Lyle Love and Its Beginnings

It has become a tradition for members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. to reference their association to each other as Lyle Love, whether it be platonic or romantic. But where did this term originate? Back in the early 1900's, a guy by the name of George Lyle attended Sumner High School in St. Louis, Missouri where a lady named Ethel Hedgeman also attended. George and Ethel were high school sweethearts and after graduating from Sumner in 1904, they went off to attend Howard University in Washington, DC later that fall.

In the fall of 1907, Eugene Kinckle Jones, one of the seven founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., assisted in chartering the Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. on December 20th, 1907 with nineteen initiates. Of those nineteen initiates, George was one of them.

With George becoming a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., this solidified Ethel's reason to start Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., an idea that kindled in her mind before he was initiated. On June 21st, 1911, George and Ethel joined in holy matrimony, cementing Lyle Love.

Photo Taken By: Timothy Moore