The Loyal Knights of Old Trusty

The Loyal Knights of Old Trusty is a secret organization founded at the University of Oklahoma in 1920. That year a small group of engineers banded together and formed this secret order to uphold the traditions of the College of Engineering and to pay homage to the Patron Saint of Engineers, Saint Patrick. During this time it has served the College of Engineering in every possible way, but above all by keeping alive its cherished traditions. Until graduation, members are known only by their number and are only seen on campus wearing black hooded robes bearing their respective number. These students who wear the black robes are seldom seen but they represent an active and old tradition of the university. This secret order, although not an "officially recognized" university organization, has won the respect of all engineers and receives faculty and university approval.
Old Trusty
This secret group of engineers is named so because they are keepers of Old Trusty, a civil war cannon which was obtained and became the symbol and namesake of the LKOT. Old Trusty is a functional black powder cannon which The Order fires early in the morning of St. Patrick's Day and on other special occasions. This was against the rules of the university and if the members were identified it meant expulsion. Therefore the names of the members are only made public after graduation. Old Trusty is hidden and carefully guarded year around so that it can be fired at these times.
Membership
Since the founding of LKOT only some seven hundred members have been awarded this, the highest honor attainable by an engineering student at the University of Oklahoma . A member is not chosen for scholastic or social standing, but because they have given, voluntarily and unselfishly, their time and effort for the promotion of engineering activities and because they have shown through their actions that they hold the College of Engineering and all it stands for above everything else. The purpose of the order is to preserve the rich history and traditions of the College of Engineering as well as promote and enable all engineering activities on the campus. Membership comes as an honor for outstanding work in connection with engineering activities. No public esteem is offered its active members , as they are only known to the public by a number given them upon initiation. Some are famous, some are just good fellows, but in general the ring of LKOT is found on the fingers of leaders in their profession and in their community.
Presence
There are LKOT signs all around the campus at the entrances to university buildings and university houses but these men are rarely seen in their black robes except when they are firing Old Trusty. In the group’s infancy, the university authorities, in particular Dean Felgar, were vehement in their efforts to quash this group and their threat to decorum. This escalated to the point that Dean Felgar and his cohorts pursued members on a flatbed truck through the streets of Norman and the surrounding countryside in an effort to catch and expel them. They were never successful. In later years, the LKOT was given amnesty by the university and is no longer considered at odds with the administration of the university. LKOT has shown that it is pledged to work constructively for the university and has won the respect and approval of all.
Fire Out
Upon graduation, members Fire Out during the last firing of Old Trusty each semester. This ceremony takes place in front of the fountain between Carson Engineering Center and Felgar Hall. Members who are graduating fire Old Trusty one last time and unmask to reveal their identity and end their active involvement in The Order. Their names are then engraved on a large plaque in Carson Engineering Center next to their Number. On this honor roll are engraved the names of engineers in all fields of industry in many countries.

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