St. Louis, Missouri

The wealth of expositions and world's fairs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries provided opportunities for a nation, region, state and city to demonstrate technological and cultural prowess - something akin to Disney's EPCOT Center.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 coincided with the Olympics. Thaddeus Shideler (Indiana 1907) placed second in the 110-meter hurdles, and Alonzo Bell (Occidental 1895) placed third in singles tennis and second in doubles. Marcus Hurley (Columbia 1904) won four cycling events: quarter-mile, third-mile, half-mile, and one-mile track races. He also placed third in the two-mile event.

As Chicago graduates did at the World's Fair in 1893, the St. Louis brothers leased a headquarters with dining plans, and limited rooms for brothers and their guests. (Reference: The Phi Gamma Delta magazine 1904, page 348.)

The site of this house is now occupied by the back of a retail strip mall.

4156 McPherson Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri

From 1949 to 2001, the Fiji Academy occurred in the summer of odd-numbered years. The first winter Academy occurred in St. Louis, January 3-5, 2003. Now held annually, the educational event focuses on leadership development.

The hotel is inside the restored Union Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. This train station operated from 1894 to 1978. It reopened in 1985 as a center for high-end retail, entertainment, and lodging. The hotel features nearly 600 rooms. Initially a Hyatt Regency, it became a Marriott property in late 2008.

1 Saint Louis Union Station
St. Louis, Missouri

The Founders recruited Thomas William Bouldin Crews when he was fifteen; one called him "that god of boys." He later transferred New York's Union College, where he deemed the fraternity scene too crowded to warrant a new chapter.

He returned to his family's home in Missouri to practice law. During the Civil War he was a cavalry officer until his 1862 capture and parole. After the war he continued practicing law, commuting to St. Louis by train. He built this house for his wife Virginia Jeffries in 1879. See related article.

Since 1925, the Missouri Botanical Gardens has managed the 2,500 acre Shaw Nature Reserve (formerly Shaw Arboretum) at this site. Crews' home is now a visitor center called the Joseph H. Bascom Manor House, named for the family who funded its restoration. A fine display explains the house's history. It is located thirty-five miles west of St. Louis.

Incidentally, a Phi Gam was director of the Missouri Botanical Garden for 41 years until his retirement in 1953: George T. Moore (Wabash 1894, Dartmouth Faculty).

I-44 and Hwy 100, Exit 253

Pacific City Cemetery
800 Orr Street
Pacific, Missouri