THE HISTORY OF FARMHOUSE FRATERNITY

1945-1954 Baby Boom Benefits FarmHouse

This decade began with the close of World War II and a mass return to campus and ended with planning the 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Return from the War

With the return from the war, this was the beginning of the Baby Boomer era. Many FH men decided to immediately start a family rather than return to life in the fraternity house. It wasn't until fall 1947 that all of our FarmHouse chapters were fully operational. Of the FarmHouse men serving during World War II, 596 earned commissions, while 38 members and one pledge died for the cause.

New Chapters Formed

The Fraternity experienced unprecedented growth during the decade 1945-54. A total of six chapters chartered, despite a cautious approach to expansion by D. Howard Doane (MO '05), the National Board, and other founders. Doane was particularly concerned
with the prospect of rapid expansion of
chapters.

The six groups that chartered included—Colorado State, Wyoming, Kentucky, Purdue, North Carolina State, and Arkansas.

The Purdue Chartering on April 5-6, 1952 had a particularly large turnout of FarmHouse members. The ceremony was attended by 192 FarmHouse men from 12 states—63 of which were the Purdue brothers who were initiated into FarmHouse.

Pearls & Rubies

After years of first producing The FarmHouse Record , other semi-regular national publications and later The Gleaner , the FarmHouse National Board adopted a proposal to make Pearls & Rubies the official publication of the Fraternity.

In 1947, Pearls & Rubies began being produced on a quarterly basis. Preston
McDaniel (MO '36) served as editor of the magazine for much of the 1940s and 50s. Meanwhile, H. K. Wilson (IA '27) served the better part of this decade as the national secretary-treasurer (now called executive director) for FH.

Doane and Master Builder Awards

Because of World War II, the Fraternity was delayed in beginning the process of each chapter selecting the most deserving senior for the Doane Award. The award was officially started in 1947, with Daddy Doane himself providing the funds for each chapter to have
a permanent plaque on display to engrave the winner's name each year.

In 1950, the Master Builder of Men was created. The award would serve as the highest honor that FarmHouse can bestow on an alumnus. Six men received the Master Builder Award in its year of inception (1950)—the six living founders—Doane, Howard, Hutchison, Krusekopf, Earl Rusk, and Henry Rusk.

Trial Merger with Delta Theta Sigma

After two years of discussions concerning a possible merger, Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity, having 150 members and FarmHouse, having 2,700 members, agreed at the 1948 Conclave to a period of “trial merger.”

The two fraternities shared many similarities. FarmHouse at the time had eight chapters and DTS had three. Debate ensued once again over the next two years about coming to common ground on a name of the merged organization.

After the two-year trial and several joint meetings, both organizations called off the proposed merger at the 1950 Conclave.

Golden Anniversary Fund

In preparation for the Fraternity's 50th anniversary, the Golden Anniversary Fund was launched in 1952. This fund was to provide a broader financial base and support for the Fraternity's operations. It was the forerunner of the Foundation, which would officially start 10 years later.