The 1960s


1960: Sigma Phi Omega Founded As First Fraternity On Campus

In the fall of 1960, John F. Kennedy became president, the Russians leapt ahead in the space race, and rock & roll was just an adolescent. At the same time, the first Greek organization at what was then called Orange County State College (now California State University, Fullerton) was founded by a group led by Sam Cooper. The group took the name Sigma Phi Omega, and after obtaining a Charter from the OCSC administration, weekly meetings were held in the Student Union at the lunch hour. At that time, the campus was housed mostly in temporary buildings, and when it rained, the dirt parking lots became a quagmire. The "Sigs" grew quickly, as did the the young campus. Sig members became active in all aspects of campus life, occupying numerous Student Government offices, helping organize the first Intercollegiate Elephant Races, participating in varsity and intramural sports, and holding many social functions. The young Fullerton campus would be forever changed with the establishment of Greek organizations, first pioneered by the men of Sigma Phi Omega.




1962: Sigs Help Organize First Elephant Races

It started as a joke between Dean of Students Ernest Becker and one of his assistants. But with the help of early members of Sigma Phi Omega, the joke became the First Intercollegiate Elephant Races ("In Human History" was added for emphasis...) in May of 1962. Jack Hale, a Sig founder, was the "mahout" (rider) for Orange County State Colleges entry, Sheba. (Unfortunately, Sheba failed to place in the races).Click here to see "More than you ever wanted to know about the 1962 Elephant Races", INCLUDING live-action film of the first "Day of the Titan", and recent (Nov 99) press article.

Permanent Buildings; Greek System Grows

During 1962 several Sigs decided (at the suggestion of the administration) to form a second fraternity on campus, and thus Delta Tau Upsilon (today's Phi Sigma Kappa) was begun. A lively rivalry ensued, and continues to this day. The first campus sororities were formed during this period, Zeta Phi Lambda (today: Alpha Chi Omega) and Delta Chi Delta (today: Alpha Delta Pi). The total student population had grown to 1900, and the campus anxiously awaited the opening of the first "permanent" buildings: Sciences (now McCarthy Hall) and Music-Speech-Fine Arts, which opened in 1963 and 1964, respectively.

Barn Dances drew hundreds in the mid-60's
(Now, most of these folks are IN their mid-60's!)

First Fraternity House On Campus; Era Of The Barn Dances

In 1963, the Sigs moved into the first fraternity House on the campus, an old farmhouse on Placentia Avenue just north of Nutwood Avenue. The property was once a working farm, so it had a large barn, a separate lounge and stand-alone library building, in addition to the two story house which housed twelve men. The library also housed pledges, who each lived for one week at the House to experience on-campus living. It was just a short walk down a row of eucalyptus trees and through the adjacent orange groves to the campus, where "old" Langsdorf Hall (the Letters and Science building, and now McCarthy Hall) stood as the first campus landmark. The property even came with an old farm truck, commonly known as "Winningham's truck', which would get fired up on occasion, and with all the Sigs piling in the back (many in their trademark Gold pith helmets) they would cruise Fullerton, usually until Winningham discovered his truck was missing and demanded its return. The barn was put to good use on the weekends; Sig Barn Dances would draw hundreds of young people from all over southern California. With the band posted in the loft, hundreds would show up, pay the $1 admission and add more life to the young Fullerton campus. Surf music became popular, and the Beatles soon came on the scene. The Sigs continued to be leaders at (new name) California State College at Fullerton, and the first Greek alumni association on campus was formed by the graduates from the Chapter. Events like the Mud Bowl (held out behind the barn in the spring), the Roaring 20's party, the Toga Party, the Sweetheart Ball, and Day of the Titan were highlights of the social calendar each year. Putting the "Sig" letters up on the hill overlooking the campus at State College and Yorba Linda Boulevards became a "sport"…..the arch-rival fraternity who lived in the house down below "Sig Hill" would inevitably come along later and replace the Sigma Phi Omega letters with their own.

old house

Mid-1960's: Search For National Affiliation

By 1965, the Sigs had been approached by several national fraternities expressing interest in colonizing at Fullerton. After a thorough review of the top national fraternities, the list was narrowed to a few, and Phi Kappa Tau was unanimously voted by the brothers as their choice. The Phi Kappa Tau principals, particularly the value placed on diversity among the membership, were an important influence in the decision, and were the best match based on the values held by Sigma Phi Omega. Affiliation with Phi Kappa Tau attracted even more men to the organization, and in the mid-60's the Chapter reached seventy members and continued to produce leaders: Student Body Presidents, Class Presidents and other officers in Student Government, leaders on the Interfraternity Council, along with some outstanding scholars. Even the Dean of Students, Ernest Becker, became a member. In September, 1966, after successfully meeting the criteria as a Colony, the group was chartered as the Gamma Omicron Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau. Many of the 150+ alumni of Sigma Phi Omega chose to become "Phi Tau's" in marathon initiation ceremonies held at the House. "GO Phi Tau" became the motto for the new Chapter.

Sam Cooper, Roland Maxwell, Jack Anson at
Chartering Banquet in 1966

Spring 67 Class in the barn preparing for
Paddle Presents - April 1967

Roland Maxwell (USC Chapter),
(wrote Phi Kapppa Tau Creed)

Preparing for Charter Signing
Living Room, 955 Placentia Ave

Hanging out in the Quad 1967 (beats studying...)

Pledges & Pranks

From the beginning, pledge classes tried to come up with the cleverest pranks (RF's, practical jokes, diabolical kidnappings, and other unmentionable names were given to these activities) in order to out-do their predecessors. One class marched a horse up the side stairs of the House and on to the second floor. Another stole all the furniture from the living areas in the middle of the night, and caused green water to come out of the water heater. Then there was the Cow Eyeball Episode of 1965, whereby pledges made a trip to a Santa Ana slaughterhouse and obtained dozens of eyeballs, which ended up "decorating" the House....hanging from lamps, in the 'fridge, over bunkbeds....you get the idea. Another particularly insipid pledge class stole all the House toilets, and kept them for over a week. Then they claimed they didn't know who did it. Active brothers were "nabbed" by the pledges and sent to places like San Francisco (one way) and generously given a dime. "True brotherhood" was often measured by how far your brothers would go to get you back when you made that one phone call. It went something like: "Hello, this is the Phi Tau House……brother who? You're in Tijuana? OK, we'll come pick you up". But it could also go like:…."Barstow? Uhh…why don't you stay awhile?".

The more "finesse" put into an activity, the more respect there seemed to be for it. One particularly paranoid brother kept having engraved announcements of his "passing" show up everywhere he went…in his books, the mail, posted on his door, planted by conspiring sorority girls, and lying next to a mock headstone on the path from the House to the campus. Another brother couldn't seem to get the IRS off of his back. He was finally given relief…by the pledges who had set the whole thing up. Another time, the tradition of passing cigars to announce engagements and pinnings was set back years when pledges replaced the cigars in the box with dog poop, and carefully re-wrapped it. The box went around the circle of brothers five times, and was finally opened by the Chapter president, who blanched and cried out "I think one of the pledges got pinned to a dog!!".

Moving...and Moving Again; First Chapter Newsletter Produced

Summer 1967, the summer of Peace and Love. The British invasion had passed, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had conquered, but the Beach Boys were still putting up a fight. Psychedelics, "acid rock" and flower power spawned the music of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, and other "counter-culture" groups. The war in Vietnam was raging, and campuses were hotbeds of anti-war sentiment. At the end of the summer the Phi Taus learned they would have to move…the House, barn, lounge and library were going to be razed to build more apartments. So the brothers looked around Fullerton and Placentia, and found a four-unit apartment building on Topaz Street, just down the block from Trader Joes, near Placentia Avenue. Thanks to some loyal alumni who put up the funds, the building was purchased in late 1967. Four brothers moved in to the biggest unit, while the other units continued to be rented to tenants. Hardly the best arrangement for a fraternity house, but at least there was a place to call home, and the Chapter's plan called for permanent housing to be acquired later. The chapter continued its campus leadership, winning Homecoming in fhe fall with a Christmas "happening" in the Quad, complete with Santa, aka Edward F Homola (in a red poster-painted milk truck...too bad it rained the night before!), snow trucked in from the local mountains, and a fly-by involving hundreds of ping-pong balls marked "Cindy & Sandy"(eventual Queen and Princess winners) being dropped by member/pilot Duane Thomas (with Dennis Maxey as "bombardier") on the unsuspecting student body below (..you should have seen them BOUNCE!!). On Day of the Titan that spring, the Phi Tau entry for the coveted Ms Titan title was 7'3" John VanUden, as "Miss Orange Tree, 1968" (he lost, but he looked real pretty...), while the first prize float was called "A Slice of Progress", and depicted the Campus growing out of half an orange. While the Phi Tau entry in the Push Cart (Chariot) Race was very authentic (it was "borrowed" from a movie studio,and rumored to have been used in "Ben Hur"), it proved too heavy for its "horses" (pledges) and placed dead last. In mid 1967, the first Chapter newsletter, the “GO Sheet”, was introduced. Click Here to browse through some of the GO Sheet issues from 1967-68.

1968: A New Home...The (beige?) Barn

The Topaz apartments proved indeed to be temporary. In the summer of 1968, alumni brothers led by Jim Jenkins approached the owners of the house at the corner of State College and Yorba Linda, at the foot of "Sig Hill". At the time, the Barn was being rented to another fraternity…that just so happened to be the archrivals of the Phi Taus. In a whirlwind negotiation, the Barn was purchased by the Phi Kappa Tau House Corporation, refurbished (with the help of loans from the national and a few daring Alumni), and occupied in time for the Fall Rush. The first refurbishing done was to repaint the Barn from red, to….. beige?? Well, you have to understand, old-timers were not going to be happy if it was Red….reminded them too much of "that other" fraternity. Besides, earth-tones were big in the 60's. (That's our story and we're sticking with it…..) So, it was beige for a couple of years….then back to red when the "old timers" weren't looking…er, had graduated. At the Open House held that Fall, some of the Cal-State Fullerton officials who visited the House were impressed with the work that had been done. One of them, standing in the lounge commented: " Gee, I see you used the same exact type of acoustic tile in this room as we used on the new Library building! …and these lighting fixtures look very familiar, too!". There were some sheepish grins among the brothers, especially the "tunnel rats", and much stammering…"We only use the BEST materials!". Shortly after this incident, the underground tunnels linking all the buildings on the campus came under more stringent security, and the budget for House building materials was increased. A renewed enthusiasm accompanied the move to the Barn, and a record 23 new members were initiated in Fall 1968, resulting in many members having multiple "little brothers" simultaneously for the first time. The growth continued in 1969, and the House continued at full occupancy. After all, where else could you live for $50 a month, and also have the best view in town of the Los Angeles Rams practicing from your balcony? In 1969, under budgetary pressures, it was decided to bring back the Barn Dances (probably better called "patio dances"). It was successful....TOO successful.... after drawing 500+ screaming young people each Thursday nite, and raising literally thousands of dollars, the risks (and damage to the Barn) outweighed the benefits, and the Thursday Nite Party at the Barn was history. But they went a long way to relieve the debt!