moved to itsown house at 95 Market Street, later the home of OPiO, and currently the home of
the Volunteers of Foreign Wars. This large brick house was owned by O.E. Wilkinson, and was
fitted with the latest improvements, and lighted by electricity instead of gas; its two parlors or
reception rooms contained fireplaces. It was surrounded by fine grassy lawns with enough
space for its own tennis court. Ten members of the fraternity moved into the house at first, even
though it had room for 12.
From there the fraternity moved to 22 Leroy Street which later became a rooming
house, to the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Chestnut Street, and then to the second house on
lower Bay Street along the bank of the river. Here it prospered so well that behind this house, it
built tennis courts on which many outdoor parties were held. Finally, in 1921, under the
leadership of “Doc” McGill, Sigma Delta bought the home of Professor Mann on Prospect
Place, and after remodeling it, moved into the building it still occupies. During World War II, it
was occupied by students in the Army Student Training Program. (See 1943)
Alumni Association.
In 1904, the Committee on Arrangements for the celebration of
Founder’s Day 1904 (November 30) realized that the presence of alumni would make such a
celebration more fitting. Prof. Frank M. Williams, chairman of that committee, wrote to every
alumnus and alumna, urging all to return. Seven men returned: Norman L. Rea ’01 from
Schenectady; George Stebbins ’01, Watertown; William J. Fox ’02, Syracuse; S. C. Humphrey
’02, Milwaukee; Frederick C. Zapf ’04, Schenectady; William H. Wilcox ’01, Logansport, Ind.;
and Charles A. Pohl ’02, Fulton, N.Y., representing only 21 percent of the graduates and only
three graduating classes.
At the Alumni Banquet, held the night of November 30 in the Albion House in Potsdam,
General William Sooy Smith’s address was so long that at 3:00 a.m., Prof. Williams thereupon
called to order a meeting of the alumni to discuss the purpose, necessity, and benefit of forming
and Alumni Association. In the election held immediately thereafter, George Stebbins ’01, was
elected president; William Fox ’02, vice president; Charles Pohl ’02, secretary; and Norman
Rea ’01, treasurer.
At 9:00 a.m., the alumni met again at the Tech Club to draft the Constitution and By-
Laws. At that meeting, the group also decided to incorporate a Co-operative Employment
Bureau into the Association, and Fred Zapf ’04 was elected secretary of this Bureau. The
Bureau evolved into the current Career Development Center, the envy of many American
collegiate institutions.
On December 27, the second meeting of the alumni was held at the Woodruff House in
Watertown when 11 graduates met to discuss the new constitution and other matter relating to
the Alumni Association. They agreed to send a copy of the Constitution to every graduate of
Clarkson to solicit their views on the Association. A draft of the Constitution including all the
advisable changes suggested by the various graduates would be read at the next meeting. That
plan was never carried out, however, because only a small percentage of the graduates
responded, and their suggestions were minute.
By 1917, the Alumni Association had agreed to have two regular meetings per year: one
in Potsdam at noon following graduation exercises on Commencement Day, and one on the
Saturday night in January following the meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers in
New York City at a place to be announced.
