The annual White Carnation Weekend hosted by the Emporia Alumni Chapter (1909) included a special 50th anniversary reunion for those brothers who founded the local fraternity Beta Sigma Tau in 1966, later to be installed as the Kansas Epsilon Chapter of Phi Delta Theta in January 1969.
Twenty of the original 36 charter brothers attended all or part of the reunion weekend. Highlights included a gathering reception in the first chapter house (1968-1971), an ornate Victorian house currently under major restoration. On Saturday afternoon, the undergraduate chapter conducted a memorial tree planting on campus to honor the memory of alumnus Dr. Ethan A. Schmidt. On Saturday evening, the alumni club announced the scholarship recipients for the coming academic year. The first Ethan A. Schmidt Memorial Man of Rectitude Scholarship was awarded to Spenser Johnson of Topeka.
