by Nancilee D.V. Gasiel,
contributing writer

We wouldn’t be the same organization without one important, large resource housed inside the walls of the Levere Memorial Temple. We simply couldn’t provide the same level of service to our chapters, our alumni and our visitors without the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation Archives and Collection.

Far from being a mere cabinet of curiosities containing relics and souvenirs, the Archives are a vital resource used daily by staff, brothers and researchers from around the country. From the 19th century to today, we’ve been attuned keenly to the value that this collection brings to the organization.

The Archives have been with us almost since the beginning. The 1870 Memphis Convention realized that much of the 14-year-old Fraternity’s history was “involved in obscurity,” as referenced in records. And the delegates determined that “the members should be intimately acquainted with the past career of the Society and the history of its individual members.” To resolve this problem, the Convention created the office of Public Historian. Each of the chapters also elected a Private Historian for a one-year term. At the turn of the 20th century, Billy Levere took up the mantle of Historian and brought a deep commitment to the role. He began to sniff out, hunt down and acquire the core of the collection we see today. He was the first person to establish a fraternity museum and library in his offices in Evanston—and later both would become key features of the Levere Memorial Temple. With its creation in 1928, the Foundation became the custodian of the Archives.

Through the decades the Archives, as the sum of archival material (paper), photographs, artwork, and artifacts that make up the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation Archives and Collection is called, has grown through donations from chapters, alumni, and friends. The Archives contain more than 462 feet of correspondence, publications, brochures and photographs; more than 650 scrapbooks; about 150 blueprints; and approximately 1,000 artifacts, artwork and framed images. All of this material allows the Foundation to perform part of its mission: to collect, preserve and exhibit materials pertaining to the history of the Fraternity and its members. Today the Archives are the ultimate resource for information about ΣAE, its chapters and membership. This powerful resource is used extensively by three main groups: staff, researchers and Temple visitors.

Staff

In many ways the Archives function just like any other business archive. Staff members use it to research past events, programs and activities. Whether they’re digging up a classic photo from the 1930s or searching for archival material to research the root of a program, our Archives serve as a key resource for understanding out past and explaining how we’ve evolved over the years.

Chapters that open and close are part of the life-cycle of all fraternities and sororities. Recently, Sigma Alpha Epsilon was presented with the opportunity to recolonize Illinois Alpha at Monmouth College. Regional Director Deran Abernathy and Extension Coordinator Aaron Hill used the Archives to understand better the circumstances that lead to the chapter’s closure in 1981. This information allowed them to speak effectively with college officials and interested alumni who hope to see the rebirth of this chapter.

Researchers

The Archives are used frequently by researchers for a variety of projects and publications. This March, Bradley Williams (Cincinnati) spent his spring break at the Temple conducting research in the Archives. He used primary sources as the foundation for his undergraduate thesis about the construction and evolution of the James Gamble Nippert Memorial Lodge, Ohio Epsilon’s chapter house.

Information housed in the Archives is also able to help genealogists make a connection with their SAE ancestors. In February, George Paine, who is not a brother, was conducting research on a SAE brother in his family tree. The only information he had was a photograph and a military-commission certificate. Information in the Archives showed that Paine’s relative, John M. Thompson (Kentucky Military Institute 1872), was a cadet at the Kentucky Military Institute in the early 1870s and provided some biographical information in addition to an early chapter photo in which Thompson was front and center.

Visitors

Every year the Temple hosts thousands of visitors from all over the world who come to tour the building and view the artifacts it contains. Sometimes those visitors are looking to understand something about their SAE relative. Christina Moseley, granddaughter of John O. Moseley (Oklahoma 1916), visited the Temple for the first time when she was 13. As she went through the building, Moseley videotaped rooms and artifacts and then recorded her thoughts about the building where her grandfather had such a direct impact. Through her visit to the Temple, Moseley was able to experience the “schoolhouse” in which her grandfather established the first Leadership School and where he ended his professional career as Eminent Supreme Recorder.

In May, the Temple hosted a reception for the Fraternity Communications Association at the beginning of its Annual Conference. This was the first visit to the Temple for many of the guests, and most were awestruck by the building’s beauty. Guests found something special in the building, whether it was a room or painting or simply their organization’s coat-of-arms in the Panhellenic Room, with which they connected.

PastPerfect

As powerful a tool as the Archives have become, they can still be used more effectively. Until this year, there was no cataloguing system for the Archives. The ability to search for materials and locate information depended upon the familiarity of the Archivist with the collection. This year the Foundation purchased PastPerfect collections-management software. This database allows us to catalogue the contents of the Archives and will provide detailed search capabilities. Data entry began in February through a gift from Jim Mottern (Idaho ’70), who created the Arthur A. Cook Memorial Internship. For the implementation phase, 200 artifacts from the Archives were selected, which include some iconic pieces of the collection along with more recent acquisitions. This initial group of materials is now available online at www.sae.net/archives. New items will be added to the online catalogue as processing continues. Our goal is to bring as much of the Archives and building as possible direct to your computer, but due to the sensitive nature of some portions of the collection, not all material will be available online.

The implementation of PastPerfect and its online component, PastPerfect-Online, is a significant step in the continued development of the Archives and improves the professional standards that are used for its care. Not only does this innovation allow us to complete a long-term goal of providing greater access to the collection, but it improves the long-term health of the Archives through search capabilities that will identify the specific items required for research needs and prevent unnecessary handling of archival materials.

As we move into the future, the Archives will remain an important component of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. In an organization that experiences rapid change and a constant influx of new members, the Archives serve as our collective memory. It provides us with the resources to know the organization’s past and the resources necessary to shape the organization’s future.

The Arthur A. Cook Memorial Internship

The Arthur A. Cook Memorial Internship was made possible by a gift from Jim Mottern (Idaho 1970). Arthur A. Cook (Washington [Washington] 1909) served as Eminent Archon and as Province Lambda Archon from 1915-1923. He was a significant force in the Fraternity’s expansion in the Pacific Northwest, founding the Montana Alpha, Idaho Alpha and Oregon Beta chapters. In recognition of his contribution to the Fraternity, he received the Merit Key Award in 1949.

Your donation of $1,000 to the Arthur A. Cook Memorial Internship will provide 100 hours of time cataloguing material from the donor’s chapter. If the chapter’s material is fully catalogued, then time will be spent cataloguing other material in the Archives. Please contact Nanci Gasiel at ngasiel@sae.net or at (847) 424-3009 to make your donation.