VOO History
The Kappa Alpha Society inaugurated its third Canadian chapter at the University of Western Ontario in 1948. Following the conclusion of World War II, then Alumni Association head Berrien C. Eaton (CG 1915) at the behest of Marc W. Comstock (CG 1888), who was also responsible for the creation of Canada’s first chapter at VT, contacted Toronto and McGill alumni residing within London in order to meet and discuss the creation of the VOO chapter of Kappa Alpha.
During the summer of 1947, a petition for the establishment of the new chapter consisting of faculty members and undergraduate students at the University of Western Ontario was created by John B. Cronyn (VT 1943), D. Donald Diplock (VM 1938), William L. Shortreed (VT 1938), and faculty members Dr. Anthony W.A. Brown (VT 1933), and Dr. Robert L. Noble (VT 1934). In December of that year, the London alumni, with assistance of the Executive Council, purchased a house at 255 Sydenham Street to serve as the first VOO lodge. On January 13, 1948, the Council formally voted in favour of the petition and to officially sanction the VOO Chapter. The initiation ceremony was held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto on February 14, 1948, however Marc W. Comstock was unable to see the fruits of his efforts fulfilled; having succumbed to illness, he died that very night.
The Kappa Alpha Society grew in both size and stature at the University of Western Ontario, but was met with considerable struggle in 1972, when the Sydenham lodge was ravaged by two major fires, destroying both the house and most of the chapter’s property. A temporary basement lodge at 575 Oxford Street East sufficed until a replacement house was purchased at 132 John Street in January 1973, which the VOO Chapter calls home to this day. Though faced with the challenge of re-establishing the chapter during a period of instability, the active chapter’s determination set a precedent for strong growth throughout the following years. In fact, members of the VOO chapter have propelled their initiatives from coast to coast. Along with leading all operations, they hosted the opening of the
University of Alberta Chapter (1988), University of Calgary Chapter (1991), and most recently the Dalhousie University Chapter (2009).
Founding members of the VOO Chapter include: Prof. James B. Collip, R. James Fisher, Frank W. Convery, John F. Leighton, G. Robert Jackson, Prof. Roger J. Rossiter, Prof. Otto G. Edholm, Hugh F. Labatt, Verschoyle P. Cronyn, L. Thomas Hayman, W. Grant Fisher, C. Richard Sharpe, and Alan S. Jarvis.