Steps Toward the Total Fraternity
A rare opportunity was presented in the Spring of 1958 a house was placed on the market. In the Fall of 1958, Actives began to contact the Alumni, seeking their support to buy the house. Two evenly divided factions were created, one wanted to buy the residential property, the other wanted to build a new House on the Hill.
After hours of heated discussion at the Symposium meeting in 1958, members narrowly voted against the purchase of 203 South Third Street. However, the group favoring purchase included those with control of fraternity funds. Despite the official vote, funds in the building account were used to purchase the property. In September, the Actives moved in, thrilled with the greater space and comfort of their new Chapter House.
The fact that the 203 South Third Street property was purchased against the official will of the Association caused a rupture in traditional fraternity unity. Strong friendships were severely strained. The strength of the Alumni was sapped. It was a time, however, when new young alumni leadership was developed. Tom Deans became alumni president in 1959. Walter McConnell and Mel Woodward, class of 53, both served as president in the early 60s. Eventually, by 1965, the concentrated efforts of a few younger Alumni to effect reconciliation was unsuccessful.
The post World War II resurgence of PLT reached its peak after the first five or six years at 203 South Third Street. The House won the scholarship trophy several times. For five straight years the chapter pledged 20 or more new members. "Pow Wow" continued to be the social highlight, but now rock and roll bands replaced the groups of the 50s. The fraternity elected its first black President, Frank Wood, who was also captain of the swimming team. Frank is now an executive with Union Carbide in charge of African operations. Racism was not absent on the Bucknell campus, however.
Phi Lam's sponsored a campus wide debate on discrimination at Bucknell in the Spring of 1963. The student and faculty participants attacked Bucknell's latent discrimination in the classroom, admissions, athletics, and scholarship assistance. The audience filled the basement and living rooms of 203 South Third Street House. A loudspeaker carried the debate to a large crowd outside on the lawn.
Harley Bennett, chapter President, later served as alumni President from 1969 to 1976.
By the mid 1960s however, there were indications of decline. The actives seemed to become less interested in the pursuit of ideals. They claimed that brotherhood of all men no longer held its appeal as other fraternities were pledging minority students as well. Some actives claimed that PLT was not competitive because of its location in downtown Lewisburg. Theta Chi and Lambda chi had moved to the Hill. For other reasons the House was coming to be seen as a mistake; it could sleep only 24 members and the arrangement of rooms did not permit large group dining.
While large chapters began to disappear, operating deficits began to do the opposite; they showed up in five consecutive years. Since the loss of funds delayed construction of the "House on the Hill", the alumni reluctantly made up these losses.