Kappa Alpha Order - University of Texas

E arl Denney '57 and Ben Wilson, Mid- western State '64, have found a lot of success by not being afraid to take the road less traveled. As residents of Wichita Falls, Texas, Earl and Ben have always been thankful for the roads that led them down to the Univer- sity of Texas at Austin, where they both pledged to the Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. Earl and Ben enjoyed reliving some of their college memories on September 15 when they returned to the Omicron Chapter for the Kappa Alpha alumni brunch. "It was the first time that either Ben or I had been down there in a good while. The No. 1 met us and made us feel completely at home," Earl said. "He took us all over the house and showed us all of the pictures on the walls. He told us how the chapter is doing now, which sounds very good." Earl treasured his time as the No. 1 at Omicron in 1956 and 1957. After learning some valu- able leadership skills from Kappa Alpha, Earl felt prepared to begin working for his family's business. Earl had long looked forward to fol- lowing in the footsteps of his grandfather, Ollie Biedenharn, at Biedenharn Candy Co. in Vicks- burg, Mississippi. Ollie and his siblings had the distinction of being the first people to put Coca- Cola in a bottle. "Previous to that, it was available only in a glass in a soda fountain, which they had. The story is their father said, 'Son, if you will bottle it and sell it for a nickel, you'll do well,'" Earl said. "So they did, and they did." Ollie Biedenharn and his six brothers and one sister could not live off of their proceeds of the Vicksburg plant. They pooled their money to send Ollie to learn finance at Eastland College in New York. "My grandfather must have learned it well be- cause upon graduation, he returned to buy Coca- Cola plants in Monroe, Louisiana; Shreveport, Louisiana; Texarkana, Texas; Wichita Falls, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; Temple, Texas; and Uvalde, Texas," Earl said. "I had always wanted to be like my grandfather, so when I became of age, our corporations and individuals purchased (the) Northern Arizona (plant) based in Flag- staff, which encompassed the northern 40 per- cent of Arizona." Next they purchased the plants in Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming. They then proceeded to buy the Dr. Pepper bottling companies for all of their Coca-Cola plants except for Wichita Falls and Temple. After that, they bought smaller plants surrounding their larger plants. "Coca-Cola is now the best-known product in the world," Earl said. Just like Earl, Ben adopted a Texas-tough tenaci- ty after pledging to Omicron that he needed at an important juncture of his life. Ben's tenure at UT was cut short due to the death of his parents, but his ties to Kappa Alpha continued. After trans- ferring to Midwestern State, Ben helped found the Gamma Omega chapter of Kappa Alpha in 1963. "I've enjoyed my relationship with Kappa Alpha Fraternity. I've been to the national convention a couple of times," Ben said. "Larry Weise (the executive director of Kappa Alpha Fraternity) told me, 'I wouldn't have my job if it weren't for you.' He's one of the original KAs at Midwest- ern that was in the fraternity." Along with remaining involved with the Gamma Omega chapter and the Kappa Alpha National Fraternity, Ben still is the president of Gas Cor- poration for America that is based in Wichita Falls. Being able to keep close contact with Gamma Omega, friends such as Earl from Omi- cron, and several other Kappa Alphas has given Ben an extended family. "They're still the top fraternity at Midwestern like they've been for 40-50 years," Ben said. "I'm glad I've made the association with people like Earl and all of the other leaders. They've done well." You can reach Ben and Earl at their respective emails — benwilson@wf.net and eadenney@ aol.com. Alumni Brunch Brings Back Fond Memories Love for Kappa Alpha Runs Deep for Earl Denney, Ben Wilson From left, Earl Denney '57, Ben Wilson, Midwestern State '64, Bob Campbell '69 and John Hartman '61. From left, Charlie Shaw '15, Earl Denney '57, Ben Wilson, Midwestern State '64, and William Furst '15. 2 OMICRON UPDATE

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