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The
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity in Kentucky
What
was called "Kentucky Chi" chapter, the newest SAE chapter in the
commonwealth, had been chartered less than a year when the War Between
The States broke out. John B. Kent and a chapter of merry-hearted
young lads from all over the south had joined the fraternity.
Less than 1000 feet from campus was the home of the Pattie family, long
respected residents of the county. Lucy Pattie lived there with
her parents and her brother, Coleman, who would become an SAE in the
future.
John
B. Kent and his best buddy, Ben Marston, were devoted to Kentucky Chi
chapter. Kent was several years older than Miss Lucy, but he was
very fond of her and loved to talk to her about his fraternity.
She thought he was the charming prince out of a storybook. Then
the war came. The chapter became widely scattered as its members
traveled all over the country to enlist. Kent and Marston were
the last to leave, and Kent was charged with the duty of managing the
affairs of the chapter. The rituals and constitution had to be
protected. He entrusted the secret papers of SAE fraternity to
Miss Lucy, knowing she would take great care in sealing and
waterproofing them and then keeping them in hiding until after the
war. Here's the quote from John B. Kent: "Keep them Lucy,
till I come back, but if I never come again give them to no one unless
he can give you this grip of the hand." So that's how Lucy came
to learn the secret handshake, the grip of SAE.
Well,
we didn't have the internet back then, so the news was always late and
its accuracy was often in question. Two years had passed, and
then Lucy received word that Kent had died during the charge at
Shiloh. No word was received about Marston. When the war
ended, a Major Robert Allen came to the farm house to see Lucy.
He told her he had come for the papers entrusted to her by John B. Kent
so he could reestablish Kentucky Chi chapter. There was a huge
problem. Major Allen didn't know the secret handshake, and Lucy
sent him packing. Negotiations went on for days. Then one
of the previously initiated members who had survived the war, Albert
McMahan, returned to school. He laid the grip on Miss Lucy, and
Kentucky Chi chapter again became an integral part of the fraternity.
Lucy
had done such a great job preserving the records and the short history
of the chapter, that the chapter actually made her a member. From
that day forward, Lucy would be "The Belle" of Kentucky Chi
chapter. Major Allen then had her admitted to the college, a rare
feat in the 1860s when coeducation was not popular anywhere, especially
in Kentucky. So she would not be totally alone, Major Allen also
admitted Lucy's good friend, Helen Carmer, to the school.
In
1919 Lucy was found working in Frankfort at the state capitol.
SAE's Supreme Recorder, William C. Levere, paid a visit to the
fraternity's only female member in history. She remembered the
grip and laid it on him. He gave her a badge that was a replica
of the badge the founding members of SAE wore at the first chapter at
Alabama in 1856. She wore it every day until her passing on
November 14, 1922.
At
the time this particular history book was written, Lucy had been the
only initiated female member of any fraternity in the country.
Kentucky Chi chapter was number fifteen: chartered in 1860, and
declared inactive in 1887. It's home: The Kentucky Military
Institute at Farmdale.
(Parts
of this story were taken verbatim from the SAE history book. I am
most appreciative of SAE giving KMI a place in its
written history, as it adds one more dimension to how cadet life
was perceived around the time of the Civil War.)
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 Undated and unidentified composite photograph of the members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Kentucky Military Institute. Centre College Digital Archives https://centre.omeka.net/items/show/850 |
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And
I am a proud great -grandson of one of the founders of KMI ! It was
founded on his property and he sold 1/2 of it to form the school. He was
one of the 7 board members and they selected Col . Allen to chair the
committee, and thus given credit as THE founder. His portrait, Col
William Pattie, was on the wall in Ormsby Hall on the extreme right hand
side closest to the stairs up to the second floor. As you know, there
were 7 portraits in alphabetic order.
For years I
tried to get the portrait, making special trips to Lyndon, and was
determined to have been destroyed in the fire that destroyed the
building.
For years I went to the school in
Farmdale to visit and care for the family cemetery that is in the center
of the large field where the residence stood for many years before
being torn down. I have been in close contact with the President, CEO of
“Stewart Home School” and Board of Directors. They wish to take over
maintenance , and want me to present the family history , etc, on my
next visit. And I am very impressed on their desire to learn more about
the property, how my great niece, Lucy Pattie, visited the boys at KMI
every Sunday, and her involvement in the SAE fraternity. That was a
Military college them. ( she was entrusted with the secret handshake
when all men went to war , gave it up to a returning soldier, and was
inducted into the fraternity. The only female member of the SAE
fraternity to this day. She is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery where
she later livid, and the gravestone so designates this. All SAE members
know this, and Dr Stewart and other board members are members of SAE,
and aware of the story. My daughters and granddaughters now have that
name.
Note the change in the name of the school, since they now admit girls. Much like the happing of KMI !!
My brother and I both attended the school for 6 years.
As I am close to being 90 years old, I know I will not be around a lot longer and wanted to share this with you .
Sincerely,
Jack Kreamer ‘49.
10/11/2021 |
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Kentucky
Military Institute
www.kmialumni.org Send e-mail to: kmimail@kmialumni.org Copyright © All rights reserved. |
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