Epsilon Pi Alpha

1928 - 1939

On October 10, 1928, fifteen Gustavus students met to organize a new fraternity on campus. After two months of work and many more meetings, the constitution of the new "literary society" was read and ratifies. The Epsilon Pi Alpha Fraternity was born. What prompted these young men to form a seventh fraternity on a relatively small campus like Gustavus? According to Reverend Myrvin Holmberg, a charter member of the group: "We felt that those already in existence were too political and exclusive." The growth of the fraternity seems to prove this statement. Over the next three years the Epsilon Pi Alpha Fraternity, or the Eppies as they soon became known as, grew to be one of the largest groups on campus. A distinction they have held for most of the 69 years they have been a fraternity.

The Eppies quickly started an active schedule of events. Like most of the fraternities on campus at this time, the Eppies were a literary fraternity. That is, it was one which promoted stimulating conversation and debate among its' members. This fact can be seen in an example of the minutes from that time:

Also like most of the fraternities on campus at the time, the Eppies held banquets in the spring and fall of the year. The first banquet of the Epsilon Pi Alpha Fraternity was held at the Redmen Club in St. Peter with the Ladies Aid of the Swedish Lutheran Church serving supper and the honorable Doctor Uhler giving the banquet speech. The fraternity did, however, do things that were unique and special compared to the others at Gustavus. Overnight outings to Lake Emily, fraternity songs, and the "Meller Drammer" (an exaggerated rendition of the mella drama which was popular at the time) were all special features of the time.

Around 1934, the first signs that the literary society of the time was becoming the fraternity of today was increasingly more evident. There were fewer and fewer social programs in the minutes and the initiation practices were becoming longer and starting to take on the shape of today's rituals. Parties such as "The Gay Nineties" and "Taffy Pulls" were often mentioned in both the Gustavian Weekly and the Gustavian Yearbook. The thirties also found the beginning of an Eppie tradition known as the Kaffa Kalas, or homecoming reunion. These were times when Eppies, old and new, could come together to reminisce and get to know each other. This was a tradition that was to last well into the 1970s and only died out with the ending of the Homecoming celebrations at Gustavus.