This framed certificate, dated January 18, 1913, marks the initiation of Ralph McWhorter into the Kappa Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon, a secretive collegiate society that once operated within the halls of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery—an institution later absorbed into the University of Maryland in 1924. The Kappa Rho chapter existed only briefly, from 1907 to 1925, and this document is a rare surviving trace of its hidden rituals and shadowed membership.
 
The certificate itself is solemn and striking, framed in aged wood with gilded corner accents, its heavy presence unmistakable. Most haunting of all is the small stamped golden skull and crossed keys in the bottom corner—subtle yet ominous, a memento mori marking the edge of respectable fraternity and something more arcane.
 
Ralph McWhorter, the man named on this forgotten parchment, was more than a student of dental science and society ritual. He was also a direct descendant of Henry McWhorter, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the earliest settlers of what would become McWhorter, West Virginia. Bloodlines and legacies echo through this piece—history threaded through the veins of secret brotherhood and Appalachian foundation.
 
Ralph McWhorter's Find-A-Grave memorial page can be found here.