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| Auburn Chapter History |
The time was Fall Quarter 1969. The place was Funchess Hall. The occasion
was the meeting of an agricultural honorary-service fraternity, Alpha Zeta. At that meeting, Jimmy Whatley announced, "If anyone is interested in starting a new social fraternity on campus, please meet in the conference room after this meeting."
As a result of that meeting, FarmHouse Fraternity was colonized at Auburn University on May 13, 1969. Much hard work on the part of many people has transpired since that time. This hard work, however, has brought us to the point where we will receive our charter on May 29, 1971.
Prior to that initial meeting in Funchess Hall in 1969, several FarmHouse alumni and officers had made contact with interested students at Auburn. Darryl Snyder, Gene Younts, J.L. Peebles, and others had visited Auburn trying to create some interest. The initial contact was made with Hugo "Daddy" Rogers and Jimmy Whatley, and the spark was ignited.
At first, the Chapter meetings were held in Funchess Hall. Many people still would not commit themselves to the organization—many would attend one meeting and then never be seen again. There were a faithful few, however, who attended every time, and from that group officers were soon elected. Bud Atkinson was elected president, and he quickly began to bring organization to the wandering group.
At one of the last meetings of the quarter, it was decided that FarmHouse should move into a house. Hugo tells the story of how, when the discussion of the house was going on, he looked at Jimmy Whatley and said, "What kind of house can we have?" Jimmy replied, "We'll have a good house, Hugo." After that statement, Hugo says he felt pretty good about the whole thing.
At the beginning of Winter Quarter 1969, four of the founding members moved into an old house near the fire station. The four brothers – Hugo Rogers, Buddy Atkinson, Fred Cox, and Tom Whatley – sacrificed a great deal so FarmHouse could have a place to call home. The expense of living in our first house was so great that some of those who lived there had to borrow money from the bank to make rent payments.
At the end of Spring Quarter 1969, the chapter decided to move into another house the next Fall. Since Buddy Adkinson was graduating, a new slate of officers was in order. Elections were held, and Bobby Keen was elected president. After actively searching for a new house, it became evident that there were not any low cost houses suitable for a small fraternity in Auburn. After much deliberation, the chapter decided it would move into the "big white elephant" at 126 South Gay Street. Other than being close to campus, the "elephant" offered few advantages except that it was a big house and would hold at least 15 brothers. The last day of the quarter, Bobby Keen and Phil Kirk (the active chapter secretary) signed the contract. The contract period was to begin September 1, 1970. The chapter decided the members would return two weeks early in the Fall to make desperately needed repairs to the house. Everyone went home for the summer confident of a successful upcoming year.
Things really started with a big bang in September when all the FarmHouse members returned for school. Darryl Peebles, Administrative Vice-President, came back two weeks early to set up his room. Boy, did he ever get the surprise of his life. Upon entering the house, he walked into the middle of a "hippie" love-in. They had taken over the house during the summer, and it was really a mess. The police were called, and soon all the "hippies" were running down the street.
After making the inside of the "big white elephant" inhabitable, the chapter began work on improving the outside of the house. Fred and Frank Cox's father estimated that it would take 50 gallons of paint to paint the whole house. After a full week of work, however, the men of FarmHouse had painted only the front and one side of the house, and all of the paint was gone. It did not take long to discover the house was rotten. In fact, some of the members were afraid to live in the house for fear that it might fall in any minute.
It seemed that very little progress was made during the 1969-1970 school year. The chapter desperately needed new members, and, even though the founders worked hard to get others to join, few people felt that FarmHouse had anything to offer. We lived in a run-down house, had no facilities to serve meals, and the whole atmosphere seemed to dampen the spirits of the men. The men of FarmHouse never gave up, though, and most realized they would have to be patient and wait for better things.
At the end of Spring Quarter 1970, the chapter decided that it would not move back in to the "white elephant" the next year. A housing committee had been looking into a new house all year and had received assurance from the owners of a house that we would be able to contract their house next Fall. In addition they had agreed to fix up the house for us.
A new slate of officers, headed by Darryl Peebles, was elected, and everyone went home for summer confident that we would have a newly remodeled house for next Fall.
Crisis struck during the summer. A few members were still living in the house on Gay to honor the contract that would soon expire. Several of them, including a few, who were living at home during the summer, had already started moving into the new house. As a matter of fact, we had already hung our new shield (made by Darryl Peebles) on the house. At this time the owners informed us that he had received a better offer for the house and would not be renting to us. This was a great blow to the fraternity because school would start in four weeks, and we did not have a house.
Some of the members suggested that each member find his own apartment, and we could hold chapter meetings in Funchess Hall. Others argued, however, that the purpose of FarmHouse as a fraternity would be defeated if all the members did not live together.
Bobby Keen, by this time, a graduate student, set out to find us a house. His initial attempt was fruitful. Rick Thornton, owner of Thorton's boarding house, directed him to 140 Toomer Street to talk with Mr. Henry McAlister. Bobby saw at once that the house was just what we needed. Mr. McAlister did not want to rent to a fraternity at first, but his wife, who later became our housemother, said, " We're going to rent this house." By eight o'clock that night, the terms of the contract had been decided and it was signed.
During the 1970-71 school year, FarmHouse really moved out in the areas required by the university to get its charter. Darryl Peebles did an excellent job of organizing and leading the fraternity. We cleaned up the house, Mrs. McAlister became "Mother Mac," we started serving meals, we selected our first sweetheart (Diane Keen), we more than doubled our membership, we selected our first Little Sister group (Susan Dunlap, Dianne Keen, Nancy Carol Lewis, and Gloria Spikes), we dressed out our first basketball team, and we became very active on campus. As our men participated in university activities, the name of FarmHouse became known, and our chapter became highly respected.
At the end of Winter Quarter 1971, a new slate of officers, headed by Jerry Batts, was elected by the brothers. Since that time, the chapter has been mainly concerned with meeting membership requirements (30 brothers), completing paperwork for national, and planning Charter night. The future of FarmHouse at Auburn looked brighter every day. Several of our men have received campus-wide recognition, and we are sure that as time goes on FarmHouse will play an even more important role at Auburn. The founders and charter members of Auburn FarmHouse, our faculty advisors (Dr. Alvin Bailey, Dr. Charles Berry, Mr. Gerald Wilt, Dr. Norton Marshall, Dr. Loren Zabel, and Dr. Van Eaddy), Sweetheart, and Little Sisters are proud of what FarmHouse stands for and the accomplishments of the chapter and members to this point. We also have faith that FarmHouse will continue to grow and exert its influence at Auburn.
PROGRESS SHALL MARK OUR EVERY STEP!! |
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| Our Founders |
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 D. Howard "Daddy" Doane (1883-1984) was a true Renaissance man - a student, a teacher, a writer, a business man, a poet, a farmer, a public servant, a devout Christian. Most widely known as the founder and long-time Chairman of the Board of Doane Agricultural Services, which is the oldest and for decades was the largest farm management, appraisal and agricultural research organization in the United States. Among his many life accomplishments, Doane served on an agriculture task force appointed by President Herbert Hoover that was charged with reorganizing the US Department of Agriculture. He wrote four books and numerous articles for the leading agricultural journals and magazines. He provided leadership to dozens of civic and professional organizations throughout his lifetime. He received a B.S. in agriculture in 1908 and M.S. in agriculture in 1909 at the University of Missouri. He received three Honorary doctorates as well.
 Robert F. Howard (1883-1963) spent the first 15 years of his professional career as an educator before owning and running a large beef cattle operation and commercial pecan farm in Texas for the better part of his life. Howard was a professor and chairman of the Department of Horticulture at the University of Nebraska from 1914-24 after teaching previously at the University of Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. He moved to Wharton, Texas, in 1924, where he ran a 2,000 acre ranch with cattle and thousands of pecan trees. He provided leadership to many local and statewide civic organizations and initiatives in Texas for the last 40 years of his life. Howard received his B.S. in agriculture from Missouri in 1908, a masters in 1912 while teaching at Nebraska.
 Claude B. Hutchison (1885-1980) was an educator for more than 40 years of his life, teaching at the University of Missouri, Cornell University, University of California-Davis, University of Nevada and spent more than 20 years as a Vice President (1945-52) and Dean of Agriculture at the University of California - Berkeley (1930-52). For four years in the 1920s, he was the associate director of agricultural education for Europe. In 1946, he was the chairman of an agricultural mission trip to China by the US Department of Agriculture. He retired from instruction in 1954, serving his last two years as Dean of Agriculture at Nevada. And from 1955-63 he served as mayor of Berkeley, Calif. Hutchison received honorary degrees from Missouri, Sofia, Bulgaria and California.
 Henry H. Krusekopf (1886-1979) was a leading expert on soils, spending 48 years as a professor and researcher in the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri. He received his B.S. in agriculture in 1908 and his masters in 1916 from Missouri. He did graduate work at Illinois in 1931-32. He was the author of numerous publications and journals on soil development and soil survey. "Krusey" was a member of a number of scientific, honorary and professional societies. He also consulted a number of federal and international agencies on agriculture, flood control, forestry and Indian land claims. In his spare time, Krusekopf owned and operated a farm in southeast Missouri.
 Earl W. "Farmer" Rusk (1885-1968) spent most of his career as a farmer and farm manager, yet enjoyed a variety of other professional interests. He briefly taught an Animal Husbandry course and served in the Farm Loan department of a large insurance company. He was farm service director of two Chicago radio station for four years, was agricultural agent for a railroad, and was supervising salesman and farm service director for a rock phosphate company for 14 years. He raised hogs and cattle on a farm in the Missouri Ozarks before retiring in California. Farmer Rusk graduated from Missouri in 1909. His son, William D., was the first son of a FarmHouse man to be initiated into FarmHouse in 1933.
 Henry P. Rusk (1884-1954) spent most of his professional career on staff at the University of Illinois, including the last 13 years of his career as Dean of the College of Agriculture. He received a B.S. in 1908 and M.S. in 1911, both from the University of Missouri. He served in the Department of Animal Husbandry at Illinois from 1910-1939. He was head of the department from 1922-1939. Among numerous accomplishments, he was the chair of President Hoover's commission on agriculture from 1948-1954. Rusk provided leadership to multiple national, state and local boards and organizations. He received honorary doctorates from three universities.
 Melvin E. Sherwin (1881-1924) was head of the soils department at what is now called North Carolina State University when he died at age 42. After graduating with a B.S. in agriculture in 1908, he received an M.A. in agriculture from the University of California-Berkeley in 1909. He spent one year as an agronomy instructor at the University of Maine before he joined the staff at NC State in 1910.
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| FamHouse International History |
Our Fraternity was founded upon the hopes of a few men who sought fellowship within the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri. Three men, D. Howard Doane, H. P. Rusk, and Earl Rusk, conceived the idea of forming the Agricultural club. They then proposed to rent a house and live together in the spring of 1905. The seven men considered to be our Founders are Earl Rusk, Henry P. Rusk, Claude B. Hutchinson, Robert F. Howard, Melvin Sherwin, Henry Krusekopf, and the Founder of FarmHouse, D. Howard Doane. They laid the foundation for the soon-to-be fraternity on April 15, 1905.
The club house came to be known as the Farm House. By the fall of 1907, the Agricultural club had become the Farm House Club and remained as such until 1915. In 1916, FarmHouse was listed as a professional fraternity and in 1924, with its admission to the Pan Hellenic Council, it was classified as a social fraternity by the University of Missouri.
The second chapter at the University of Nebraska had formed independently of the Missouri chapter without a name, but adopted the name FarmHouse because of the similarity of purposes, aims, and constituency. With the installation of the third chapter on October 15, 1914, at the University of Illinois, the process of nationalization had begun. Nationalization was officially recognized in early 1921.
In 1948, FarmHouse explored the possibility of a merger with Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity and agreed to a trial merger. Both fraternities worked closely with each other for two years and published their publications together. Because of a disagreement on what their new name should be, both organizations agreed at the 1950 conclave that it would be best for both to go separate ways.
FarmHouse Fraternity continued to thrive, starting independent chapters all across the United States. However, on April 20th 1974, FarmHouse achieved a new mark of excellence when it became an international fraternity with the installation of the University of Alberta Chapter in Canada.
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Auburn University
