Alpha Sigma Phi - University of Washington

12 M u Chapter has had a long history of amazing landmark accomplishments. Its 105-year-old history is accented with an impressive list of successful and well-known brothers, decades of support to the community through its philan- thropy programs, endless recognition from the University of Washington for student leadership on campus, and unprecedent- ed building programs that have created a home for nearly 2,000 brothers at 4554 19th Avenue Northeast. The decision to begin a major $2 million capital campaign to preserve and upgrade the Mu Chapter House is yet another example of the willingness of the alumni brotherhood to take on another major endeavor. But, again, as I insinuated above, major endeavors are not new to Mu. In the late teens of the twentieth century, only eight years after Mu came into existence, 21 brothers collected nearly $24,000 to build the Mu Chapter House with a corporate match of $24,000. Today, Mu has over 2,000 alumni with three quarters of them still living the Alpha Sig life. Today, the potential of fundraising $2 million from such a large and generous group created a secure confi- dence that such a campaign will, again, move forward with great success. In just a few months, the campaign is approaching its first million dollars with over $800,000 collected…and the donations are coming in across all eras of the brotherhood. So How Did This All Start? A group of 13 men started a local fraternity at the University of Washington called Zeta Nu. They lived in a small rented house at 5522 University Blvd. On January 8, 1912, the group petitioned Alpha Sigma Phi for a charter. Concurrently, Wayne Montgom- ery Musgrave, recognized as the second founder of Alpha Sigma Phi in 1907, began a movement to expand Alpha Sigma Phi to the west. He enlisted the assistance of Edwin Morey Waterbury, a young educator from New York, who helped implement the expanded rebirth of the fraternity. Waterbury became acquainted with Zeta Nu at Washington quickly after the national headquar- ters received the groups' petition. Going to Seattle was a big stretch for the fraternity because there was no presence of Alpha Sigma Phi west of the Mississippi. Zeta Nu at Washington was colonized and installed as Mu Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi on May 20, 1912 and is the oldest continuous Chapter of Alpha Sig- ma Phi nationally. The original Chapter House built in 1920 didn't exactly look like the house that we know today. Mu has gone through many meta- morphoses. The original house was built under the supervision of Louis Janeck '19, a young graduate from Mu. He contributed $2,500 to help build the house, which was a fortune in those days. The Janeck version of the house looked the same on the outside as we know it today, with its dynamic colonial columns fronting the house. Inside the layout was similar on the main floor with the repeat of the colonial columns in the entry, the double stairway going upstairs on both sides of the large mantled fireplace, and the single stairs going downstairs. All the main-floor rooms were the same; however, there was a fireplace between the two doors of the solarium. That was removed as part of the basement project. Alas! The basement or lack of basement more specifically. The stairs that go downstairs from the main-floor entry went solely to the Chapter room. The stairs did not continue to a basement. There was no basement to go to, just the Chapter room. The entrance to the Chapter room was a small door to the left at the base of the stairs. This was a long-forgotten entrance that had been sealed up and painted over. Its existence came to light in 1971 when Brother Craig Nordlie '71 and I were working in the basement one summer. I was measuring and the numbers didn't come out right. There was a 6' x 6' space that was unaccounted for between the base of the stairs, the Chapter room, the boiler room, and behind the closet where the robes are kept. Curiosity got me, so I punched a small hole in the wall at the back of the robe closet. To my amazement, there was a small room with a light cord and bulb hanging from the ceiling. I was plenty excited and yelled for Nordlie, saying I had found a secret room. Well, upon opening the wall more so we could fit through the opening, we saw a switch on the wall and to our shock, when we flicked it on, the light came on. It was obvious; we had found the original Chapter room entrance. A VISION OF MU BROTHERS THAT STARTED 100-PLUS YEARS AGO Capital Campaign to Rebuild Mu Chapter House Approaches $1 Million and Brings to Light Great Stories By Jim Hammond '66

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