The Beginning
On January 22, 1927, the fifth chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity was founded at Iowa State University. The first step, however, occurred in 1920 when the FarmHouse National Secretary traveled to Ames to investigate the prospects of establishing a chapter on the campus, then known as Iowa State College. It appeared that it would not be feasible to annex one of the local fraternities. But, Dr. Buchanan, Dean of Students, felt that there was room for another good agricultural fraternity at Iowa State.
At the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago in the fall of 1922, FarmHouse National President R.E. Holland (NE '15) talked with J.C. Holbert and others from Iowa State who were interested in an organization with high ideals. The men returned to Ames with hopes of establishing a fraternity among agricultural students whose members would excel in scholarship and would be outstanding in personality, character, and activities.
Lanthus Fraternity
Following approval by the Intercollegiate Council, ten men established Lanthus Fraternity on April 16, 1923. It was formed as a temporary organization until the chapter could become FarmHouse. The name Lanthus was chosen, according to J.C. Holbert, because the men were “trying to think of a name that would soon be forgotten, because we wanted it to be FarmHouse right away. So we found a young Hereford bull in Ken Clark’s herd with the name of ‘Lanthus.’ We looked up the bull’s pedigree, figured he wouldn’t live too long, so we adopted that name.”
The FarmHouse influence was evident with Lanthus choosing “F.H.” as the official password, green and white as the official colors, and a design for a Lanthus pin with an ear of corn and crescent on the pin. Assistance from FH alumni was tremendous, including Kenneth Clark of the Nebraska Chapter. The petitioning to become FarmHouse began early and continued for months. In November, 1926, the Iowa State Faculty approved the petition. The following months, the National Council of FarmHouse also granted its approval. An installation week committee immediately began plans for chartering.