Category Archives: Fran Favorite

On Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc’s Founding Day!

Arizona Cleaver, along with her four friends, Pearl Neal, Myrtle Tyler, Viola Tyler, and Fannie Pettie, are the five pearls of Zeta Phi Beta. They are the organization’s founders. The idea for the organization happened several months earlier when Cleaver … Continue reading

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On Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s Founding Day

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the first Greek-letter organization for African-American women, was founded on January 15, 1908 by nine young female Howard University students. They were led by the vision of Ethel Hedgeman (Lyle); she had spent several months … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, Grace Goodhue Coolidge!

January 3 is the birthday of Grace Goodhue Coolidge. She was born in Burlington, Vermont in 1879. Gracious and humble, she was a dedicated member of Pi Beta Phi. SHe was a charter member of the chapter at the University … Continue reading

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Madeleine Zabriskie Doty, Alpha Omicron Pi, #NotableSororityWomen, on Founders’ Day

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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The Last Week of the Year – a Busy One for GLOs

Today, the time from a few days before Christmas to after New Year’s Day is a time when the world stands still. Collegians go home to family or spend time with friends away from campus. I can’t imagine a fraternity … Continue reading

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The Importance of Indiana in Sorority History

On December 11, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state. Today Indiana is home to many GLO headquarters, but its importance in the history of women’s fraternities happened about a century and a half ago. Between 1867 when Pi Beta Phi … Continue reading

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Was Mrs. Parker (of Pen Fame) a Pi Beta Phi?

During my first forays to the Pi Beta Phi chapter house, I heard that Parker pens have arrows because Mrs. Parker was a Pi Phi. And I believed it until I became the Fraternity’s historian. But my friend Penny Proctor, … Continue reading

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Happy 177th Alpha Sigma Phi!

Alpha Sigma Phi was founded on December 6, 1845, at Yale University (it was then known as Yale College). The Yale of 1845 was worlds away from the Yale of today. In 1845, only a very small percentage of American … Continue reading

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Happy Founders’ Day, Alpha Sigma Alpha!

Alpha Sigma Alpha was founded on November 15, 1901, at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its founders had been asked to join some of the other sororities on campus, but they wanted to stay … Continue reading

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Happy 100th, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.!

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on November 12, 1922 by seven young brave African American women educators in Indianapolis, Indiana. On December 30, 1929, a charter was granted to the Alpha chapter at Butler University making the organization a national college … Continue reading

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