Category Archives: The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi

Happy Founders’ Day, Alpha Omicron Pi!

Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on January 2, 1897 at the home of Helen St. Clair (Mullan). She and three of her Barnard College friends, Stella George Stern (Perry), Jessie Wallace Hughan, and Elizabeth Heywood Wyman had pledged themselves to … Continue reading

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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 on Fraternity History and Sorority History Do Matter!

Doctors Who Wore Badges: Fraternity Women in Medicine 1867-1902

In 1870, there were 525 female doctors in the United States (Newcomer, 1959).   Among the fraternity women who became physicians were founders of two NPC groups, Rachel Jane “Jennie” Nicol, a founder of Pi Beta Phi, and Eleanor Dorcas Pond … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Phi, Boston University, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, DePauw University, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Goucher College, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Alpha Theta (magazine), Kappa Kappa Gamma, Knox College, Lombard College, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Northwestern University, Notable Fraternity Women, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Syracuse University, The Anchora of Delta Gamma, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Trident of Delta Delta Delta, University of California at Berkeley, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, University of Vermont, Women's Fraternities, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Doctors Who Wore Badges: Fraternity Women in Medicine 1867-1902

Celebrating a Century of Championing Literacy!

Della “Dell” Gillette, was born in Traverse City, Michigan. She studied library science at the University of Illinois and worked as a librarian. In October 1912, Elizabeth Clarke Helmick, Settlement School Committee Chairman, secured her services as a teacher at … Continue reading

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Camp Panhellenic – The Place to Spend a Few Summer Weeks in the 1920s

Camp Panhellenic, located on Washington Island in Wisconsin’s Door County, celebrated its third year in the summer of 1922. “The venture is proving a boon to college women and alumnae as a place for rest and recreation as well as … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Kappa Delta, National Panhellenic Conference, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Lyre of Alpha Chi Omega, The Trident of Delta Delta Delta | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Camp Panhellenic – The Place to Spend a Few Summer Weeks in the 1920s

NPC Women and Why I Write This Blog

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is the umbrella organization for 26 women’s fraternities/sororities. Millions of women have been members of NPC organizations. The early NPC women are particularly fascinating to me. They are women who went on to earn Ph.D.s, … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Fraternity Women, Notable Sorority Women, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, Women's Fraternities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“My Dear Sisson,” Wrote Wm. Raimond Baird on Jan. 1, 1898

William Raimond Baird was a patent lawyer and mineralogist, but his hobby was his fraternity and the fraternity world at-large. He spent 25 years as editor of Beta Theta Pi’s magazine and his manual American College Fraternities is considered a … Continue reading

Posted in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, Beta Theta Pi, Fran Favorite, Knox College, Pi Beta Phi, Syracuse University, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Kappas, Thetas, and Pi Phis Visit Willis Studio, Lawrence, Kansas

The photos below, of the three women’s fraternities at the University of Kansas, were taken at Willis Studio in Lawrence, Kansas. The 1903 Jayhawker yearbook has an ad for Willis Studio located at 925 Massachusetts Avenue. I have not been … Continue reading

Posted in Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Alpha Theta (magazine), Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma, University of Kansas | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Kappas, Thetas, and Pi Phis Visit Willis Studio, Lawrence, Kansas

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

Before 210 Walnut Place, Syracuse, New York

Before the New York Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi moved to 210 Walnut Place in the late 1930s, the chapter members called several other places home, including the house pictured above at 801 Ostrom Avenue. It was designed by … Continue reading

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