Theta Kappa Omega

Theta Kappa Omega, also known by its nicknames TKO or "Teke", was a social secondary fraternity for high school–aged men founded in 1872 at California Military Academy in Mayfield, California. The fraternity established local chapters in towns and cities across the United States. The chapters were run by a chapter president, known as the Grand Master, and other elected officers. The national fraternity was governed by an elected body of alumni known as the Grand Council. National conventions were held annually. Most chapters were defunct by the end of the 1960s.

History

Founding

The origins of Theta Kappa Omega began in late 1872 at the California Military Academy in Mayfield, California. According to a story preserved within the fraternity, on November 13, 1872, three cadets met to discuss the problem of one of their comrades. This fourth friend was of high moral character and great intelligence but planned to discontinue his education since he could no longer pay all of his school expenses. That night, three young men pledged to each other that they would pay the expenses of their comrade to enable him to continue his higher education.
In 1875, this beloved young friend graduated from California Military Academy, after having received help from his three companions for the past three years. He had decided that such unselfish, brotherly acts should continue. He felt his friends' deeds should be recognized; that young men of the future should endeavor to follow in their footsteps. To show his gratitude, and to insure that brotherly love and help should be extended to all deserving students, he organized an undergraduate group into a fraternity to continue in the first group's tradition. He selected the name of Theta Kappa Omega. This first chapter, Alpha chapter, was located at the California Military Academy in Mayfield, California.
The history of Theta Kappa Omega Fraternity between 1872 and 1926 is very vague. During that period, the national headquarters were in the hands of Alpha, the oldest chapter. In 1899, all records were destroyed by a fire at Alpha, located at California Military Academy.

Peaks and valleys

Theta Kappa Omega was at a peak between 1885 and 1905 and additional chapters were added. However, from 1915 through 1924, the lack of organization, poor leadership, and strict rules prevented any secret organization from expanding. When the California Military Academy ruled against fraternities, the Alpha chapter was dissolved, and the Beta chapter took over the national leadership. A similar school ruling forced the closure of Beta, and finally Delta chapter of Columbia Military Academy became the official national headquarters. All history concerning Beta and a subsequent chapter, Gamma, has been hopelessly lost. However, it is noted that Gamma ceased to exist before 1911.
Delta chapter was established on September 28, 1906, by Charles Shamotulski and Carl T. McPheeters at Columbia Military Academy. Between 1906 and 1911, little is known about the chapter. In 1911, William H. Riley was Grand Master of Delta, and therefore, the National President. The following year he transferred to Gulf Coast Military Academy where he installed Zeta chapter in October, the first fraternity in that school.
Delta is responsible for the installation of Chi and Epsilon chapters at Atlanta, Georgia and also Alpha Beta at Memphis, Tennessee. These chapters were formed in a city rather than a school, an innovation for T.K.O., selecting outstanding boys of a town rather than the usual military boarding school.
Chi chapter was formerly Delta Tau Sigma Fraternity, a local, which was organized on February 24, 1923. Immediately following their petition to Delta chapter, H. Grayson Lambert Jr., Delta chapter Grand Master, and G. O. Melchor installed them into the bonds of T.K.O. The first Grand Master of Chi chapter was Frank M. Boston. Chi was admitted into the Pan Hellenic Council of Boy's High School soon after it became a chapter. Shortly after Chi was installed in Atlanta, Georgia; the Epsilon chapter was also founded there. This was the first time there existed two chapters of T.K.O in the same city.
In September 1925, Warfield Rogers, H. Grayson Lambert, Jr., Harry Rogers, Grattan Brown, Herman Jorgenson, and Julian James met in Memphis, Tennessee and decided that in the best interest of their fraternity, the national headquarters should be moved from Delta chapter of Columbia, Tennessee to Memphis, Tennessee, and that the national work of the fraternity should be carried on by a body of alumni from three or more chapters, this body of men to be known as the Grand Council.

Expansion

Between 1925 and 1930, 37 chapters were installed. By May 1926, the fraternity was international with chapters located in Canada and London, England. In June 1931, the fraternity had 7,500 members and 41 chapters; all but three chapters were location in the Southern United States. It held a national convention in Birmingham, Alabama from June 22 to 25, 1931.
In January 1928, the ritual and blackbook were printed and distributed by the Grand Council. In the same year, the official song of T.K.O. was written by Oscar Hurt and Julian James. The Endowment Fund of T.K.O. was established at the Biloxi Convention in 1933. Eight hundred dollars left from the administration of John Singreen was used to start the Endowment Fund and Singreen served as its trustee. J.B. Hermon was instrumental in building the fund during the years of 1934 to 1940 to about $3,000. Singreen revised the blackbook and the new edition was issued in February 1935. Singreen also compiled the National Directory in 1932.

1940s and 1950s

The late 1940s were marked by some twenty active chapters, with the best-attended conventions in its history. Some two hundred brothers gathered in Atlanta, Memphis, or New Orleans. Following this period, the early 1950s saw an increase in anti-fraternity activity, and subsequently, a reduction in the active chapters, with a low of eight in 1957. However, this period was certainly not without bright spots - the Teke Echoes became firmly established under the supervision of Jack Francis as the leading secondary fraternity publication; Tekes assumed leadership positions in the Inter-Fraternity Congress; and conventions were held in such places as New Orleans, Mobile, and Biloxi.
The installation of Theta Gamma in 1959 signaled new success in the expansion efforts of the fraternity. The reactivation of Zeta Nu and Delta Epsilon and the installation of Theta Zeta, Theta Eta, and Theta Mu revived the fraternity and an era of greater acceptance of the role of fraternities began.

1960s

1963 saw the Endowment Fund reach the long-sought objective of $10,000. Because of financial inflation occurring in the nation, in 1967, the fraternity raised its national dues from the original $40 per chapter, which had been established in 1925, to $60 per chapter. 1968 saw a second expansion wave starting with the installation of Theta Kappa, Theta Lambda, and Theta Nu.

Symbols

The original coat-of-arms showed a griffin standing rampant, or, in full standing position, with a smaller shield, and the paw grasping the sword at a salute. In September 1925, the Grand Council adopted an updated coat-of-arms. The shield displays a Maltese cross, a sword, and a plumed knight’s helmet. From the top of the shield extends a griffin’s head. On one side, the griffin’s talon emerges from behind the shield, while on the other side, the griffin’s tail. Beneath the shield is a scroll bearing the Greek letters ΘΚΩ. Above all is a crown surrounded by rays of glory.
The badge of membership for the fraternity was in the shape of a diamond, enameled in black. At the top of the badge is a Maltese Cross, across the center are the Greek letters ΘΚΩ, and, at the base, a plumed knight's helmet in profile; all in gold. Until the 1940s, the bottom of the badge displayed the Greek letters of the member's chapter in place of the knight's helmet. During that period, Theta Kappa Omega was the only secondary fraternity that displayed a member's chapter letters on the face of its badge.
The pledge pin was in the shape of an equilateral triangle with the Greek letters ΘΚΩ displayed across the bottom. The pin was enameled in black with the Greek letters in gold.
The fraternity's flower was the white rose. Its colors were black, white, and gold. Its publication was Teke Echoes. The official song was "Sweetheart of T.K.O."; the words were written by Oscar Hurt and Julian James, and the music by Rupert Biggadike, recorded by Columbia Phonograph Co. in 1928, with music provided by Oscar Celestin and his original Tuxedo Band of New Orleans.

Chapters

Following is an incomplete list of Theta Kappa Omega chapters, with inactive chapters and institutions indicated in italics.

Chapter	Chapter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	1872–19xx ?	California Military Academy	Mayfield, California	Inactive
Beta				Inactive
Gamma	xxxx ?– before 1911			Inactive
Delta	September 28, 1906 – 19xx ?	Columbia Military Academy	Columbia, Tennessee	Inactive
Zeta	October 1912 – 19xx ?	Gulf Coast Military Academy	Gulfport, Mississippi	Inactive
Chi	1923–1929	Technological High School	Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive
Epsilon	1924–1929	University School for Boys	Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive
Alpha Beta	July 1924–19xx ?		Memphis, Tennessee	Inactive
	192x ?–19xx ?	Texas Military College	Terrell, Texas	Inactive
Delta Eta	192x ?–19xx ?		Texarkana, Arkansas	Inactive
Delta Psi	1925–19xx ?		Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Inactive
Delta Beta	1925–19xx ?		Jackson, Mississippi	Inactive
Delta Gamma	May 1926–19xx ?		Shreveport, Louisiana	Inactive
Delta Epsilon	October 1926–19xx ?		Hattiesburg, Mississippi	Inactive
Delta Kappa	December 4, 1926 – 19xx ?		Little Rock, Arkansas	Inactive
Delta Zeta	192x ?–19xx ?		Jacksonville, Florida	Inactive
Delta Eta	192x ?–19xx ?		Texarkana, Arkansas	Inactive
Delta Iota	January 1927–19xx ?		Dallas, Texas	Inactive
Delta Mu	February 2, 1927 – 19xx ?		Jackson, Tennessee	Inactive
Delta Nu	February 6, 1927 – 19xx ?		El Dorado, Arkansas	Inactive
Delta Lambda	February 14, 1927 – 193x ?	Knoxville High School	Knoxville, Tennessee	Inactive
Delta Omicron	March 1927–19xx ?		Biloxi, Mississippi	Inactive
Delta Xi	April 14, 1927 – 19xx ?		Clarksdale, Mississippi	Inactive
Delta Theta	April, 1927 – 19xx ?		Mobile, Alabama	Inactive
Delta Rho	April 21, 1927 – 19xx ?		Birmingham, Alabama	Inactive
Delta Pi	May 13, 1927 – 19xx ?		New Orleans, Louisiana	Inactive
Delta Tau	192x ?–19xx ?	New Mexico Military Institute	Roswell, New Mexico	Inactive
Delta Phi	June 4, 1927 – 19xx ?		Nashville, Tennessee	Inactive
Delta Omega	March 1928–19xx ?		Chattanooga, Tennessee	Inactive
Zeta Alpha	April 1928–19xx ?		Kansas City, Missouri	Inactive
Zeta Beta	192x ?–19xx ?	Chamberlain Hunt Academy	Port Gibson, Mississippi	Inactive
Zeta Gamma	September 1, 1928 – 19xx ?		Paris, Texas	Inactive
Zeta Delta	1928–19xx ?		Lubbock, Texas	Inactive
Zeta Epsilon	November 24, 1928 – 19xx ?	Mamaroneck School	Larchmont, New York	Inactive
Chi Epsilon	1929–19xx ?		Atlanta, Georgia	Inactive
Zeta Eta	–19xx ?		Houston, Texas	Inactive
	c. 1929–19xx ?		Lakeland, Florida	Inactive
Zeta Theta	January 1, 1929 – 19xx ?		Ardmore, Oklahoma	Inactive
Zeta Kappa	February 1929–19xx ?		Stillwater, Oklahoma	Inactive
Zeta Lambda	April 5, 1929 – mid-1960s		West Palm Beach, Florida	Inactive
Zeta Nu	April 21, 1929 – 19xx ?		Jonesboro, Arkansas	Inactive
Zeta Mu	May 4, 1929 – 19xx ?		Tulsa, Oklahoma	Inactive
Zeta Pi	June 10, 1929 – 19xx ?		Meridian, Mississippi	Inactive
Zeta Tau	February 1931–19xx ?		Amarillo, Texas	Inactive
Zeta Sigma	1932–19xx ?		Pelham, New York	Inactive
Zeta Upsilon	1934–19xx ?	Riverside Military Academy	Gainesville, Georgia	Inactive
Zeta Phi	February 22, 1935 – 19xx ?		Corpus Christi, Texas	Inactive
Zeta Chi	November 1935–19xx ?		New Rochelle, New York	Inactive
Zeta Psi	December 1935–19xx ?		Columbus, Mississippi	Inactive
Zeta Omega	1936–19xx ?		Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Inactive
Sigma Alpha	1938–19xx ?		Laurel, Mississippi	Inactive
Sigma Beta	July 10, 1938 – 19xx ?		Amarillo, Texas	Inactive
Sigma Delta	August 4, 1940 – 19xx ?		Marshall, Texas	Inactive
Kappa Phi	November 27, 1941 – 19xx ?		Camden, Arkansas	Inactive
Sigma Epsilon	194x ?–19xx ?		Magnolia, Arkansas	Inactive
Sigma Zeta	194x ?–19xx ?		Starkville, Mississippi	Inactive
Sigma Nu	August 2, 1944 – 19xx ?		Lexington, Tennessee	Inactive
	1956–19xx ?		Dyersburg, Tennessee	Inactive
Theta Beta	May 1957–19xx ?		Bogalusa, Louisiana	Inactive
Theta Gamma	1958–19xx ?		Union City, Tennessee	Inactive
Theta Zeta	March 17, 1962 – 19xx ?		Springfield, Missouri	Inactive
Theta Eta	August 17, 1963 – 19xx ?	Casady School	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Inactive
Theta Eta	August 17, 1963 – 19xx ?	Classen High School	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Inactive
Theta Eta	August 17, 1963 – 19xx ?	Northwest Classen High School	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Inactive
Theta Iota	1968–19xx ?		Pensacola, Florida	Inactive
Theta Kappa	1968–19xx ?			Inactive
Theta Lambda	1968 –19xx ?			Inactive
Theta Mu	196x?–19xx ?	East Jefferson High School	Metairie, Louisiana	Inactive
Theta Nu	1968–19xx ?			Inactive