Knox campus holds oldest TKE house in the world – Galesburg Register-Mail

GALESBURG This year the TKE (Tau Kappa Epsilon) organization celebrates 100 years at 160. W. South St. in Galesburg. This makes the present TKE House at Knox College the oldest TKE house in the world. A commemoration rock and plaque in the front of the house note this historic element of Knox TKE history.

The TKE House was built in 1906 for Knox College Professor William F. Bentley, professor of music and director of the Knox Conservatory of Music. The Tudor design six-gable house was built for the Bentley family as well as a place for Knox music students practices.

The first floor was the parlor with fireplace, library, dining hall and kitchen.

The second floor had a master suite with an attached study room with a fireplace as well as an infant changing room and a nursery.

The third floor featured three music practice rooms and a storage area.

The house originally had an octopus coal heating system that was replaced with natural gas and subsequently with radiator stream heat. The steam heat was replaced with a gas-powered boiler.

The attic storage area became known by the members as the rack. In the rack were bunk beds to accommodate the members who lived in the house. When the requirement for all members to sleep in the rack was lifted, members slept in their individual study room and the rack was repurposed.

The first floor kitchen was moved to the basement. The kitchen was renovated into an apartment for the housemother when the college determined in 1955 that each fraternity must have a resident housemother. The first housemother in 1955 was Pearl Maxey, whose son was a Knox student. When the last housemother retired in the 1970s, the housemothers room was renovated into a social room. Today, that room is an individual room for a member.

All of the second floor rooms were used for members.

One room was eliminated in 1990 when the house was renovated. That room was turned in to a large restroom.

In a house that had as many as 28 residents and countless guests, there were minimal restroom and bath facilities. Today there are four restrooms and bathrooms with numerous showers, including handicap-accessible facilities.

The ramp and deck that surrounds the outside of the house was added in 2002. The addition of the deck and ramp made the TKE House the first handicap-accessible fraternity house on the Knox campus.

The basement, once a storage area and then a dining hall and kitchen, is now a social area with a complete modern kitchen and a large restroom as well as an energy-efficient laundry and mechanical room. The house employed full-time cooks for the members to take meals in the house until in the early 70s, when the college required all to board with the college. At one time there were nearly 100 members making the cooks job a real challenge.

During renovations, the house was outfitted with a fire system, an overhead sprinkler system and a fire escape.

A number of the house repairs and renovations occurred in the 1990s after the college wrote the TKE alumni that the house needed immediate attention. Over $300,000 was raised from TKE actives, alumni and friends. Renovations included all new windows, door frames and doors; new plumbing and electrical; new roof and exterior painting; new heating system, insulation, painting and lighting; hardwood floors on all three levels refinished; woodwork stripped and refinished; restrooms added; basement drains added; paint stripping from stonework on the first floor stone facade; and more.

The later rack renovation featured new heating and an AC system as well as lighting and floor refinishing.

During renovations, the gable interior area and attic were explored and finds included vintage cans, documents and sports programs. A dumbwaiter was found buried in a wall. Pocket doors on the first floor were found. The first and second floor hardwood floors were found to have been shimmed to be level with vintage baseball card and local newspapers from the 1906 time frame. There were various woods used in different rooms, including oak, maple, walnut and cherry.

Over the years the house has been landscaped; the exterior redone and painted; and new gutters, roof and fire escape. The original roof was slate.

The repairs and renovations have been done with a focus on maintaining the original characteristics and architectural features of the house. The front door is original, as are the hardwood floors. The window oak woodwork is original. The two fireplaces and the mantles that heated the house are original. The pocket doors and dumbwaiter remain, as do the overhead wooden beams in the original library. The exterior paint colors are the same or very similar to the original 1907 colors.

All items found in the house, or that were required to be removed, were donated to the Knox Archives.

A capital improvement fund is in place to address the next projects, which will include an updated laundry room, a time capsule to commemorate 100 years at 160, exterior repairs and more.

The house has served as much more than living quarters. Long a social center on the Knox campus, the TKE House has hosted formals, dances, dinners, Mothers Weekends, frat parties, concerts, speakers and more.

For decades, annually the members moved out of the house for a weekend and their mothers moved in for a weekend. The mothers club helped raise funds and raise "awareness" for cleaning and organization. When the members returned to the house on Sunday, it was spic and span clean.

Numerous historic events have occurred in and around the house. The Tri-Delt sorority original installation event was held and hosted in the TKE House.

The house has served and survived 100 year as a college fraternity. The house has had fires, floods, broken pipes and other challenges, but it still proudly stands for the diverse brotherhood of TKE.

Over 1,200 Knox TKE students have called the TKE House home. Countless students, friends and family have visited the house and have many memories.

TKE alumni have excelled in their fields and careers. TKE alumni include an NFL referee, business leaders, military leaders, professors, labor, union and environmental activists, politicians, authors, teachers and countless charity volunteers. Some of the funds raised by TKE are earmarked for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Nearly the entire chapter served in World War II, and many served in other wars, including Vietnam. A number of TKE alumni made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States.

TKE looks forward to the next 100 years at 160 W. South St. on the Knox College campus.

John Gorski is chairman and president of the Knox College TKE Board of Advisors.

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Knox campus holds oldest TKE house in the world - Galesburg Register-Mail