Susquehanna University - 1895 to 1939

Alpha Sigma Omega fraternity was formed before 1900, but disappeared by 1910 because President Aikens and the faculty had opposed fraternities. It was reconstituted with the motto "SU: First and Last" shortly before America entered World War I. In 1921 the fraternity bought a house on Walnut street, and two years later they bought the lots beside it. In 1924 Alpha Sigma Omega joined the national fraternity Phi Mu Delta. In 1927, they built a Tudor-style fraternity house.

Homecoming started in 1922. At that time it was named Alumni Day. This photo collage appeared in the 1929 Lanthorn.

The Alumni Gymnasium was built in 1903. The main floor held a large open space for exercise and practice. The 2nd floor had a track on which twenty-six laps equalled one mile. The basement had lockers and showers. In 1934 the building burned down.

Amos Alonzo Stagg Jr. became the new athletic coach in 1935. This photo shows Stagg Jr. in 1938.

The first recorded baseball game at the Missionary Institute was in 1881. The first interscholastic game was in 1887. The baseball field on campus was set up in the mid-1890s. The first official baseball team was formed in 1898.

Charles Steele Science Hall.

With the expansion of the science curriculum, the Charles Steele Science Hall was built, replacing the old science building, Sell Memorial Laboratory.

Cheerleading started with only male cheerleaders. In the early 1920s, women became active in cheerleading at some schools. Susquehanna University did not have females involved in cheerleading until the late 1940s. However, by the late 1950s, all of the cheerleaders were women.

Founders Day was celebrated in the Fall. On November 24, 1908, the sundial was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Benjamin Kurtz, the Institute's founding father, in celebration of the school's 50th anniversary. The buildings in the background are Selinsgrove Hall and the Alumni Gymnasium. In 1943, Founders Day was combined into a one day event with Parents Day and Homecoming.

G. Morris Smith was the University President from 1928 to 1959.

As a daring prank related to Halloween, the female students gathered at night in front of Seibert Hall on November 6, 1912. They wore homemade ghost costumes constructed from bed sheets and pillow cases. The group paraded towards Selinsgrove Hall, where the male students lived, making "ghostly yells and songs" to wake them, before returning to Seibert Hall by guidance of their burning broom stick. The female students staged similar ghost parades around Halloween during several years in this era.

The Glee Club was composed of faculty, students and alumni. In the lower right hand corner of the photo is Harry Weis, and in the lower left hand corner is Sigmund Weis. After graduating from Susquehanna University, the Weis brothers went on to found the Weis Grocery Store company. SU's Sigmund Weis School of Business and the Blough-Weis Library reflect the family's continuing dedication to the University. Also in the photo, second row, second from the right is Professor E. Edwin Sheldon. He wrote the Susquehanna University "Alma Mater".