Category Archives: Sigma Chi

June 6, 1944, D-Day

On this anniversary of D-Day, I want to acknowledge the servicemen who sacrificed so very much on that day. We are indebted to them. On June 6, 1944, 5,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft and 150,000 Allied troops began the operation to gain a … Continue reading

Posted in Chi Psi, Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Pi, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Beta Tau | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on June 6, 1944, D-Day

A Sunday Afternoon Steeped in the College Culture of the Late 1860s

Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, has digitized its student newspapers. I spent Sunday afternoon trying to read them. Unfortunately, they were not printed on the best of paper and the pdfs  are sometimes next to impossible to decipher. What I … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Phi, Fran Favorite, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Chi, Syracuse University, University of Michigan, Washington and Lee University, Yale University | Comments Off on A Sunday Afternoon Steeped in the College Culture of the Late 1860s

“ΦΓΔ Grieves. ΣΧ Sympathizes, as Former President Calvin Coolidge Enters the Chapter Eternal.”

Two days after her 54th birthday, Grace Goodhue Coolidge became a widow. The 30th President died suddenly on the morning of January 5, 1933. “Calvin Coolidge, Greatest of Fraternity Presidents, Mourned by Greeks” is the headline of an article in … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, First Ladies, Fran Favorite, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Indiana University, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Chi, University of Vermont | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on “ΦΓΔ Grieves. ΣΧ Sympathizes, as Former President Calvin Coolidge Enters the Chapter Eternal.”

“My Sorority,” A Surprise Birthday Present

A surprise birthday gift from my Alpha Gamma Delta and P.E.O. friend, Nann Blaine Hilyard, set me on a quest to find out more about her delightful gift. It was wrapped in star paper and tied with a yellow ribbon, harkening, … Continue reading

Posted in American Association of University Women, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, P.E.O., Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Chi, Sorority History, University of Illinois, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on “My Sorority,” A Surprise Birthday Present

Happy Birthday AFA and a Belated Birthday Greeting to NIC!

The Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA) was founded on December 1, 1976. The momentous occasion took place in Williamsburg, Virginia,  during the 1976 Bicentennial gathering of the National Interfraternity Conference. AFA began with 35 members.  AFA offers professional growth and … Continue reading

Posted in Association of Fraternity Advisors, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Tau Delta, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Men's Fraternities, National Panhellenic Conference, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sorority History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Birthday AFA and a Belated Birthday Greeting to NIC!

George Rapp of Carbondale, Illinois, Noted Architect and Illini Sigma Chi

In the 1920s, the Chicago firm of Rapp and Rapp designed hundreds of buildings. Theaters were its specialty. George Leslie Rapp, a member of Sigma Chi’s Kappa Kappa Chapter at the University of Illinois, and his brother Cornelius Ward (“C.W.”) … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Men's Fraternities, Sigma Chi, University of Illinois | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on George Rapp of Carbondale, Illinois, Noted Architect and Illini Sigma Chi

About Lloyd G. Balfour

Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Lloyd Garfield “Bally” Balfour, a Sigma Chi from the Lambda Chapter at Indiana University, remains one of its most illustrious members. Although he earned a law … Continue reading

Posted in Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Lloyd G. Balfour, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Chi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on About Lloyd G. Balfour

Jake Stahl, Sigma Chi, Outstanding Illini Athlete of the Early 1900s

  Garland “Jake” Stahl was perhaps the most famous of the University of Illinois’ early athletes. He was the captain of the 1902 Illini football team as well as a star on the baseball team. A member of the Kappa … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Kappa Alpha Theta, Sigma Chi, University of Illinois | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jake Stahl, Sigma Chi, Outstanding Illini Athlete of the Early 1900s

College Pennants, Knox College, Grace Coolidge, Baseball, Lloyd G. Balfour and Culver Military Academy, Oh My!

This photograph is so typical of the rooms in which college co-eds lived and played during the early 1900s. The pennants from other colleges and schools were standard decorations. A look through any woman’s fraternity magazine from that time period … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Grace Coolidge, Knox College, Lloyd G. Balfour, Monmouth College, Sigma Chi, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment