Founder Paul Waymond Caine, the consummate entrepreneur, chef before his time, always friendly and displaying a pleasant disposition, was born in Greencastle, Indiana on May 17, 1890. He was long thought to be an only-child, but now known to have a half-brother.
Caine attended Greencastle public schools and enrolled at Indiana University sometime between 1909 and 1910 as a business major. He was adept at cooking and he honed those skills while working at DePauw University, where he worked as a cook in the sorority houses prior to enrolling at Indiana University. He was a fine caterer and was in demand by the White fraternities on campus and kept many of the Founding Brothers from hunger.
Because of a disastrous fire in the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity house in which he was employed, he lost all of his personal belongings during his freshman year. Caine persevered but was eventually was forced to withdraw from school during his Sophomore year, the winter quarter of 1911. He subsequently set up the Caine Catering Company in his hometown and continued his catering business in various cities including Gary, Indiana, Peoria, Chicago, and Evanston, Illinois. Caine opened a restaurant and bakery while residing in Peoria, Illinois. He also published a catering book, Artistic Dishes copyrighted in 1919 by the Hurst Publishing Company. He became well known in the culinary circles and was well sought after to teach and conduct lectures.
While residing in Gary, Indiana, Caine took up work at the Gary Steel Mill as a laborer and married Jeanette E. Wilson in 1921. While residing in Chicago in the early-mid 1920s, Caine assisted to organize and furnish the Chicago (IL) Alumni Chapter’s new ‘Kappa Kastle’.
Caine helped the other Founders in organizing Kappa Alpha Nu. He was among the first to be initiated into the Fraternity. He was also instrumental in setting up the Beta, Gamma, Delta, Zeta, and Theta Chapters.
He later acquired a 2nd hand goods clothing store and dry-cleaner business in Rockford, Illinois. He was burned during an explosion of gaseous materials as he worked in his dry cleaning business. Caine subsequently died of pneumonia on April 15, 1931, from injuries sustained from the fire. During Conclave, the highest Grand Chapter award available to alumni chapters for outstanding achievement, the Paul W. Caine Award, is named in his honor. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.
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