MAY 20, 1923

There have been conversations recently as to the true date of the founding of EDW. Some know the date as May 20, and others are equally convinced that the date is May 23. The year of 1923 is not in question. The Anniversary logo used for the masthead of the Knight life currently uses May 23. However May 20 is used in the “Council History” written in the 2002 Membership Directory, as well as the 60th and 75th anniversary Knight Life editions. We have a puzzle to solve!

Obvious answer is to simply consult our official Charter. After multiple searches of every possible nook and cranny the charter is not to be found and no one we talked with seemed to remember seeing the document. An original piece of our history lost forever, sadly.

So we need to start digging. Vince Long DGK reviewed the World War II-era predecessor of the Knight Life and found in the Casey Cackle (circa)August 1945 that the date given is May 20. We did not want to take this as a definitive answer, since the mere publication of a date is not sufficient to verify the question. After all, they could have been wrong.

We contacted New Haven for assistance. Virginia Mingarelli was of great help to us; she reviewed our official records and definitively stated that May 20, 1923 is our Charter date and the date recognized by the Supreme Council. A large bonus came out of this conversation; Supreme will be able to replace our lost Charter. Once it arrives we will have it framed appropriately and displayed in a prominent position on our campus.

Beginning with the March, 2007 Knight Life, the correct date will be used in the masthead logo.

But when did this confusion begin? We searched through old Knight Lifes and found there was never any question as to the May 20, 1923 date until October 2002. From the original use of the logo in the May 1998 newsletter until November 2002, May 20 was the accepted date. The October 2002 issue of the newsletter, as well as the next two issues, changed the date of the anniversary logo to May 23. There wasn’t an explanation given for the change. The date was reversed to May 20 for the January 2003 to the April 2003 Knight Lifes. Again no reason was presented for the confusion. The last change was made for the May 2003 issue using the date of May 23 until now.

So it is official, May 20, 1923 is the official date of Edward Douglass White’s founding in the St. Charles School Hall.