Alpha Phi Omega was founded in Brainerd Hall at Lafayette College. (Now called Hogg Hall, renamed in 1944) Have you ever wondered *who* or *what* Brainerd was?
David Brainerd was a young missionary to the Lenape (also called the Delaware Indians) from 1744 to 1747. The Brainerd Evangelical Society was founded in 1833 at the Cabin where he had worked, and the collegiate branch of this society was the only religious organization on Lafayette College's campus from 1834-1874. In 1877, the Brainerd Society joined forces with the YMCA and became responsible for the social as well as spiritual welfare on campus. In 1902, James Renwick Hogg donated a building to give the students a new social meeting place, which the Brainerd Society co-ordinated. Membership in the Brainerd Society/YMCA became required in 1928, but that was dropped in 1947. Eventually, the student activities moved away from the Brainerd Student Union (it had been renamed) and in 1956 it was dissolved.
*Much* more information on the society can be found at
http://archives.lafayette.edu/files/brainerd.pdf and information on David Brainerd can be found on Wikipedia at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brainerd
Note, for Alpha Phi Omega - Philippines, information on the building honoree is relatively easy to find. Dr. Nicanor Reyes, Sr was the first president of Far Eastern University (the location of Alpha Phi Omega -Philippines founding) and was killed by the Japanese during the Occupation.
YiLFS
Randolph Finder
--KnightShadow
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