Delta Kappa Epsilon - University of Alabama

4 Delta Kappa Epsilon 1969 Undertakers Ball funeral procession. Notice Louis Deshields ("Luke," "Pop") riding in the hearse. 1969 Dead Man, Brother Jimmy Lyons '70. FROM THE HISTORIAN S ince undertaking (pun intended) the job of Psi alumni historian in 2010, I have frequently been asked about the origin of The Undertakers' Ball, which for decades has been the premier and defining social event given by the Psi Chapter. Of all of the important historical questions about the chapter that we have addressed in this column over the years, this one is surely the most profound. Who can imagine the Psi experience without the existence of this very important event, which is so special that it is only held once every other year? Its rather macabre theme incorporates, represents, and epitomizes to the outside world a number of mystic, secret rituals and traditions that are endemic to DKE in general and Psi in particular. But how and when did it originate? One legend that has circulated in recent years among the active chapter holds that "Undertakers" originated as a result of an 1878 duel between a Deke and a member of another fraternity, in which the DKE was killed. In this telling, Undertakers is said to have begun as a commemoration of the death of this departed brother. The truth is that there is no basis whatsoever to this story, as we explained in detail in the previous issue of Sighs of Psi. 1 Having disproven this legend, we were left with the open question as to the true story of the origin of this revered event. The truth as to the origins of Undertakers is both more mundane and more interesting than the discredited legend of the 1878 duel. The first Undertakers' Ball given by the Psi Chapter in fact took place in 1957. From recent conversations we have had with Brother Tom Simmons '59, we have learned that the late 1950's was quite a creative and dynamic period for the Psi Chapter. Brother Simmons is a font of lore and infor- mation about the Psi chapter of his day, and, as the author of eight books, signed copies of most of which he has donated to the Psi archives, he knows how to tell a good story (see Alumni Spotlight on Brother Simmons on page [3]). 2 Besides staging the first Psi Undertakers' Ball, the DKE men of his era also staged a number of other legend- ary social events, including the first Underwater Party, in which the DKE house was decorated as an undersea world, and the lady guests arrived wearing two-piece bathing suits. (Why was this tradition allowed to go by the wayside?). Other notable social events included the Peon Party, which one year resulted in Brother Marshall Durbin '56 standing, buck naked except for a derby hat, on the front lawn of the DKE house trying to explain to the Dean of Students why the ending to this party should not result in University disciplinary action against the fraternity. But that's a whole 'nother story. Back to Undertakers: the first "Dead Man" back in 1957 was Brother Randy Clark '61, who passed away on August 13, 2015, and who was mentioned in the Mystic Circle of the Spring 2016 edition of Sighs of Psi. It is a matter of profound regret that we did not have the opportunity to interview Brother Clark about his service as the first Dead Man before his death. Apparently, though, he was laid out in a wooden coffin and paraded around campus in a horse-drawn hearse, and a tradition was born. We are eager to learn more details of this inaugural Undertakers Ball. Is that all there is to the origin of this signature event? A particularly creative group of members of the Psi active chapter conceived the Undertakers' Ball in 1957, the theme of which was so perfectly suited to existing DKE themes, motifs and rituals that it quickly became a cornerstone of DKE tradition which is still going strong 60 years later? End of story, right? Well, not so fast. It turns out that the idea of an "Undertakers' Ball" pre-dates the initial 1957 DKE event by over three-quarters of a century, and may have its origins in French Carnival traditions of the 19th century—possibly even earlier. The earliest reference we have found to an Undertakers' Ball comes from a newspaper article dated April 10, 1875. 3 The author of the article had returned from attending Carnival season in Paris, and gave a long and rambling account of his experience. After citing the names of notable Carnival events that had taken place, the author said, "During these three months of The Origins of THE UNDERTAKERS' BALL "And I feel like the ghost of youth/ at the undertakers' ball" -From the 1909 poem "Opera", by T. S. Eliot Carnival Paris laughs, smiles, or grimaces in a thousand places, from the pretty hall of the Puce qui renille to the pretty rooms of the 'Smoking Doll.' Among these, there is incomparable enjoyment; for instance, the Undertakers Ball" [emphasis added]. There is no further mention of this Undertakers' Ball in this lengthy article, so we are left to ponder the details of it. Hopefully, additional research will enlighten us further. Twelve years after the appearance of that article, we find another newspaper article dated August 20, 1887, about a "genuine" undertakers' ball; that is, one staged by and for actual undertakers. In this article from the Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Carbon Advocate we find the following: "While on the subject of funerals I would remark… that one of the most agreeable and delightful receptions of the season was the Undertakers' Ball. The mottoes in evergreen about the hall were not those meaningless nothings which are so common on such occasions, but they had a point and taste for which these gentlemen in black are proverbial. Just look at this- 'From GRAVE to Gay.' 'Our Absent Friends: they are EMBALMED in our Memories.' … 'Let all Animosities be BURIED.' … Everybody who was anybody in undertaking circles was there and the entire affair was voted a brilliant success. The opening toast had a delightful business flavor…- 'Our Associa- tion: we always succeed in whatever we undertake.'" So, there you have it; the real deal! These guys seem to have brought the same macabre humor to their ball that we bring to ours. Perhaps on that day a tradition was born?

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