The first amateur radio group in the United States was organized in 1910 on the State College of Washington (now Washington State University) campus. In December 1911, this organization, the WSC Radio Club, founded Rho Epsilon as a national radio fraternity and became Alpha Chapter of that group. Although Rho Epsilon was incorporated in 1925, other chapters were not formed until the late 1930s, with the University of Washington's Beta Chapter receiving its charter in 1936. The remaining five chapters: Gamma, University of Idaho; Delta, University of Virginia; Epsilon, Illinois Institute of Technology; Zeta, Montana State College; and Eta, Tri-State College (Indiana), were established shortly after Beta Chapter, and all seven chapters continued in operation until the onset of World War II.
In December 1947 Homer J. Dana, one of the early members of the radio fraternity on the WSU campus and a research engineer, called a meeting for all those interested in reactivating Alpha Chapter. Alpha Chapter succeeded in regrouping late in 1948 and at that time corresponded with the other six chapters with the intention of reestablishing the national organization. Letters were exchanged on this topic, new groups wrote asking for information about Rho Epsilon, but the reactivation of the national fraternity did not take place.
The present location and even the existence of the national fraternity records is in doubt. Soon after the University of Washington's chapter was chartered, members of Beta Chapter were elected national fraternity officers and subsequently requested that all national records and materials be transferred from Pullman to the Seattle area. Apparently this transfer took place, for after the war the president of the reactivated Alpha Chapter wrote to Beta Chapter asking that these records be returned to Pullman. He was informed that Beta Chapter was defunct and that the records were no longer available.
According to the fraternity's constitution, the purpose of Rho Epsilon is "to encourage experimental radio activity among American college students; to foster orderly operation of radio stations; and to endeavor to obtain legislative protection for radio as an experimental science. Secondarily, to establish branches in American educational institutions under suitable conditions."
As of 2018, the Alpha Chapter of Rho Epsilon remains an active student organization on the Washington State University campus, despite closing for a few years in the mid 2010s.
Photographs and papers from the Rho Epsilon Radio Fraternity, Alpha Chapter at Washington State University, from 1979-1999; 2015.
This is an unprocessed collection. Any arrangement reflects either a pre-existing order from the records' creators or previous custodians, or preliminary sorting performed by staff.
Photos are contained in pouches, along with their negatives and remain mostly unlabeled. Papers are contained in an acid free folder.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions apply.
[Item description]
Preliminary Guide to the Rho Epsilon Radio Fraternity, Alpha Chapter Photographs and Papers, 1979-1999; 2015 (UA2017-15)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
This material was transferred to WSU Libraries' MASC by Stellar Griffin of Rho Epsilon, the WSU radio honorary on February 14, 2017 and retained as UA2017-15.
The donor said, in 2017, that they had more materials which would be coming.
Rho Epsilon Radio Fraternity, Alpha Chapter Records, 1924-2012
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.