Alumnus finally becoming member of fraternity he thought he joined in '60s

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University's Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity is correcting a more than 40-year-old mistake by kicking it old school this weekend.

Michael Doyle, 60, will finally become a member of the fraternity he thought he had joined after he pledged in the fall of 1965. Doyle had lived at the fraternity house while attending the school, but "somehow the paperwork just never went through," said John Oldani, community relations chairman for the Purdue chapter.

The fraternity found out about the mistake after inviting Doyle to an alumni event. This weekend, the chapter will hold a special initiation ceremony to present Doyle with his official certificate of membership.

"I'm really just impressed with the group of guys in the house now who would take the time to initiate a guy who might be as old as some of their grandparents," Doyle said.

He said that after he graduated from Purdue he simply thought it was normal not to hear from the fraternity. Doyle never knew he had missed invitations to dozens of events.

Despite being the newest member of Purdue's chapter, Doyle said he doesn't plan to celebrate too hard.

"They probably wouldn't be too impressed with how I partied in the '60s anyway," he said.