To celebrate the holidays, the gentlemen of Beta Theta Pi brought homemade cookies and sang carols to the three sororities on campus: Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi.

The intent was to spread some holiday cheer as well as give some much needed pre-finals mind-rest to the lovely sorority women on campus.

Posted November 29th, 2009

This fall, Gamma Sigma alumnus Doug Houser '57 (ΓΣ 246) placed on loan to our chapter a striking display of our chapter’s coat of arms.  The wood sculpture is one of a very few of its kind in the world and is unique to our chapter.  Brother Houser said that the piece would be on loan to the chapter as long as the chapter is a part of Beta Theta Pi.  “It’s a loan I never want back,” said Brother Houser jokingly.
In Beta Heraldry, chapter coats of arms appear largely the same as those of the Fraternity as a whole, but with two exceptions: a device unique to each chapter that is placed in the upper left quadrant, and the chapter’s motto in place of the Fraternity’s motto on the scroll below the shield.  Each chapter’s motto begins with the Greek letters of that chapter.  The Gamma Sigma Coat of Arms has as its device the beaver that is found on the Willamette University Seal (which can be seen at the top of this page) and as its motto, “Γινόμεθα Συμβοηθείᾳ [Gih-no-meh-thah seem-bo-ee-thee-ah]” which roughly translates to “We are born through mutual assistance.” The chapter motto is itself an homage to our university’s motto: “Non nobis solum nati sumus.”
The coat of arms is now displayed proudly in Gamma Sigma’s front room and will hopefully always remind Gamma Sigs that, while we are unique in our chapter, we are still connected to our great and good Fraternity.

Originally posted May 2008

On Sunday, May 4, Mark O. Hatfield, former Governor and United States Senator, returned to the house he founded back in 1947. In a touching and powerful ceremony, Brother Hatfield finally “pinned” his wife, Antoinette. A pinning ceremony usually occurs upon engagement, however Brother Hatfield never got the opportunity to participate in one before he and Antoinette married. In the spirit of “better late than never,” Brother Hatfield signified his life-long devotion to his wife by placing his Beta pin on her lapel.

   

Ryan Moothart, Executive Officer of Alumni and Parent Relations, planned the event with the help of chapter adviser Jon Steiner. Ryan had this to say about the event:

      “It was an honor and a privilege to host Brother and Mrs. Hatfield. When we heard he wanted to do this, we jumped at the opportunity. Everything went about flawlessly and the event was a tremendous success. Not only was it a huge honor for the brotherhood to be able to participate in such an important moment in the lives of Brother and Mrs. Hatfield, it was very humbling. To see a man of such distinction sitting in our (and his) living room, knowing that he was just like us when he went to Willamette, made a lot of us realize that Beta Theta Pi really is something special and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Originally posted September 2008

On Saturday, September 20, Beta Theta Pi welcomed back several alumni from the Gamma Sigma chapter for a homemade breakfast.  For the first time in 61 years, alumni came back to a brand new chapter house.  Betas old and new were treated to pancakes and crepes made by Steven Hernandez (’09), who started working in the early hours of the morning.  After eating, chapter adviser Jon Steiner (’63) awarded the Winser P. Acton Scholarship Award to Austin Knutson (’10) for having the most improved grades in the house.  Winser Acton (’47), Gamma Sigma’s first chapter adviser, was in attendance and was alongside Jon in the presentation.  The morning continued with a performance from the newly formed Gamma Sigma quintet and a speech by chapter Vice President Ryan Moothart (’10), Executive Officer of Alumni and Parent Relations Garrett Potter (’11), and chapter President Blake Piper (’09).



More alumni were treated to an open house later that afternoon.  Dozens of house tours were given and even University President M. Lee Pelton stopped by with Senior Director of Alumni & Parent Relations, Jim Booth, a graduate of Willamette and member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.  Nearly every single person who walked through the front door was in awe of how nice the new house looked.



That night, two of Beta’s alumni, George Hoyt (’58) and Bob Seeger (’62), both received honorary awards from Willamette University.  Brother Hoyt was awarded the Lestle J. Sparks Medallion for his years of service to Willamette and Brother Seeger was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Citation for his work in medicine.  Nearly a dozen Betas signed up to volunteer at the awards banquet that night.  Overall, Beta had a very successful alumni weekend and we would like to welcome any alumni to stop by anytime!

Originally posted November 2007

During the upcoming Winter Break, Willamette University will be removing the trees to the northwest of the Beta Theta Pi Chapter House in order to make way for the new Ford Academic Hall. One of the trees that will be removed is the Richard E. Kerr Tree, sometimes referred fondly as “the sketch tree.” Few know, however, that the tree was planted in memory of a Beta pledge who lost his life during a pledge trip to the coast.


Here is some information about the Kerr Tree compiled by Brother Paul Eldred from Kerr’s fiancé and a pledge brother of Kerr, compiled by chapter adviser Jon Steiner.

From Kerr’s fiancé:

Dick was killed/died in January of 1964. He was with the fraternity guys – went to Lincoln City Beach for some play time. They weren’t drinking – just being at the beach. He was standing on a log and a sneaker wave came in. It rolled the log, he lost his balance, and fell. He hit his temple and was killed instantly. The guys were so shook up and devastated. Dick was a gentle, kind guy. Was going to be a doctor. From a very down-to-earth simple family – not fancy people, just good people. The tree was an effort to remember Dick and to bring new life from his.

He was the love of my life and a terrific guy.

Barb Brovelli-Moon
From Kerr’s pledge brother:

I spoke with a pledge brother of Dick Kerr who gave
similar information. Said he didn’t know him well
because he was in Mathews first semester while Dick
was in Baxter. They were celebrating with their
pledge class at the beach, four pledges were on a log
when a sneaker wave hit it, three jumped to safety on
one side while Dick fell to the opposite side and was
instantly killed by the log. This still happens

occasionally to visitors at the beach, especially in
the winter. Peter Slabaugh, with whom I spoke, was
pre-med as well and now lives in Southern California.
He and other Betas recently visited campus, stopped at
the tree and were surprised at how large it had grown.
The tree has definitely served as a reminder of a
young man who affected the lives of others and who
died a tragic death. The tree has served as a symbol
of his life and legacy.
Kerr would have pledge Beta in the fall of ‘63. At the time, pledges were not initiated until the following February. This means that Kerr was about a month away from becoming a member.
Although his tree will be torn down in the name of progress, Kerr’s memory will not be forgotten.