April 1931

 

Progress of Alpha Theta Alumni Recounted

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“The ‘Smith,’ a mighty man is he.”…Mighty in Alpha Theta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha; mighty in the University of Iowa alumni; mighty in the engineer profession; mighty as the superintendent of the A.A. Alexander construction company of Des Moines, Iowa, one of the Iowa’s largest and best, and mighty in and at love (see Cupid’s Corner). This is particular Smith of infinite qualifications is one Brother Clifford V. Smith, hailing from Kansas City, Mo., one time secretary, one time president, and charter member of Alpha Theta. And so we introduce our readers to an account, all too inadequate, of the activities of our brothers departed through graduation.

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Down in the genial Southland, where there is sunshine, where there are cotton ‘n’ “tater,” where there is universal hospitality and pleasure to overflowing, there is also Brother Dr. James Wilmet Wilson Jr., D.D.S., University of Iowa ’29.

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Picture the successful young dentist, three significant Geek letters shimmering on the fore of Hickey-Freeman’s latest in waistcoats; moving prominently in Savannah’s young professional set; suave, debonair, and sophisticated, socially sought after; young, popular, and attractive wife; baby girl loveable and sweet – and you have Brother Wilson.

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And what a brother you have! Two years steward of Alpha Theta’s, sometime most outstanding of the “Dents,” and always financial magnate and social potentate.

And, then, there is Brother Augustus P. Ewing. Right out of St. Louis, right into the University of Iowa, into Alpha, into the high scoring of anything athletic, fraternal, scholastics, and social and back again into St. Louis and the cold, cruel world. But it looks to us as if the old world has been neither cold nor cruel to “Gus”.

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He has taken his torn with every rose and still appreciated the sweetness of the rose. He has talked insurance, looked insurance, worked insurance, and now, with his gilded desks, innumerable, and now, with pens, office girls, and what have, he looks very much like, as indeed he most certainly is, one of the Pyramid Life’s most valuable and promising young men. And this in a year, too.

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Alpha Theta, Theta, and Alpha Beta have known Brother Dr. Charles N. Pitts intimately, and they are one with others of us in acknowledging his success as a physician in Macon, Ga., another of those havens of the young Negro professional.

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Brother Pitts left the university in ’28 with the M.D. degree. We are proud to be able to announce that this brother may be numbered among Alpha Theta’s successful alumni.

If you are a “good Alpha” and interested in orther “good Alphas” let us refer you briefly to Brother J. Joseph Frazier of Chicago. Cupid’s Corner let you into her obscure recesses not long ago and you came out and knew that there was a Mrs. Brother J. J. Frazier in 1929. Since that time there is a little Frazier, and all “good Alphas”… “Nuff Sed.”

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Brother Frazier look a B.S. degree from the University in 1929, and forthwith went to the College of Medicine. He is continuing this work at Rush Medical School, in Chicago.

We refer you to the February issue of this peerless periodical of ours, The Sphinx, for accounts of Brother Jas. E. Taylor, Jr., ’29, and Brother Louis B. White ’30.

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Since March 11, 1922, Alpha Theta has held forth. We approach at this writing March 11, 1931, and, brothers, we are celebrating! A smoker at the chapter house will afford the means, and (if I may) a goof time will be had by all. We are fortunate this year in having as a part of our program, addresses from two of our charter members, Brother Rhoderic Harris and Byron McDaniel. Step right up brothers and wish is many happy returns.

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We whisper, get financial; shout get financial! Telegraph get financial; write get financial; breathe get financial, and ah-ha-there you have it. We are getting financial, lots of us.

Our Go-to-High-School, Go-to-College campaign is sailing, sailing. We’ll be on the air and we’ll be all over Iowa. Look out for us, and, man to man, there may be lots to tell in our next letter.

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-Bennie E. Taylor