I went to a very small high school in northern Kentucky. We all knew each other in several classes. I was prompted to pledge Sigma Chi because an older boy I looked up to came home from college and talked to several of us over lunch one day. He told us of the brotherhood and fun he was having as a Sig. I went on to pledge Sigma Chi at the University of Cincinnati and was initiated in March 1961.
Later that year during the Christmas holidays I got a call from another high school friend two years ahead of me who was a Sig at Ohio University. He had dated a girl at our high school who was now terminally ill with leukemia. He wanted to get pinned to her before she passed away but had left his pin at OU in Athens. He asked if he could borrow my pin, and I said yes. He pinned her, and she was buried wearing my Sigma Chi badge. He later gave me his badge, and I pinned the girl who became my wife. She still has that pin today after 60-plus years.
~ Lauren Hill, CINCINNATI 1965
I had one of those beautiful White Cross pins with some rubies and pearls on it. I was a 20-year-old senior, met a beautiful 17-year-old freshman, and we started dating. It didn't take me long to get pinned to her but, after several months of dating, I decided that she had gotten too bossy. So, I thought I would break up and get my pin back. It did not work out as I had planned.
I explained to her as gently as I could that I was breaking up with her, and she needed to give me my Sigma Chi pin back. I was stunned when she said no. So, I got in my car and drove off, bewildered by what had just happened.
Fortunately, I decided not to give up, kept on seeing her, got married in 1965, and we just celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary. But I never did get the Sigma Chi pin back as she has it on a charm bracelet and keeps it locked away from me in her safe.
~ Significant Sig Colin Kelly, CAL. STATE-FRESNO 1964
Back in the early 2000s when I was Grand Praetor for Central Texas, I had a lady contact me who said her dad was a Sigma Chi, and when she was a young girl he had given her a sweetheart badge he found in an antique store. This would have been in the late 1950s or early ’60s. Her dad had passed away, and she didn't have any children, so she decided to sell the badge. I told her I would take a look, and if I didn't buy it, I would help her sell it.
I agreed to meet her the next day. It was beginning to get dark when an old rusty pickup pulled into the lot and an older lady climbed out. When she came around the door, in the dim light I saw she had more in her hand than a badge — a beautiful Sigma Chi jewelry box with an equally beautiful badge inside.
I told her I was planning to give the badge to my wife, who was a chapter sweetheart, as was her mom and a couple of other female cousins and that her dad, both brothers and numerous other uncles and cousins (over 20 in total) were all Sigma Chis. She teared up and said that is exactly where her dad would want the badge to end up.
I pulled out the roll of cash I had and handed it to her, which was a bit more than the top of her price range. I told her I wouldn't feel right trying to negotiate with her. I also pulled out everything else I had in my wallet and told her that was for the case I wasn't expecting. She gave me a big hug then climbed into her truck and drove away. ~ John Klier, TEXAS STATE 1990
My wife and I learned that we were going to have a son in 2002. Right then I bought him a badge and had it engraved with, “For My Son.” I never told anyone about it.
In the fall of 2021, my son Alexander Scott Cameron was initiated into the Gamma Omega chapter of Sigma Chi at the University of Connecticut. I was there, along with my brother (Gamma Omega Sig from 1995) and several of my pledge brothers. It was a highlight of my life to pin that badge on my son's chest. My wife got emotional when I told her that I bought his badge in 2002 and kept it a secret for so many years.
I have another son in high school. If he becomes a Sig, I'll pin my badge from 1991 on his chest.
~ Allan Cameron, CONNECTICUT 1995
When my youngest son, James Ward, 2001, went to college at North Texas State, he did not tell me which fraternities he was looking at. After he pledged, he told me it was Sigma Chi. I was thrilled because he made the decision on his own. When it came time for his initiation, (future 66th Grand Consul) Wayne Tucker, BAYLOR 1985, who was Grand Praetor for North Texas at the time, asked me if I wanted to come to my son’s initiation. Of course I was thrilled. He had no idea I was there. When it came time, I was able to come out and say the words and pin my pin on him. What a thrill for both of us. He still has my pin today. James has also gone on to learn the part of Constanine and has played him in many other initiations, one of which I just witnessed at Southern Methodist University. My son is now the chapter advisor at his school, North Texas State.
~ Jimmy Ward, TEXAS TECH 1970
I graduated from Westminster College in 1973 where I was a member of the Delta Tau chapter. The chapter was (suspended in 2015). In 2025, after several years of effort from alumni, the International Fraternity and cooperation with Westminster College, the chapter was re-established and initiated its first pledge class. One of the new initiates was a young man from my hometown. I met him before he went to Westminster and encouraged him to consider pledging Sigma Chi. After he was initiated, I gifted him my Sigma Chi pin hoping to pass on some of the legacy of an alumnus. The student I gave the pin to ended up being the Magister of the first pledge class of the re-established chapter. The pin was always precious to me, but I thought it was important to share it with someone to encourage the rebirth of the chapter.
~ Dan Barbour, WESTMINSTER 1973
My daughter loves Sigma Chi almost as much as her brother and I do. I had given her a sweetheart pin several years before as well as various other sweetheart things. At her wedding in 2023, she and I were waiting outside the doors for me to walk her in, and she smiled and said, “Dad, I have something to show you.” She pulled over the shoulder of her dress to reveal that she
had her sweetheart pin beneath the dress near her heart. I thought nothing would be more emotional than walking her down the aisle, but I was wrong.
~ Seventieth Grand Consul Tommy Geddings, SOUTH CAROLINA 1985
It was the fall of 1994. I had moved to Ohio from Southern California to begin my medical studies at the University of Cincinnati. I was at this time a collector of Sigma Chi memorabilia, including badges. I had begun scouring antique shops, pawn shops, flea markets and antique shows looking for anything related to Sigma Chi. Remember, this was way before the internet. By that time, my oldest badge was from the early 1910s, but I told myself, “Wait until you get to Ohio.” I figured we had our beginnings there, so there’s bound to be even older treasures to find!
A few weeks into the semester, I needed a break. I found an antique flea market about 100 miles north of Cincinnati and made plans to go. Searching up and down the aisles of dealers, I saw some interesting things. That was until ... I saw it! Larger than modern badges, jeweled with rubies, it honestly took my breath away. I asked the seller to see the pin, and his first words to me were, “Are you a Sigma Chi? Because I will only sell it to a Sigma Chi.” I immediately confirmed my membership, and I was then holding this treasure in my hand. The dealer was Hank Spangenberger, BOWLING GREEN 1958. “How much?” I asked. He replied, “$100.” I thought that was a bit steep, but I had no choice but to pay it. It has been in my possession ever since. The badge originally belonged to Edwin E. Sheffield, DENISON 1887. I was lucky to also find a photo of him wearing the badge, adorned with a chapter guard that was long gone when I bought the badge.
~ Twenty-second Grand Historian Michael Codina, CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO 1993
When I was initiated in 1977, my father, Capt. Robert M. Pond Sr., CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY 1943, gave me his badge. He got the badge from his great uncle, William G. Hay, CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY 1889, who was one of the founding members of the Alpha Beta chapter (I believe he was initiate No. 6). The badge is gold with diamonds and emeralds at the ends of each arm of the cross. The back is engraved with H. G. Hay ’89 and R. M. Pond ’43. Unfortunately, there was no more room for me to add my name and graduation date.
~ Bob Pond, CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY 1980