Fraternity History & More

Tau Kappa Epsilon’s 116th Birthday and a Walgreens Connection

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Having just returned from Florida where there seems to be a Walgreens every three blocks, I was delighted to find a connection between Tau Kappa Epsilon and Walgreens. It seems like a fine story to tell on TKE’s Founders’ Day.

Tau Kappa Epsilon was founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. In a meeting at 504 East Locust Street, Charles Roy Atkinson, Clarence Arthur Mayer, James Carson McNutt, Joseph Lorenzo Settles, and Owen Ison Truitt formulated plans for a fraternity they first called the Knights of Classic Lore. In 1902, the name was changed to Tau Kappa Epsilon when the men rented the Wilder Mansion, a home which formerly belonged to the College’s president. It was the first men’s fraternity house on the campus.

The five founders of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Clockwise from top left: James Carson McNutt, Owen Ison Truitt, Clarence Arthur Mayer, Joseph Lorenzo Settles, Charles Roy Atkinson.

In 1925, Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. was initiated into the Upsilon Chapter of TKE at University of Michigan. He had grown up in Chicago and as a boy he made deliveries from his father’s second store on the south side. After college, he went to work in the family business. When his father died in 1939, he became the company’s president.

According to an obituary on Forbes.com:

After graduating from the University of Michigan School of Pharmacy in 1928, Walgreen Jr. returned home to work for the family company, where he served on the store opening crew, in the ice cream plant and in personnel, sales, manufacturing, purchasing and real estate before becoming vice president in 1933, executive assistant to his father in 1935 and president shortly before the senior Walgreen’s death in 1939.

Walgreen Jr. served as the company’s president until 1963 and as chairman of the board from 1963 to 1976. As a trained pharmacist, his personal goal, the company said, was to raise the professional stature and working conditions of pharmacists. He reduced pharmacists’ hours at his stores from the industry norm of 66 a week in 1939 to 40.

In the 1950s, Walgreen Jr. redefined the retail drug business, converting Walgreens from clerk-assisted shopping to self-service. In the 1960s, he led the company into new markets, acquiring retail operations in Mexico and Texas and opened a number of Walgreen “Super Stores.”

He served as the company’s president until 1963 when he took over as chairman of the board of directors. He retired from that position in 1976. There were many changes in the pharmacy and retail world and Walgreen was responsible for many of them.

Walgreen also served his fraternity. He was TKE’s Grand Epiprytanis (Grand Vice President), but found it necessary to resign in 1943 due to business pressures associated with the war years and being the president of the drug store chain.

He gave a start-up grant for the TKE Leadership Academy and provided a $300,000 challenge grant for TKE members to contribute to the program. He served as chairman of the Foundation’s Centennial Endowment Campaign. In 1976, the fraternity named him Alumnus of the Year. He was awarded the fraternity’s Order of the Golden Eagle in 1989 and he was the first recipient of the Foundation’s Fraternity for Life Award in 1997. Walgreen was a Life Loyal Teke. The fraternity offers a named scholarship and award in his honor.

Walgreen died in 2007 at the age of 100.

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/

Posted in Founders' Day, Illinois Wesleyan College, Tau Kappa Epsilon, University of Michigan | Tagged Charles R. Walgreens Jr., Illinois Wesleyan College, Tau Kappa Epsilon, University of Michigan | Comments Off

The Importance of January 9, 1859 and January 9, 1914

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

What do Carrie Chapman Catt and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity have in common? Catt was born on January 9, 1859. On January 9, 1914, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., three African American students, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, founded Phi Beta Sigma.

I have written several posts about Carrie Chapman Catt, who when she was still Carrie Lane, became a member of the Iowa Gamma chapter of Pi Beta Phi at Iowa State University. One of my favorite pictures of her is one which was taken several years after her graduation from Iowa State. She taught school and served as a principal in Mason City, Iowa. In the picture taken during those years, she is wearing her arrow badge. Here are a few links to the previous posts (http://wp.me/p20I1i-yR, http://wp.me/p20I1i-rU, http://wp.me/p20I1i-hJ).

Carrie C. Lane is first on the chapter roll for the Spring 1880 term.

Last year, Phi Beta Sigma celebrated its centennial. One of the events which took place during that year happened in St. Louis at the Griot Museum of Black History. The Fraternity’s International President, Jonathan Mason, placed a Phi Beta Sigma pin on the museum’s wax likeness of George Washington Carver.

In 1918, Carver was a charter member of the fraternity’s Gamma Sigma Alumni chapter at the Tuskegee Institute. President Harry S Truman signed a joint resolution approved December 28, 1945 (Public Law 290, 79th Congress); in the resolution, Congress designated January 5, 1946 as George Washington Carver Day. Although I’m four days late for Carver Day, I can assure you that the Becque household ate peanut butter in his honor.

Carver once said, “It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success.” I believe these are great words by which to live.

Posted in Carrie Chapman Catt, Howard University, NPHC, Phi Beta Sigma, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged Carrie Chapman Catt, George Washington Carver, Iowa State University, Phi Beta Sigma, Pi Beta Phi, Tuskegee Institute | Comments Off

Sis Doc, the Lucky Xs, and More

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Today, January 8, is the date of Dr. Charles Richardson’s birth. He was born in 1864. A Fayetteville, Arkansas, dentist, he did his undergraduate work at Emory & Henry College in Virginia and then studied dentistry at Vanderbilt University. He was an active member of Kappa Sigma at both schools and later served his fraternity as a national officer.

What he is most famous for is his role in the founding of Chi Omega and his lifelong dedication to that organization. With his guidance, Chi Omega was founded on April 5, 1895 at the University of Arkansas by four young women. He was known as “Sis Doc” to generations of Chi Omegas and he is counted as a founder.

Fast forward to 1912, when the Chi Omega alumnae of New Orleans set up a lunch room in one of the most destitute of schools. A young patron of the lunch room asked a non-fraternity woman if she was a “Lucky X.” The “Lucky Xs” were, according to the young lad, the “Penny Lunch Ladies, them that has pins and things wid er horse-shoe and er X on ’em.” Sis Doc crafted the first “Lucky X” out of dental gold. (The article below, from a 1913 Chi Omega magazine, tells of a wonderful philanthropic effort which took place more than a century ago. It is worth the read!)

1913 article reprinted in a 1994 issue of “The Eleusis,” (Photos courtesy of Lyn Harris, Chi Omega’s Archivist)

Some of the patrons of the "Lucky X" Lunch Room.

Some of the patrons of the Penny Lunch Room.

The original Chi Omega badge crafted in dental gold by “Doc Sis.”

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Congratulations to:

President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara on 70 years of marriage! President Bush is a Delta Kappa Epsilon (Yale University). The First Lady is an alumna initiate of Pi Beta Phi. She attended Smith College, one of the Seven Sister schools, prior to marriage. Her chapter of initiation is Texas A&M University, home of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.

Mr. and Mrs. George Herbert Walker Bush, 1945.

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The @PhiPsiArchives celebrated five years in the twitterverse. The twitter account went live on 1/7/2010. The tweet about the milestone brought the number of tweets to 7,000 and there are 1446 followers. The amount of historical information which is presented is amazing. Great job, @PhiPsiArchives!

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Beth Hirschy Royals, an alumna of Zeta Tau Alpha (Elon College) became a millionaire in December when she won the top prize in the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. Her award winning recipe for Peanutty Pie Crust Clusters can be found at http://bit.ly/1AHXtgW.

Posted in Chi Omega, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, Kappa Sigma, Pi Beta Phi, University of Arkansas, Yale University, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged @PhiPsiArchives, Barbara Bush, Beth Hirschy Royals, Charles Richardson, Chi Omega, Delta Kappa Epsilon, George H.W. Bush, Pi Beta Phi, Pillsbury Bake-off, Sis Doc, Zeta Tau Alpha | Comments Off

President Coolidge Passes Ad Astra, Kappa Alpha Psi’s 104th Birthday, and R.I.P. Stuart Scott and Senator Brooke

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

January 5, 1911 is the founding date of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Founded by ten students at Indiana University, it was originally called Kappa Alpha Nu. At the Grand Chapter meeting of December 1914, a resolution was adopted and the name of the fraternity was changed to Kappa Alpha Psi. The change became effective April 15, 1915. Happy Founders’ Day to the brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi.

Kappa Alpha Psi’s founders are: Elder Watson Diggs; John Milton Lee; Byron Kenneth Armstrong;Guy Levis Grant; Ezra Dee Alexander; Henry Tourner Asher; Marcus Peter Blakemore; Paul Waymond Caine; Edward Giles Irvin; and George Wesley Edmonds.

Elder Watson Diggs

According to the organization’s website, “From its inception, and for the next six years, Brother Diggs served as the Grand Polemarch of KAPPA ALPHA PSI Fraternity. Through his leadership and indefatigable application, augmented by the efforts of B.K. Armstrong, and John M. Lee, who comprised the remainder of the original Grand Board of Directors, the infant Fraternity was guided through the most perilous years of its life. Accordingly, much of the credit for the organization’s survival through this period is shared by these three men.”

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On January 3, I was remiss not to acknowledge Grace Coolidge’s birthday. It’s just so ironic that two days after her 54th birthday, she became a widow. The 30th President died suddenly on the morning of January 5, 1933. In a weird twist of fate, Grace died on July 8, 1957. Her husband’s birthday was July 4.

Coolidge was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta chapter at Amherst College. His wife was a charter member of the Pi Beta Phi chapter at the University of Vermont. Together, they were the first President and First Lady who were initiated into Greek-letter organizations while in college. A post about President Coolidge’s death is at http://wp.me/p20I1i-cS

Phi Gamma Delta refers to deceased brothers as being “Ad Astra.” It means “to the stars.” According to Towner Blackstock, Phi Gamma Delta’s Curator of Archives, the full saying is “Fratres qui fuerunt sed nunc ad astra” (Brothers who were, but are now with the stars). I find it a very comforting thought.

Photo courtesy of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation

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Condolences to Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. on the recent loss of two prominent alumni.

Stuart Scott, ESPN anchor, joined the fraternity while at the University of North Carolina. Yesterday, the fraternity’s Facebook page noted, “Brother Stuart Scott [Mu Zeta, ’84], an anchor at ESPN and a cancer fighter, has transitioned into Omega Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha’s chapter of sweet rest at the age of 49.”

Two days earlier, the Facebook page also had a notice about the death of former U.S. Senator Edward M. Brooke, III, a Republican from Massachusetts. Brooke became a member of the fraternity in 1937 while a student at Howard University.

Brooke was the first African American to be elected to the Senate by popular vote. Fraternity members were present when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal several years ago. He was also the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

***

Posted in Alpha Phi Alpha, Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization, Howard University, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged Alpha Phi Alpha, Calvin Coolidge, Edward M. Brooke III, Elder Watson Diggs, Grace Coolidge, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Stuart Scott | Comments Off

Jessie Wallace Hughan, Pacifist, Social Activist, and Alpha Omicron Pi Founder on AOPi’s 118th Birthday

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

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 the organization on December 23, 1896. That first pledging ceremony took place in a small rarely used upstairs room in the old Columbia College Library.

Celebrating a Founders’ Day on the second day of the new year proved to be a challenge for the organization, so Alpha Omicron Pi now celebrates Founders’ Day on December 8, Stella’s birthday.

It might come as a surprise to many that one of Alpha Omicron Pi’s founders Jessie Wallace Hughan, Ph.D., a lifelong educator, was a committed pacifist and social activist. In 1911, her dissertation was published as a book The Present Status of Socialism in America. It was later published with a revised title, America Socialism of the Present Day.

In the book’s introduction, John Spargo wrote, “Her warm sympathy so ﬁnely tempered by her critical spirit, enabling her to see both the noble and the ignoble in just perspective, makes her a trustworthy guide through the labyrinthian paths which confront the serious student of American Socialism as it is to-day. She gives a bird’s-eye view of the movement, sketches the political organization, noting its weak points as well as its strong ones; problems in theory and tactics are discussed with candor and discrimination, and the position of the leading spokesmen of the movement stated in their own words or impartial condensations of them. Thus the student who wants to understand the issues involved in the constant and often bitter conﬂict that is being waged between the so-called ‘Opportunist Socialist,’ on the one hand, and the so-called ‘Revolutionary Socialist,’ upon the other hand, is now provided with a convenient conspectus of the entire ﬁeld of controversy.” The book is available online through the Hathi Trust.

In addition to being a founder of Alpha Omicron Pi, she was honored with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. In 1923, she was a founder and the first Secretary of the War Resister’s League. As a member of the Socialist party, she ran many times for office in the state of New York. All her efforts to be elected were unsuccessful.

Alpha Omicron Pi honors its four founders with named awards. The award named for Hughan recognizes the collegiate chapter deemed the most outstanding for the the two years between conventions.

Jessie Hughan at about the time Alpha Omicron Pi was founded.

Jessie Wallace Hughan, Ph.D. at about the time Alpha Omicron Pi was founded.

Posted in Alpha Omicron Pi, Barnard College, Fran Favorite | Tagged Alpha Omicron Pi, Barnard College, Jessie Wallace Hughan, Ph.D. | Comments Off

The First Founding Days of 2015 and the Loss of Edward Herrmann

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Happy New Year!

Two Greek-letter organizations, Delta Tau Delta and Sigma Nu, have January 1 as their founding dates. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College in Virginia, before there was a West Virginia (Today, Bethany is in West Virginia). The actual date of founding is unknown and that it perhaps why January 1 is used. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.

I just finished writing a history of the Gamma Mu chapter of Sigma Nu for the Society for the Preservation of Greek Housing (SPGH). As I was thumbing through The Delta of Sigma Nu magazines, I found the name of my husband’s grandfather listed among the Sigma Nu World War II casualties. His grandfather died more than a decade before Dan was born and Dan knew little about him other than he a graduate of Rose Polytechnic Institute (now Rose-Hulman) and a career Army man. Dan did not know that his grandfather was a Sigma Nu. Through Bob McCully, Sigma Nu’s Historian, we were able to learn that Dan’s grandfather was also active in alumni clubs and served as an adviser to the chapter at Emory University. It was a pleasant surprise to make that connection from a small paragraph in The Delta.

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Yesterday a wonderful actor passed away. Edward Herrmann, an initiate of the Phi Kappa Psi chapter at Bucknell University, died. With an aristocratic bearing, he portrayed Franklin Delano Roosevelt in two made for television movies, Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977). Both performances earned him Emmy Best Actor nominations. He also played FDR in the film, Annie. He recently gave voice to FDR in the Ken Burns series, The Roosevelts. While I enjoyed those performances, I adored his work in The Gilmore Girls. He portrayed family patriarch Richard Gilmore.

In 2000, Bucknell presented him with an Alumni Association Award for Achievement in a Chosen Profession. According to the Bucknell website:

Pursuing a degree in English, Ed Herrmann was a member of Cap and Dagger, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, Theta Alpha Phi dramatic honor society, and vice president of the Student Association. After graduation, he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts on a Fulbright Scholarship.

On Broadway, he won the Tony Award in 1976 for his performance in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. In 1983, he was awarded the Theater Guild Medal for his performance in Plenty. The scope of his work has extended far beyond the stage to motion pictures, radio, and television. In 1977, he received two Emmy nominations and won the Television Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Eleanor and Franklin. In 1999, he won an Emmy for The Practice and the Audie Award for audio recording. He has worked extensively for The History Channel, A & E, and PBS.

At the same time, he has returned to campus many times to speak with students about careers in theater. He received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from the university in 1983, and gave the commencement address to the Class of 1989. He has been the director of the Bucknell Association for the Arts, appeared in a benefit performance for the Harvey Powers Theater, and narrated several videos for The Bucknell Campaign.

Edward Herrmann (Photo courtesy of Bucknell University)

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I’d love to have some guest blogs, so if you have a topic you’d like to write about, or if you have a historical article you can recycle, please let me know.

Posted in Bethany College, Bucknell University, Fran Favorite, Virginia Military Institute | Tagged Bethany College, Bucknell University, Delta Tau Delta, Edward Herrmann, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Nu, Virginia Military Academy | Comments Off

2014’s Top Ten Fraternity History Posts

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Some days I wonder why I keep writing this blog. Do people actually read the posts? Let’s face it, fraternity history doesn’t sound exciting. Why should anyone spend time learning about the history of any Greek-letter organization to which they do not belong? Then there are a goodly number of people who would rather have root canal without anesthesia than read anything about fraternities. Suffice to say, I am grateful to all of you who are reading this of your own accord. Please know that I value your time and support.

The top 10 posts for 2014:

10. Dr. Seuss a Sig Ep? Yep! This post deserves a visit to see the wonderful photo of him as a Dartmouth student – http://wp.me/p20I1i-bh.

9. Walt Disney World and Fraternity Connections? http://wp.me/p20I1i-xf

8. Vice Presidents Who Were Members of a Fraternity. If the Vice President doesn’t become President, chances are good that in a decade or two very few people will remember his name. Check out this list of Vice Presidents who belonged to fraternities http://wp.me/p20I1i-11G. I think that more than once you will say to yourself, “Never heard of him!”

7. The Golden Globes and the Fraternity and Sorority Members Who Have Won Them. http://wp.me/p20I1i-1mU

6. 10 Authors Who Are Sorority Women (Hint – Caddie Woodlawn, Kinsey Millhone, Atticus Finch, Too). http://wp.me/p20I1i-1wp

5. Fraternity and Sorority Members Competing in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. http://wp.me/p20I1i-1qu

4. Ten Amazing Sorority Women. If you only click on one link, make it this one. Honor these amazing women by being proud of the sorority connection, even if she is not a member of your organization. She is a National Panhellenic Conference organization member and her glory reflects on all NPC women. http://wp.me/p20I1i-1sy

3. Sorority Women Who Wore the Miss America Crown. Competing in the Miss America contest is not for slackers. These women work very hard to make it all look so easy. Check the list of sorority women who have won the Miss America crown – http://wp.me/p20I1i-zK. There is also a listing of sorority women who have served as Miss U.S.A. – http://wp.me/p20I1i-1eY.

2. Honoring the GLO Members Who Perished on September 11, 2001. http://wp.me/p20I1i-1Pt

1. U.S. Presidents and First Ladies Who Are Members of GLOs. My sense is that many people end up at this post because they are trying to verify that inane and thoroughly erroneous “Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825, have been members of a fraternity” statement. http://wp.me/P20I1i-l5

For the list of 2013’s Top Ten Posts, see http://wp.me/p20I1i-1kE

Posted in Fran Favorite | Tagged fraternity history | Comments Off

A Founders’ Day, Christmas Toys, a History of Latin American Student Fraternities, and a Chance to Make a Difference

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Happy Founders’ Day Zeta Beta Tau! Here’s a post I wrote last year about the founding of ZBT and two of its Members of Distinction. Jerome Lawrence and Jerry Herman, both ZBTs, and Robert Edwin Lee, collaborated on the Broadway smash hit Mame, one of my favorite shows. I reread that post this morning and I have chosen to rerun it because it had me singing tunes from Mame. The post is at http://wp.me/p20I1i-1kx.

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An alumnus of the Sigma Chi chapter at Western Connecticut State University was in the news recently. Here is the link to the heartwarming story (http://www.newstimes.com/default/article/Young-stroke-victim-recovers-to-re-launch-toy-5972147.php)

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This from the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. facebook page:

Congratulations to Brother Oliver Fajardo (Beta Iota, Spring 2001)! His article “A Brief History of International Latin American Student Fraternities: A Movement That Lasted 86 Years (1889-1975)” has been published in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.

I can’t wait to find a copy of the article and read it!

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Non-profit organizations are grateful for end of the year donations. I have supported the Pi Beta Phi Foundation as a way of paying forward the gift of membership and the trust which was placed in me when I was a clueless member of the chapter at Syracuse University. I have also been known to support the foundations of other GLOs as a way of honoring those members who have touched my life. In addition, there are other GLO related foundations to which one can donate. These include the National Panhellenic Conference Foundation (https://www.npcwomen.org/foundation.aspx), the NIC Foundation (http://www.nicindy.org/nic-foundation.html), the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation (https://www.circleofsisterhood.org/inside-the-circle/givingtuesday/), and the Association for Fraternal Leadership & Values (http://www.aflv.org/donations/).

Posted in Fran Favorite, National Panhellenic Conference, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Zeta Beta Tau | Tagged AFLV, Circle of Sisterhood, Jerome Lawrence, Jerry Herman, Latin American Student Fraternities, NIC Foundation, NPC Foundation, Sigma Chi, Zeta Beta Tau | Comments Off

An Emily Butterfield Painting and a Theta Tie to WDW

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Emily Helen Butterfield was a talented woman by all accounts. In addition to being a founder of Alpha Gamma Delta and an architect in a time when few women chose that profession, she was an accomplished artist. Her sketches were the start of the squirrel “Skiouros” becoming the Alpha Gam mascot. This article about one of her paintings was sent to me by my Alpha Gam friend, Nann Blaine Hilyard, a talented artist in her own right http://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/home-garden/2014/11/26/watercolor-artist-womens-rights-pioneer/19543785/.

Emily H. Butterfield is in the top row, second from right.

Nann’s blog With Strings Attached highlights Nann’s observations as a librarian and quiltmaker who values the connections between and among people and organizations http://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/.

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My friend Noraleen Young, Kappa Alpha Theta’s archivist, told me of a Theta who played a role in the creation of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, in addition to helping create the look and feel of Alfred Hitchock films. To read more about Dorothea Holt Redmond, an iniatate of the Kappa Alpha Theta chapter at the University of Southern California, see http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-dorothea-holt-redmond16-2009mar16-story.html.

Dorothea Holt Redmond

Posted in Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Tau Omega, Emily Butterfield, Fran Favorite, Kappa Alpha Theta, Syracuse University, University of Southern California | Tagged Alpha Gamma Delta, Dorethea Holt Redmond, Emily Butterfield, Kappa Alpha Theta, Syracuse University, University of Southern California, USC, Walt Disney World. Disneyland | Comments Off

A Lot Like Christmas, GLO Tidbits in Every Store…

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. Its original name was An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas and it has a connection to an Alpha Xi Delta, see the post at http://www.alphaxidelta.org/index.php?src=blog&srctype=detail&blogid=79#.VJsAq14AEB.

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Unbroken, the film directed by Angelina Jolie is the movie adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s book, “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. It is the story of Kappa Sigma Louis S. Zamperini, an Olympian and war hero. See the post at http://wp.me/p20I1i-1Im.

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The movie version of Into the Woods (one of my favorite Sondheim shows!) is opening on Christmas. Music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, a member of the Williams College chapter of Beta Theta Pi. The book is by James Lapine, a Franklin and Marshall College alumnus. The first production of the show debuted in 1986 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. The shoe premiered on Broadway on November 5, 1987. See the post at http://wp.me/p20I1i-be.

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Some birthday wishes are in order…..

Delta Gamma was founded at the Oxford Female Institute, also known as the Lewis School, at Oxford, Mississippi. Delta Gamma’s three founders, Eva Webb [Dodd], her cousin Anna Boyd [Ellington], and Mary Comfort [Leonard], all from Kosciusko, Mississippi, were weather-bound at the school over the Christmas holidays in December of 1873. Happy Birthday Delta Gamma! See the post at http://wp.me/p20I1i-xb.

Chi Phi traces its history to the Chi Phi Society established on December 24, 1824 by Robert Baird at the College of New Jersey (later known as Princeton University). Phi Delta Theta was founded on December 26, 1848 at Miami University in Miami Ohio. Its Founders’ Day is celebrated on March 15, the birth date of founder Robert Morrison.

A belated 149th birthday to Kappa Alpha Order, founded on December 21, 1864 at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia.

There are so many pictures of decorated fraternity and sorority houses to chose from. Here is the Sigma Phi Epsilon house at Wichita State University.

Posted in Washington and Lee University | Tagged Chi Phi, Clement C. Moore, Delta Gamma, Into the Woods, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Sigma, Louis Zamperini, Stephen Sondheim | Comments Off

Fraternity History & More

Tau Kappa Epsilon’s 116th Birthday and a Walgreens Connection

The Importance of January 9, 1859 and January 9, 1914

Sis Doc, the Lucky Xs, and More

Congratulations to:

President Coolidge Passes Ad Astra, Kappa Alpha Psi’s 104th Birthday, and R.I.P. Stuart Scott and Senator Brooke

Jessie Wallace Hughan, Pacifist, Social Activist, and Alpha Omicron Pi Founder on AOPi’s 118th Birthday

The First Founding Days of 2015 and the Loss of Edward Herrmann

2014’s Top Ten Fraternity History Posts

A Founders’ Day, Christmas Toys, a History of Latin American Student Fraternities, and a Chance to Make a Difference

An Emily Butterfield Painting and a Theta Tie to WDW

A Lot Like Christmas, GLO Tidbits in Every Store…

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