Wilson Heller

[KEPike]

Here is some info on a PiKA that is quite interesting from another thread:




Please post this in Pi Kappa Alpha site, too....
WILSON BENTON HELLER was born in NE 1 Aug 1893. He died in LA 30 June 1983. Joined PiKA at U Mo about 1913. He served in WWI as a flyer and was an "ace." He was a press agent and erstwhile actor's agent in Hollywood. His hobby was
indeed fraternties, and all the other observations of him on this
site.,so far as I know, are quite accurate.
Wilson was disenchanted with Pike, then generally called PiKA or Pi Kap, and was impatient about growth. He was isolated from the "honor seekers and freeloaders (his words)" and held
most college deans and administrators in utter contempt.
He hated the old line fraternities, favored the newer ones, especially TKE and Sig Ep. Both Teke and Sig Ep were on the expansion trail, and this writer was a TKE field man from '57 t o '60. I met Wilson many, many times and fed him a lot of info, got
many letters from him, typed generally, single-spaced, margin-to-margin, on scraps of paper. I have kept a lot of those notes from him. And I have copies of most of this ratings. He did not
play fair, I thought, in total national strength ratings in the obtained a score, multiplied it by the number of chapters, and, voila! The larger outfits were always up there. There is few who
would doubt that SAE was best-run outfit in '50s, though. But no one would doubt that Heller loved the Greeks and his jabs were intended at goading them to improve their lot...
Wilson would rarely wear a white shirt. He preferred a logger-
type, perhaps a print, likely corduroy and a bow tie, not at all in
fashion.
Wilson could not be cajoled, bought, intimidated or harassed by
anyone. Favor seekers were generally rebuffed. He was going
to leave his stuff to the late George William Woolery, TKE, who
was sick and eventually died from complications of diabetes. He did not leave the things to George and I always wondered where they went.....thanks, informant! He was going to proivde
handily for Dick Hall (TKE)'s kids in his will but never did and his
widow, I am told, left it all to the LDS church. Heller was quite fond of Dick Hall, then TKE Executive Secretary. He thought that
Nelson George Burhans (TKE, Hartwick) was the smoothest, the most mannered, and polished fielder to ever become a knight of the road. Had little regard for the NIC or the Banta group. He sent out thousands of surveys to college campuses
all over the country, and was pretty accurate, whether we liked it
or not. Placed emphasis on size, and has never been successfully refuted (his words, too). WBH was unique....
Wilson would be very proud of Pi Kappa Alpha today, arguably the hottest ticket amongst the greeks at the moment.
I have some wonderful memories of Heller, and he said a lot of
nice things about that brash young Kansan who got results in
the '50s. Wilson, old pal, we need you today, we really do.
Erik P Conard, TKE, PhD, active again after many years away....


__________________
Erik P Conard

[bolingbaker]

He was a pioneer. Pike International didn't want anything to do with him because he pointed out their weaknesses. All this changed about 25 years ago when Ray Orians and Pat Holloran put the Fraternity on the right track. Today, Pike has the largest average chapter size of any fraternity.

[hoosier]

I don't remember the exact details, but Wilson Heller loved to tell the story about some old Pike big wheel who changed his name from Smith to Smyth or Smythe - for less than proper reasons.

And tell us the source for "PiKA has the largest average chapter size" line.

[KEPike]

Is one of our Junior Founding Fathers. He dedicated 72 years of service to the fraternity, and virtually held every position available in Pike. I have heard that he had changed his name, but I am not sure why. Please refer to the following website for more information on Smythe:

http://www.pikes.org/wtp_smythe.html

Bolingbaker is correct in stating that our current success is due largely to the vision and leadership of men like Ray Orians and Pat Halloran, among countless others.

The largest average chapter size, along with the most pledgings and the most initiations have been distinctions of Pi Kappa Alpha for the past few years. The distinction of the largest average chapter size, however, has been held by Pike for 13 or 14 years. So ha!

[PiKA2001]

And it is SO TRUE!!! Damn non-believers.

[bolingbaker]

Smythe was one of only 13 or so initiates of Lambda Chapter at The Citadel in the late 1800s, but he served as the Fraternity's chief executive officer into the 1930s, and founded the magazine. Heller hated Smythe, and we can assume the feeling was mutual. Smythe favored limiting the Fraternity to the south, and Heller was an expantionist. Smythe held power, and Heller was shut out. Both men, in my opinion, contributed much to our Fraternity in their own ways. Very often, men who love the Fraternity are passionate, and controversial.

Hoosier, you asked about the average chapter size. PiKA developed a unique national rush program twenty-five years ago that has catapulted it to the top. Those figures are FEA (Fraternity Executive Association) stats, and yes, Pi Kappa Alpha has had the largest average size among all fraternities for many years. The same stats show Sigma Phi Epsilon (I believe) as the fraternity with the largest number of undergrads in a given year.

[Concise]

some of the guys from my chapter call me smythe because they think i tried to steal money from our education fund, and smythe was known as "the great embezzler". i didnt steal anything, they just do it because they know it pisses me off.

[bolingbaker]

Smythe's legacy should be remembered positively. My guess is after so many years of basically running the show himself, he fell into the trap that so many execs have: he mixed the funds, his with the Fraternity's. Maybe he was a little lax, maybe there were guys out to get him. They're all dead now, and the result of all their labors is our great Fraternity. Phi Phi Kappa Alpha to every one of them.

[Concise]

i agree completely, i wasn't trying to challenge the legacy of smythe, he was a great man and there's no doubt he played a huge role in taking us to where we as a fraternity are today. at the same time, lets not forget to have fun. there's nothing wrong with joking around, i'm sure smythe doesnt take offense.

[KEPike]

I would see being called Smythe as a positive thing, despite any of his shortcomings. That would be a nickname I would want to have.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I found Wilson Heller interesting and did a google search. Apparently, the University of Illinois Archives has some of the Wilson Heller Papers from 1937 to 1983. Check out: http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/slc/heller.html

[FratAmerica]

Heller was a "giant", no doubt. He was a personality that may never be equaled in Pi Kappa Alpha history.

Gentlemen, if you don't already know, you should - there are four people to whom Pi Kappa Alpha owes its success in the modern era ("modern" defined as post-Junior Founder). Those names are Heller, Halloran, Barnes and Handler. Orians has done a wonderful job, but he represents the continuation of the work of these men.

Heller was a genius, but like many he was also very falliable. Many of his writings contained racial and sexual orientation biases, and he was unable to build the coalitions and partnerships that could have truly changed the fraternity world.

Heller was rightfully critical of Smythe. At a minimum, Smythe kept sloppy financial records, was loose with cash and received favors from vendors (e.g. jewelry merchants). No matter his accomplishments, his legacy should rightfully be forever tarnished. This is a lesson that should never be forgotten. Don't fall into the trap of "cult of personality".

PiKA should be doing more to study the impact and legacy of Heller.

[NutBrnHair]

He liked Chi Omega -- I liked him.

[BobbyTheDon]

Originally Posted by FratAmerica

Those names are Heller, Halloran, Barnes and Handler. Orians has done a wonderful job, but he represents the continuation of the work of these men.

I have had the pleasure of meeting both Handler and Barnes.

I met Handler at a regional convention in Reno. Though I barely spoke with him, you can tell the man was a great risk taker and tremendous motivator.

I have spoken with Barnes via email mulitple times, and once in person. If anyone ever has the great pleasure of meeting him, please do yourself a favor and pick his brain. The man has uncanny knowledge about fraternity life, rush, and random Pike history!