Category Archives: Fraternity History

There’s Nothing Like a GLO Convention!

Summer is convention season for Greek-Letter Organizations and it has been for more than a century. In the 1800s, conventions tended to take place during the academic year or over the Christmas holiday. While many GLOs have different names for … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Tau Omega, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Conventions, Delta Sigma Theta, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Fraternity meetings, Greek-letter Organization, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Delta, Kappa Sigma, Miami University, National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Psi, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Nu | Tagged , | Comments Off on There’s Nothing Like a GLO Convention!

Sis Doc, the Lucky Xs, and More

Today, January 8, is the date of Dr. Charles Richardson’s birth. He was born in 1864.  A Fayetteville, Arkansas, dentist, he did his undergraduate work at Emory & Henry College in Virginia and then studied dentistry at Vanderbilt University. He … Continue reading

Posted in Chi Omega, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Kappa Sigma, Pi Beta Phi, University of Arkansas, Yale University, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sis Doc, the Lucky Xs, and More

Four Founders’ Days, Three Recommends, Two Kudos, and a ChiO from Mississippi

Mary Ann Mobley, Miss America 1959, died yesterday at the age of 75. She was a Chi Omega from the University of Mississippi. In 1960, as the outgoing Miss America, she crowned Lynda Lee Mead. Both were initiated into the Tau chapter … Continue reading

Posted in Chi Omega, Delta Sigma Phi, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Sigma, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Phi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Four Founders’ Days, Three Recommends, Two Kudos, and a ChiO from Mississippi

Catching Up on What’s Happening in the GLO Universe

With a new academic year on the horizon, there is a lot going on in the world of fraternities and sororities. Recruitment is in full swing on some campuses and others are preparing for it. The Circle of Sisterhood, that wonderful … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Beta Theta Pi, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Xi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Catching Up on What’s Happening in the GLO Universe

Sorosites = Sororities = Fraternities for Women = Women’s Fraternities

I found this gem in an 1880’s University of Kansas student publication, the Helianthus (Helianthus annuus is the common sunflower, the most ubiquitous flower in Kansas). The word “sorosites” was used in contrast to the word “fraternities.” It also tells some interesting history of … Continue reading

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Kappa Psi, Pi Beta Phi, University of Kansas, Women's Fraternity History | Comments Off on Sorosites = Sororities = Fraternities for Women = Women’s Fraternities

A Plaque, a Monument, and an Historic Meeting

A small article in the Southern Illinoisan newspaper prompted me to write a post for the Pi Phi blog. It was about a national historic designation being given to the site of a 1956 crash of two planes over the Grand Canyon. … Continue reading

Posted in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Phi Beta Sigma, Pi Beta Phi, Zeta Phi Beta | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Plaque, a Monument, and an Historic Meeting

“Official Organ of” Meaning GLO Journals and Magazines

When I was at the Fraternity and Sorority Archives conference last month, a few of us had a discussion about the “official organs” of our organizations. The first issues of many of the fraternity and sorority magazines state “official organ … Continue reading

Posted in Beta Theta Pi, Chi Psi, Delta Gamma, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Fraternity Magazines, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , | Comments Off on “Official Organ of” Meaning GLO Journals and Magazines

Monday Musings, a Man Helped by P.E.O., and More

I spent the weekend at the convention of the Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. which took place in Springfield.  I had a wonderful time. I rode to and fro with the daughter of our neighbor. She and her family moved back to town a few … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, P.E.O., Phi Gamma Delta | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Monday Musings, a Man Helped by P.E.O., and More

Now is the Time to Discover GLO History

For almost all of the time we have been married, Dan and I have lived our lives in 16 week segments, starting first when he was in grad school. Once Dan became a faculty member, the ebb and flow of life … Continue reading

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Happy Founders’ Day 2014, Phi Gamma Delta!

Phi Gamma Delta was founded on May 1, 1848.  The “Immortal Six” – John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott, Daniel Webster Crofts, Ellis Bailey Gregg and Naaman Fletcher – were students at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, when they founded … Continue reading

Posted in Calvin Coolidge, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Gamma Delta, Washington and Jefferson College | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Founders’ Day 2014, Phi Gamma Delta!