1906: National ATO Congress Held in Birmingham

“[At the conclusion of the 1904 New York Congress] Birmingham, Alabama, was unanimously chosen for the 1906 Congress. After the vote, Shives [who eventually became Worthy Grand Chief] said he hoped that ‘the Steel City of the South’ would be followed by ‘the Steel City of the North’ and that Pittsburgh would be the site of the Twenty-First Congress in 1908. He got his wish” (Reno 169).

The Twentieth Congress of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity was held in Birmingham, Alabama at the Hotel Hillman on December 26-29, 1906. The orator was Robert W. Bingham of the Bingham Chapter, and the poet was Alfred S. Hartzel of the Muhlenberg Chapter. It was declared the “Fortieth Anniversary Congress” (Reno 254).

“While the Fraternity was actually 41 years old when the delegates met in Birmingham, Alabama, the day after Christmas, 1906, the gathering became known as the 40th Anniversary Congress. And there were many present who could clearly recall the beginnings and early days of Alpha Tau Omega. An aura of poignant sorrow enveloped the 20th Congress as it met in the Hotel Hillman. Four days before, Founder Glazebrook’s wife, nee Virginia Calvert Key Smith, had passed away. As has been told, she was the daughter of the Superintendent of V.M.I. at the time the Fraternity was born. The loveliest of the charming bevy of Lexington girls, ‘The Alpha Tau Sisters,’ her radiant friendship and gracious service had immeasurably enhanced the cause and prestige of Alpha Tau Omega in its early days. Following her marriage to Otis Glazebrook in 1866, she had remained a staunch ‘Alpha Tau Girl,’ entertaining countless Brothers in her hospitable home, accompanying the Founder to Congress and other Fraternity functions, and acting as his secretary as Editor of THE PALM and Chairman of the High Council. She had lived to see ‘the Glazebrook dream’ become a nation-wide reality, and her oldest son became Worthy Grand Chief. She was buried in Richmond on Thursday, December 27, and the bereft Founder, with ‘Young Larkin’ [Glazebrook’s son], arrived in Birmingham on Friday” (Reno 172-73).

“By far the most important action [of the 1906 Birmingham Congress] was the adoption of the new Constitution…Copies of the new draft had been printed and distributed to the chapters…. on the final day of Congress [the committee to examine and report on the proposed draft] presented a new Constitution which was adopted unanimously” (Reno 173).

“‘FIRST’ AT BIRMINGHAM: The Twentieth Biennial Congress witnessed several innovations. W.G.C. Lyon proposed that each year the chapters set aside September 11, or as soon after as possible, to hold a special Founders Day meeting ‘at which the history of the Fraternity shall be studied and exercises in honor of our Founders to be conducted.’ The Ways and Means Committee made this recommendation, and it was approved. Over the years, because of the conflict with rushing and college opening, March 15 has become the traditional Founders Day, the exact date being left to the convenience of the group. It is often observed as a combined chapter-alumni dinner” (Reno 178-79).

“After selecting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the site of the 1908 Congress, the delegates accepted the report of the Nominating Committee for officers for the ensuing two years…The High Council included Dr. Otis A. Glazebrook, Chairman, Virginia Alpha; N. Wiley Thomas, Pennsylvania; Hugh Martin, Bingham; Arthur W. McCord, Birmingham-Southern; and Frank G. Wren, Tufts” (Reno 179-180).

Arthur W. McCord, Birmingham-Southern, was elected to the High Council for the period of 1906-08 (Reno 258).

Concerning The Palm Junior, which “originated at the Birmingham Congress in 1906, it was revived by the Atlanta committee. A four-page, three-column daily, it contained announcements, personal, editorials and even advertisements. Harvey Reno, assistant publisher of THE PALM, and Robert Quin, Emory, did most of the work of producing three issues. The Palm Junior has been making its appearance at almost every Congress since that time” (Reno 204).

 

Note: The featured image for this post does not appear in any other version of the Chapter History. The image is a map of Birmingham, AL from 1903 by Camille N. Dry. It appears at the following url: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Birmingham_Alabama_map_1903.jpg.