Ice Carnival: Ice Sculpture

I'm not sure when Ice Sculpture became an Ice Carnival event.  I was in Potsdam for the 1988-1991 Ice Carnivals and never saw this event as we never had enough snow!  When looking at Ice Carnival from 1930-1960 I didn't see any mention of Ice Sculpture until 1961.  In the 60s and maybe the early 70s they allowed paint on the sculptures, but by 1977 "no paint" was part of the official rules.

These photos are amazing....and I'm not even done looking through the yearbooks!  Each year had a specific theme.  Another great spot for old photos is this album on the Clarkson Flickr account.

1960s

1962 - Phi Delta first place

Zeta 1962

1967

1961 or 62, Phi K

OPiO 1969

1970

1971

1973

AEPi: "From "the gang that couldn't shoot straight".
It is a six shooter with a bent barrel and a face for a grip!"

1976

Smokers Though The Years

How has fraternity rush changed over the years?  A lot.  Here are some tidbits I've found online:

1920s
Professors and local clergy were invited to smokers and attended.  Students listened to music (including performances from the Clarkson Melody Boys), sang songs (including college songs) around pianos, ate sandwiches, cider, donuts and coffee and played cards.  They also stayed up "way past bedtime."

Theta Chi Fraternity

ΘΧ

1949-1997

Clarkson's fifth fraternity, Kappa Kappa Tau, was founded on April 19, 1949. On May 24, 1952 the brothers became the Delta Sigma chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, becoming the first Clarkson fraternity to affiliate with a national organization. They move into a building on Fall Island. In 1957 the brothers purchased the house at 18 Elm Street.

In the 1960s three sophomore members of Theta Chi write and produce a horror film (as a school project) with help from a Humanities professor named Wesley Craven.  The film is about strange occurrences at their fraternity house, which used to be a funeral parlor. They name their film "The Searchers."  In 1984 Mr. Craven writes and directs "A Nightmare on Elm Street." He answered some questions about his time in Potsdam on his website but the content has been removed.  You can now read it on this news article.

On February 10, 1997, Binaya Oja, a 17-year-old freshman at Clarkson, dies on bid night at Theta Chi Fraternity. The fraternity dissolves and 18 Elm Street is purchased by Sigma Pi Fraternity later that year.  In 2010 the house is purchased by the town and demolished.

Kappa Kappa Tau in the 1950 Clarkson yearbook

Facebook alumni page | LinkedIn group

Elm Street Projectiles: DU, AEPi & Theta Chi

When two Greek houses are close to each other they tend to interact. In the case of Theta Chi, DU and AEPi that interaction took the form of various projectiles. How could any guy resist? 

Some alumni reminisced on Facebook:

Lit House Signs

I'm not sure of the history on this one, but at one point it seems that every Fraternity and Sorority had a lit sign on their house.  It seems that most of these are gone, hopefully still around but someplace safe.  Do you know the history of your House lit sign?  I think OPiO had one as well but I don't have a clear photo. 

Here's what I've found:

Zeta, 1970 rush party

Ago sign, 1961

Beer Blasts - 1960s & 70s

Beer blasts in the 60s and 70s were a huge part of Potsdam college life.  The drinking age was 18 and even the colleges held events where the beer flowed freely.  Greek Houses from both schools held blasts on their property each semester where the House provided the live music, beer and food, and admission was as low as $2 - for all the beer you could drink.  For more photos check out this album on the Potsdam Greeks United Facebook page.  Check out this post for details on what blasts were like in the 80s & 90s.

Some printed signs from the 70s

Ice Carnival: 1960s King & Queen

An Ice Carnival King and Queen were added to the event in 1932, the second year.  Some years there were two sets of Kings and Queens.  In 1952 there were two kings, due to a tie vote.  In the 60s each student got one free ballot and could buy more for a penny each. I read one article that mentioned a 5¢ fine at fraternities for swearing, and they used the funds for additional votes! Candidates had to be seniors and know how to ice skate.

Here are the Ice Carnival Kings and Queens from the 1960s.

1960

King Dave Kinne, Lambda Iota & Queen Nancy Day, Alpha

1961

King Jerry Gibbons and Queen Penny Whitson, Phi K

Anyone know if Jerry Gibbons was in a fraternity?  I can't find this info anywhere.

1963

18 Elm Street Demolished

The Queen Anne house at 18 Elm Street built in the 1894 by Frederick Dewey.

Photo from the Potsdam Public Museum

In 1934 the sisters of Sigma Beta Epsilon Sorority lived in the house.  It is not clear if they owned or rented.  In that same year Sigma Beta Epsilon merged with Phi Kappa Pi Sorority, adopting the name Clio.  You can see the Clio badge in the second photo below. They lived in the house until 1938.

Photo from the 1934 Potsdam Normal School yearbook

1934 with Clio badge

1957 the brothers of Theta Chi Fraternity purchased the house.

1957 Clarkson yearbook

In 1997 Theta Chi lost their recognition from Clarkson and their national charter after a pledge died on bidnight.

Theta Chi in the 1990s

Sigma Pi Fraternity purchased the house at an auction later that year.  According to one alumni: 

"Sigma Pi purchased Theta Chi's house and painted the windows to match their colors but left one window red in honor of Theta Chi."

The brothers tried to keep up with the repairs but found it too costly and challenging.  In 2006 the house was in such disrepair that Potsdam's code-enforcement department cited the fraternity. This was also the year Sigma Pi lost their recognition from SUNY Potsdam. One alumni states:

"Repairing that house was no small task. We had estimates of 50k to repair a section of the roof, not even the entire roof. Some contractors said they were not skilled enough to work on the roof at all. It was an amazing monster of a house and I was lucky to have spent time there."

In 2008 brothers Kip and Kevin Blanchard, bought the house and stripped out its windows, doors, copper pipes, and other architectural elements.  In 2009 they sold the house to the Town of Potsdam for $60,000.  Several groups tried to save the house, but their efforts were unsuccessful and the house was torn down in 2010.

In January, 2013, a new Town Hall opened at 18 Elm Street.

Early 80s Greek Week Chariot Races

In the early 80s, Clarkson held a Greek Week (Weekend in '81) in the fall to introduce freshmen to the fraternities. One of the events held was a chariot race, in the lawn of The Pit.  One alumni said these later turned into Bed Races, until someone was accidently dumped off in the middle of Main Street.

Can anyone else share details on these events?  Here are some photos and an article I found.