House Corporation developed a financial pro-forma for the project which included floor plans and a rendering. It was basically a modern design similar to the Theta Chi house across fraternity row. Apparently they changed their minds during design and chose a Colonial style we have now although the floor plan remained the same.
1963 Rendering of New Chapter House
Sixth Chapter House – 1366-1376 E San Ramon Ave
In the meantime we needed a place to call home until the new facility was being constructed. By now there were new apartments being built around the Fresno State campus, and we cut a deal on a brand new complex of sixteen, two-bedroom units at 1366-1376 E San Ramon Ave. We had the builder leave out the partition between units fifteen and sixteen so we would have a chapter room for meetings, dinners and parties. We easily filled the complex with fifty-six brothers, and for the first time in our history brothers from Fresno were allowed to live in the Chapter House. In those days eighty percent of the students at Fresno State were not from Fresno, so out-of-town brothers had first pick of the rooms unless a Fresno brother was Consul. Sometimes a local brother would be able to move in for the spring semester if there was a vacancy due to a mid-year graduation.
Consuls during these two semesters were Rich Bratz (63-F) fall 1965 followed by Art Renney (64-S) spring 1966.
Contributed by Art Renney (64-S)-I was Consul the second semester at the apartments. With the one apartment having one large room, it was perfect for our chapter meetings. We were pretty isolated, and it was one of the first buildings out there. I believe the place was owned by Ewell Peden. We filled the entire complex and had some great times of bonding in the center quad. Dan Hammack (65-F) was social chairman and Jim Calandra (60-S) was the House Corporation CFO. Jim continually was reminding me to watch the social budget.
Contributed by Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Mike Patton (63-S)-I was one of fifty-six brothers who lived in the apartments on San Ramon. It had a swimming pool in the center courtyard, and it was within walking distance to and from the university making living in the House both fun and convenient. I remember one Monday in the fall of 1965, Order of Constantine, Bill Matesso (63-F) and I cooked a spaghetti dinner in the chapter room for all of the brothers. Bill was really tight with a buck, and we were able to provide the meal for $1 per person. The dinner included, in addition to the pasta with Bolognese sauce, a green salad and French bread. Bill and I served the dinner, cleaned up the kitchen and Consul Rich Bratz (63-F), started the usual Monday night meeting at 7:00 PM.
Susan Angle – 1965/1966 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
We finished our two semesters living in the San Ramon apartments, but our new Chapter House was not going to be ready for occupancy until February 1, 1967. The apartment manager would not lease us the apartment for one semester only, so we searched for a temporary location. Thanks to the father of two future Sigs – Tom Beggs (68-F) and Pat Beggs (72-F) – who was a real estate agent, we found a large house at 845 E Weldon Ave that we could live in and use as a Chapter House for the fall 1966 semester. According to Significant Sig, Tim Vaux (66-F) believes this house was demolished and replaced with a four-flex around 1970, and this was the fitting end of our seventh Chapter House.
Consul at the Seventh Chapter House – Order of Constantine Tom Downing (62-F)
Contributed by Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Mike Patton (63-S)-At the end of the fall 1966 semester, our Monday night meeting agenda included election of officers for the fall 1967 semester. Bill Colgate (65-S) was in line to be the next Consul, but he was on a family vacation in Hawaii and Consul and Order of Constantine Tom Downing (62-F) was wondering if he would need a Plan B. At the exact moment when Tom was calling for nominations for Consul, right on cue brother Colgate came through the door and entered the chapter room just in time to be nominated and elected. Bill was the only one in the room with a tan, was wearing a blue and white seersucker suit with a white shirt and had just deplaned at the Fresno Air Terminal.
Finally our dream came true, and Epsilon Eta moved into the new Chapter House for the spring 1967 semester. It was the third house to be built on fraternity row. Theta Chi was the first and Alpha Gamma Rho was second.
Dedication Date of February 1967 – from 1967 Campus Yearbook
The House was designed to sleep forty-one brothers, two in each room, a Consul bedroom and a house mother’s quarters. The architectural design was Southern Plantation with a pledge room in the basement. The first floor included the chapter room, a commercial kitchen, ladies lounge, house mother quarters and a library. The bedrooms are on the second floor except for the Consul’s.
Eighth Chapter House – 1456 E Bulldog Lane
The first Consul in the new Chapter House during the spring semester of 1967 was Bill Colgate (65-S). He was followed by Significant Sig, Steve Heinrichs (65-F), for fall 1967.
Bill Colgate (65-S) – First Consul in Seventh Chapter House
Steve Heinrichs (65-F) Second Consul at Seventh Chapter House
Jan Yocum – 1967/1968 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
Found in the November 5, 1980 House Corporation meeting minutes-The original House Corporation did not meet after April 28, 1966, yet by 1980 there were problems that needed to be resolved and could only be resolved by the House Corporation. Members of the Alumni Chapter did not even know which brothers were currently directors, so several brothers led by Jack Tacchino (66-S) approached Order of Constantine Oran McNeil (52-T) to resolve the issue. Oran contacted the existing directors and arranged for all of them, except himself, to resign. This allowed Oran to conduct a meeting to elect a new board. On November 5, 1980 at the House Corporation board meeting at Pardini’s Restaurant on West Shaw Ave at 1:00 PM, the sole remaining director, Oran McNeil accepted the resignation of all of the directors and declared that there were six vacancies to be filled. Those resigning were Dave Hicks (55-S), Order of Significant Sig Phil Sanchez (52-T), Ray Harris (52-T), Clarence Harris (52-T), Max Hayden (52-T) and Order of Constantine Chuck Sant’Agata (56-S). It was noted that director Al Appling (52-T) was deceased. By resolution the new directors were named: Significant Sig Leo Wilson (55-F), Bill Robinson (70-F), Jim Calandra (60-S), Bill McGuinness (57-S), Jack Tacchino (66-S) and Greg Baxter (67-S).
The History of The White Rose Memorial Scholarship Fund
Prior to our alumni chapter knowing about the Allen Barr Olson Endowment Fund that was languishing in the Fresno State Alumni Association, Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Mike Patton (63-S) created The White Rose Memorial Scholarship Fund. The official beginning was on August 10, 1993, and the trust document was signed by the alumni chapter president Chris Cole (82-F). The fund was created to provide a place to contribute remembrances to brothers who enter the Chapter Eternal. Another goal was to include only those brothers who were living in the Chapter House as the pool for the scholarship awards given by this fund.
For the first decade or two, letters of recognition were sent to the contributing brothers and to the deceased brothers’ family. The letters were originally sent by brother Patton then by Chapter Advisor and Order of Constantine Sig Dave Reuland (69-F). The letters proved to be time consuming, and the practice faded away. Also, a White Rose Plaque was designed with the intention that the plaque would contain all of the names of alumni who passed away and to whom contributions were made. This also stopped over time. Seven Lights Alumnus and Signifiant Sig Brad Fischer (78-S) who served as Fresno Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter president from 2012 through at least 2021 noted that during his tenure as president for several years the chapter pledged $100 to each brother who entered the Chapter Eternal.
Two checks totaling $2,500 were deposited with the university to establish the endowment. As of June 30, 2020 the White Rose totaled more than $87,000 and provided $3,000 in scholarships to undergraduate brothers for the 2020/2021 school year. A quote from Albert Einstein may be appropriate here, Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.
Fundraising for the Chapter House
There were several fundraising efforts during the years including Campaign 1980, Campaign 1990 and Campaign 2000 to raise money for upgrading the Chapter House. These were all chaired by Order of Constantine Chuck Sant’Agata (56-S).
Monies for the first major change being a major addition and renovation which was completed in 2012. Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Tony Flores (56-S) spearheaded Campaign 2010 for a project which included a dining room addition, a small kitchen addition, the conversion of the house mother’s quarters to a library and a handicapped restroom. Over $500,000 was contributed by around 110 Fresno State Sig alumni with the heavy hitters including Significant Sig, Marv Meyers (54-S), the project contractor Significant Sig Leo Wilson (55-F), Gene Andrade (56-F), Order of Constantine Tom Downing (62-F) and Bill Smittcamp (73-S). The project was completed in 2012.
The History of The Fresno Sigma Chi Endowment
Following the completion of the Campaign 2010 construction project on May 2, 2015, Order of Constantine and Significant Sig Tony Flores (56-S) rolled the 501c3 corporation used to fund the addition and remodel into an endowment with the monies held by the Fresno State Alumni Association. He chose the same criteria for funding scholarships as the White Rose which was to include those brothers who were living in the Chapter House as the pool for determining scholarship recipients.
Tony also started the Donor Brick program to raise money for the endowment. The goal was to sell 400 bricks at $250 each raising $100,000 for the endowment. As of January 1, 2021 a total of 262 have been sold, and it is anticipated that the final 138 will be purchased by the end of 2022. As of June 30, 2020 this endowment totaled almost $389,000, and it provided $8,000 in scholarships to our undergraduate brothers for the 2020/2021 school year.
The Solar Project of 2018
In 1992 the original mortgage was paid off lowering the cost of running the Chapter House, but that same year the insurance industry in the United States blackballed the fraternity system and would no longer offer insurance. The Sigma Chi International Fraternity responded with its Risk Management Foundation (RMF), but the annual cost was several times greater than it had been. About the same time, PG&E began to get huge electrical rate increases, and by the early 2000s insurance and energy were each twenty-five percent of the cost of running the Chapter House. Today there is still no solution to reduce the cost of RMF, and it was twenty years later before there was a solution for electrical energy costs.
In 2017 several Fresno State alumni had a conversation with House Corporation President, John Ballinger (65-S). The discussion led to the idea of a large solar installation to dramatically reduce the cost of energy. This project turned out to be the second major change to the original building. On August 4, 2018 the completed solar installation was dedicated to past Consul and Significant Sig, Steve Heinrichs (65-F), who had entered the Chapter Eternal on September 4, 2016.
The solar installation was designed to reduce electrical energy costs by ninety percent over its expected thirty-year life. What we did not know at the time it was dedicated was that our Chapter House is the first Greek housing in North America to have such an installation.
The History of Derby Days
From the Sigma Chi International Website – The tradition of Sigma Chi’s Derby Days began in the spring of 1933 at the Alpha Beta chapter at the University of California-Berkeley, under the name “Channingway Derby.” Located on Channing Way, the Sigma Chis sponsored an event composed of a series of humorous skits.
In the spring of 1935 after receiving reports of the Channingway Derby, Beta Sigma chapter members at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville made plans for a similar event. But instead of presenting skits, the event was planned around an all-day track and field competition between the pledge classes of the nine sororities at Tennessee. More than 1,000 people were in attendance on the big day, November 1, 1935, to witness the first Derby involving campus sororities.
Coincidentally, on that day four Sigs from the Delta chapter at the University of Georgia were visiting Knoxville and witnessed the festivities. The brothers took the idea back to their campus and named their production “Sigma Chi Derby,” which seems to have stuck.
During the 1960s, the derby began to take on the philanthropic approach for which it is now known on many campuses. After the Cleo Wallace Center became Sigma Chi’s fraternity-wide service project in 1967, many chapters began using the derby as a fundraising event for the center. Although some amount of charitable work had been done through Derby and similar events prior to that time, the Wallace Center project gave a much-needed boost to the concept of doing something for a group in need outside of campus .
At the 1992 Leadership Training Workshop, the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) was introduced as Sigma Chi’s suggested beneficiary of proceeds from chapter community service projects. The CMN, an alliance of 170 hospitals and health care facilities across the North America, generates funds for the children its associated hospitals serve. Many of the Fraternity’s undergraduate chapters and many alumni chapters are located in the same city or within an hour’s drive of one or more network hospitals. Huntsman Cancer Foundation (HCF) has been the preferred philanthropic partner of Sigma Chi since December 2012. HCF was founded by Significant Sig and Order of Constantine Sig Jon Huntsman Sr., PENNSYLVANIA 1959, in 1993.
Sigma Chi Derby Days began at Fresno State in 1966 when Gary Renner (62-S) proposed starting it at an Inter-Fraternity Council meeting, and it has been a tradition ever since. Joe Pressutti (64-F) was the first Derby Daddy. Contributed by Gary Renner – Yes, Joe was the first Derby Daddy. Once I got Derby Day approved, I worked on details of Derby Day but asked Joe if he would be the Derby Daddy and he agreed. Joe and I planned out what we wanted to do and where. Then I did the behind the scenes organizing, as well as working with the university administration to make sure we had approvals for all we wanted to do. And Joe worked with the sororities – he got the tough duty, ha!
In 2018, Fresno State’s Sigma Chi chapter, a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals partner, raised more funds for their local children’s hospital than any other Sigma Chi chapter in the nation. To date, Sigma Chi has raised more than $211,000! The brothers also brought lots of toys for the hospital’s patients. “We are so grateful to Sigma Chi for helping support the kids we serve.” said hospital board member Bill Smittcamp (73-S). The Huntsman Cancer Foundation has also benefited by our Undergraduate Chapter’s fundraising efforts. Probably the most successful year was 2019 when the Fresno State Sigma Chi Active Chapter donated $30,000 to Valley Children’s Hospital making it #1 in Sigma Chi philanthropy that year.
Part of the Derby Days tradition is for Fresno State sororities to paint murals on the block fence adjacent to the parking lot. Some of these murals are stunningly beautiful, and they have become part of the culture for our Active Chapter.
