Richard Larkins, 1930

Before the imposing RPAC was the place to work out, there was Larkins Hall. It was much smaller, and by the time it was torn down in 2005, a lot worse for wear. But it had long served the OSU community, much as its namesake, Richard C. Larkins, did, as athletics director for nearly a quarter-century.

Larkins was associated with the University since he came to OSU as a student in the late 1920s. As a student, Dick Larkins played both on the varsity football team and the varsity basketball team, lettering in football from 1928-1930 and in basketball from 1929-1931. He displayed both leadership and smarts from the beginning: He was captain of the basketball team and class president, and he won the Western Conference Medal for scholastic achievement his senior year. Larkins was also a member of the junior honorary, Bucket & Dipper, and the senior honorary, Sphinx.

After earning a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration in 1931, Larkins coached the freshman football team while he worked on his MBA, which he received in 1935. Later that year he left OSU to serve as head coach for the University of Rochester football team.

Larkins, 1966

In 1937 Dick Larkins returned to his alma mater to teach physical education. When the position of Director of Athletics became vacant in 1947, Larkins never actually applied for the job. However, when members of the Athletic Board sat down to discuss possible candidates, Larkins was the only one who had the support of the coaching staff, the physical education department, and retiring Athletic Director Lynn St. John, according to an Alumni Monthly profile.

Larkins’ term as Director of Athletics included the hiring of three head football coaches – the last was Woody Hayes. But his influence on OSU athletics was much broader: Under his leadership, the program expanded to 18 sports, and he oversaw the construction of St. John Arena, French Field House and the adjacent ice rink, as well as an extensive renovation of Ohio Stadium.

In 1976, the Board of Trustees named the recreational facility after Larkins, who had retired in 1970 after 24 years as athletics director. Larkins died April 5, 1977, at the age of 67.

Larkins Hall, 1977

William Bell

William “Big Bill” Bell was a standout tackle for the OSU football team, but his academic career off the field far outshone his performance on it.

Bell played for the Buckeyes from 1929 through 1931, and earned All Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-American honors his final season. But football wasn’t his only activity: He was a member, and Sergeant of Arms, for the African-American social fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and he was a member of Varsity “O,” the Collegiate Council, and the Interracial Council.

His senior year, the Upper Class Cabinet of the OSU chapter of the YMCA tapped Bell to lead a new committee on interracial relations. In doing so, the Cabinet’s president, Wallace Hall, revived a then-dormant policy of allowing African-American members to become a member. In a Lantern article about Bell’s appointment, Hall said “Bell is a good worker, and I see no reason he should not be a member of the cabinet.”

Bell was named Interracial Chairman of the Upper Class Cabinet, 1931 Makio

After graduating in June 1932, Bell began a long career coaching football at historically African-American colleges, including Claflin College in South Carolina, Florida A&M University, Howard University and finally North Carolina A&T State University. Bell worked more than 20 years at North Carolina A&T in a number of capacities, including athletic director and professor of physical education. (Along the way, Bell received his master’s degree in physical education and his PhD in physical education from Ohio State, in 1937 and 1960, respectively.)

After organizing physical education departments at several universities, Bell ended his career as athletic director of Fayetteville (Alabama) State University where he assisted in the development of Fayetteville’s National Youth Sports Program, a summer organization for disadvantaged youths.

He died at the age of 81 in 1981 in Fayetteville. In Bell’s obituary, a former student of Bell’s at North Carolina said Bell “never said ’phys. ed.’ He always said ‘health and physical education.’ He wanted it to be a profession.”

Students hold memorial for Martin Luther King Jr., 1968

Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, sparked immediate reaction from the OSU community. After he was killed, some advocated violence – In The Lantern, one student called for people to pick up their guns – while others carried on his strategy of peaceful protest.

On April 7, a group of about 150 students marched from the Ohio Union to the Ohio State Fairgrounds. According to The Lantern, another group of students removed the American flag flying outside of Bricker Hall and took it to then-Provost John Corbally, saying a flag that represented violence should not hang even at half-mast for a man who stood for nonviolence. On April 9, Novice Fawcett ordered classes cancelled to honor King’s memory.

That year, the May Week Committee and Traditions Board decided that all proceeds made from festivities that week would be used to start a Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Fund scholarship for incoming students, based on scholastic ability and need. Until then, the profits had gone to the United Appeal fund. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion now administers the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship program.

In 1972, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (then called the Office of Minority Affairs) began its annual Martin Luther King Celebration, which has included the announcement of the scholarship winners. This year, Danny Glover is the featured speaker. (See more details at http://odi.osu.edu/.)

Students work on a project during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, 2004

In 1990, the College of the Arts teamed up with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for the Performing and Cultural Arts to provide arts education for minority students. The result was the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for the Arts. The institute’s mission was to first train minority teachers in the arts. Ohio State provided scholarships to graduate students for training. Classes for students in grades 4-12 in dance, theater, music, and visual arts were also established.

In 1999, Project Community at the Ohio Union started the annual MLK Day of Service at Ohio State. Students, faculty and staff volunteer that day on various community service projects that target children, literacy, senior citizens and the homeless. This year, OSU’s Pay It Forward and  the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center will sponsor the event, which is expected to attract 1,000 volunteers. (For details, see http://ohiounion.osu.edu/get_involved/csls/mlkday.)

John Bricker, 1916

The list of high achievers who have attended OSU is incredibly long, so today we focus just on those six who have reached the pinnacle in Ohio politics – the governor’s office.

John W. Bricker received his bachelor’s degree in 1916 and his law degree in 1920, demonstrating along the way how active he would later be in politics: He was a member of the political science club, on varsity debating team and baseball team, a member of Varsity “O,” class president his junior year, chairman of the senior memorial committee, YMCA president and a member of the senior honorary, Sphinx.

After he received his law degree, Bricker went into politics. Among the high offices he held were Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Governor (three two-year terms) and two terms as U.S. Senator. He also served as the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1944 presidential election between Thomas Dewey and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He was a member of OSU’s Board of Trustees from 1948 to 1969, serving his last year as chairman. Because of his long service to the University, the former Administration Building was renamed for him in 1983.

Thomas J. Herbert didn’t graduate from OSU, but he did attend the University’s Ground School training program during World War I. Before he was elected governor, Herbert served as Ohio Attorney General. After the end of his single-term governorship, President Dwight Eisenhower appointed him chair of the federal government’s Subversive Activities Control Board, an agency formed to hear testimony regarding charges of communism in the U.S.

Though Herbert didn’t receive an academic degree from OSU, his son, John D. Herbert did graduate from OSU in 1949. Another son, David J. Herbert, followed his in his father’s political footsteps and served as state treasurer for three terms.

John Kasich

John Kasich, Ohio’s current Republican governor, has had much more success running for state and national offices than he did when he was a student at Ohio State. He ran twice for president of the Undergraduate Student Government, but was defeated both times. He protested the second election, citing voting irregularities, but nothing came of his appeal. He graduated in December 1974 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science.

At age 26, Kasich became the youngest person ever to be elected to the Ohio Senate; he then ran for U.S. Congress and ultimately served nine terms. From 2001 to 2009, Kasich served a number of roles as a private citizen, including as a host of “Heartland with John Kasich” on the Fox News Channel. In 2010, he ran for governor, defeating then-incumbent Ted Strickland.

C. William O’Neill actually began his political career while attending OSU’s College of Law. Before entering law school, he had campaigned for other Republican candidates, but in 1938, he decided to campaign for himself, for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives. Winning the election made him the youngest General Assembly’s youngest representative, at age 22. A member of Phi Beta Kappa while in school, he earned his law degree in 1942.

During a 40-year political career, O’Neill lost only one race – the gubernatorial election of 1958. But he more than made up for that one loss, ultimately becoming the only person to serve as Ohio’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, Governor, Speaker of the House and Attorney General. He died after a heart attack in 1978 while serving as Chief Justice. At that time, he also was serving on the OSU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors as immediate past president.

Governor Rhodes, 1969

James Rhodes only briefly attended OSU in the mid-1920s before he had to drop out to help support his family, according to the alumni magazine. His first election victory came as Republican ward committeeman in Columbus, thus beginning a long political career in the state capital. His highest office was as Ohio Governor – for four terms, making him one of the longest-serving governors in U.S. history.

Though Rhodes is remembered for sending the National Guard to quell student protests on various Ohio campuses, including OSU (on May 4, 1970, four students were shot to death by Guardsmen at Kent State University), he is also credited with developing a network of community and technical colleges around the state to increase opportunities for vocational education.

Rhodes also promoted OSU as a major center for medical training and research; in 1976, the Rhodes Hall addition to University Hospitals was named after him.

George Voinovich, 1961

George Voinovich graduated in 1961 with a law degree from The Ohio State University. He got his start in political leadership roles while still on campus, serving as president of both his class and the campus Young Republicans.

After graduation, Voinovich went on to serve the state of Ohio in a wide variety of offices as a state representative, as Lieutenant Governor under fellow Buckeye James Rhodes, as the Mayor of Cleveland, the Governor, and, most recently, as U.S. Senator. His 2004 Senate victory was won by a landslide with all 88 Ohio counties selecting him to serve.

Bucket and Dipper members pose with the Illibuck, 1955

Long before the OSU-Michigan game ended play for the regular season, it was a tradition for the Illini-Buckeye rivalry to bring things to a close. From 1921-1933, Ohio State and Illinois met to play their final games.

In 1925, OSU’s junior honorary, Bucket and Dipper, decided to spice up the series with the introduction of Illibuck, a turtle who was awarded to the winner of the past year’s meeting between the two teams. Illinois’ junior honorary, Sachem, got in on the fun, and the Illibuck is passed back and forth between the teams to this day. Bucket and Dipper and Sachem regularly travel back and forth to games to meet with their corresponding organization and escort Illibuck. The name was chosen because it combines parts of both schools’ nicknames.

In addition to the Illibuck, the rivalry’s traditions include a ceremonial peace pipe, which is shared by the two honoraries at halftime. According to a 1966 article in The Daily Illini, the ceremony occurred as follows: “Two groups of students one from each school, will meet in the center of the gridiron, shake hands, smoke a peace pipe and drink from a wooden bucket. Then the Illini will give the OSU group a turtle named ‘Illibuck.’”

Illibucks, 1988

Bucket and Dipper members pose on the steps of Foellinger Auditorium, University of Illinois, 1998

The turtle was chosen because of its longevity but, in an ironic twist, the first Illibuck, a snapping turtle purchased in a Columbus pet store, suffered from the stress of being passed back and forth between Columbus and Champaign and passed away after only two years. Before his death, he spent his two years living in various fraternity houses and campus buildings at the University of Illinois, even briefly sharing space with an alligator in the Natural History building. He was much celebrated and beloved around campus.

The modern Illibuck is made of wood and is replaced as his shell fills up with scores from games featuring the two teams. This year’s game will be the 99^th time the two have played since they first met on the field in 1902. Ohio State currently leads the series, 63-30-4, but Illinois has been known to pull off surprising upsets against the Buckeyes, and the Illini have won 7 of the past 11 games held at the Shoe.

If you happen to be on OSU’s campus, you can stop by the University Museum on the first floor of University Hall to see an Illibuck on display.

To read more about the history and adventures of Illibuck, look in the digital archives of The Daily Illini (UIUC’s campus paper) and The Lantern (OSU’s campus paper).

As you know, Founders Day commemorates the first day of classes at Ohio State in 1873, and as President Gee said, the mission that the then-fledgling university embraced at that time is the same today: providing a quality education for the next generation to tackle the challenges of the future. As it was then and is now, Gee said, we are up to the task. So, we appreciate everyone’s participation, and until next year, please enjoy the photos from 2012:

“Iced Tea with President Gee,” in progress

President Gee chats with OSU Libraries Director Carol Diedrichs

Serena Jezior, Ohio Staters, Inc. student member, who welcomed guests and introduced President Gee

President Gee talks to attendees about the University’s founding

University Archivist Tamar Chute gives President Gee a Founders Day coaster

President Gee and University Archives Student Assistant Annemarie Cunningham

And the answer usually is, “No, we haven’t.” We’re archivists, so we’re very busy collecting, organizing and preserving our materials. We rarely have time for research; we rely on our patrons for such things.

Keith Johnson and Herman Jones Jr. work with University Archivist Tamar Chute

Such was the case when two students – Keith Johnson and Herman Jones Jr. – walked in one afternoon looking for information about the first African-American fraternity on campus. They didn’t assume we had a list; we’re pretty certain they had no expectations at all. But what a find they ended up making to add to our chronology of African-American Greek life on campus.

They had in their hand a book called Black Greek 101: the culture, customs and challenges of Black fraternities and sororities, by Walter M. Kimbrough (2003). Inside was a comment from the author citing a 1906 article in The Chicago Defender about a new African-American fraternity at OSU called Pi Gamma Omicron. The two students’ professor had posed a challenge to them and their classmates: Anyone who can find evidence of this group here at OSU gets extra credit.

Unfortunately, there is little evidence left of student groups at Ohio State from the time that Pi Gamma Omicron was founded. This means the Archives has very little information about African-American Greek Life from this period. The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity’s web site states that it was chartered at Ohio State in 1911, although the earliest reference of the fraternity here at the Archives is 1918. The Archives also has found references dating back to 1919 of another African-American fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, as well as the African-American sorority, Delta Sigma Theta.

So when Herman and Keith told us what they were seeking, we weren’t sure we would be able to help them.

Lantern cover, 1906

This is where technology comes in: Recently, the OSU Libraries digitized the full run of The Lantern, OSU’s student newspaper. Every issue from 1881 through 1997 is now available in a searchable database. (The Lantern’s online archives can be found as a link on the right-hand side of our home page at go.osu.edu/archives.) So after looking through our paper records here at the Archives and finding nothing, University Archivist Tamar Chute decided to try The Lantern’s online archives. And there, she found it. (Click here to see the story.)

W.E. Davis, 1908

A story in the Jan. 10, 1906, issue said that a new fraternity called Pi Gamma Omicron had been founded, and it listed all of the founding members’ names. Herman and Keith had discovered the evidence they needed to show their professor that the book citation was correct. But they wanted to know more – who were these founding members?

This is where our patrons help us out tremendously in our reference service. The Archives has a copy of a 1983 dissertation by Pamela Pritchard, “The Negro Experience at Ohio State University in the First Sixty-five Years, 1873-1938,” in which she had compiled a list of African-American OSU graduates from 1892 to 1950. Some of the founding

Elmer Shackelford, 1906

members of Pi Gamma Omicron were listed in the dissertation – W.E. Davis and Elmer Shackelford – and we were subsequently able to find their graduation photos. (Pritchard’s dissertation lists Shackelford as the first African American at OSU to earn a certificate of law – then the equivalent of a law degree.)

With the other fraternity members, we were able to find how long they attended OSU, what their majors were, where they lived and some of their extracurricular activities. (See the list here.)

Near the end of their afternoon of research, one of the students said, “I’ve never had so much fun doing research in my life.” We were very proud!

Herman and Keith later made a class presentation, which we were very happy to attend, after which they received not only extra credit but applause from the entire class and their professor.

It might seem like a small thing to have found just one article about a fraternity; after all, we don’t have any evidence – at least, yet – of how long Pi Gamma Omicron was on campus. But every such find pieces together the historical puzzle of this University’s past. We thank Herman and Keith for their research, copies of which we’ve placed among our reference materials so future patrons can build on it. Who knows what else they might find?

Keith Johnson and Herman Jones Jr. pose with the book that started it all: "Black Greek 101"

Saints and Sinners

University Hall, 1874

It may be hard to imagine but when the University first opened, there were only seven faculty members and about two dozen students. More incredibly, many of the first faculty members resided in University Hall, along with many of the college’s first male students. The faculty’s quarters were mostly on the upper floors, known as the “Saints’ Roost,” and many of the students lived in the cellar, otherwise known as “Purgatory.” Of course, sharing close quarters was bound to lead to some disturbances. One former student’s account mentioned that residents of Purgatory occasionally made their way up the stairs at night; they formed a line and the leader would tap on certain faculty members’ doors at odd hours of the night. When the unsuspecting faculty member opened the door, the line would start forward and each passing student would hit the Saint with a pillow until he shut the door. Sounds like fun, huh? Clearly, the Internet had not yet been invented.

The Chemistry Building curse?

Chemistry Building #1 fire damage, 1887

OSU’s chemistry department got off to a rocky start: Originally housed on the third floor of University Hall, it was soon moved to a newly constructed building on the site of, most recently, Brown Hall. When a fire started in the building in 1887, the whole structure burned down because of a lack of water to extinguish the flames.

The next chemistry building was built two years later on the site of the present Derby Hall.

Chemistry Building #2 fire damage, 1904

It burned down in 1904. A recounting of the incident said there were “ludicrous happenings due to excitement” that occurred that night.

Apparently the firefighters were afraid of the chemicals housed in the building, so they did not try to put out the flames (whether or not the chemicals were a threat is not known). However, that did not stop students from entering the burning building and attempting to save the contents, including bottles of distilled water.

The third chemistry building, now known as Derby Hall, was rebuilt in 1906 on the site of its predecessor. It too, caught fire soon after it was completed; however the building was saved. Its first addition was, of course, a fire-proof storage shed for the chemicals. No doubt this helped to break the curse.

Hairy men in dresses

Scarlet Mask group

It’s likely someone has written a thesis about why people laugh when men dress up in women’s clothing. The entertainment method surely worked for OSU audiences during the first half of the 20^th century, given the long run of a student acting group called Scarlet Mask. The men’s musical comedy club that later evolved into an honorary dramatic organization was started in 1919 by a group of five OSU students. Most of the plays were comedies, and they were a source of entertainment for students and local residents before the advent of television. Some of the early plays (prior to 1925) were penned by none other than humorist James Thurber. One of the group’s signature pieces was to have very big, hairy men—such as members of the football team—come out on stage dressed in frilly women’s clothing. Another key member was Milton Caniff, creator of long-running comic strips, “Terry and the Pirates” and “Steve Canyon.” Who knows? If he had not become a renowned cartoonist, he might have his career on stage. The Scarlet Mask Club disbanded in the 1930s, primarily due to a lack of funding, but the club was periodically resurrected for the next decade or so. Its last run ended in 1953.

Dennison's senior photo, 1933

The Archives recently received a Varsity sweater (at bottom of post) originally worn by Carl L. Dennison, an OSU graduate who attended the University roughly 80 years ago.

Using various reference materials, we found out a little more about him:

Dennison matriculated into OSU in the fall of 1928, as a freshman in the College of Engineering. He was a student of engineering until the 1931-1932 academic year, when, according to the student directories, he switched to Commerce. He graduated in June 1933 with a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration.

Dennison on the court, 1932

During his time at OSU, he was apparently a very busy young man, at least according to our set of Makios and alumni magazines. He was a member of the fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, all five years he attended the University. He also was a member of the honorary, Bucket and Dipper, his junior year, and he was a member of the senior honorary, Sphinx, the next year.

From his second year at OSU until he graduated, he played for the men’s tennis team, and was a member of Varsity “O” his last two years on campus. During his first year on the Varsity team, the Makio called Dennison, a former high-school city champion in Youngstown, one of “a promising trio” from that city “wearing Ohio’s State’s colors for the first time.” Two years later, Dennison was playing for the Big Ten title in singles, but lost in straight sets against a member of the University of Chicago team, according to the Makio.

That is where the record ends, unfortunately. We’re grateful, though, to Dennison’s family for donating the sweater, a beautiful artifact from a long-ago era. And we hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about the man who wore it.

Fred Cornell, 1915

It’s hard to imagine a home football game not being followed by the team and fans singing OSU’s alma mater, “Carmen, Ohio.” It took years, however, for this ritual to become a steadfast tradition.

Fred Cornell, a member of the Men’s Glee Club in the early 1900s, definitely wrote the lyrics, but it’s unclear how he was inspired to do so. One story has Fred writing the song in the fall of 1902, on the train taking him and the football team from Ann Arbor, after a loss of 86 to 0. Cornell felt that the team and fans needed an inspirational song to lift their spirits.

A more likely account, supported by a 1910 article in the Alumni Monthly, has Fred himself saying that he wrote the piece in the fall of 1903, because the Glee Club was looking for an alma mater. There were several entries submitted by women, and Cornell was urged by several other men to write something.

What’s not in doubt was that it was first performed in 1903 on New Year’s Eve at an off-campus event. The first on-campus presentation was at the Wednesday Convocation, when students returned to campus. It was then sung at football games, but did not have any great popularity at first. The tune also seems to have been undecided for some time, with several different pieces of music used until the Spanish March was finally chosen.

By 1918 “Carmen, Ohio” was played on the chimes at Orton Hall everyday at 4:30, following taps. A phonograph record was produced of the song in 1921.