Category Archives: Fran Favorite

“When He (Calvin Coolidge, Jr.) Died, the Power and the Glory of the Presidency Went With Him,”

On June 30, 1924, the day that the above photograph was taken, Calvin Coolidge, Jr. and his older brother John played tennis on the White House court. Calvin Jr. wore tennis shoes, but not socks. Afterwards, he developed a blister … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, First Ladies, Fran Favorite, Northampton. Massachusetts, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Presidents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “When He (Calvin Coolidge, Jr.) Died, the Power and the Glory of the Presidency Went With Him,”

Happy Birthday Calvin Coolidge, a President (and FIJI) Born on the 4th of July!

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., the 30th President of the United States, was born on July 4, 1872 in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts where he became a member of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI). After graduation, while … Continue reading

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, Fran Favorite, Grace Coolidge, Northampton. Massachusetts, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Happy Birthday Calvin Coolidge, a President (and FIJI) Born on the 4th of July!

More Special Trains to Convention – ΔΓ’s Began in 1881

After the last post about convention trains, my friend Marilyn Haas, Delta Gamma Fraternity Archivist, sent me this information about Delta Gamma’s special trains: “The ‘Delta Gamma Convention Special’ first started in 1881. The private car of Mr. J.B. Mulliken … Continue reading

Posted in Conventions, Delta Gamma, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Pi Beta Phi, The Anchora of Delta Gamma | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on More Special Trains to Convention – ΔΓ’s Began in 1881

The Sleep Deprivation Study Known as Convention

I had hoped to have a real post with some historical significance today. Not a chance! This is because I have been participating in a sleep deprivation study otherwise known as the 69th Biennial Pi Beta Phi Convention. We had … Continue reading

Posted in Conventions, Fran Favorite, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Sleep Deprivation Study Known as Convention

From Assigned Convention Roommate to “Pick Up Where You Left Off” Old Friend

I attended my first Pi Beta Phi convention in 1987. I was a young mother with three little ones under the age of three, the wife of a graduate student, and a member of the Alumnae Advisory Committee (AAC) for … Continue reading

Posted in Conventions, Fran Favorite | Tagged | Comments Off on From Assigned Convention Roommate to “Pick Up Where You Left Off” Old Friend

All Aboard!! Special Trains to Conventions – the Fun Before the Fun!

The collegians and alumni/ae who are headed to conventions this summer will likely drive or fly to their destinations. Imagine what it must have been like when rail travel was the way people got to where they were going! “Specials,” … Continue reading

Posted in Conventions, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Sorority Convention Season Begins

Pi Beta Phi’s first convention took place in Oquawka, Illinois* at the home of Fannie Thomson in August of 1868. The organization was founded on April 28,  1867 at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. The convention was a three-day affair, … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Xi Delta, Conventions, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Monmouth College, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Sigma Sigma, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Sigma Sigma | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Sorority Convention Season Begins

DKE Founders’ Day, a Cuban Convention, and a Box of Cigars

On June 22, 1844, in room 12 of Old South Hall, 15 Yale College* students from the Class of 1846 organized Delta Kappa Epsilon. The fifteen founders are William Woodruff Atwater, Edward Griffin Bartlett, Frederic Peter Bellinger, Jr., Henry Case, … Continue reading

Posted in Delta Kappa Epsilon, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Yale University | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on DKE Founders’ Day, a Cuban Convention, and a Box of Cigars

Madelyn Pugh Davis, ΚΚΓ, and “I Love Lucy”

Watching reruns of I Love Lucy is a vivid memory of my formative years growing up on Long Island in the 1960s. My sister and I could recite dialogue. Decades later, I still say I’m “dauncy” when I am in … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Kappa Kappa Gamma, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, University of Indiana, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Madelyn Pugh Davis, ΚΚΓ, and “I Love Lucy”

The Founding Members – Their Names are Signed on a Charter

The women in this photo are now resigned to history. Most were born in the 1890s; they were college students when this photo was taken.* The group was a local sorority at a small Missouri college. It was their hope … Continue reading

Posted in Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Founding Members – Their Names are Signed on a Charter