Paragon
Founder's Day
April 29, 2024
Upcoming Events
May
Saturday, May 11 – Alumni Association Elections
July
Saturday, July 13 – Work Weekend
Sunday, July 14 – Work Weekend
November
Saturday, November 16 – Homecoming
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Paragon Founder's Day April 29, 2024 |
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Upcoming Events May July November |
| Happy Founder’s Day! |
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65 years ago today, on April 29, 1959, two national Catholic fraternities, Phi Kappa, and Theta Kappa Phi, merged together to form Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. Happy Founder's Day! Our own chapter was originally founded in the 1930s as a local Catholic fraternity called Theta Psi Kappa. On May 31, 1941, Theta Psi Kappa became the Alpha Beta chapter of Phi Kappa. After the national merger, we were renamed as the Ohio Alpha Beta chapter. Since 1941, more than 1000 brothers have been initiated into our chapter. Perhaps the best known of these brothers is Ernie Schmidt ‘41. |
| Remembering Ernie Schmidt |
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In May 1941, Ernest L. “Ernie” Schmidt graduated from the Case Institute of Technology. One of his last acts on campus was almost certainly attending the chartering ceremony when the Theta Psi Kappa chapter he had joined became part of Phi Kappa. For the next 50 years, Ernie was a major part of our chapter. He helped incorporate the Phi Kappa Alumni Association of Cleveland in 1952, and throughout the 1970s was a member of the alumni organization that purchased the house back from the National fraternity in 1972. Ernie also went far beyond his official capacity on the board. Many brothers from the 1970s recall Ernie stepping in to make mortgage payments when the undergraduate chapter was unable to come up with the money. Without those donations, we might not have a house today, or an active chapter to fill the house! Ernie personified our motto of “Give, Expecting Nothing Thereof.” In recognition of his many years of service, Ernie Schmidt ‘41 was the first brother honored with the Ohio Alpha Beta Lifetime Achievement Award. A small ceremony was held at the house on April 20, 1991. Ernie passed away in the late 1990s; you can read his obituary in last year’s Founder’s Day Paragon. For many years, a plaque hung in the entryway of the house to honor Ernie’s service. It disappeared around 2010, but among the many delights of our March Work Weekend was the return of the plaque via the mail. It was accompanied by an apologetic letter from an anonymous brother that can be summarized as “When I was in school, I took down the plaque down to clean it up and rehang it, but then when I graduated it ended up in my stuff and I found it recently during a clean out.” We will return Ernie’s plaque to its rightful place this year. |
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| Introducing the Ernie Schmidt Club |
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Ernie Schmidt helped us secure the chapter house that we know today. This Founder’s Day, we are proud to announce the launch of the Ernie Schmidt Club in his spirit. Members of the Ernie Schmidt Club commit to making a small monthly recurring donations to the alumni association. Many small donations will add up to a larger monthly total that will help us tackle the larger deferred maintenance projects at 11016 Magnolia, particularly those that require the special skills or equipment of an outside contractor. |
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We would like to thank all of our current recurring donors, who are now the inaugural members of the Ernie Schmidt Club.
As of today, they have collectively made 82 months worth of recurring donations totaling just short of $4000. Thank you brothers! You can join them by setting up a recurring donation via our website. |
| Projects Big & Small |
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To illustrate how quickly small donations can accumulate, consider just one small project on our deferred maintenance list. In 2022 we used alumni funds to replace the grates over the window wells in the front of the house. There are three remaining grates over the window wells along the driveway. Each of these three grates is original from the house’s construction in 1916. They are now rusting out after 100 years of service in Cleveland weather and in need of replacement. |
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That thing belongs in a museum! Original grates along driveway. |
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These grates prevent a brother or guest from tripping and falling into a window well. An important secondary benefit is that the new grates reduce the number of leaves that enter the window well. In the past, leaf accumulation has sometimes clogged the drains in the window wells and caused damage from stormwater backup. The new grates are custom made to fit from aluminum stock and are black powder coated. They are strong enough to walk on but lightweight and easily removed from the interior or exterior of the house in case of an emergency. They also look pretty good. |
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New grates installed 2022. When we did a window well clean out at the July 2023 Work Weekend, there were virtually no leaves inside these window wells. |
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These grates prevent a brother or guest from tripping and falling into a window well. An important secondary benefit is that the new grates reduce the number of leaves that enter the window well. In the past, leaf accumulation has sometimes clogged the drains in the window wells and caused damage from stormwater backup. The new grates are custom made to fit from aluminum stock and are black powder coated. They are strong enough to walk on but lightweight and easily removed from the interior or exterior of the house in case of an emergency. They also look pretty good. |
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Not interested in window well grates? We have a LOT of projects that we need to fund. Here are just four of the 15 projects we are considering for our next fiscal year, each of which was estimated to cost between $2100 and $9000.
When you join the Ernie Schmidt club, your monthly donations add up and help to complete projects like these BEFORE they become a crisis |
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| Join the Temple Society - Make a Planned Gift |
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I would like to announce another new donor club that we are calling the Temple Society. Members of the Temple Society commit to make a planned gift to the Cleveland Phi Kappa Theta Alumni Corporation (the legal name of the Alumni Association) that will transfer to us upon their passing. No one can predict the future, but one thing we can be sure about is that our chapter house will continue to age and need continual maintenance and upkeep as the years progress. By setting up a planned gift now, you will provide us with future income that can be used to tackle future maintenance and renovation needs. We hope you will speak with your estate planner and financial advisor to determine whether a planned gift to the Association makes sense for you. If you choose to make such a gift, please notify us at president@ohioalphabeta.org. We would like to thank the first member of The Temple Society, Gary Jarkewicz ‘75. Thank you |
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The Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association exists to connect the over 1000 alumni of the Phi Kappa Theta Ohio Alpha Beta chapter at Case Western Reserve University through events, newsletters, and other gatherings. Our subsidiary organization, the Ohio Alpha Beta Housing Corporation, exists to own, maintain, and improve the Ohio Alpha Beta Chapter House located at 11016 Magnolia Drive, Cleveland, OH, 44106. Please add @ohioalphabeta.org to your contact list to ensure delivery of the Paragon. 11016 Magnolia Dr
Cleveland, OH 44106 United States |
