Category Archives: Amherst College

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

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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

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100 Years Ago – 12/12/1912 in Fraternity and Sorority History

Today is 12/12/2012. One hundred years ago, on 12/12/1912, a Thursday, the world was a different place. Taking a glimpse into what was happening in the Greek-letter organization world a century ago offers a wonderful insight. While life is vastly … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Omicron Pi, Amherst College, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, University of Idaho, University of Illinois, University of Maine, University of Minnesota, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

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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

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Calvin Coolidge, Pride of the Amherst College Phi Gamma Delta Chapter

1920 was a very busy year for Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge, a Phi Gamma Delta from Amherst College’s Class of 1895. On April 8, he was one of the speakers at a dinner meeting of the College’s Central Massachusetts Alumni … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Grace Coolidge and Orange, Connecticut

Orange, Connecticut is a small town, west of New Haven. It’s where my husband grew up and where we visit yearly. When I found a Grace Coolidge letter written from Orange, my curiosity was piqued. Did Grace Coolidge really spend … Continue reading

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Grace Goodhue and Calvin Coolidge – Pi Beta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta – The First President and First Lady Initiated into Greek-Letter Societies while in College

When Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President on August 3, 1923, it heralded a fraternity first. The nation had its first couple who had both been initiated as members of Greek letter societies while in college. Grace Goodhue was … Continue reading

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