Page 10 - Sojourner Newsletter-Summer 2025 _V2

10 THE SOJOURNER

HISTORIAN’S CORNER

NSI Chapters, Chartering, and Current Status
Edward W. Nolte, National Historian
To better understand this topic, the Order is divided into two, 53-year periods (1918-71 and 1972-2025).
During the first 53 years, the Order chartered 506 Chapters, an average of 9.5 Chapters per year. During the
second 53 years, the Order chartered only 71 Chapters, an average of 1.3 Chapters per year. Of these
577 Chapters, 140 are currently Active, Operational Chapters, 11 are At-Large Chapters, 64 are
In-Memoriam, and 362 are dissolved.
Top 10 Years of Chapter Chartering and Rechartering (ANC to ANC): #1) 39 Chapters in 1943-44;
#2) 37 in 1942-43; #3) 29 in 1926-27; #4T) 27 in 1951-52 and 1953-54; #5) 26 in 1944-45; #6) 18T in 1941-
42, 1948-49, and 1954-55; #7) 16 in 1925-26; #8) 15 in 1956-57; #9) 14 in 1927-28 and 2018-19; and #10)
13 in 1958-59. YOU may have witnessed one of these records!

Top 10 Most Chapters Chartered and Rechartered by National Presidents: #1) 97 by MG Amos A.
Fries, (1922-30); #2) 87 by CAPT Willis W. Bradley (1943-47); #3) 60 by LTC William M. Brown, (1940-
43); #4T) 27 by CPT Russell B. Wine (1951-52) and COL Andrew J. Copp (1953-54); #5) 23 by COL
Robert L. Queisser (1932-36); #6T) 18 by BG Robert H. Dunlop (1949-50) and MAJ Albert W. Houghton
(1954-55); #7) 16 by MG John K. Rice (1956-57); #8) 15 by Col Dallas L. Knoll (1956-57); #9T) 14 by
BGen Merritt B. Curtis (1948-49) and Col Edward W. Nolte (2018-19); and #10) 13 by CDR Eulan I. Snyder
(1958-59).
Top 10 Longest Continuously Operating Chapters: #1) Detroit #1 (6/19/1919); #2) Washington #3
(5/11/1921); #3 Hampton Roads #6 (2/17/1922); #4) Baltimore #7 (11/3/1922); #5) Fort Benning #8
(2/24/1923); #6) Hawaiian #9 (3/9/1923); #7) Narragansett Bay #14 (3/14/1924); #8) Benjamin Franklin #16
(3/22/1924); 9) Omaha #19 (6/3/1924), and #10) St. Louis #22 (9/29/1924).
In-Memoriam (IM) and Rechartered Chapters: The IM Chapter concept began in 1994 for Chapters
with perpetual members. Prior to 1994, struggling Chapters either merged with another Chapter, transitioned
to Club status after 1985, or merely dissolved. From 1994 to today, 69 struggling Chapters have transitioned
to IM status. The senior IM Chapters (Panama Canal #21, Jean Ribault #224, and Guam #287) are IM plank
holders of the “Class of ‘94.” The current IM Chapter List contains 64 Chapters, and is published in the
Staff Directory. What is not apparent is that five IM Chapters have rechartered to become active Chapters
once again: Chicago (2008-19), Pittsburgh #38 (2018-24), El Paso #74 (2013-22), Monterey Bay #136 (2014
-19 ), and South Mississippi #171 (1996-2002). Among the current 151 active Chapters (which includes 11
At-Large Chapters), 121 have been continuously active, and 41 rechartered (36 from dissolved list and 5
from the IM)
U.S. and Overseas Chapters: Of the 577 Chapters, 466 operate or operated in all 50 States and D.C., and
111 operate or operated in 29 other countries: Austria (2), Canada (4), China (1), Cuba (2), England (7),
France (10), Germany (24), Greenland. (1), Haiti (1), Iceland (2), India (1), Iran (2), Italy (4), Jamaica (1),
Japan (14), Korea (10), Libya (2), Mexico (1), Morocco (2), New Caledonia (1), New Guinea (1), Northern
Ireland (1), Northern Mariana Islands (2), Panama (2), Peru (1) Philippines (3), Puerto Rico (3), Taiwan (1),
and Vietnam (4). U.S. Chapters currently operate in 43 States and D.C., but there are currently no active
Chapters in DE (2), ID (2), MA (8), MT (4), NV (2), WV (2), and WY (2). Currently, the only non-U.S.-
based Chapter operates in Germany.