Archive for September, 2008

Zeta Theta 1976

When I was an undergraduate, Zeta Theta Chapter at Ferris State University was known as the “Death Chapter.” Well, my pledge line was taken to Ferris State and after we left, I better understood why the chapter was called such a name! I was also proud of this chapter because they chartered my chapter Lambda Gamma at Central Michigan University in 1979. I once heard that they had 40 strong brothers on the campus which back in the mid-1970 was unique, because Sigma was so young in Michigan and the Great Lakes. Plus, being on a campus with such a very small African-American population, it was almost impossible to recruit this many men to join your organization. So, I say, “blue phi” to the history and success of Zeta Theta Chapter in Big Rapids, Michigan. I’ve attached a picture from the Fall 1976 Crescent Magazine of Zeta Theta Chapter.

nip/tuck

i posted about this a while back and am just now getting around to making the changes. so between football, i managed to tinker around with the site. i wanted to go to a 2 column layout to make better use of the space and move around things in the sidebar. i still have more to tweak like the background (that gradient from blue to gray is weird) and do more with these sidebar modules. this theme also makes it easier to add pages. if there’s anything else you want to see here, let me know.

Arleigh Winston Scott

Bro. Dr. Sir Arleigh Winston Scott, Governor-General of Barbados

Brother and Doctor Sir Arleigh Winston Scott (1900-1976), was the first native Governor-General of Barbados. Bro. Scott was educated at St. Giles Boys’ School and Harrison College. He studied medicine at Howard University in the United States and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. After qualifying, he returned to the United States for further studies and became a visiting ophthalmic surgeon to Harlem hospital in New York.

He returned to Barbados in 1953, and became successful and highly regarded as a medical practitioner. He established a nursing home, which is known as Woodside Memorial Clinic, and which he continued to run until he became Governor General. He had a distinguished record in community work and gave his services without charge to the Children’s Goodwill League, as well as lecturing in public health. From time to time he taught hygiene to the pupils of some of the primary schools in the Bridgetown area.

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Mark “Mallet” Pacich

“Treasure those who Teach You”

Thanks to Bro. Mark “Mallet” Pacich, my journey down the road to collecting Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity history began in 1999. Bro. Pacich through his dedication, hard work, and determination has inspired bothers near and far to connect with Sigma elders, save and document rare Sigma History and brought the Sigma History Museum to the 2001, 2003, and 2007 National Conclaves.

Here is a rare photo of that Zeta Kappa connection (University of Florida). Bro. Mark Pacich (Spr.91)  and Bro. Emmitt Smith (Spr. 92) in 2002.

Today in Sigma History – September 24, 2008 – Bro. Pacich – Thank you for keeping the History at the forefront of our Fraternity.

Grafton Daniels

This is another one of my good Sigma stories that I like to tell. My grandfather died on June 25, 2001. His funeral was right before the Detroit Conclave. A number of our Brothers came to the funeral to support me (Bro. Nelson – Uncle G, Bro. K. Spinner, Bro. Jones, etc). However, Bro. Spinner introduced me to Bro. Grafton Daniels. Come to find out that Bro. Daniels was my grandfather’s poker buddy for over 50 years. In addition to being close to my grandparents, Bro. Daniels, joined Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Alpha Sigma Chapter in April of 2001 at the age of 90 years old.

I sat down with Bro. Daniels in January of 2006, but he was moving from his home in Northeast Washington DC to Silver Spring, Maryland (he had just lost his wife). He had actually gone on line in the early 1930’s at Alpha Chapter, but he became ill while on line and never finished. However, determined to fulfill his goal, Bro. Daniels joined Sigma at age 90.

He joined the Omega Chapter in July of 2006, he was 95 years young and had a great spirit. He was an investor for many years, he left me with this one piece of advice for all brothers! He said “Please invest your money into some type of stock/401k/retirement plan, etc.”  He said that once you got enough money to purchase a home, please do so, and
help the next brother get his. He said “security” is what most of us strive for.

Bro. Daniels gave me a picture of him from his days at Howard University in the 1930’s.

In the era of technology, I managed to get this one picture of him with my cell phone in January of 2006.

Today in Sigma History – Bro. Grafton Daniels – Alpha Sigma Chapter, Spr. 01 – September 23, 2008