Edna found a framed picture of the Class of 1951 time capsule being buried in front of Sheldon Hall and she was pictured with those present for the ceremony. Edna joked that the time capsule didn’t contain any buried treasure. “There were no gold bricks buried there,” she said with a laugh.

Indeed, the capsule was unearthed for the class’s 50th anniversary in 2001. Herb VanSchaack ’51 joined the late Marion Green ’99, a library clerk with Special Collections, who created a display of the barrel’s contents, including such memorabilia as student ID cards, exam blue books, a Clio beanie and a little chalkware dog.

Greeks have been a part of student life at Oswego since the 1920s, when Ransom Libby and Max Ziel founded Psi Phi Gamma, Oswego’s first fraternity, and Clio was established as the college’s first sorority.

By the early 1940s, Greek life included three sororities — Alpha Delta Eta, Arethusa Eta and Clio — and three fraternities: Beta Tau Epsilon, Delta Kappa Kappa and Psi Phi Gamma.

Like any student organization, Greek life draws together students with common interests.

Dick Tallman ’54 was interested in getting his own room when he pledged Psi Phi. So he joined in part out of necessity of shelter, but ended up making memorable bonds with his brothers.

“It was the social highlight of my college experience,” remembers Tallman, who still helps organize Psi Phi reunions. “You made a lot of connections.

“You always had someone to go out with or hang out with,” he says. You could even count on a brother to hook you up with a date when in need. In fact, that’s how he was introduced to his wife and Alpha Delta sister, Judith House Tallman ’57.

Nina Livaccari Hastings ’43 joined Clio as the college and country worked through World War II. The sorority offered a place to have fun, build friendships and do things in the community — like volunteer cleanups and fundraisers — during a difficult era.

“For myself, I came a kid — never been away from home — I was still pretty naïve,” Hastings says. “It gave us all confidence and a willingness to try things; to not be afraid.”

Greeks grew until the early 1980s when numbers leveled at 11 organizations, then peaked in the 1990s, topping out at about 30 groups. Today, 25 are registered with the college.

Each year, members of Greek organizations past and present gather by the hundreds during Reunion Weekend.