Fraternity History & More

June 9, 1902, a Defining Date for Alpha Xi Delta and P.E.O.

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

June 9, 1902, is a defining date for two organizations, Alpha Xi Delta and the P.E.O. Sisterhood. P.E.O. was founded as a collegiate organization at Iowa Wesleyan University on January 21, 1869. Alpha Xi Delta was founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois. Iowa Wesleyan is about 60 miles from Galesburg with the Mississippi River separating the two.

In the years between 1869 and 1902, the P.E.O. members who had been initiated while students at Iowa Wesleyan stayed active in the chapter even though they were no longer college students. Many remained in or near Mount Pleasant. Others formed town chapters after leaving the college. In 1889, the chapter at Iowa Wesleyan became a strictly collegiate one, Chapter AJ, which was relettered Iowa State Chapter S in 1893. The Mount Pleasant chapter that would later be named Original Chapter A was comprised of those who were not enrolled in college.

The early P.E.O. chapters that had been founded at nearby schools, including Mount Pleasant Seminary, Jacksonville Female Academy and Bloomfield Normal School, did not survive and P.E.O.’s growth was in community chapters. The chapter at Iowa Wesleyan was finding it difficult to operate on a college campus with the rules put forth by the community chapters. After the turn of the century, the governing body of P.E.O. made the decision to withdraw the charter of the Iowa Wesleyan chapter. The students wished to remain a collegiate organization and discussed becoming a chapter of a Greek-letter organization.

The Alpha Xi Delta chapter at Lombard, having made the decision to become a national organization, and the collegiate members of P.E.O., having decided to become a chapter of a Greek-letter organization, discussed the decisions that needed to be made on both sides. Anna Gillis (Kimble), a member of the Alpha Xi Delta chapter at Lombard College, was from Mount Pleasant. Her influence may have helped the Iowa Wesleyan women make the decision to become the Beta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.

Anna Gillis Kimble

On that Monday in 1902, the Alpha Xi Delta members entered the Lombard College Chapel wearing tri-colored ribbons for the first time. The ribbons signified that they were now a national organization. After chapel, the Alpha Xi Delta installing officers made their way from Galesburg to Mount Pleasant.

The installation of Alpha Xi Delta’s second chapter took place at the home of Ellen Ball. Cora Bollinger-Block presided at the installation. Helping her were Ella Boston-Leib,* Alice Barlett-Bruner, Jennie Marriot-Buchanan, Virginia Henney Franklin, Anna Kimble, and Edna Epperson-Brinkham. With the installation of the chapter, it signified, too, the day that P.E.O. became a community organization.

The home of Ellen Ball where the festivities took place in 1902, as it appeared in 2018.

In 1913, Iowa Wesleyan College authorities allowed the chapter to initiate the P.E.O. alumnae as Alpha Xi Deltas. Afterwards, the Mount Pleasant Alumnae Club of Alpha Xi Delta was formed.

The only P.E.O. founder to be continuously involved with P.E.O. was Alice Bird Babb. Her daughter Alice Babb was a member of the Beta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.

The Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta had a breakfast each year at a hotel. On June 4, 1924, P.E.O. founder Alice Bird Babb was their guest and she spoke at the event. Babb mentioned she had always wanted to be an Alpha Xi Delta, but she “never expected to be here while college was in session.”

Mount Pleasant alumna Ruth Willits wrote a report of this event for The Quill. It appears as if the initiation had not been planned in advance:

The idea was an inspiration to us and it grew so fast that by six o’clock that evening we had seen an initiation ceremony given in the historic room in Main Hall – that room so interesting to P.E.O. – the room in which our initiate had helped found P.E.O. in 1869. I’m sure I never saw the ceremony performed more beautifully. Something seemed to tell all of us that we were renewing our vows to Alpha Xi Delta.

This spur of the moment initiation might be why she was initiated with Bess Randle Van Brussel’s badge. Babb was 74 years old when she became an Alpha Xi Delta. She died in 1926.

The Alpha Xi Delta chapter was active until Iowa Wesleyan University closed after the spring 2023 semester.

Anna Gillis-Kimble was the first Alpha Xi Delta delegate to attend the Inter-Sorority Conference (now known as the National Panhellenic Conference) in 1904. She served as the first Editor of The Alpha Xi Delta of the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority (now The Quill). Her role in making Alpha Xi Delta a national organization was only one of her contributions to her beloved sorority.

* Ella Boston Leib also served as Alpha Xi Delta’s Grand President, National Panhellenic Conference delegate, and Chairman of NPC as well as the President of Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. For more information about this, please take a look at this post http://wp.me/p20I1i-Gz .

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, Fran Favorite, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, P.E.O. | Tagged Alpha Xi Delta, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, Mount Pleasant Iowa, P.E.O., P.E.O. sisterhood | Comments Off

June 6, 1944, D-Day

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Omaha Beach Normandy. Photo by Susan Bruch, Pi Beta Phi, taken in 1993 during a Hillsdale College trip.

On this anniversary of D-Day, I want to acknowledge the servicemen who sacrificed so very much on that day. We are indebted to them. On June 6, 1944, 5,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft and 150,000 Allied troops began the operation to gain a foothold in France. Nazi Germany had heavily fortified the 50-miles of French coastline. According to information by the D-Day Foundation (www.dday.org), 2,499 Americans and 1,914 from the other Allied nations died on D-Day.

When I was researching the history of the Greek-letter organizations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, I discovered the devastating effect World War II had on the young local fraternities, all of which were less than two or three years old when the United States entered the war.

Sigma Beta Mu was organized in 1939, and it attracted many athletes. From the original 14 members, the chapter grew to 38 men. The chapter lost six members in the war. The chapter later became Sigma Tau Gamma. Delta Delta Chi, another local group at SIUC, lost three members in the war. It became a Phi Kappa Tau chapter.

In the fall of 1942, Nu Epsilon Alpha was founded with 22 charter members. By 1943, many of the members were in the Armed Forces. From April 20, 1943, until October 25, 1945, 23 issues of the NEA Newsletter (later called the Nu-Eps Tattler) were published. There were 57 NEAs on the mailing list and the newsletter traveled around the world. After the war, NEA became a Sigma Pi chapter.

The groups at SIUC were local organizations. The national fraternities suffered losses that were much greater. After the start of the war, men’s fraternity houses emptied very quickly. There were 21 men in the Alpha Chi Rho chapter at Oregon State University; 20 of them were drafted in one day. Of the 20,276 University of Illinois students and alumni in the Armed Forces during World War II, 738 died. At the start of the war, there were more than 50 fraternities on the Urbana-Champaign campus; so I suspect that more than half of these casualties were fraternity men.

The fraternity magazines published during World War II chronicle the efforts put forth by members, with lists of those who were serving in the war and those who had perished. In 1943, Tau Kappa Epsilon stopped printing its magazine for the duration of the war, and instead, a newspaper called Teke Life was sent to all members.

Fraternity men served in the Canadian and American combat forces. A tweet from Sigma Alpha Epsilon put the number of their men lost during WWII at more than 860. Sigma Chi lost 738 members. Eight hundred Phi Delta Theta members were killed. Zeta Beta Tau had 3,240 men serving in the Armed Forces; 121 of them gave the ultimate sacrifice. Kappa Delta Rho, which had less than 25 chapters, lost 70 men.

Phi Gamma Delta had 506 Armed Forces members killed. Its University of Washington chapter lost 14 men and the University of Pennsylvania chapter had 13 taken from them. The Colgate, Dartmouth, Missouri and Yale Fiji chapters each lost 12 men.

Here are some additional resources:

Phi Gamma Delta wrote about its members who served during World War II.

The Phi Kappa Psis at the University of Iowa endowed a $100,000 scholarship fund. It is named for Nile C. Kinnick, winner of the 1939 Heisman Trophy, and a war hero. At least four members of Phi Kappa Psi died in the D-Day action.

Don Malarkey, a Sigma Nu at the University of Oregon, was a paratrooper whose first day of combat was D-Day. His experiences are told in the Band of Brothers miniseries.

Theta Chi Lt. Col. Vandervoort, jumped into Normandy, broke his foot and continued to lead. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Arromaches Normandy — Arromaches, Normandy. Photo taken by Susan Bruch. Pi Beta Phi, during a Hillsdale College trip.

© 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 Chi Psi, Fran Favorite, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Pi, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Beta Tau | Tagged Chi Psi, D-Day, Fraternity Men, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Pi, Sigma Tau Gamma, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Beta Tau | Comments Off

Shout Outs to ATO at UNL, Sig Ep at Ohio U, and the Gerber Baby!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The Alpha Tau Omegas at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln helped make one little boy’s summer dreams come true. The eight-year-old with special needs had entered a contest to win a bicycle adapted to his needs. He didn’t win the contest. When the Alpha Tau Omegas heard the story, it was too late in the semester to do a fundraiser so the chapter members passed the hat, reached into their own pockets and collected enough to buy him the bike. View the news report at: http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Fraternity-Surprises-Boy-With-Special-Needs-Bike-261307751.html?ref=751&device=phone.

Jackson on the bicycle that the ATOs at UNL gave to him (photo courtesy of WOWT).

***

“The face that launched a billion spoons” is how someone described the charcoal sketch of Ann Turner Cook which appears on Gerber Baby Food products. The sketch was done by Dorothy Hope Smith who had been a neighbor of the Turner family when they lived in Connecticut. CBS Sunday Morning recently did a feature story on the Southern Methodist University Pi Beta Phi who is known as the “Gerber Baby Food baby.” See the interview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgULURH39E4&feature=youtu.be.

***

When the men of the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter of Ohio University lost one of their members last year, they knew they had to do something to honor their friend. David Spyke died due to a skateboarding accident. The chapter participated in the Brain Trauma Foundation’s Ohio’s Race for a Reason in his memory. Particpants raise money by competing in their choice of event, 3K, 5K, mud run or triathalon. More than $3,400 was raised by chapter members. See the Sig Ep Blog post at: http://www.sigep.org/blog/ohio-xi-turns-grief-into-service-after-losing-a-chapter-brother.html

Posted in Alpha Tau Omega, Fran Favorite, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Southern Methodist University, University of Nebraska | Tagged Alpha Tau Omega, Ann Turner Cook, Gerber Baby, Ohio University, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Southern Methodist University, University of Nebraska | Comments Off

Monday Musings, a Man Helped by P.E.O., and More

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I spent the weekend at the convention of the Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. which took place in Springfield. I had a wonderful time. I rode to and fro with the daughter of our neighbor. She and her family moved back to town a few years ago but our paths did not cross until the recent P.E.O. Founders’ Day brunch when we sat next to one another. “And why do you think it was that I spent some of my childhood birthdays at the Holiday Inn in Vincennes, Indiana?” she asked. Of course, I knew the answer. Her father served as the Grand Sage (President) of Sigma Pi. Vincennes University is where Sigma Pi was founded and until very recently Vincennes was home to the fraternity headquarters.

The Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. has a state project, the Lulu Corkhill Williams Friendship Fund. Assistance is given to both men and women who are in need. (All of the International and other Illinois State P.E.O. projects are open to women only.) At the projects dinner on Saturday evening, when recipients whose lives were changed by a gift from P.E.O. tell their stories, it was likely the first time that a young man was one of the speakers. He is now studying firefighting at a Peoria area college due to the gift from “Lulu.” (For more information on “Lulu” see http://wp.me/p20I1i-1o4)

The Lulu Corkhill Williams Friendship Fund Committee members with the young man who was awarded a grant from the committee. (Photo courtesy of Nann Blaine Hilyard)

***

Congratulations to Marie Delgado, a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, who was crowned Miss Alaska over the weekend. To keep track of the sorority women who will be competing for Miss America 2015, please see http://wp.me/P20I1i-1eS. If you know of others (the info is sometimes hard to find), please let me know. State winners will be added to that post as soon as the information is available.

The Miss USA competition will take place on June 8. The list of sorority women who are competing (as far as I know) is at http://wp.me/p20I1i-1eY.

Posted in Fran Favorite, Fraternity History, P.E.O., Phi Gamma Delta | Tagged Fiji, Lulu Corkhill Williams, Lulu Corkhill Williams Friendship Fund, Miss America, Miss USA, P.E.O., Phi Gamma Delta | Comments Off

Happy 110th Birthday, Alpha Gamma Delta!

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Gamma Delta was founded at Syracuse University on May 30, 1904 at the home of Dr. Wellesley Perry Coddington, a Syracuse University professor. It is the youngest of the Syracuse Triad, Alpha Phi, Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Gamma Delta, the three National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations founded at Syracuse University. The Alpha Gamma Delta founders are Marguerite Shepard, Jennie Titus Smith, Georgia Otis Chipman, Ethel Evelyn Brown Distin, Flora Knight Mayer, Estelle Shepard Beswick, Emily Helen Butterfield, Edith MacConnell Hickok, Grace Mosher Harter, Mary Louise Snider and Georgia Alberta Dickover.

Celebrating Founders’ Day on May 30 became difficult for chapters, especially if the chapter’s school year ended in mid-May. In 1936, the celebration of Founders’ Day was replaced by International Reunion Day (IRD). It takes place on the third Saturday of April.

Alpha Gamma Delta’s mascot is the squirrel. These squirrels are from the collection of my friend, Nann Blaine Hilyard, a member of the Alpha Gam chapter at the University of Missouri.

Founder Emily H. Butterfield was an architect and an authority on fraternity heraldry. She designed the Alpha Chapter’s home at 709 Comstock Avenue. According to the January 1931 Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly, the home was completed in the fall of 1928. The chapter’s first two homes were rentals. The third home was purchased and “occupied until plans for the new house were executed.”

The Quarterly article gave a detailed description of the chapter’s home at 709 Comstock. The house is Georgian in design, “being of Old Virginia brick with the coping, steps and replica of the coat of arms in buff Indiana limestone. Entrance is through the heavy colonial doorway into the foyer with its high arched windows, fireplace and colorful stone floor. First to the left of the main hallway, which is two steps above the level of the foyer, is the suite of three rooms reserved for the use of the housemother. Beyond, at the right, is the arched entrance to the living room opposite the attractive stairway which leads to the second floor. The living room is spacious in its proportions and with its lovely fireplace with ceiling high built-in bookcases on either side, its creamy walls, walnut beams,oriental rugs and attractive furniture makes a charming setting for the chapter life. At one end of the living room are French doors opening into the sun porch, from which one enters the dining room through an arch. The dining room is also entered through arches from the living room and hall, which makes the entire floor wonderfully adapted for dances and other gatherings.”

The article continued, “The dining room is furnished with extensive refectory tables and narrow-backed Windsor chairs. There is also a most attractive built-in buffet. Back of the dining room is the butler’s pantry, the up-to-date kitchen, and two maid’s rooms with bath. On the main floor there are also the coatroom and large lavatory for use at parties, the attractive guest room with its private bath, and the town girls’ room, large and airy with plenty of closet space for all sorts of belongings that may need a safe and temporary housing. The large hall on the second floor is furnished as a lounging room and from it open thirteen bedrooms, each for two girls. All of the rooms differ but each has plenty of space and light and two clothes closets, one for each occupant.”

Alpha Gamma Delta, 709 Comstock Avenue

The chapter was closed in 2001 and it was recolonized nine years later. During the interim, the house was used as an all-female residence hall called Butterfield House. The chapter returned to the house after the lease with the university ended in 2011.

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Posted in Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly, Emily Butterfield, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, National Panhellenic Conference, Sorority History, Syracuse University, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged 709 Comstock Avenue, Alpha Gamma Delta, Emily Butterfield, Syracuse University, Wellesley Coddington | Comments Off

Steadfastly Love One Another; Friendship’s Chain of Golden Hue Will Link Eternally

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

My heart breaks for all those whose lives will be forever scarred by the events which occurred at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) on Friday, May 23, 2014. Six young people, four men and two women were murdered. The young man who committed the atrocities is also dead. Seven lives cut brutally short; it is so very sad.

The murderer, whose name I am purposely not using, seems to have been mentally ill. I find it very disturbing that someone who was raised in and around Hollywood did something that could have been from the pages of a movie script. Hollywood’s fascination for violence and the use of “disposable people,” those who don’t make it to the end of the movie, greatly disturbs me. It’s also my opinion that the gratuitous use of violence in films and video games desensitizes people, especially young people, to the profound loss and deep grief that is death.

The killer targeted the Alpha Phi chapter. No one answered his pounding on the door. He then turned his hatred to three women who were outside nearby. He murdered two Delta Delta Delta members, Veronika Weiss and Katherine Cooper, and injured a third, Veronika, a freshman, had just joined Tri Delta; Katherine was about to graduate. I pray that the third Tri Delta and the other injured victims recover quickly.

One account of the tragedy quoted a former president of another National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organization. “It’s hard thinking my actions, being part of a sorority, led him to do this,” she said. “Oh no,” I want to tell her, “this is about mental illness, not about sorority life.” And if sorority life comes into it, it’s the Hollywood interpretation of it and not the reality of chapter meetings, philanthropy, academics, and adhering to the values of the organization. I am confident that none of the 26 NPC groups’ values include “living up to the Hollywood bimbo interpretation of sorority life.”

My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of all those affected by this atrocity. To the Tri Delta chapter, I send my Panhellenic love, and I hope you all realize that the bonds you share can help you get through it. Your open motto, “Let us steadfastly love one another,” says it all.

***

This weekend, Pi Beta Phi lost one of its most grand Grand Presidents. Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg served in that capacity for 6 years, from 1985-91. I became a fraternity officer just after the convention at which she left office. I did not have the opportunity to work directly with her until several years ago when she chaired Pi Phi’s Centennial of Literacy Celebration.

From left, Sculptor Doug Young, Landscape Architect Alexa Boubelik and Pi Beta Phi Centennial Committee Chairman Carolyn Lichtenberg stand with "Dell" and her student, following the unveiling of the Pi Beta Phi Centennial Plaza in Gatlinburg. (Photo courtesy of knoxnews.com)

Carolyn with sculptor Doug Young and landscape architect Alexa Boubelik. The photo was taken after the statue of “Miss Dell” and her student was unveiled during the Pi Beta Phi Centennial of Literacy celebration in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of knoxnews.com)

Carolyn was both creative and organized. The Centennial Plaza in Gatlinburg, dedicated in November of 1912, began as her vision, and was brought to fruition through her determination. Miss Dell and her student (Carolyn called the student Max, the name of her grandson) are at the center of the plaza. It was a wonderful weekend celebration and Carolyn’s attention to detail was evident in so many touches.

Carolyn was a member of the Ohio Alpha chapter at Ohio University. The chapter celebrated its Centennial during Carolyn’s term of office. Her daughters, Betsy and Sara, are members of Pi Beta Phi. The words of Pi Beta Phi’s Memorial Hymn seem fitting right now.

Sometime, at dusk when the sun sinks low

The flight of my arrow shall end.

Through the silent hush of the evening glow,

I shall slip away my friend.

But the silken tie of the wine and blue

Will bind through eternity

And friendship’s chain of golden hue

Will link eternally.

Added 6/2/2014 – A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. on June 7, at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Kellett Chapel. 3434 Roswell Road NW, Atlanta, GA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN.

***

An hour or so after I posted this, I heard about the death of Maya Angelou, the poet, author, filmmaker, and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She was a national treasure. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” is one of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes.

Posted in Fran Favorite, University of California at Santa Barbara | Tagged Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg, Carolyn Lichtenberg, Centennial Plaza, Gatlinburg, Pi Beta Phi, University of California Santa Barbara, USCB | Comments Off

Oh, to Have Been a Fly on the Wall at the First NPC Meeting in 1902!

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

If I could time travel one of the events I would put on my list is the very first National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) meeting. It took place 112 years ago on May 24, 1902. NPC is the umbrella organization for 26 women’s fraternities and sororities. The women gathered together in the tea room of Mandel Brothers Department Store in downtown Chicago. They then walked to the Columbus Safety Deposit Vaults where they met in the large board room. Doesn’t it seem like an odd place for a meeting? I’ve discovered that those who rented a safe deposit box for $5 per year were permitted to reserve and use the large, private room; it could seat 40 people comfortably.

Here is the postcard Margaret Mason Whitney sent to the women who were scheduled to attend the first meeting on May 24, 1902.

It reads:

Inter-sorority Conference, Chicago

On May 24 (Saturday) at 2:30 p.m. (sharp) the following representatives of Greek letter national college fraternities will meet at Mandel’s Tea Room to discuss rushing and pledging.

Pi Beta Phi, Miss Gamble, Detroit, Mich

Kappa Alpha Theta, Miss Laura Norton, 2556 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago

Kappa Kappa Gamma, Miss Margaret Jean Paterson, 6117 Kimbark Ave.

Delta Gamma, Miss Nina F. Howard, Glencoe, Ill.

Gamma Phi Beta, Miss Lillian Thompson, 326 W. 61st Place

Delta Delta Delta, Miss Kellerman*

Alpha Phi, Miss Ruth Terry, 1812 Hinman Ave., Evanston

We trust nothing will prevent your being present.

Margaret Mason Whitney, President Alpha Phi

May 17, 1902

Lillian W. Thompson, Gamma Phi Beta, served as Chairman at the 1913 meeting. She also attended the 1902 meeting and shared her experiences in an article in the Crescent of Gamma Phi Beta. It was reprinted in many of the other magazines in 1913.

Lillian Thompson, a member of Gamma Phi Beta’s second chapter at the University of Michigan, was Gamma Phi’s National Panhellenic Conference Delegate for 34 years. She served as Chairman of the 1913 meeting.

“This sort of meeting was quite new to me. I had only the vaguest idea of what the delegates were expected to do; and having been brought up in the good old school in which those who were not of were against us, I had no great desire to meet my friends the enemy. There was no time to debate, however, and nothing to do but to go, so one afternoon, I entered the lunch room at Mandels’ looking for a group of women wearing fraternity pins. I easily found them, introduced myself, and then racked my brains for topics of conversation which should be both polite and safe; for I had a most uneasy feeling that some fraternity secret might escape me unawares, and fall into hostile hands.”

The group moved from Mandels’ to the site of the meeting itself. “Miss [Minnie Ruth] Terry, the delegate from Alpha Phi, whose duty it was to make all the arrangements, had found a most appropriate place for our meeting — a safety deposit vault; and before long we were admitted through heavy iron gratings to a long passage way, which led at last to a director’s room, closed by a massive wooden door which seemed amply able to keep the biggest secrets from escaping to the outer world. We all sat down at the big table, and for the first few minutes there seemed to be a vague feeling of insecurity — of suspense. We were waiting, I think, for that illusive, and yet most potent thing, ‘the tone of the meeting’ to be established, and until some one supplied it we were ill at ease. This duty fell to Miss Terry, our chairman, and as I look back on that first meeting, I can plainly see that the whole Pan-Hellenic movement was given its successful start by her. Miss Terry is one of those calm, well balanced, fair-minded women, who state business in such a clear unbiased way that one feels impelled at once to consider things without prejudice. Gradually we all warmed to the work, forgot our strangeness, and talked over Alpha Phi’s rushing agreement with the utmost interest and frankness. Before we left, a most friendly spirit had developed; we had enjoyed our afternoon, saw plenty of work ahead of us, and looked forward with pleasure to meeting again.”

Miss Thompson continued, “In a year or so, the director’s room became too small for us. A morning meeting was added to the afternoon session, and we decided to meet at a hotel and to take lunch together, that we might have more opportunity to get acquainted. By this time I had begun to discover a number of ‘typical Gamma Phis’ who had mysteriously strayed into other fraternities. The discussions, too, had been bringing out the strong points of the various societies….At each meeting we learned some scheme which we longed to try in our own fraternity, and went home full of plans for introducing it.”

With 11 years of experiences on which to reflect, she added, “As year after year went by, we were delighted to see the work of our conference succeeding, though slowly. Our own meetings seemed like the chapter meetings of some fraternity, rather than a gathering of delegates from so many different groups. It is astonishing to me, as I look back, to note the unruffled peace and good will of our conferences. Even when there were disputes to settle, there was no bitterness or suspicion. Everyone knew that every one else was trying to find out what was best and how to do it. This feeling of kindliness and confidence has been the greatest result of our meetings. If we can pass this on to the fraternity world, we shall have done the one thing necessary to remove all criticisms of fraternities.”

* Miss Kellerman, Delta Delta Delta’s representative in highlighted in a post at http://wp.me/p20I1i-dj

Posted in Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Fran Favorite, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, The Crescent of Gamma Phi Beta | Tagged Columbus Safety Deposit Vaults, Lillian Thompson, Margaret Mason Whitney, National Panhellenic Conference, NPC | Comments Off

On Graduating and Becoming an Alum (and a New Puppy!)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I love the pomp and circumstance of graduation ceremonies. This year, for the first time in a long time, our attendance was not required at any offspring’s graduation ceremony.

Dear fraternity and sorority graduates – this is not the end of the membership journey. It is the beginning of your life as an alumna or alumnus. Seize the opportunity to be a part of the alum life of your organization. If there is an alum club/chapter where you’ll be heading, join it. Give to your organization’s foundation. I know you’re probably strapped for cash and don’t have much. Give up the cost of two grand venti coffees and send it to your organization’s foundation. Give at least $15 this year, $20 next year. Get in the habit of giving.

Work for your organization. It can be as simple as being on the lookout for potential new members. Speak of the good things your organization does. Keep current – read the magazine, visit the web-site, sign up for e-mails and tweets. Volunteer to work with a chapter, or put your name in the hat for committee work. Every national/international officer once was in the same place you find yourself today.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy life ahead. And remember when you speak of your membership in a fraternity or sorority, say “I am an ABC” not “I was an ABC.”

***

The Laurel Parade is an important part of Mount Holyoke’s College graduation/welcome to alumnae life weekend. The Laurel Parade takes place the day before graduation. It is when the graduating class is welcomed into the Alumnae Association, by the anniversary classes celebrating reunions. Each class – first year, sophomore, junior, and senior – has a class color, either red, blue, green, or yellow. For the parade, each class is dressed in white. Each class has a uniform item in the class color – hats, scarves, boas, flowers, umbrellas, etc. to set the class apart from other classes. The graduating class marches last and carries a laurel chain. The parade ends at the gravestone of Mary Lyon in the middle of campus. The graduating class encircles the grave singing Bread and Roses.

This year’s parade was filmed from a flying camera by Miranda Gontz, Class of 2016. It’s at http://goo.gl/n3GMEh. It’s a very short film and captures only the graduates walking with the laurel chain. It ends at Mary Lyon’s gravestone.

Two Mount Holyoke alumnae with a favorite professor.

Two Mount Holyoke College alumnae with a favorite professor. Their class color is yellow.

***

Wednesday’s post was about the loss of our dog, Tigger. The house was so quiet and we were missing having a furry creature around. Yesterday, we brought a new dog home. She’s yet to be named, but she’s a cute little bitty thing, a Pomeranian/terrier mix who needed a good home. Something tells me she just won the lottery.

Our new dog, yet unnamed.

Posted in Fran Favorite, Mount Holyoke College | Tagged graduation, Mary Lyon, Mount Holyoke College | Comments Off

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy, R.I.P. T-I-Double Gher-Er

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

This week we said goodbye to our 17-year-old rat terrier. He had a good run and was a faithful, though sometimes ornery, companion. Dan and I are dog people. Our families both had dogs and we grew up with them. Dan’s sisters even took their family dog to our wedding reception and the dog is with the family in some of our wedding pictures.

Having three children in 18 months proved to be a bit of a challenge, especially when Dan was in graduate school working on a doctorate. Living in married student housing put the kibosh on having a dog. After we moved into our own home, the kids kept asking for a dog. Around Christmastime our local paper published letters to Santa; some elementary school classes wrote them as an assignment. When we spotted our daughter’s letter to Santa, it was all about her desire for a dog. We still refer to it as her “If I had a dog” missive.

After the holidays were over, we found a dog, a little rat terrier who had spent its days in an outdoor pen during a very cold winter. For the rest of his life, he would seek to be as warm as possible. We named him Tigger (T-I-double Gher-Er).

Tig became part of the family. This weekend, a friend told me that her favorite Becque family Christmas letter was the one Tig “wrote” which was subtitled “The Dog Who Won the Lottery.”

Tig traveled with us wherever we went. He loved to stay in hotels (and was likely Drury Hotels’ #1 fan!). He didn’t mind 16 hour car rides. He, however, did not play well with others. Whenever he saw any of his doggie “cousins” he would bark, even though they were guests in the same house and encountered each other frequently. After a barking session, he would usually be banished to an upstairs bedroom. We love the picture below. Both dogs are now gone, but suffice to say there was no barking at this moment. There was some cut of meat being carved above their heads. Getting a handout was the only thing on both their minds.

Tigger is the dog in the Rural King sweatshirt.

Tig is the dog in the sweatshirt.

After the kids left for college, all at once it seemed, Tig became extremely spoiled. We doted on him, more than we had ever doted on our children. Since October, I have been working at home. As Tig’s abilities lessened, his world, which had been any comfortable surface in the house, usually our bed or his “Uncle Al” chair (so named because of the chair’s previous owner), became a little dog bed and blanket across from where I now sit typing this. There I could keep my eye on him. When he started to get up, I knew he had to go outside. At first it was just shepherding him out. Lately, it meant quickly carrying him out.

Tig in his doggie bed

His quality of life declined. He could no longer see; he could not hear. We loved him anyway. I kept hoping that he would just fall asleep one night and not wake up. But that did not happen. We took that final trip to the vet’s office, a task we had been dreading.

Finding a new dog to love is on our to-do list and we hope we find one who can fill Tig’s shoes (and wear his old doggie clothes!).

Thank you for reading this rare non GLO post. My heart wasn’t into writing about anything else today, although I will offer my congratulations to Tri Delta Meryl Davis for winning Dancing With the Stars!

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Indiana University, Home of Impressive GLO Chapter Houses!

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Saturday was spent in Bloomington, Indiana, attending the Bloomington Alumnae Panhellenic Council’s Serving Up Sisterhood fundraiser. It was held at the Pi Beta Phi house on the Indiana University campus. My friend Mary Jane Hall served as chair of the event. It was such a fun day!

Indiana University was established by the State of Indiana on January 20, 1820. In 1867, IU became coeducational. A Fort Wayne newspaperman had suggested that equality could be reached by admitting women to the university. Sarah Parke Morrison, the daughter of the president of the Indiana University Board of Trustees, applied for admission in 1867. A 1857 graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she was told she had to correct deficiencies in her preparation in order to be admitted with the incoming students of 1867. In 1868, 12 more women were admitted. According to Clark (1970, p. 125): “The traditional social order took considerable readjusting before women could be made to feel welcome in the university. For instance, in planning for the commencement of 1869 professors were perhaps more worried about Miss Morrison’s graduation than they had been about her admission to classes. They were afraid she would be subjected to the curious and hostile stares of the audience. Even worse, she would have to walk across the stage to receive her diploma and her ankles might be exposed to immodest views.”

The Pi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, founded in 1845, was the first men’s fraternity on campus. Phi Delta Theta (1849), Sigma Chi (1858) Phi Kappa Psi (1869), Delta Tau Delta (1870), Phi Gamma Delta (1871), Kappa Sigma (1887), and Sigma Nu (1892) were founded before 1900.

Kappa Alpha Theta was founded in Greencastle at Indiana Asbury College (now DePauw University) in 1870. IU became home to Theta’s second chapter. Correspondence took place between one of the Theta founders and the daughter of one of her father’s friends. On May 18, 1870, Kappa Alpha Theta was installed at Indiana University with the initiation of three charter members.

On October 12, 1872, Kappa Kappa Gamma made its appearance. A male student at Monmouth College, where Kappa was founded, had a female cousin attending Indiana University. Correspondence ensued and the chapter was installed.

A Pi Beta Phi member from the Franklin College chapter arrived to study at Indiana University and saw what she considered to be material for a Pi Beta Phi chapter. A charter was issued on March 30, 1893.

On December 10, 1898, the Delta Gamma chapter was the last women’s fraternity to be installed on the Indiana University campus prior to 1900.

These early chapters provided members an opportunity to live together in a chapter house. In the 1800s, most of the chapters rented homes. Owing a home took a considerable amount of capital which young chapters rarely had. This was in the day before colleges and universities offered students the opportunity to live in dormitories/residence halls, so living together in a home was a benefit of membership. As Greek-letter Organizations (GLOs) grew and developed an alumni/ae base, they seized the opportunity to purchase homes when it was feasible.

1936 newspaper article about the modernization of an IU sorority house.

Today, the GLO homes at Indiana University are exceptionally impressive. I would pay good money to take a tour of any, or more ideally, all of the structures. I wonder if such a fundraiser has ever taken place.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the name of Herman B Wells (the lack of a period after his middle initial B is correct. He had no middle name, just the initial). Indiana University was his life for most of his very long life and his fingerprints can be found all over campus. Well’s belief in the American fraternity system cannot be doubted. As an undergraduate, he was an active member of Sigma Nu’s Beta Eta Chapter. While working on his Masters degree at Indiana, he was an active alumnus. From what I have read about him, he had a deep and abiding love for his fraternity; he served as Regent of its High Council, as well as a member of the Sigma Nu Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. He helped found the Interfraternity Institute (IFI). The first IFI session for fraternity and sorority professionals took place at Indiana University in 1970. Wells deserves a post of his own, and I hope to get to it in the near future.

For a post about David Starr Jordan, who served as IU President and for whom Jordan Avenue is name, see http://wp.me/p20I1i-Md.