[17123] in APO-L
Re: History of the National Office
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Doug White)
Fri Aug 1 22:11:34 1997
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 22:09:32 -0400
Reply-To: DWhite5111@AOL.COM
From: Doug White <DWhite5111@AOL.COM>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
In a message dated 97-07-31, strong@DEMENTIA.ORG (Thomas W. Strong Jr.)
writes:
<<On Wed, 30 Jul 1997, Randy Finder wrote:
> > On a whim of burning curiosity--can anyone tell me what the National
> > Office was *before* it became the National Office? Was the building
> > already in existence when we bought the land or was it an empty lot?
> As best as I can remember from the pictures in the T&T, it was an empty
> lot. All of the previous National Offices except for the one which was
> Frank Reed Horton's mailbox have been in office buildings built for other
> tennants and which existed before we moved in.
>>Speaking of the previous locations, does anyone have a list of the
>>previous addresses? I'm looking for the first one in particular, but I'm
>>interested in any others as well.
>>
Regarding the National Office, the following information is from "Alpha Phi
Omega...National Service Fraternity" which was compiled by our esteemed
National Archivist, Robert Barkhurst. The book is copyrighted 1993 and was
sold through the National Office at that time.
APO broke ground for the current National Office February 5, 1990 and
dedication ceremonies were held on November 17, 1990. The building contains
about 6,000 square feet of office space, the land cost $93,000 and the
construction cost $208,000. The money was borrowed from the Endowment Fund
using pledges made by about 50 donors who pledged a total of $30,000 a year
for 10 years to pay back the Endowment Fund. (Personal Note: My hat is off
to those donors who are still paying for this wonderful office.)
According to the historyof the Fraternity, in February, 1927, the National
Office "was located in Munhall, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh in the office
of National President Frank R. Horton". The next statement in the history
concerning the National Office says: "In November, 1928, the National Office
of Alpha Phi Omega was moved from Munhall or Homestead, Pennsylvania, to
Winchester, Virginia, to the office of National President Frank R. Horton."
According to a statement in the book, about the early history of the
Fraternity, the history of the first six years (1925-1931) was written by
Frank Reed Horton.
Addresses for the National Offices are not included in the book. Check with
the national Office to get Bob Barkhurst's address. last I knew he was
living around Rockford, Illinois, and still attends all the National
Conventions. He is a brother from Pi Beta chapter at the University of
Dubuque and is a great guy to travel with.
