A Club in Crisis: 1948-1953

With the end of the war, the United States officially came out of a deep depression and
the future shone bright. However, the end of the war did not bring a solution to the Tejas
Club's financial problems. The club's financial position grew steadily worse. In 1947, the
club was evicted from its home on West 26th Street. The landlord, with intentions of making
the house into a cafeteria, gave the club ninety days to find a new place to live.

Building a new home was out of the question, and there was a serious housing shortage for
the university in general. Three fraternities and three co-ops were also searching for houses
with no success. The only location available was a small, one-story house on 2303 Red River.
However, it could only house nine people. A call was made to the Tejas Exes for money to buy
the house. The house was purchased at the end of the semester for $14,995. Everyone realized
the house would only be a temporary solution. It proved to be far from adequate.

The club moved in 1951 to another house at 2205 Rio Grande. It did not sell the house on
Red River; instead, an operator of a nursing home leased the Red River home from the club.
Unfortunately, the nursing home went under. This left the club paying rent on two properties.
In 1953, the club moved out of the Red River and Rio Grande houses and moved to yet another
house located on 214 Archway (the old Sigma Nu house.) Not surprisingly, all the moving and
money problems took their toll. The club developed a serious morale problem. The financial
conditions of the club were far below University standards. The conduct of some braves were
under close scrutiny. Dean of Men, Jack Holland, reported that he would require the club to
disband unless serious changes were made immediately.

In 1952, the Tejas Exes raised money quickly to avoid foreclosure of the mortgage on the
Red River house. After the fundraising effort, some of the Exes realized that a permanent
organization should be created to help the Club deal with future problems. Among those men
were J.O. Garrett, Jim Mahon, David Heath, Gray Evans, and John Plath Green. Together, they
prepared a charter for the Tejas Foundation. On February 16, 1953, that charter was filed by
the Secretary of State's office.

The purpose of the Tejas Foundation was (and still is) to assist the active membership of
the club by:

1.Providing adequate housing at a reasonable cost
2.Establishing communication between present and former braves of Tejas
3.Establishing educational incentives.

As a first step, the Tejas Foundation began to tackle the club's current housing problem.
It was clear that rental properties were either too expensive or inadequate. At the conclusion
of a massive house hunt, J.O. Garrett and Olin Culberson began negotiations with Alpha
Epsilon Pi, the owners of a house at 2600 Rio Grande. Financing was secured, and J.O. Garrett
obtained a maximum long-term loan to finance the mortgage balance. In June 1955, the purchase
was closed, and the house was renovated over the summer at a cost of $6,000. At the beginning
of the fall semester the club moved into its first permanent house since 1947. The Tejas Club
of 2004 continues to comfortably live in this house.

The work done by the actives and exes during this period can not be over praised. These men
made enormous sacrifices of time, effort, and money to make the Tejas Club what it is today.
Because of them, the club no longer has to worry about being evicted or paying for extensive house
repairs. For forty years the Tejas Club has enjoyed a monthly rent lower than any west campus
apartment and possibly any apartment in Austin. In the early years of the foundation, there
were some worries that policies would be dictated to the active club. Happily, this has never
been the case.