By Edward Master
I recently returned from a short stay (thank goodness) in the hospital (UPMC/NW). How I managed to develop a case of pneumonia is beyond me, but I do know there was also some oxygen balancing involved. I basically did a number on my occupational and physical therapists though. Because I was experienced in the therapy thing previously, showing the therapists my method(s) for cleansing/changing my Lary tube (in my throat) along with quick scoots down the hall (and to the bathroom) pretty much cured my need for further therapy. I did do some two-pound dumbbell exercises, but in my younger days I easily handled 50 pounders for curls. No big deal.
During my arrival, however, while striking up general conversation with two of my nurses, I learned that Rachel and Tara were both alums from Clarion University’s (now Penn West) nursing program. I asked Rachel if her and her family had ever been to the Wayside Inn in Huefner? She remarked that they had several times. I responded that my fraternity’s clubhouse was just up the road.
I told her at one time another group took over the building, but I was unaware what it was. The story of just how Phi Sigma Epsilon came into possession of the clubhouse is actually unknown to me. However, I can relate to a beginning.
I believe an emergency meeting of the fraternity was held. We were explained that Tau Kappa Epsilon (TEKE, another fraternity) had located a building not that far outside of Clarion, near Lucinda. The TEKEs did not, however, have funds to purchase said property. The proposal was made by Henry Fueg, our advisor, to clean out our own bank accounts with the idea of getting a quick refund once the property was purchased.
The members did exactly that and that is what exactly happened. To this day, I was never told what moneys were exchanged, put up as collateral, or what exactly happened to make the sale. I heard some stories, some rumors, but that was all...just stories and/or rumors. But, we had become owners to what was to be known as the “Phi Sig Bar.”
The building itself was a former Elks Club from the Clarion area. It had a brass rail that ran in front, and shelves with mirrors, where we kept our awards and trophies. We actually gathered a plaque for highest grade-point average among the eight or so fraternities one year. When I told my father what we bought, he said that he had been in the building when it was the Elks Club. When I took him for a re-visit, he teased my mother that we were going to a ‘beer bust.’ I have always had the feeling she knew that was a lot of hot air. But, we were in business and business was what it was.
At the time, Dennis ‘Boss Tweed’ Black was our fraternity treasurer. He was a business major. His successor was Al Phillips, also a numbers guy who managed the fiscal facts and figures. To put it mildly, Al was treasurer during quite a lush period of prosperity for the fraternity. Lush enough, that somewhere along the way, the Phi Sigs bought a school bus to transport student to and from the Phi Sig Bar. I am assuming the driver of the bus had a valid CDL license to drive.
The money makers were band parties. A local band was hired and played on the small stage at the front of the dance floor. We charged two dollars for guys and a dollar for girls. Those were 70s prices and probably (my guess) carried into the 80s. I think the fraternity disbanded in the 90s when all Greek organizations had to have a national sponsor or disband. As far as I know, the oldest fraternity on campus was a local, Alpha Gamma Phi, and it has long been abandoned, after, I assume, declining a national affiliation.
Over the years, I have come across a few Clarion female alums, but I don’t recall many ever admitting to attending the Phi Sig Bar. The TEKEs did actually land a place of their own, just east of Strattanville, close to Clarion. Yet, I never heard of any doings of success like we had in Huefner. We were in a small community, but never had any complaints about noise or car congestion. In the end, it was ideal and the end to an era.
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