History
October 6th - Ten students from the business school of Fenn College meet in the Johnson Building of the downtown YMCA and start a social fraternity for members of the Business School. The Greek name they choose, Beta Beta Alpha, comes from their degree designation Bachelor of Business Administration. They believe that there is more than a degree to be gained from college. From this beginning, growth takes place through innovation. First, survival during a depression; next, survival during World War II; then the drive for recognition, primarily striving to establish a permanent force on the Fenn campus through incorporation as Beta Beta Alpha, Inc.
Beta Beta Alpha Hymn
Hail to all the BBA Boys
Never let them down
Always keep the spirit rising
Never show a frownEven tho the days look darkest
Try to be there when
All the boys can get together
Here at dear old FennEver after one may leave us
Whom no more we’ll see
Always keep the fondest memories
Ever more to be
BBA gains recognition on campus as the Bad Boys of America. Less than two decades later, they will work to become part of a truly “American” fraternity. BBA moves into its first “house” as first-floor tenants.
With the return of the members from the Armed Forces, the Fraternity’s enrollment reaches 45 members and they see the need for their own house. In December, all active and alumni members agree to sign ten $10 cognovit notes and pay them one each year, or sooner if they were able. With this start, the Fraternity buys its first house for $670. It was a four bedroom single home located at 1831 East 27th Street, which will eventually go the way of all homes in the pathway of the Interstate 90 freeway. They will live, study, and party there for the next quarter century and grow to 87 members in 1960. In 1952, BBA burns its first mortgage.
Donald W. Peters pledges BBA Fraternity. He will serve as President, Social Chair, and Alumni Chair as an undergrad before going on to serve as Board Chairman and to be the backbone of the Delta Epsilon Chapter of TKE for more than four decades.
Quote from Fanfare, the Fenn College yearbook:
“Hailed as one of the outstanding fraternities since its inception in 1932, Beta Beta Alpha has had its prime objective the furtherance of social functions, as well as maintaining scholastic achievement in the School of Business Administration… The highlight in the fraternity social calendar is the annual Harvest Prom. Each year the event has grown in popularity and attendance. The past year witnessed a near record breaking crowd.”
After determining that they were destined to be more than a local fraternity, the men of BBA start looking at various national fraternities to become members of. With many of these groups already established at other Greater Cleveland colleges, none are willing to go onto the Fenn College campus - except for Tau Kappa Epsilon. The members later learn that their advisor, Paul Anders, is a Teke from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
The men of BBA have to make a choice on whether to join TKE or continue as BBA. The majority chose to become part of TKE. They are the first Fenn College fraternity to go international. On May 10th, these men became founding members of the Delta Epsilon Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. For many years, the Tekes try to maintain their relation to BBA and recognize 1932 as their founding date. Throughout the 20th Century, many BBA members choose to not become members of TKE and maintain their own alumni association and hold regular annual events.
Bill Quallich graduates from Fenn College after serving as the chapter’s Prytanis, Hegemon, Crysophylos, and Steward. He was also President and Treasurer of the Student Council and a member of the Beta Alpha Psi Honorary Accounting Fraternity. He will go on to serve TKE as a Regional Officer (1955-61), member of the Delta Epsilon Board of Trustees (1957-73), Delta Epsilon Chapter Advisor (1957-67), Chairman of the Headquarters Building Committee, and Grand Officer (1961-75). During this time, he was also a member of the Fenn/CSU Alumni Association (1955-2001) and its President from 1967 to 1968.
The House on East 27th Street is sold for $27,000 and through Dean Anders’s contacts and continued successful implementation of the cognovit notes program, Delta Epsilon purchases a new House from the YWCA for $52,000 plus $18,000 in improvements. They move into the 3047 Prospect Avenue location in the fall. Previously living in a modest little red shingled dwelling on E. 27th Street, the new 24-room mansion is a big step for the growing membership. As reported in the Cauldron on May 11th:
“the new ‘Teke House’ leaves little to be desired as far as facilities are concerned. Its second and third floors are entirely made up of one to three man suites with ample space for study rooms, a library and fraternity offices. On the first floor is a spacious living room, a recreation room with a fireplace, a rear sun room and several other rooms as yet to be assigned to their roles. On the sub-floor are complete kitchen and dining facilities which, after renovation, will supply the wants of the 30 to 40 Tekes and friends at each meal.”
More About the House
Dr. Carl Lohman, a reputable figure during the turn of the last century had the house built in 1886. The house, built for his family of four, followed the basic architecture of the times and of the region. Dr. Lohman sold the house to the Mary Ingersoll Club in the spring of 1917.
The Mary Ingersoll Club was formed in the late 1860s. Around that time, many women were starting to wonder whether or not it was right to stay on the farm with their immediate families while waiting for the right man to come along, or to brave the evils of the city. These women would move into the house and be introduced to the business world. It is reported that an average of 30 women lived in the house at any given time.
Mentioning Mr. Samuel Mather is significant because, in memory of his wife, he helped purchase the house for the Mary Ingersoll Club. Other generous donors included Mrs. Dudley Blossom and Mrs. S. Wellman. The Club was a very successful organization until the 1950s when they started admitting women who were a lot older than the groups who had been in the house during previous years. This posed a serious threat to the future of the Club; no longer did the club have the drawing power of the youth. The Club was originally meant to serve the needs of the young women who wanted to further themselves in the big city. Since the Club was now virtually an older ladies home and the YWCA was closely related to the Club’s original ideas, the house was given to the YWCA on March 8, 1960. They then sold the house to TKE on May 19, 1960.
Bill Quallich is elected to the Grand Council as Grand Crysophylos. He will hold this position for ten years before being selected Grand Epiprytanis and Grand Prytanis at the 1971 and 1973 Conclaves, respectively. The 1960s will see the Delta Epsilon Chapter receive Top Teke honors four times. Paul Anders is selected Top Teke Alumnus. He served as Faculty Advisor until his death in 1966. Frater Anders was initiated into TKE in 1914.
More on Dean Paul “Guv” Anders
Paul R. Anders was born in Galesburg, Illinois. He graduated from Knox College in 1917 and went on to teach in Freeport, Illinois before entering the Army. During the two years spent with the 137th Machine Gun Battalion, he achieved the rank of Sergeant-Major. When discharged, he worked for a time in the steel mills in Gary, Indiana. In 1919-20 he did graduate work in economics at the University of Wisconsin and then taught high school in Springfield, Illinois. It was there that he met the future Mrs. Anders - they were married on September 13, 1921. Suggestions from colleagues brought him to Cleveland and work with the Cleveland Trust Bank, teaching at what later became Fenn College, and Associate Dean, then Dean of the School of Business Administration in 1931.
Fenn College becomes an Ohio state college and renames itself Cleveland State University. Undergraduate and alumni Fraters work together to remodel the House and discuss raising the Coach House. House rent is $75/month and $300/quarter. Over the course of the next year, updates are made to the Main House bathrooms - plumbing and electrical, the TV room, firewall, water tap, and phone booth (now known as our ritual closet).
The Chapter, Board Members, and TKE Headquarters discuss razing the Coach House to prevent it from falling down around itself. Initial plans included razing the Coach House and adding to the Main House a structure of equivalent size and capacity, at a cost of $75,000 (about $25K to come from TKE HQ). Fraters Quallich and Peters work closely to collect notes due by alumni to pay for about half the amount. In the end, the Chapter and Board decide to fix the Coach House instead of defacing the rear of the Main House and obtain a loan to pay for the repairs.
The Coach House required about $35,000 worth of repairs. Delta Epsilon made use of the House Fund to obtain a second mortgage on the property. Under the guidance of Don Peters and his friend Gerhardt Mueller Construction and Frank Jaklic, the rebuilding of the Coach House took place. In 1970, Don Peters received a Key Leader Award from TKE. In 1977, Bill Quallich became the first member of Delta Epsilon Chapter to receive the Order of the Golden Eagle - the Fraternity’s highest award.
Frater Ken Kocab receives a national “Grand Prytanis Key Leader Award” for his efforts in the Chapter Rush Program. He has recently started his 12 years as Chapter Advisor and is actively guiding Delta Epsilon through one of its toughest periods. Initiated in 1967, Ken was selected a National Honor Histor recipient as the Chapter’s Histor in 1968.
Delta Epsilon celebrates the final payment on its mortgage with a “Mortgage Burning Party” celebrated by Fraters from the 1950s to 1980s. Don Peters, Board Chairman for the previous 27 years, presided over the festivities and did the honors of setting the note on fire amid the raucous cheers of all in attendance.
Well known for some interesting fundraisers, the Delta Epsilon men roll a beer keg from Washington D.C. to Cleveland to raise money for St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital - more than $2000 is collected. In September, several members including Nathaniel Cross, Mike Carl, Dave Pauer, John Joyce, Rob Andrew, and Jeff Sawicki, push a bathtub from Cleveland to New York City. The 11-day, 600 mile journey puts them in the Guinness Book of World Records. According to team captain Mike Carl, a bathtub is chosen because “we wanted to do something this summer that was crazy, fun, and worthwhile all at the same time.” Sponsors include Owens Corning Fiberglass (maker of the bathtub), WMMS radio, and CSU. They will return to Cleveland in a van.
Delta Epsilon Chapter completes a 53-day trampoline marathon on February 28th. Again, the Chapter makes it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Some memories from the Chapter at the time include: “having the alarm go off in the middle of the morning and having to look forward to two-hours of perpetual motion” and “hoping to wake up in the morning after a Friday night out, and be able to keep your food down.” The team of Mike Carl, Rob Onacila, Rob Andrew, Tony Vetturini, Nate Cross, and Ron Trebec made it all possible and were rewarded with a note of congratulations from Frater/President Ronald Reagan.
The House’s original slate roof, covered with old asphalt, is torn off and a new roof put on, thereby removing several leaks that had developed over the years. The badly weathered façade of the building was replaced with new wood and stucco. The large front porch is torn down and replaced with a more original, smaller sized porch. This academic year also sees the Delta Epsilon men push a jukebox from the University of Akron to Cleveland to raise money for the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The jukebox itself was an eight-foot tall stylized, version of a Wurlitzer jukebox.
Timothy J. Cosgrove becomes only the second Board Chairman in the history of Delta Epsilon (and only the third since 1950). He is a 1987 graduate of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and later becomes a partner with one of the world’s largest firms - Squire, Sanders & Dempsey.
Delta Epsilon receives Top Teke Chapter status at the Biennial Conclave. During the 40th Anniversary Celebrations, Frater Quallich returns to Cleveland for the first time in several years and brings with him many stories about our historical beginnings. Some (funny) Torch predictions (”In Ten Years”) at the time which never came true: Sam Spain - becomes a P.I. and is hunting down Ian for chapter’s old accounting books. Bob DiSanto - owns his own marketing research company and is still trying to collect money from Spring Blow Out ‘92. Brian Stacy - now owns Slimfast where Petransky works. Paul Mihelich - married, unemployed and his car is still parked outside the TKE House. Mark Devcic - now owns Foo Doos and 10 other Chinese restaurants in the Cleveland area.
Delta Epsilon becomes the first TKE Chapter to have two of its members receive the Fraternity’s highest honor, when Don Peters is presented with the “Order of the Golden Eagle” by his friend and Frater, Bill Quallich, at the Conclave in Tarpon Springs, FL.
This is a year of celebration and sorrow. Several members of the Chapter drive through snow storms to arrive in Pittsburgh, PA to be a part of TKE’s Centennial Celebration. Members of the Fraternity, undergraduates and alumni, join in at similar events throughout North America. At Conclave, Don Peters becomes a member of the first class of the TKE “Chapter Advisor Hall-of-Fame.” In October, the Delta Epsilon Chapter loses one of its greatest alumni volunteers when Frater Peters dies at his home. The Chapter votes unanimously to make October 25th Donald W. Peters Day and forever honors Mildred Peters as Chapter Sweetheart Emerita.
The Chapter loses another one of its favorite sons when William Quallich dies at his home in Florida. Known throughout TKE as the “Grand Dollar” for his fiscal policies while on the Grand Council, Frater Quallich is mourned by all TKE members across the continent.
Over 900 men have signed our scroll and the Delta Epsilon Chapter celebrates 50 years as members of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.