An Ideal Takes Shape

The fall of 1938 marked the beginning of great strides forward in the organizational development and the establishment of operating procedures. The five original members were all living together in the house along with four prospective members and one boarder. E.E. Cockrum, a graduate student in agronomy, was the non-resident faculty adviser. The stage was set, and the men were anxious to move forward. The first official house meeting was held October 10, 1938, to elect officers Appropriately, Burdette Lutz was elected the first president at that meeting.

Object and Motto

Discussion of the house's objectives got underway at the second house meeting on Oct. 31, 1938. The discussion continued at the next regular house meeting on Nov. 21, 1938, as well as on a constitution, bylaws, and motto. A committee was formed to prepare the framework of a constitution and to submit a proposed object and motto at the next meeting. The committee consisted of Walt Parks, Chairman; Sam Ridlen; and Paul Lawson, a prospective house member. So, on Dec. 5, 1938, the committee proposed the following motto:

Educate, cooperate, and recreate to make farm life the best life of all.

The motto was adopted at that meeting and remains today, never having been changed.

The object was adopted at the same meeting. But some individuals felt the wording should be changed. So, debate and minor changes continued several months before everyone was satisfied. After General agreement was reached, the object, as stated below, stands today as adopted at the house meeting on April 8, 1940:

To unite in Christian fellowship and raise and strengthen our ideals and objectives, in order that we may be of greater service in agricultural education, cooperation, and recreation--steps which we firmly believe are essential to a more successful farm life.

Membership Pin

Soon after the organizational efforts began in the fall of 1939, discussions about a membership pin started and continued both formally and informally. Much time was spent in numerous house meetings exploring and developing ideas for a pin. The conclusion evolved that the pin should symbolize, as much as possible, what the organization stood for, and thus, the pin would symbolically portray much of what is said in the object and motto. Developing the pin and finally adopting it covered a goodly time period. The original discussions started early in the fall of 1938 and continued until April of 1939, when the pin was finally approved. Minutes of the April 17, 1939, house meeting stated:

It was voted unanimously to buy a 10-karat gold pin from Burr-Patterson-Auld, at a price of $5. The design is to be a grain of corn, with an open book denoting education, the letters "NH" on its open leaves; in the background above the book, a rising sun standing for a new day in agriculture; clasped hands denoting cooperation; and a winged foot, denoting recreation.

Walt Parks remembers that these symbols were inspired in great measure by the FFA symbol. The grain of corn was inspired by the FFA's ear of corn, which typifies Midwestern agriculture. The rising sun was borrowed directly, and the open book, the clasped hands, and the winged foot were chosen as the most appropriate symbols for education, cooperation, and recreation.Within three weeks -- the exact date is no longer remembered -- after the design was adopted, the pins were delivered. It was a gratifying moment for the men of Nabor House because a lot of energy had been invested in the pin. Sam Ridlen was quoted in the April 15, 1951, issue of the Nabor Nubbins saying, "Happy was the day when we received our pin, for it had been a long grind designing and redesigning, hashing and rehashing our ideas, until we finally agreed on our present emblem which further enhanced our unity." Nabors eagerly wore their new pins on campus with great pride.

Constitution

The need for a constitution was obvious to a number of men, but others were slow to perceive the need. The organization's name needed to be finalized, membership qualifications defined, house rules set, and many organizational and operational procedures developed. So, the committee appointed on Nov. 21, 1938, submitted its draft of a constitution, and it was adopted on Dec. 19, 1938.

University Approval

Approval of the house by the University continued to be a challenge, arising every semester. The date is now obscure, but at some point in the fall semester of 1938, a letter prepared in the Dean of Men's office had to be sent by every man in the house to his parents to get their approval for him to live in the house wihtou the supervision "of a responsible director, to be known as the 'housemother' as required by Chapter XI, Code on Student Affairs. The following exerpts from the minutes of meetings of the University Senate Committee on Student Affairs give some insight into the complexity, laboriousness, and cumbersomeness of the process:

Oct. 13, 1938: Request from ten undergraduates for permission to live at 410 W. High St., Urbana, on a cooperative house plan without someone in general charge approved by the University, was tabled pending reference to Mr. E.I. Pilchard, Extension Specialist in Junior Club Work for recommendation.

Oct. 20, 1938: It was moved that the Committee deny the request of a group of ten undergraduate students to form a local social fraternity to be known as "Nabors," and refered the petition to the Assistant Dean of Men for further study and recommendation. Motion carried.

Neither the Fraternity's records nor the early members' memories provide many specifics regarding further action to gain lasting approval from the University, but since the Dean's office raised the approval question every semester, the group felt it was urgent to resolve the matter early and permanently in order to move ahead with the house's purposes and functions. Several angles were considered carefully. After much thought and debate, it seemed that the answer would have to be incorporation as a local social fraternity for which a house mother was not required.

Incorporation

So, at the house meeting on March 27, 1939, the decision was made to incorporate under the State of Illinois nonprofit laws. The group recognized that the Dean's office was much more likely to approve without requiring a house mother if it could be established that Nabor House was indeed a fraternal organization.

The State issued Nabor House a charter on April 29, 1939. The group hoped that this would be a positive step toward the conclusion of the long quest for recognition. No documentation is available that tells clearly just what occurred next and when. But the struggle lessened and was eventually over, with Nabor Hosue being recognized as a local social fraternity and by having an adviser live in the house. Later, the requirement for a resident adviser was dropped. A request, presumed to have been filed sometime in the spring of 1940, seeking recognition as a local cooperative fraternity is believed to have been influential in helping to gain recognition.

The First New Members

When the first semester of 1937-38 was over in January, a decision regarding the granting of membership to non-members -- they were not yet officially called pledges -- needed to be made. J. Robert Harris, '42, and Herbert M. Kobler, '47, (ex. '43) both freshmen, were voted into membership. This is presumed to have occurred at the house meeting Feb. 20, 1939, although it is not mentioned. At that meeting, the term "pledges" was used for the first time in any recorded house document. Lindell L.Cummings, '40, was mentioned as a pledge, and he was voted into membership on May 29, 1939. An invitation ritual did not exist at that time, so those men were simply made members without any kind of a ceremony or ritual. At the end of May 1939, Nabor House had a total of eight members.

The Naming of Nabor House Fraternity.
What would be a good name for this budding organization? That question was under consideration and discussion by every man involved almost from the time the idea was formed. The name should be something representative of agriculture in some respect. It would not be Greek. It should be different from names of other houses on campus.

As soon as the men moved into 410 W. High, the word "neighbor" surfaced repeatedly and seemed to convey the organization's purpose best. It seemed appropriate for a group of closely knit people who worked together for each other's good and for the good of all, a group that maintained a friendly and helpful spirit within its ranks.

So, thinking of the group's own cooperative structure, neighbors and other folks on the farm, and the agricultural oriented people with whom the members would eventually be working, the name Nabor House was selected. The spelling was chosen to make it short, catchy, and distinctive.

Later, "Fraternity" was reluctantly added to the name, making it "Nabor House Fraternity." This addition was made to help in trying to gain University approval for the organization.

In that era, the word "fraternity" often raised less than favorable images and impressions with many people, including a mojority of Nabors. The men were independent-minded and not in accord with some of the attitudes and actions common in fraternities. They wanted, and made it known, that Nabor House was an independent fraternity and would work with independent groups. So, arriving at the name evoked much emotional debate that, even after the final decision was made, extended over a decade before it subsided.

Some of the meaning of the short form of "neighbor" can be seen today implied in phrases such as "a Naborly welcome," "being Naborly around campus," and "Thank you for your Naborly cooperation."

The First Year Ends

The 1938-39 year was a busy but gratifying one. Throughout the year, an instensive effort was made to formulate a plan of organization and put it into action. The cooking was still done by Burdette Lutz and Walt Parks, and in fact, cooperative cooking would not be done until 1939-40. A scheme for conducting the other household duties had to be learned by trial and error since no precedent existed. The constitution was revised in the spring of 1939 to cover the rapidly progressing organization, including evolving policies and standards. The men were carrying regular course loads and were faithfully involved in religious activities. All participated in a number of extra curricular activities with 100 percent membership in the Ag Club and YMCA.

Future plans, policies and goals were under almost constant discussion. What to do with the house during the coming summer posed one of the last challenges of the year. That was solved in late May when a teacher, Roy Yung and his family, rented it for summer school and agreed to pay the rent and utilities for two months. All of these and lots of other developments resulted in many long house and committee meetings often lasting into the early hours of the mornings. And of course, all these activities and developments that had gone on throughout the year caused much thought, and yes, arguments and compromises. But they ended in certain ideals that became distinctive and enduring characteristics of Nabor House, a package of ideals rolled into an overall one.

As the year was closing, the men realized that it had been a good year, one full of progress, and the Fraternity was pretty well organized. The future seemed to hold much promise. They left school having discussed the need for a larger house more suited to the organization and closer to the campus. The 10-men capacity, white-frame house of older vintage at 410 W. High would restrain the group from reaching a better functioning size. Moreover, the one-way, 14-block walk to the campus took too much time. Could a more suitable house be found before classes began in Sept. 1939? And, if so, could Nabor House arrange to buy it?

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