Seven Brothers from Seven States: Friendship of a lifetime
Special Contributor to the Iowa Beta Alumni Association
When seven young men first met at the University of Iowa, the student population was only 8,000 at the time.Eisenhower had been inaugurated as president, a gallon of gas was 20 cents and Playboy magazine had just hit the newsstands.
For more than 60 years, these seven fraternity brothers kept a close bond with each other.The bond continues to this day, even after the deaths of Bill Krause (IABE ’57) in 2013 and Jerry Torrence (IABE ’57) in 2015.
According to Tom Mau (IABE ’57), the group of friends was coined The Seven Brothers from Seven States.
The roll call goes as follows: Krause, Iowa; Torrence, New York; Mau, California; Jim Witt (IABE ’57), Minnesota, Bill Tidd (IABE ’57),Indiana; Toni Hatch (IABE ’57), Wisconsin; and Tom Houlihan (IABE ’57), Florida. All were in the same pledge class in 1953, save Torrence, who entered campus in 1953 but did not pledge until the spring of 1954.
“Bill (Krause) was absolutely instrumental in developing this bond with the Seven Brothers,” Witt said. “He was a great backer of the University and the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was the student manager for (Forest) Evashevski’s football team when they went to Rose Bowl in ’57.”
Though the brothers kept in touch over the years since their graduation, it was the passing of their dear friend and fraternity brother, John E. “Jack” Salkeld, Sr. (IABE ’56), who entered the Chapter Eternal in March 2001, that was the catalyst for strengthening their bonds of friendship.
For 25 years Salkeld, a heralded businessman and strong supporter of Iowa Beta, owned Jack's Distributing Company, a wholesaler of Anheuser-Busch products that covered much of Eastern Iowa.
The brothers gathered in Davenport, IA, for Salkeld’s wake and realized that they had not seen each other in some time. Tidd said it was then that Krause decided that a funeral is not the way to get together and they created a pact to see each other more often.
“Bill looked at us all and said, ‘What are we going to do? Just sit here and attend each other’s funerals? Let’s start a reunion.’ ”
It was Krause, the founder and CEO of Kum & Go convenience stores, who drove the new tradition.
“I got a call at one point and they wanted to go to football games,” said Mau.
The first reunion was in October of 2001, where the Seven Brothers gathered in Iowa City and watched the first football game played at Kinnick Stadium after the 9/11 attack. Penn State was the visiting team and Iowa won the game, 24-18.
“Bill Krause, Bill Tidd and I were like The Three Musketeers,” Witt said. “And Tidd could tell you a crazy amount of stats about baseball, especially the Cleveland Indians. He was a walking encyclopedia. He really is a genuinely nice guy.”
Despite the deaths of Krause and Torrence, The Seven Brothers from Seven States continue the tradition of reuniting at a Hawkeyes football game.
“The Krause family has a box in the stadium; so some of us would fly into Des Moines. From there we would fly in Krause’s private jet to Iowa City," said Mau. "This was the routine until Bill died."
Mau was unable to attend the reunion last season because he celebrated his 50th anniversary to his wife, Andrea, with a 50-day European trip. The couple met when they both worked for American Sugar in New York. They were married in Brooklyn in 1965.
Witt said Krause was instrumental in keeping the brothers’ friendship lively.
“To have 60 years gone by and still have reunions and things in common is pretty darn special,” he said. “Bill was a very special friend to me as were all of these guys. He was pretty humble guy, especially in his later years with his unparalleled success. He was very quick to come to your aide if you needed help. In relationships and in business, he was team player.”
In 2006, Bill and Nancy ("Nan") Krause contributed to the Kinnick Stadium renovation. It includes the Krause Family Plaza at the south end zone, providing a ceremonial entrance to the stadium and a point of welcome to the campus. New limestone panels bear the seal of the University. You can also see a plaque of Bill and Nan.
The plaza is automobile-free. The space is designed as a meeting space for fans of the Hawkeyes, kind of a "front porch" for the new main entrance to Iowa's beloved football facility. Many people use the plaza as a place to stretch out during half time.
Krause also was a major contributor to Iowa Beta.
.jpg)
The annual "SAE Reunion" game was eagerly anticipated by each of the Seven Brothers, but the one who was most excited about attending was Jerry Torrence.
“This event was like Christmas and New Year’s all rolled into one,” Witt said. “Jerry would be the first one to research the opponent and get everyone fired up to go back to Iowa City. He would have his airline tickets booked before the rest of us even thought about it.”
Witt said that when he looks back at the friendship it is hard to believe they group has kept up all these years.
"I talk to Mau and Tidd on a regular basis and I see Houlihan frequently as he lives in Florida," he said. "And I talk to Hatch, too. Did you know he played football at Iowa? He's a great guy. Like me, he spends his winters in Florida but he is up in the panhandle."
The beginnings of the amicable pact started even before fraternity rush.
Krause and Tidd knew of each other growing up and officially met in the 9th grade where Krause attended a parochial high school in Tidd’s hometown, Marshalltown, IA, while Tidd attended Marshalltown High School.
“I knew him because he used to date all of the girls that I was after,” Tidd said. “We were very close and none of us were outstanding students but we were very close, we had a very close pledge class. Maybe we were too close because the actives put us through hell.”
In Mau’s freshman year, he moved into a house with his brother, who was married. He did not move into the SAE house until his sophomore year and, soon after, Carl “Steve” Jaeger (IABE ’55) became his pledge father.
Jaeger, who joined the U.S. Army Rangers after graduation, was also the chapter Pledge Master. His tight reign kept the house in good order.
“Steve was a pretty tough Pledge Master,” said, Mau. “He would make sure we would get on the floor and really clean it, but he was a good guy and we got along. So when I figured out I could get in touch with him I did.”
The Iowa Beta Alumni Association publishes a Chapter Eternal notice to all alumni when a brother dies. Typically, a quote from two brothers who were close to the deceased is included in the death notice.
When Paul C. Kemp (IABE ’54), who quarterbacked the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 1950s and went on to coach college football and scout talent for the NFL, entered the Chapter Eternal in July 2014, one of the quotes about Kemp was from his friend, Steve Jaeger. Mau saw the quote and reached out to the Alumni Association who put him back in touch with Jaeger after nearly 60 years.
Mau keeps in regular contact with Jaeger now.
As a student, Mau majored in journalism and played with the idea of either going into newspapers, radio or into corporate communications.
“I was either thinking about working for a newspaper and briefly I entertained the thought of working at a radio station but at some point during the four years, I decided on public relations,” he said.
He was drafted the same day he received his diploma. After spending the next two years in the Army, Mau was released in the Midwest and moved to New York soon after. Mau was drawn to New York because Torrence was living there. When the two reunited, they became very close friends.
Mau landed his first corporate job at age 25 with a Madison Avenue advertising company, McCann Erickson, which was one of the leading agencies of the time. The firm was an often highlighted entity in the recent popular TV show, Mad Men.
He was a key proponent in the network and production department in the sense that he made sure that all of the commercials and tapes were getting presented to the right places. His last job, before retiring in 1991, was overseeing the advertising and marketing for Loews, which was at the time a movie theater and hotel chain.
After living in Connecticut while his two daughters, Kari and Kirsten, finished college, Mau and Andrea retired to San Diego, where he grew up.
“You'll never get me out of California,” Mau said, “People like to complain about the government and such, but I can play golf almost every day so why would I leave?”
When describing his advice to his daughters about keeping in touch with their friends from college, Mau said that SAE affected his life greatly.
fraternity helped me with my school work and got my act together and of course the friendships were very important.”
Tidd, who received his Bachelors of Business and Commerce degree and attended classes in Schaeffer Hall, always has kinds words for his brothers.
Witt said Mau “was a little more of a jokester and we called him The Perry Flash” because Perry, IA “was a small town and maybe he thought he was a big city guy. And Toni never stops talking; he tells you every detail you want to know and even the details you don't want to know, he will keep you entertained,” he laughed.
Witt said he shared a common bond with Houlihan.
“His father was dentist and he started out in dental school,” he said. “He then became a Public Relations major as was I and Bill Krause and Tom Mau... Wow, I just thought of that. And you know, this was a relatively new major back then. It was not very popular.”
Witt had some fond recollections of life as an SAE undergraduate.
“I can still recall the ‘warm and cold sleeping dorms,’ ” he said. “Back in the 50s, we didn't have our beds in our individual rooms. All of the beds and bunks were in the third floor ‘warm dorm,’ which had one window open. The second floor was the cold dorm as it had many windows open. You absolutely couldn't sleep in the cold dorm without an electric blanket during the winter, it was like sleeping outside.”
Witt also said everyone had to dress up for dinner every night at the house.
“The pledges had to wear a coat, shirt and tie every night for dinner at the house,” he said. “I can't remember for sure, but I think the actives wore a coat for dinner every night too.”
And of course, the brothers would line up to escort the housemother, Ma Burke, to lunch and dinner.
“She was a peach,” Witt said. “Everyone loved her.”
Witt said there were study hours every weeknight for the pledges from 7:30 until 10:30 p.m., mandatory study time.
“It was quiet time in the house during those hours, and I mean it was really quiet for everyone to study,” he said. “We had a break from 10:30 until 11 p.m. and then it got quiet again.”
Mau keeps up with the Seven Brothers mostly through phone, some email, and recently a little texting.
"I keep in closer contact with Tidd and Witt," he said. "I used to connect with Jerry a lot because we were both bachelors in New York together and frequently socialized. Houlihan and I connect every once in a while."
Tidd said he has no regrets pledging SAE.
“I can’t tell you how many times I've been somewhere and seen a SAE sticker or plate on his car and gone up to him and say 'Phi Alpha!' I’m glad I did it.”
Mau echoed Tidd’s sentiments saying SAE helped him through school.
“I was never much of a student, so the fraternity helped me with my school work and got my act together and of course the friendships were important.”
Mau said he has a few non-SAE friends from his undergraduate days, but nothing like the friendships made in the fraternity, which last a lifetime.
“I kept up with maybe a few guys that were in journalism and kinda kept in touch, especially while I was in New York, but not anymore,” he said. “I also stayed connected early on when I was in the Army, but it all faded out.”
Following graduation, Witt went into sales for a company in Waterloo, IA and then went on to 3M Company in the Twin Cities for more than 30 years. He retired in 1995.
He and his wife, Patty, have been married 58 years and Krause and Houlihan participated in the wedding.
Witt said he is leaving both a Hawkeye and an SAE legacy.
“Claire, my granddaughter, is a sophomore at Iowa, and on the Dean's List; my grandson, Colin, is an SAE at the University of North Dakota!”
In memory of Bill Krause and Jerry Torrence, the surviving Seven Brothers from Seven States have donated a beautiful plaque that will hang in the fraternity house inscribed, “The Seven Brothers from Seven States have developed Life Long friendships. We Hope that the Friendships that pass through these Doors embrace you for a Lifetime as it has us.”
In addition, they have contributed funds to send a worthy Iowa Beta True Gentleman to the John O. Moseley Leadership School in memory of Krause and Torrence.
It’s a strong bet that there will be another reunion in the fall.
Nan Krause winters in Naples and will spend some evenings with the Witts.
“At some point, the reunion will enter the discussion,” Witt said. “She has a fun time, too. I am pretty sure we’ll make it happen.”
After 71 years, Iowa Beta brothers reunite thanks to Iowa Beta Alumni Association
By Roger K. Strand (IABE '47)
100th Member, Iowa Beta Alumni Association
The fraternity has always been an important part of my life.
I still remember the fun times and lasting friendships I made when I joined the Iowa Beta chapter in the 1940s.The fraternity’s values mean so much to me and I have always tried to live my life as a True Gentleman.
Throughout the years, I did my best to keep in touch with my pledge brothers, but one by one they started to die off. I am one of the last ones.
But several weeks ago, I was reunited with a long-lost fraternity brother and World War II comrade-at-arms thanks to the Iowa Beta Alumni Association.
My fraternity story begins in Iowa City. I pledged the Iowa Beta chapter and was initiated into the fraternity on December 13, 1942. I received SAE badge number 50008.
Those who were initiated with me on that day are:Col. Dick Arnold (IABE ’43); Clair Brook (IABE ’46); John Duell (IABE ’44); Steve Gray, Jr. (IABE ’44); Sgt. Jerome Gunderson (IABE ’46), who would be killed in action during WWII; Donald Holmwood (IABE ’47); Harry Jennings (IABE ’45); Waldo Maroff (IABE ’45); Scott Minnich (IABE ’46); Frank Powers (IABE ’46); Robert Schneck (IABE ’44); Robert Smith (IABE ’43); Carroll Steinbeck (IABE ’48); William Thompson (IABE ’48); Robert Yelton (IABE ’44), who would also be killed in action during the war; and Ralph Zepp (IABE ’48).
By any measure, SAE was the very best fraternity on campus in those days. And, fraternities made up a large percentage of the student population when I attended Iowa. We had a lot of athletes in the house. I played tennis.
During my sophomore year, Brother Bob Merriam (IABE ’45) and I won the university canoe race on the Iowa River and I took second place in the fraternity tennis tournament.
Life in Iowa City was carefree, but soon many of us would be heading to war.
Nine Iowa Beta sophomores enlisted in the U.S. Army. We were just a handful of the millions of Americans who went off to defend our country and fight for freedom in the Second World War.
One of them was my roommate of nearly two years, Joe Poulter (IABE '48), from Belvidere, IL. We were the best of friends. When the war was over, we found ourselves in the same little study room at SAE. After graduation, Joe became the owner of a John Deere dealership and I was employed by International Harvester Company (now known as Navistar). He thought all tractors should be "John Deere green" and I thought they should be "Farmall red", but this had no effect on our close friendship. Our association with SAE was a continual bond, which lasted until Joe’s death in 2005.
Another SAE peer was Carroll Steinbeck.He is a good friend and SAE brother who grew up in tiny Richland, IA.Carroll still lives across the street from his parents’ house, where he was born. He had an older brother, the late Kenneth Steinbeck (IABE ’44), who was also an Iowa Beta True Gentleman.
Although a bunch of us left college to join the military at the same time, we did not all serve together.
I was in the European Theatre of operations. I served in the infantry and took part in the invasion of Omaha Beach on D-Day, the Liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge, the Crossing of the Rhine River and the liberation of the death camps.
I vividly remember the horrors I saw during those campaigns.
Carroll had several harrowing tales of his own. On December 24, 1944, his division boarded a Belgian passenger liner, the SS Léopoldville, which had been chartered by the British and converted to ferry troops. They were headed to join us in the Battle of the Bulge and were eager to help defeat the Nazis.
While sailing in the dark cold night on the rough waters between Southampton, England and Cherbourg, France, they were spotted by German U-boat submarines. The U-486 fired two torpedoes and his ship was hit by one of them. The ship began to sink. Her crew was Belgian and spoke only Flemish and the Americans could not understand them.Panic ensued.
“There was no command given to abandon ship and no one knew what was going on or what to do,” Steinbeck said.It was very disorganized.
That night, 763 soldiers died along with 56 of the ship’s crew.Eventually another ship arrived and rescued the surviving soldiers in the frigid water. Carroll would go on to serve in the front lines of several European Theatre battles.
After the European war ended, some of us returned to Iowa City to complete our studies, some stayed in the military for a while, and, sadly, seven Iowa Beta brothers never made it home.
In 2013, I joined the Iowa Beta Alumni Association and support its mission because I believe that now more than ever fraternities can play a vital role in the development and education of young men. I was the 100th person to join and today there are more than 316 members!
Several weeks ago, I received a call from Marc Rosenow (IABE ’86), a good friend and fraternity brother who serves as the Iowa Beta Alumni Association president.It turns out that my old friend Carroll Steinbeck was very much alive and had just joined the alumni association. Marc put me in touch with him.
I promptly called Carroll and he was delighted to hear from me and also very surprised! We lost track of each other 71 years ago.
After a few minutes we quickly were able to pick up where we left off, resume our friendship, and had a wonderful discussion.It seemed like only yesterday that we were living at the Chapter House.It was so fun to reconnect.
Now that the Iowa Beta chapter is about to be recolonized, I strongly urge all alumni to show your support in any way you can.And, I can attest that the old saying really is true:Brotherhood is for life!
QUIZ ANSWER: Name these four SAEs from TV/film
How did you do? Were you saying to yourself..."I know that face, I just don't know his name?" If you were, that's normal. Here are the answers to our True Gentleman from TV and film.
Top left: Grant Shaud, 55
Top right: Terry Gilliam, 75
Bottom left: Kevin Tigue, 71
Bottom right: Bob Goen, 61
Did You Know?
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity was founded March 9, 1856 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. While the Fraternity recognizes eight Founding Fathers, only seven men were actually present.
Thomas Chappell Cook is considered to be one of the Founding Fathers of SAE but he had transferred to Princeton in January 1856 and was not in Tuscaloosa that day.
Nevertheless, his contributions to the formation of the organization were recognized by his friends, who voted to elect him as a Founding Father.
Noble Leslie DeVotie, the principal founder of the Fraternity, selected the Fraternity's name, developed the Ritual and the grip. John Barratt Rudulph designed the badge.
Cook initiated himself with the Ritual sent to him by DeVotie.
Besides, DeVotie, Cook and Rudulph, the other Founding Fathers are: Nathan Elams Cockrell, John Webb Kerr, Samuel Marion Dennis, Wade Hampton Foster, and Abner Edwin Patton.
Of all the existing national fraternities today, SAE is the only one founded in the Antebellum South.
Annual Fund Campaign is open
Iowa Beta brothers are contributing to our bright future in so many ways.
We have more than 27 alumni brothers serving on the Boards of Directors of the Iowa Beta Alumni Association, the House Corporation, and the Alumni Advisory Board committee.
In addition, hundreds of Iowa Beta alumni keep our brotherhood vibrant through their participation as members of the Iowa Beta Alumni Association, attending various events and keeping up-to-date on the latest developments through our monthly newsletters and the website.
And last year, scores of brothers and "Friends of Iowa Beta" made annual gifts ranging from $25 to over $1,500 to support our programs and initiatives.
The Iowa Beta Alumni Association is recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
We are committed to providing financial support and educational programming, as well as mentoring and career networking, to help college students who are members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon unleash their full potential, get involved with the community, graduate from the University of Iowa and pursue meaningful professions.
In short, we develop future leaders.
We are now in the process of reestablishing the Iowa Beta chapter at the University of Iowa. We will be actively recruiting True Gentlemen to reclaim our leadership role on campus. But, we need your help.
Membership in the Iowa Beta Alumni Association is free, but we do need the financial support of those who are able to do so in order to achieve our goals.
Your gift of any size is very much appreciated and is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Additionally, some employers match donated funds which can double your support.
Please consider making a tax deductible donation today to support the 2016 Iowa Beta Annual Fund.
Simply click on the DONATE button or mail a check to the address below.
Thank you and Phi Alpha!
Iowa law school up in rankings
The University of Iowa graduate schools saw some ups and downs in the recent graduate school rankings recently released by U.S. News & World Report. Of note, the Law School climbed two notches from 22 to 20.
The education and nursing programs also saw increases, with the overall education ranking climbing one spot from 43 to 42 and its student counseling and personnel services program, which wasn’t ranked last year, making the list at No. 11.
Iowa's nursing school, which was unranked last year, make an appearance at No. 23 this year for its master’s program.
Other health care programs - the physician assistant program and the audiology program - came in at at No. 2, while the speech and language pathology program remained at No. 1.
On the downside, the UI's College of Medicine, in the primary care category, fell from No. 16 to No. 25, while in the research category the program dropped from No. 29 to No. 33. The clinical psychology ranking declined to No. 25 form No. 18. The fine arts ranking slid from No. 22 to No. 33. The social work ranking also fell from No. 44 to No. 53.
California has the highest concentration of top-ranked graduate programs, followed by New York and Pennsylvania.
The state of Iowa's universities currently do not have any program ranked in the Top 10 overall in any of the six disciplines. Big Ten schools that did make at least one of the Top 10 lists include Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois.
University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld has publicly expressed his concerns with the school's drop in overall undergraduate rankings.
At a recent town hall meeting, Harreld presented a chart of Iowa’s plummet from No. 60 overall in 2006 to No. 82 in the 2016 rankings.
Iowa was holding its own from 2010 to 2015, but then fell from No. 71 to No. 82.
Time to update your contact info
Have you changed your home address, cell phone number or email address within the last 3 months?
If so, please let us know so that we can keep you informed of the latest Iowa Beta developments.
The Iowa Beta Alumni Association values your privacy and will never sell or provide your contact information to other organizations or any third parties without your consent.
To update your contact information please click the UPDATE button below.
Thanks!
Let us know how we are doing
Your feedback is important to us.
At the Iowa Beta Aumni Association, we want to make sure we are constantly providing you with news and articles of interest, fun social events, and opportunities for you to be engaged and support Iowa Beta.
We are the largest and fastest growing SAE alumni group in the country, and have won several awards for our programs and initiatives, communications, and website.
But it is your feedback we want most.
Please let us know how we are doing. What do you like? What can be improved? What should be changed?
Please click the FEEDBACK button below to provide your comments.
Thanks and Phi Alpha!
Have You Joined?
The Iowa Beta Alumni Association has been recognized for two consecutive years as one of the best and largest alumni groups in the country. Have you joined yet?
Joining is fast, easy and free!
We simply need you to update or confirm your contact information. Membership is contingent upon keeping contact information up to date so we can keep you informed of the latest Iowa Beta developments.
No donation of any kind is required. However, we are recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and any gift is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Along with important communications, electronic newsletters and invitations to events, members receive a Certificate of Membership and an Iowa Beta Alumni Association pin, which is the SAE flag fashioned into the shape of the State of Iowa. It reminds us that we are SAEs that went to the University of Iowa.
If you have not already done so, please join today by clicking the "Join Today!" button below.
Thank you!
Disclaimer: All images used by the Iowa Beta Alumni Association (the "Alumni Association") are either owned by the Alumni Association, authorized for use by the Alumni Association or are used under Fair Use for education, information and news purposes by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If you are the copyright holder of a certain image and wish us to remove that image, please contact us at the email address below.
