Category Archives: Calvin Coolidge

A Vermont Graduation Brings Thoughts of Grace and Calvin Coolidge

Being in Rutland, Vermont, mere miles away from the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth Notch, brings thoughts of the President and First Lady who were native Vermonters. Calvin Coolidge, a Phi Gamma Delta, and Grace Goodhue Coolidge, a Pi Beta Phi, … Continue reading

Posted in Calvin Coolidge, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Presidents | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

May 1 – Phi Gamma Delta’s Founders’ Day and FIJI Sires and Sons Anniversary

May 1, 1848 is the date of Phi Gamma Delta’s founding. John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott, Daniel Webster Crofts, Ellis Bailey Gregg and Naaman Fletcher – the Immortal Six – were students at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

New Ocean House, Swampscott, MA, the Site of Many Fraternity and Sorority Conventions

From the 1920s until the 1960s, the  New Ocean House in Swampscott, Massachusetts, was the site of many conventions, including those of fraternities and sororities. Alpha Chi Omega’s 1924 convention took place at the New Ocean House. Kappa Kappa Gammas … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Chi Omega, Calvin Coolidge, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, First Ladies, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta, The Anchora of Delta Gamma, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

A Holiday First for the Coolidges and the United States

At 5 p.m. on December 24, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge (Phi Gamma Delta, Amherst College) began a White House tradition. He touched a button and the electric lights on a 48-foot balsam fir sparkled with electricity. First Lady Grace Goodhue … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, First Ladies, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Presidents, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, University of Vermont | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

An American Tragedy in Newtown Brings Thoughts of a First Lady

The events of this past Friday strike at the heart of us all. So many lives taken, so close to Christmas and none of it makes much sense. Among the dead are the six-year-old daughter of Jeff Previdi, a Bethany … Continue reading

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, Calvin Coolidge, First Ladies, Fran Favorite, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Pi Beta Phi, Presidents, University of Vermont | Tagged , | Comments Off

Fraternity History and Sorority History Do Matter!

It’s been a year since I started this blog. Some people stumble upon it while trying to find out which presidents were fraternity men, or which Olympic athletes were sorority members, or any odd number of searches that will lead … Continue reading

Posted in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, Calvin Coolidge, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Knox College, Men's Fraternities, Mount Holyoke College, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, P.E.O., Presidents, Sorority History, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Syracuse University, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, Women's Fraternities, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Happy 107th Anniversary to President and Mrs. Coolidge

At 2:30 p.m. on October 4, 1905 in in the parlor of the home of Andrew and Lemira Goodhue, with 25 friends and relatives in attendance, the Goodhue’s daughter Grace married Calvin Coolidge, a young lawyer. The bride wore a … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, University of Vermont | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

NPC Women and Fraternity Men in the White House

In the spirit of 2012 being an election year, a post on the fraternity men and National Panhellenic Conference women who have lived in the White House seems quite appropriate. National Panhellenic Conference women who have served as First Lady … Continue reading

Posted in Calvin Coolidge, Delta Kappa Epsilon, First Ladies, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Presidents, Stanford University | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

She Became First Lady by the Light of a Kerosene Lamp

Grace Goodhue Coolidge went to bed the evening of August 2, 1923 as the wife of the Vice President. She was awakened in the middle of the night. As her father-in-law, a Windsor County notary, administered the oath of office … Continue reading

Posted in Calvin Coolidge, Fran Favorite, Grace Coolidge, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Only President Born on the 4th of July. And He’s a Phi Gamma Delta!

Calvin Coolidge, a Phi Gamma Delta, and Grace Goodhue Coolidge, a Pi Beta Phi, were both natives of Vermont. They married in the Goodhue family home in Burlington. Although they spent their married life living in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, Grace Coolidge, Northampton. Massachusetts, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off