Wes Link ’55 was approached by Kappa Sig in 1953, who encouraged him to join the fraternity. He had been living in downtown State College and was taken to the house and introduced to the brothers. “I became a brother in spring of ’54,” Wes said. “There are so many things that happened when I was an active brother. We had Hell Week back then, which was a whole different experience then it is today. But I learned a lot of things – to get along with a wide range of guys and to be a neater person. It helped get me ready for going into the Army and going to Korea after I graduated.”
Wes describes his time with the fraternity as “something he really enjoyed” that affected every other part of his life. During his time with Kappa Sig in his senior year spring session he met his wife to be, Barbara Van
Matre, who was a Tri Sigma sister.
“I enlisted in the Army in 1956,” he said. “I was discharged from the Army and scheduled to arrive in the U.S. on August 20, 1958. Our plan was to be married on August 22. Unfortunately, there was a flare up in Lebanon on the trip back and they kept us an extra 36 hours. I made it back just in time and we did get married.”
Wes and Barbara have now been married for 52 years. He also met the friends that would stay with him through his life. Wes spent the next 14 years focused on having children and raising his family. Finally, in 1972 he obtained season tickets for Penn State football. He found a retired professor’s house to rent on McCormick Street. Since then he has missed just three games in over 30 years.
“I continually think how fortunate I am,” Wes said. “There are so many little details, I could write a book if I had kept good notes. The things of main importance are the people and relationships that you develop during those years and as I’ve maintained them, through my entire life.”
Wes commented on how lucky he feels to be able to visit with the Kappa Sig brothers whenever he’s in town. “I have lots of friends mostly from years 1972 to the present,” Wes said. “At one time I kept a 3×5 file of index cards with peoples’ names in it and it had over 375 names. I used to try to bone up on the names before I went to visit. Now, I probably know as many brothers active and inactive as anyone in the fraternity, though not necessarily by name anymore. However, I still have several Kappas of my era who I’m in contact with on a weekly and monthly basis.”
When asked what’s changed with Kappa Sigma since his time there, Wes cited the current status of the fraternity being in between houses. “Even though we don’t have a house, the relationships hold strong,” Wes said. “Kappa Sig isn’t about a house – I’ve been with the fraternity through two houses. It’s about the relationships and you can hold onto those through your whole life.”
Wes recalled on a recent Saturday night after a football game about 20 brothers that lived in one location got together with seven alumni an had a party following the game. “We always tailgate in the same location so that regular gathering forms a bond between alumni and the current brothers who are doing a wonderful job keeping the fraternity on track, as is Ed Gorkes, the current Alumni Chairman,” Wes said. “But beyond games and tailgating we can play important roles in one another’s lives.”
Wes cited one fraternity brother who is having significant health issues and is being taken care of by his daughter. Wes helped to keep his spirits high by sending him weekly care packages of Penn State memorabilia, such as blue and white objects and magazine articles pertaining to sports the teams.
When asked what advice he would give active brothers, Wes stressed the need to keep connections with the friends they’ve made through Kappa Sig. “Do not just take off. Keep the relationships,” Wes said. “Even if you are living at a distance, you can keep some kind of connection through reading a newsletter or calling your friends from the pledge class.”
He had the same message for alumni.
“Stay in contact. If you can’t get back into the area, then at least call up and try to find out what’s going on,” Wes said. “And if you can, try to help out financially – you have to have funds to maintain current costs of operating it would be nice to have more fellas pitching in.”
Wes has supported the fraternity financially and with service through his many years as an alumnus. He served as a member of the alumni board for several years and became chairman for the 100-year centennial in 1992. “I feel I owe a lot to Kappa Sigma – my experiences which started at Penn State and with Kappa Sigma lead to my marriage, my two daughters, and my five grand kids. The fraternity, the experiences, and the friendship have played a major role in my life and I’ll never forget it.”
Reconnect with Wes at [email protected].