Happy 94th Birthday, Zeta Phi Beta and an Honor for Julia Carson, a Loyal Member

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

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 was walking with Charles Robert Samuel Taylor, a Phi Beta Sigma at Howard University. Taylor suggested that Cleaver consider starting a sister organization to Phi Beta Sigma.

Although there were already two sororities on the Howard University campus, Cleaver and her four friends were interested and started the process. They sought and were granted approval from university administrators. The five met for the first time as a sanctioned organization on January 16, 1920. They named their organization Zeta Phi Beta. It is the only National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority constitutionally bound to a fraternity; that fraternity is Phi Beta Sigma.

Shortly after Zeta Phi Beta’s debut, the other NPHC sororities founded at Howard University, Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha, gave a reception for the Zeta Phi Beta members.

How wonderful it is that on Founders’ Day, Zeta Phi Beta member Julia Carson, Indiana’s first African American and first woman from Indianapolis elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, will  be memorialized with a bronze bust in the Statehouse. The event is part of the State of Indiana’s 23rd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Indiana Holiday Celebration sponsored by the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Indiana Holiday Commission.

Carson was born Julia May Porter. Her family moved to Indianapolis when she was a child. A 1955 graduate of Crispus Attucks High School, she attended Martin University in Indianapolis and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.  She joined Zeta Phi Beta as a college student.

From 1976 until 1990, Carson served in the Indiana Senate. She also served six years as Trustee for Center Township. In 1997, she began her tenure in the United States House of Representatives for Indiana’s 7th congressional district. She was serving in that position when she died in 2007.

Julia Carson

Julia Carson

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© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

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Alpha Kappa Alpha Founders’ Day and a Little About the Gamma Kappa Omega and Beta Delta Chapters

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Alpha Kappa Alpha, 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 sharing her idea with her friends. During this time, she was dating her future husband, George Lyle, a charter member of the Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. The other eight founders are Anna Easter Brown, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Marjorie Hill, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Lavinia Norman, Lucy Slowe and Marie Woolfolk Taylor.

The sorority’s badge is an ivy leaf with a green enamel center bordered by pearls and the Greek letters in gold, one at each point on the leaf. The letters Omega and Psi are superimposed in the center of the badge. The pledge pin is a small ivy leaf of green enamel. The colors are pink and green, and the flower is the tea rose.

aka

In my travels I found this cookbook. It’s called Cooking with the Pink and Green AKA Palate Pleasers. It was published in 2006 and it contains the favorite recipes of members, families and friends of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s Gamma Kappa Omega chapter. It reminded me of a section of my Master’s thesis on the history of the Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) fraternity system from 1948-1960; the cookbook’s publication honored a charter member of the chapter, a woman who devoted herself to lifelong service to her community and her sorority. She is but one of the countless women who have lived the purposes and ideals of Alpka Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Gamma Kappa Omega was chartered in 1941. The pledge group, the Alkalphas, was organized in 1943. According to the February 9, 1943 Egyptian student newspaper, “four freshmen were chosen as new members of the Al Kappa [sic] group . . . . The initiation of those freshmen into the Alkalpha  group of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority took place in the home of Sara Thelma Gibbs.”

In 1952, the Delta Beta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was chartered at SIUC. The 1953 Obelisk yearbook noted that the name of the pledge group was the Ivy Club. In 1954, the chapter boasted nine actives and 20 pledges.

The 1957 Obelisk reported that the 1956-57 academic year was a busy one for the chapter. The sixth annual Kabbachio dance had a theme of “Return to Paradise.” December’s Bemifui Dance raised money for a needy area family. An annual picnic with Alpha Phi Alpha at Giant City ended the academic year. The following year seemed just as busy. Member Lois Krim was featured in an issue of Ebony magazine. The Ivies entertained the active members at a Christmas tea. Religion, etiquette, dating and courtship were subjects of a series of lectures. Arnetta Wallace, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s National President, was the guest speaker at the Panhellenic Workshop in April, 1958.

The cookbook I found is dedicated to Gamma Kappa Omega Chapter charter member, Thelma Gibbs Walker, the woman in whose home the 1943 initiation took place. The dedication noted that it was “fitting that this cookbook be dedicated to Mrs. Walker on the 65th anniversary of Gamma Kappa Omega, a chapter she helped charter. Her quiet demeanor and frankness, compounded with her strength and dignity, compel those who know her to hold her in high esteem.”

After graduating from Lane College in Tennessee, she began a career as a teacher in Carbondale in 1940, when the schools in Carbondale were segregated. Walker and her husband were married on November 23, 1953. They had no children of their own, but they nurtured and guided many young people along the way. In 1975, after 35 years as a teacher, Walker retired. She was the last surviving Gamma Kappa Omega founder. Walker died in 2006. In 2012, her Sorors dedicated a plaque in her memory at the middle school in Carbondale.

Thelma Walker, Charter member of the Gamma Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sprproty, Inc.

Thelma Gibbs Walker, Charter member of the Gamma Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sororoty, Inc.

 

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

To read about Eleanor Roosevelt and her affiliation with Alpha Kappa Alpha, please see http://wp.me/p20I1i-A5

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Dean Wormer’s Favorite Editorial? Phooey!

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

With a link which included “dean-wormer-s-favorite-editorial.html,” I knew what to expect. The title “Abolish Fraternities” left no room for interpretation. I know smoke was coming out of the ears of those of us who believe in the fraternity system. We believe that when it is done correctly it is one of the best training grounds available to college students. I realize that I am preaching to the choir. Most of you who subscribe to this blog are dedicated believers.

Anti-fraternity sentiment has been around for as long as there have been fraternities. When Monmouth College gave into church pressure and banned the organizations from campus, both Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma had to close their Alpha chapters, both less than 10 years after they were founded. I have often reflected on how amazing it was that both organizations were able to grow and prosper despite this very threat to their existence.

In stewing about this editorial a thought kept running through my mind that I had just written about something similar, but I couldn’t place it. So I had to bring up the front side of this blog and just start looking through it. Yes, a few weeks ago I wrote about the anti-fraternity sentiment of a century ago. The full post is at http://wp.me/p20I1i-1is. It is as true today as it was 100 years ago.

John L. Kind, Delta Tau Delta, who a century ago was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, told of the anti-fraternity movement in Wisconsin. He wrote, “The fraternities ask for no privileges except the modest one of being allowed to lead healthy, mutually helpful lives. On the other hand, the fraternities, thanks to the zealous labors and sacrifice of their actives and especially their alumni, help solve the difficult problems of housing and feeding hundreds of students, at no expense to the state.”

Kind pondered what the banning of Greek-letter organizations would bring for it was the “most vital, most practical question that can be asked. The fraternity houses exist, and Mr. Anderson himself suggested that they be used to house students. Since they could and would still be used to house students and feed students, why should not the same students who occupy them now continue in residence? If they did what would prevent them from filling vacant place with other young men of their choice? These men would not be initiated into any mysteries, they would not be made members of a Greek-letter fraternity, to be sure, but they would live and associate immediately with each other then as now, and so where would the shaking up in the bag of democracy be, that Mr. Anderson wanted to administer? It would simply mean to the casual observer wiping the Greek letters off the front door. But the real effect would be of much greater importance. The ties that bind a group of young, inexperienced men and women to a responsible, supervising national government would be broken. The feeling of pride in and responsibility to a great, dignified organization of national membership would be lost, all the local disadvantages that our opponents point out would be augmented. It is always better ‘to look before you leap.’”

The fraternity system offers students many opportunities for learning and personal growth. Most of the time, chapters and officers try to do the right thing. Sometimes young adults do stupid things (sometimes older adults, myself included, do stupid things, too). And as humans, we sometimes learn the best lessons when we make mistakes. Fraternities provide a good opportunity for these lessons.  It’s hands-on learning in a hopefully nurturing environment. 

As T.J. Sullivan says, “You are always wearing your letters.” (http://tjsullivan.com/you-are-always-wearing-your-letters/). Greek-letter organizations are easy to identify; it’s almost like wearing a target on one’s back. I remember a conversation with a fraternity chapter president who was lamenting that the guys in the house two doors down could have a party whenever they wanted and do basically whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted because they were just a random group of guys living in a house. Unless laws were broken, and the police were called, there was nothing stopping them from all sorts of mayhem. The fraternity chapter had policies and procedures for all varieties of events and activities and a matrix to follow to keep themselves in good standing with their organization and the university. When the random house of guys two doors down from the fraternity did something stupid, hardly anyone noticed. The same could not be said if the fraternity fell into the same fate.

And as long as students are not forced to join fraternities, why in the world should they be banned? Moreover, there is nothing in this world that is done correctly 100% of the time. Should cars be banned because every day there are deadly accidents happening all over the country? Should we ban airplanes because every now and then, there is a plane crash? Ships occasionally sink. People still drown in bathtubs. Should we ban them, too?

Sensational still sells, and the Bloomberg’s editorial drove in traffic to that site. 

*Dean Vernon Wormer of Animal House fame.

©Fran Becque, fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

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A Week of NPHC Founding Days – Happy 101st Birthday Delta Sigma Theta

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

This week has in it the Founders’ Days of three of the four National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) Sororities. All three, Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Zeta Phi Beta were founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

January 13 is the 101st birthday of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Delta Sigma Theta was founded by 22 Howard University collegians – Winona Cargile (Alexander), Madree Penn (White), Wertie Blackwell (Weaver), Vashti Turley (Murphy), Ethel Cuff (Black), Frederica Chase (Dodd), Osceola Macarthy (Adams), Pauline Oberdorfer (Minor), Edna Brown (Coleman), Edith Mott (Young), Marguerite Young (Alexander), Naomi Sewell (Richardson), Eliza P. Shippen,  Zephyr Chisom (Carter), Myra Davis (Hemmings), Mamie Reddy (Rose), Bertha Pitts (Campbell), Florence Letcher (Toms), Olive Jones, Jessie McGuire (Dent), Jimmie Bugg (Middleton), and Ethel Carr (Watson). All had been members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded on January 16, 1908. When a disagreement about the future of the organization arose between the active chapter and the alumnae, an ultimatum was given, decisions were made, and in the end, the active members left Alpha Kappa Alpha and became Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Hemmings went from being the president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter to being president of the Delta Sigma Theta chapter. Many of the first meetings were held in Coleman’s living room. The 1913 Valedictorian and Class President, she married Frank Coleman, a founder of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Toms’ hobby of collecting elephant figurines led to the animal becoming the sorority’s symbol.

Nearly two months after its founding, on March 3, 1913, the women took part in the historic suffrage march in Washington, D.C. They were the only African-American women’s group to participate. Honorary member Mary Church Terrell joined them in their march.

DST

© Fran Becque. www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Posted in Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Howard University, National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Zeta Phi Beta | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Golden Globes and the Fraternity and Sorority Members Who Have Won Them

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Please note that the reason I’ve compiled this list is to show the collective effort of fraternity men and women, not for bragging rights of any organization.

The 71st Golden Globes will be awarded at a ceremony on January 12, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The awards were first presented in 1944.

There are at least three fraternity and sorority members in competition for this year’s awards.

Matthew McConaughey, Delta Tau Delta, is nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his work in Dallas Buyers Club. (CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER – HE WON)

Ty Burrell, Sigma Chi, is nominated for Best Performance for a Male Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical for his performance in Modern Family.  (CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER – HE WON)

Jim Parsons, Pi Kappa Alpha is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical for his portrayal of Dr. Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Delta Gamma, is nominated in two categories – Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical for her role in Enough Said and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical for her role in Veep.

Over the years, a number of awards have been given to members of Greek-letter organizations. These winners are listed by category.

 

Best Film Director

1945 – Leo McCarey, Delta Chi, Going My Way

1970 – Paul Newman, Phi Kappa Tau, Rachel Rachel

1981 – Robert Redford, Kappa Sigma, Ordinary People

1982 – Warren Beatty, Sigma Chi, Reds

1991 – Kevin Costner, Delta Chi, Dances with Wolves

1994 – Steven Spielberg, Theta Chi, Schindler’s List

1999 – Steven Spielberg, Theta Chi, Saving Private Ryan

 

Best Actor Motion Picture – Drama

1952 – Fredric March, Alpha Delta Phi, Death of a Salesman

1963 – Sidney Poitier, Alpha Phi Alpha, Lilies of the Field

1970 – John Wayne, Sigma Chi, True Grit

2000 – Denzel Washington, Omega Phi Psi, The Hurricane

2014 – Matthew McConaughey, Delta Tau Delta, Dallas Buyers Club

 

Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

1958 – Frank Sinatra, Alpha Phi Delta (Honorary member), Pal Joey

1979 – Warren Beatty, Sigma Chi, Heaven Can Wait

 

Best Actress Motion Picture Drama

1944 – Jennifer Jones, Kappa Alpha Theta, The Song of Bernadette

1958 – Joanne Woodward, Chi Omega, The Three Faces of Eve

1969 – Joanne Woodward, Chi Omega, Rachel, Rachel

1975 – Gena Rowlands, Kappa Kappa Gamma, A Woman Under the Influence

1977 – Faye Dunaway, Pi Beta Phi, Network

1991 – Kathy Bates, Alpha Delta Pi, Misery

 

Best Actress Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

1976 – Ann-Margret, Kappa Alpha Theta, Tommy

1995 – Angela Bassett, Delta Sigma Theta (Honorary Member), What’s Love Got to Do With It

 

Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture

1954 – Frank Sinatra, Alpha Phi Delta (Honorary member), From Here to Eternity

1956 – Arthur Kennedy, Phi Kappa Psi, Trial

1959 – Burl Ives, Phi Sigma Kappa, The Big Country

1980 – Melvyn Douglas, Zeta Beta Tau, Being There

1991 – Denzel Washington, Omega Psi Phi, Glory

1996 – Brad Pitt, Sigma Chi, 12 Monkeys

1998 – Burt Reynolds, Phi Delta Theta, Boogie Nights

 

Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture

1957 – Ellen Heckart, Pi Beta Phi, The Bad Seed

1972 – Ann-Margret, Kappa Alpha Theta, Carnal Knowledge

 

Best Screenplay

1951 – Joseph Mankiewicz, Phi Sigma Delta, All About Eve

 

Cecil B. DeMille Award

1966 – John Wayne, Sigma Chi

1971 – Frank Sinatra, Alpha Phi Delta (Honorary member)

1984 – Paul Newman, Phi Kappa Tau

1994 – Robert Redford, Kappa Sigma

2002 – Harrison Ford, Sigma Nu

2007 – Warren Beatty, Sigma Chi

2009 – Steven Spielberg, Theta Chi

 

Best Actor in a Television Series Drama

1970 – Mike Conners, Phi Delta Theta, Mannix

1971 – Peter Graves, Phi Kappa Psi, Mission: Impossible

1972 – Robert Young, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Marcus Welby, M.D.

1985 – Tom Selleck, Sigma Chi, Magnum, P.I.

1992 – Scott Bakula, Phi Gamma Delta, Quantum Leap

 

Best Actor in a Television Series or Musical

1972 – Carroll O’Connor, Sigma Phi Epsilon, All in the Family

1984 – John Ritter, Phi Gamma Delta, Three’s Company

1985 – Bill Cosby, Omega Psi Phi, The Cosby Show

1986 – Bill Cosby, Omega Psi Phi, The Cosby Show

1988 – Dabney Coleman, Phi Delta Theta, The Slap Maxwell Story

1992 – Burt Reynolds, Phi Delta Theta, Evening Shade

1993 – John Goodman, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Roseanne

2011 – Jim Parsons, Pi Kappa Alpha, The Big Bang Theory

2014 – Ty Burrell, Sigma Chi, Modern Family

 

Best Actress in a Television Series Drama

1972 – Patricia Neal, Pi Beta Phi, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story

1998 – Christine Lahti, Delta Gamma, Chicago Hope

2001 – Sela Ward, Chi Omega, Once and Again

2002– Jennifer Garner, Pi Beta Phi, Alias

2005 – Mariska Hargitay, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Law & Order, Special Victims Unit

 

Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy

1967 – Marlo Thomas, Kappa Alpha Theta, That Girl

1989 – Candice Bergen, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Murphy Brown

1992 – Candice Bergen, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Murphy Brown

 

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

1987 – James Woods, Theta Delta Chi, Promise

1989 – Stacy Keach, Psi Upsilon, Hemingway

1992 – Beau Bridges, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Without Warning: The James Brady Story (James Brady, Sigma Chi)

2001 – Brian Dennehy, Sigma Chi, Death of a Salesman

2013 – Kevin Costner, Delta Chi, Hatfields & McCoys

 

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

1984 – Ann Margret, Kappa Alpha Theta, Who Will Love My Children?

1985 – Ann-Margret, Kappa Alpha Theta, A Streetcar Named Desire

1988 – Gena Rowlands, Kappa Kappa Gamma, The Betty Ford Story

1990 – Christine Lahti, Delta Gamma, No Place Like Home

1995 – Joanne Woodward, Chi Omega, Breathing Lessons

 

Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

1974 – McLean Stevenson, Phi Gamma Delta, M*A*S*H

1976 – Tim Conway, Phi Delta Theta, The Carol Burnett Show

1994 – Beau Bridges, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom

2006 – Paul Newman, Phi Kappa Tau, Empire Falls

 

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

1986 – Faye Dunaway, Pi Beta Phi, Ellis Island

1995 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Delta Gamma, Seinfeld

1998 – Kathy Bates, Alpha Delta Pi, The Late Shift

2000 – Faye Dunaway, Pi Beta Phi, Gia

 

New Star of the Year – Actor (The award was discontinued in 1983; some years had multiple winners)

1955 – George Nader, Phi Gamma Delta

1955 – Jeff Richards, Sigma Chi

1957 – Anthony Perkins, Kappa Alpha Order

1957 – Paul Newman, Phi Kappa Tau

1958 – Patrick Wayne, Alpha Delta Gamma

1959 – John Gavin, Chi Psi

1962 – Warren Beatty, Sigma Chi

1966 – Robert Redford, Kappa Sigma

 

New Star of the Year – Actress (The award was discontinued in 1983; some years had multiple winners)

1962 – Ann-Margret, Kappa Alpha Theta

1965 – Mary Ann Mobley, Chi Omega

 golden globe

If I’ve neglected anyone, please let me know. Thanks.

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

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Happy Founders’ Day, Tau Kappa Epsilon!

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

One hundred and fifteen years ago, January 10, 1899, Tau Kappa Epsilon was founded 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. The name was changed to Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) when, in 1902, 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.

One of its most famous members, the 40th President, Ronald Reagan, pledged TKE’s Iota Chapter at Eureka College on September 19, 1928 and served in several leadership roles as a chapter member. At the 1982 Eureka College commencement, President Reagan said “Everything that has been good in my life began here.”

He kept up his TKE connections. In 1955, while on a tour junket of the Morrison, Illinois, General Electric plant, he stopped and visited and visited the high school where one of his fraternity brothers, Enos “Bud” Cole, was principal. In a 1967 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Cole noted that as college students, “We talked about politics then, but it never entered anybody’s head that Dutch would go into politics. He had a lot of ideas.”

In March 1984, a TKE luncheon was held at the White House with about 60 alumni in attendance. The President was awarded the Order of the Golden Eagle, TKE’s highest honor. He was also the recipient of the North-American Interfraternity Conference’s Gold Medal Award. Another ceremony took place at the White House in June 1988 when the President was given the Order of the Silver Maple Leaf Award. In turn, he presented the Ronald Reagan Leadership Award, given to  TKE undergraduate, to that year’s winner.

The Iota Chapter President was invited to the funeral services for President Reagan after his death in 2004. A Youtube video shows the President talking about his fraternity.

The book about Ronald Reagan's formative years in Illinois was a gift from the author, my brother-in-law's father.

This book about President Reagan’s formative years  in Illinois was a gift from the author, my brother-in-law’s father. The photo on the cover is of a very young Reagan and I suspect that perhaps his TKE badge is on the shirt under that suit jacket.[/caption]

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A Centennial, Fraternal Friends, and Birthday Wishes

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

Today, January 9, 2014, is the Centennial of Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. It was founded 100 years ago at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, formed their organization on the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service. 

Founders’ Day will be celebrated globally. It is also the kickoff of the Unified Sigma Days of Service. All Phi Beta Sigma chapters will serve the campuses or communities which they represent. Some of the service projects include canned food drives, collecting coats for the needy and feeding the homeless. Service activities will also take place during upcoming regional conference. 

This morning during an outdoor segment, Phi Beta Sigma President Jonathan Mason was interviewed by Al Roker, an honorary Phi Beta Sigma member, on the Today Show. Mason presented Roker with a Phi Beta Sigma jacket. Members were gathered around Mason at the patio at Rockefeller Center.

 A worldwide “Three Minutes of Remembrance” is planned for 1:00 p.m. (EST) to honor the memory of the organization’s founders. Shortly thereafter, wreaths will be laid in memory of the founders. A wreath will be laid on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee at birthplace of Taylor and at Kansas State University in honor of  Brown. Another wreath will be laid at the site of the planned Centennial Monument at Howard University. 

The opening ceremony will take place tonight at Howard University. A message from Mason will be streamed on the web. Galas in various cities will take place on Saturday night. Happy 100th Birthday, Phi Beta Sigma!

 ***

Today is also the birthday of Carrie Chapman Catt, a member of the Pi Beta Phi chapter at Iowa State University. Pi Beta Phi’s Chapter Loyalty Day is today in honor of Catt and the loyalty she had for her chapter. She truly utilized her Pi Phi connections as she traveled the country talking about women’s suffrage. Recently a picture of her wearing her arrow badge was discovered on the internet. The picture had been taken several years after her graduation from Iowa State while she was teaching in Mason City, Iowa. I thought that a mighty good sign that she valued her membership in the organization.

***

Yesterday was my birthday and I want to share this from my facebook page.

 From Chi Omega Archivist Lyn Harris (who, I might add, bleeds scarlet and straw and is a hoot!). 

Elvis Presley, the moment he realizes he shares a BIRTHDAY with Fran DeSimone Becque.

 1544468_10152066952962221_768643680_n

Lyn’s tweets last year led me to realize that I also shared a birthday with one of Chi Omega’s five founders, Dr. Charles Richardson, a Fayetteville dentist. “Sis Doc” as he was known, was also a Kappa Sigma. Yesterday, members of the Chi Omega chapter at the University of Virginia visited the Kappa Sigma Headquarters. I sense the chapter had a nudge or two from Sister Harris.

From Kappa Sigma’s twitter feed:

Kappa Sigma Executive Director Mitchell B. Wilson with ladies of the Lambda-Gamma Chapter (Virginia) of Chi Omega Fraternity at Kappa Sigma’s International Headquarters in Charlottesville, VA. The ladies stopped by with a birthday cake in honor of their founder Dr. Charles Richardson’s 150th birthday. Dr. Richardson was an 1883 initiate of Kappa Sigma’s Omicron Chapter at Emory and Henry College.

BdfUTBWCYAAs-o2
***

And my mail included this from my dear friend Nann Blaine Hilyard. A card, a book, a note and a plate and two mugs with angels and stars, symbols of two organizations to which I am devoted, Pi Beta Phi and P.E.O. While Nann and I belong to different GLOs (her note is written on vintage Alpha Gamma Delta stationery), she is the one who introduced me to P.E.O. and for that I am so very grateful. Nann has so many talents and she, too, has a blog at http://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/.

nann

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© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Posted in Carrie Chapman Catt, Chi Omega, Founders' Day, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Howard University, Kappa Sigma, NPHC, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Sis Doc,” Kappa Sigma and Chi Omega, Born 150 Years Ago Today!

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Dr. Charles Richardson, a Fayetteville, Arkansas, dentist, was born 150 years ago today, on January 8, 1864, in Rich Valley, Virginia. He was one of 11 children. 

He did his undergraduate work at Emory & Henry College in Virginia and he studied dentistry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. An active member of Kappa Sigma at both schools, he served his fraternity as a national officer.

He once owned the Fayetteville Gazette and was its editor for several years. He drove one of the first cars in Fayetteville.

However, what Dr. Richardson is most famous for is his role in the founding of Chi Omega and his lifelong dedication to the organization. With his guidance, Chi Omega was founded on April 5, 1895 at the University of Arkansas by Ina May Boles, Jean Vincenheller, Jobelle Holcombe, and Alice Simonds. He was known as “Sis Doc” to generations of Psi Chapter members (the founding chapter at Arkansas is known as the Psi Chapter) and he is counted as a founder. He crafted Chi Omega’s first badge out of dental gold.

Original Chi Omega badge crafted in dental gold by "Doc Sis."

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

“Sis Doc” often wore a pearl horseshoe stick pin on his lapel. The stickpin is also on display at Chi Omega’s Headquarters in Memphis. The watch fob he was apt to wear had a Kappa Sigma badge on one side and a miniature Chi Omega badge on the other. The fob was not located after his death.

charles richardson

He often visited Chi Omega chapters and was a presence at Chi Omega conventions. On his travels to and from the Kappa Sigma Conclave in Philadelphia in 1900, “Sis Doc” visited the Chi Omega chapters at the University of Tennessee and Randolph-Macon Women’s College.

The June 1900 Eleusis carried this message, “For the first time since the magazine was started, the readers of the Eleusis are not favored by an article from the pen of our founder, Dr. Charles Richardson. He was asked for a contribution, but replied that he thought Chi Omegas would like a change. The editor did not agree with him, and it was only after he pleaded pressing duties as a member of Kappa Sigma’s Supreme Executive Committee that she decided to try to do without his assistance.”

The article continued, “Since leaving college, he has kept in touch with his fraternity, and has been a close student of fraternity affairs. He has attended the last three Conclaves of Kappa Sigma, and is now serving a second term as W.G.P., the second office of the Supreme Executive Committee The Caduceus says: ‘Dr. Charles Richardson has for many years taken an active interest in Kappa Sigma, and his election to the office of W.G.P. is a tribute to the high regard in which he is held by the delegates to the recent Conclave. His wise course upon all matters of legislation commended him strongly to those who exercised an influence at the Conclave, for he was indeed one of themselves, and it is safe to say that his vigor and firmness will make him an ideal W.G.P.’”

He was instrumental in helping establish the first three men’s fraternities at Arkansas – Kappa Sigma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Kappa Alpha Order. He also “drafted the constitution and by-laws of Chi Omega, and has taught the mother chapter what Greek life really is. In fact, he may be called the premier of Psi. He has always been ready to counsel us when perplexing questions arise. He has often given financial assistance as well.”

He died in 1924 and is buried in Fayetteville. His role as a founder of Chi Omega is acknowledged on his grave stone.

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(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Posted in Chi Omega, Fran Favorite, Fraternity meetings, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Sigma, The Eleusis of Chi Omega, University of Arkansas, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on “Sis Doc,” Kappa Sigma and Chi Omega, Born 150 Years Ago Today!

Q. The Only NPC Meeting Held in January? A. The Baker Hotel, Dallas, 1926

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

The Baker Hotel in Dallas, Texas, was the site of the 19th National Panhellenic Congress (NPC), as the Conference was then known. It was the first time NPC met in the southwest and it remains the only time NPC met in January. The meeting opened on January 4 and closed on January 8, 1926.

Installed as chairman at the 1923 meeting at the Parker House in Boston, Dr. May Agness Hopkins, Zeta Tau Alpha, presided. About 50 people attended, including delegates, non-voting delegates, and official visitors. At that time, NPC had 19 full and two associate members. According to a report in an NPC member magazine, the four days were busy ones and the “business of the Congress was conducted in the pleasant English room on the mezzanine floor of the Baker, a warm and colorful setting for sessions which, indeed, lacked in neither of these qualities.” 

The NPC Editor’s Conference held a two-hour session on January 4. Emily Butterfield, Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly editor and an Alpha Gamma Delta founder, was elected secretary for the session and as chairman for the next biennium. The program consisted of discussions on: “Chapter Letters; on the Bringing Out of Literary Ability; on How to Interest Real Writers; the Value of Editorials As Such; Secret Publications; the Fraternity Magazine; Mailing Lists; The Business Side of the Fraternity Magazine; How to Be Economical; Exchanges; Uniformity of Style and Uniformity of Advertising.” It was noted that the “discussions pertaining to the Chapter Letter seemed to hold greatest interest.”

Baker Hotel

Hopkins, or “Dr. May,” as she was known to her ZTA sisters, was one of those early NPC women who truly amaze me. Perhaps the timing of the meeting and the locale were due to Hopkin’s active schedule as a Dallas pediatrician. 

Hopkins served as ZTA’s first NPC Delegate, but her service to ZTA began about the time she became an initiated member. Born in Austin, Texas on August 18, 1883, she graduated from the University of Texas in 1906, the same year the Kappa Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha was founded. May Bolinger (Orgain) was a member of Epsilon Chapter at the University of Arkansas. Four NPC groups had chapters at the University of Texas, and Bolinger wanted a ZTA chapter there, too. A friend told her that if she could get May Hopkins to help, her efforts would be successful.  A lunch was arranged and by the end of lunch, Hopkins agreed to help organize a Zeta chapter, even though she was a senior. The chapter’s installation took place in Hopkins’ home. A month after graduation, Hopkins attended ZTA’s 1906 Knoxville convention. She left as Grand Secretary. In 1908, while attending medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, she was elected Grand President. She attended her first NPC meeting in 1909.

In 1911, Hopkins received her medical degree; she was the only woman in her graduating class. She completed an internship at Boston’s New England Hospital for Women and Children and a residency at Pennsylvania State Hospital. In 1912, she opened a pediatrics practice in Dallas, all the while serving as Grand President.

During World War I, she offered her services and “her call came shortly before the 1918 Grand Chapter meeting and prevented her attendance there, but she sent her suggestions and recommendations, and while the meeting was in progress she was busily engaged in closing her office and making all preparations for going into – she knew not what.” She tendered her resignation as a Grand Chapter member, but it was not accepted; instead, she was granted a leave of absence.

Her response was printed in the Themis, “To my sisters in Zeta Tau Alpha: When I received the resolution of my co-workers of Grand Chapter expressing their appreciation of my work, my heart simply filled to overflowing and I now am unable to find words with which to express my appreciation of your thoughtfulness. But I do wish you to know this: If I have been able to serve my fraternity with the least degree of efficiency; and through it to serve my sisters at large, it has only been through the untiring and loyal support you have given me as my co-officers and co-workers. It is true that our beloved fraternity has grown and through it I have grown – but you have been the power behind the throne. To you I give all the praise, all the honor. For myself, I can only say, ‘May I live to serve you and those I love again.'”

In lieu of the identification bracelet worn by all war workers, she wore a gold band bracelet with the Greek letters “ZTA.” It was a gift given to her by Omicron Chapter when it was installed in 1911 at Breanau University in Gainesville, Georgia. Her name was already engraved on the inside and she added her address to it. The bracelet, “was a bit of Zeta Tau Alpha that went with her through all her war-time experiences.” She continued as Grand President until 1920.

Dr. May Agness Hopkins, Zeta Tau Alpha

Dr. May Agness Hopkins, Zeta Tau Alpha

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© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Posted in Alpha Gamma Delta, Emily Butterfield, Fran Favorite, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Sorority History, University of Texas, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Q. The Only NPC Meeting Held in January? A. The Baker Hotel, Dallas, 1926

“ΦΓΔ Grieves. ΣΧ Sympathizes, as Former President Calvin Coolidge Enters the Chapter Eternal.”

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Two days after her 54th birthday, Grace Goodhue Coolidge became a widow. The 30th President died suddenly on the morning of January 5, 1933.

This full size portrait of President Coolidge was painted by Ercole Cartotto. Although it is now at the Phi Gamma Delta’s Headquarters, it was originally commissioned. by the Xi Graduate Chapter originally commissioned this for the Phi Gamma Delta Club in New York City. Ercole Cartotto’s painting was dedicated on February 20, 1929, in the Club library. It is “life size.”

“Calvin Coolidge, Greatest of Fraternity Presidents, Mourned by Greeks” is the headline of an article in the January-February 1933 Magazine of Sigma Chi. The title of this post is the article’s first paragraph. Calvin Coolidge became 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.

cal sigma chi

After leaving the White House in 1929, Calvin and Grace Coolidge returned to the duplex they rented at 21 Massasoit Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. They had  moved into it after their October 1, 1905 wedding and prior to the September 7, 1906 birth of their son John.  While it was a fine home for a Northampton lawyer, and even for Mayor Coolidge, it was not a suitable for a former President. The Coolidges needed a place with more  privacy to keep away the gawkers and celebrity seekers.

In May 1930, they purchased “The Beeches,” a secluded 13-room home set on six acres. They also spent time at the Coolidge family homestead in Plymouth, Vermont where the President grew up.  In a September 1931 letter written while the Coolidges were vacationing there, she wrote to a group of her Pi Beta Phi friends, “As he grows older I think he will turn more and more to these peaceful hills. It is in the Coolidge blood and I think you will all agree that where he leads I follow.” However, the post-White House plans he may have had were cut short.

On the morning of January 5, 1933, the 60-year-old President left for his office at 25 Main Street. The chauffeur brought the President and his secretary, Harry Ross, back to the house a short time later. The January 6, 1933 New York Times gave details of the President’s death. In the article,  Ross recounted the morning’s events:

“We drove out to The Beeches, and went into his study on the ground floor. Mrs. Coolidge was getting ready to go downtown for her regular morning shopping. She came into the study and chatted with us awhile. As she got up to go out the door without calling the car, Mr. Coolidge said: ‘Don’t you want the car?’ 

“‘No,’ she replied, ‘It’s such a nice day, I’d rather walk than ride.’ These were their last words together.”

When the First Lady returned from her trip to town, she went upstairs to call her husband to lunch. That is when she found him dead on the floor.

The Times article told of the funeral arrangements: 

In keeping with the simplicity of Mr. Coolidge’s nature and his life, Mrs. Coolidge decided that her husband would have preferred, if had been able to express his opinion, funeral services of the utmost simplicity. Such will be their nature. 

Instead of having the body taken to Washington or to Boston, to lie in state in places where he exercised the power of government as President of the United States and previously as Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mrs. Coolidge ordered that her husband’s body remain in his home in this city, where he lived before and after his Presidential career. 

The funeral services took place at the Edwards Congregational Church on Main Street, where the Coolidges were faithful members. The President was buried in the family plot in the small cemetery in Plymouth, Vermont. 

cal cool grave

***

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.

 

 


 

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

 

Posted in Amherst College, Calvin Coolidge, First Ladies, Fran Favorite, GLO, Grace Coolidge, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Indiana University, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Gamma Delta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Chi, University of Vermont | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on “ΦΓΔ Grieves. ΣΧ Sympathizes, as Former President Calvin Coolidge Enters the Chapter Eternal.”