It should come as no surprise that many of these posts are written a hour or so before they are posted, with a cup of coffee at my side.
My current favorite mug with the serious design flaw. The arrows are only visible if I drink my coffee with my left hand. Target, please take note.
This morning, I needed more coffee than usual. On Wednesday, my daughter and I took a road trip. After I picked her up we headed north to Monmouth, Illinois. It’s a five-hour drive, about a third of it on two-lane roads. (The thrill of being in a long line of cars in back of a farm implement going 25 miles an hour is one that I’d never experienced until moving to Illinois.)
We made it to Monmouth, checked into its finest hotel, the Americinn, and changed into our “whites.” I am not giving away state secrets by mentioning that Pi Phi initiates and attendees at initiation wear white. We made it to Holt House, Pi Beta Phi’s founding home, where two young women were becoming alumnae initiates of the Illinois Alpha Chapter. Their grandmother had been initiated into the same chapter in 1932. Their great-great-grandmother was the chapter’s 44th initiate, and served as an officer in the early years of the fraternity. Their mother is a member of the University of Arkansas chapter. Needless to say, it was a joyous event.
After the beautiful initiation ceremony, the newest members of the chapter were treated to a Cookie Shine, a tradition that began six years after the founding of the fraternity.
Arrow shaped cookies for the Cookie Shine.
The next morning a wonderful event took place. The new home of Illinois Alpha was dedicated.
The house on the left is the college-owned home that the chapter used for several years. The house on the right is the house which was dedicated on Founders’ Day.
I insisted on parking in the Holt House lot and walking across campus to the new chapter house. I wanted to give my daughter a glimpse of the streets where the Pi Phi founders walked. We went through the Huff Athletic Center where the facade of the old gymnasium is incorporated into the design of the center. It’s one of my favorite places on campus. I pointed out the football field on which her brothers played in the Turkey Bowl where the prize was the coveted Bronze Turkey; it is one of the oldest collegiate rivalries in the country, Monmouth College versus Knox College.
As a crowd gathered in the parking lot of the house, there was much hugging as old friends greeted each other. I spied a Kappa Kappa Gamma (she’s also a P.E.O.) in the mix.
Gail Owen, Monmouth College Trustee and Kappa Kappa Gamma Council member, on the left.
The new home was a gift to the college from the Knapheide family to honor their mother, Mary MacDill Knapheide. Her son and daughter gave a wonderful gift to the College in her memory.
I am certain Mrs. Knapheide would be proud of their generosity and devotion. The house is exquisite on the inside and outside. It sits on the corner across from the Fraternity Complex and Stewart House, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s founding home. It is an impressive anchor on the northeast side of the campus.
The dedication and ribbon cutting were joyous events, too. The rain had moved through the night before and all took place according to plan. The Pi Phis in the crowd sang two rounds of Ring Ching, Ching despite not being at tables with available water glasses and coffee cups. Two spoons hit together produced an acceptable sound.
This is the historical display in the Ring Ching room. Astute Pi Phis will note the two Past Grand Presidents on the screen in the middle. That the image was there when the picture was taken happened quite randomly as that is a computer screen generating changing images. There is also a picture honoring the Monmouth Duo with the two then-Presidents in attendance. (Photo courtesy of Monmouth College)
I had a hand in helping with the historical displays and it was terrific to finally meet the project manager for the displays, Sara Deuel of Dimensional Innovations. She is an Alpha Sigma Tau. The graphic designer for the project is a Chi Omega, but she was unable to attend.
Sara Deuel and I finally had the chance to meet. (Photo courtesy of Monmouth College)
After touring the house and oohing and aahing over all the delightful touches, I made my way back to Holt House. As I walked towards Broadway, the Alpha Tau Omega flag greeted me. The names of the ATO founders, Glazebook, Marshall, and Ross, flashed into my mind. Perhaps it was a nod to the twelve young women who founded Pi Beta Phi 149 years ago to the day.
In addition to April 28 being the start of the countdown to 150 years of Pi Beta Phi, it also happened to mark the 75th anniversary of Holt House opening its doors to the Monmouth community.
Mary MacDill Knapheide visited Holt House shortly after it opened as a memorial to Pi Beta Phi’s founders.
The afternoon’s events included a dedication of a painting of Pi Phi’s founders which will hang at Holt House. Committee member Lisa Lahman Carmin, Indiana Gamma, coordinated the project with a Bloomington, Indiana, artist, Carole Diane Heslin.
Four members of the Holt House Committee along with the painting of Pi Beta Phis 12 founders.
It was a Pi Phi Founders’ Day spent in the home where Pi Beta Phi was founded 149 years ago, when the world was a different place. The women of 1867 could not fathom the world in which the women of 2016 live. But the one constant, the sisterhood which they shared, is the same sisterhood which has touched the lives of more than 300,000 women in those 149 years. I find it all so amazing. On to 150, Pi Phi sisters!
