Women’s Fraternities at the University of Minnesota through 1902

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The University of Minnesota was established February 13, 1851, under a charter from the territory of Minnesota. It was reorganized under a state charter on February 18, 1868.

Although there was faculty opposition to coeducation, the cause was heralded by Jane Grey Sisshelm, the feminist editor of the St. Cloud Visiter. As part of her defense of coeducation, she supported the idea that in order for boys to become good citizens of the future, it was necessary for them to be educated with their sisters and future wives (Gray, 1951).

When Kappa Kappa Gamma was founded in 1880, there were 97 women and 211 men enrolled in the university. Members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter at Indiana University asked a recent Minnesota alumnus, who was also a member of the men’s fraternity Chi Psi, for the names of female Minnesota students who might be interested in forming a chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the university. The woman he recommended to head up the task had already been contacted by Kappa Alpha Theta, according to Walker (1903) but chose to follow the path laid forth before her by the Indiana University Kappa Kappa Gammas. The chapter was installed on April 21, 1880. The chapter would acquire some institutional fame years later when, in 1892, during a play organized by the chapter as a fund-raiser for new university tennis courts, flames came from the footlight. The president of the university ordered everyone out and no harm was done except to the cupola of Old Main (Gray, 1951).

A Delta Gamma chapter was installed three years later. Like the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter, it owed its existence in part to a fraternity man. A Phi Delta Theta was contacted by a Delta Gamma alumna asking for the name of a woman who might be interested in forming a chapter. The quest was successful and a charter was granted December 18, 1883 (Stevenson, Carvill & Shepard, 1973).

Kappa Alpha Theta installed a chapter at the University of Minnesota on February 6, 1889. The chapter was inactive from July 30, 1891, until February 1892 (Wilson, 1956).

Shortly after the Kappa Alpha Theta chapter became a reality, a chapter of Alpha Phi made its appearance. The Alpha Phi chapter had its roots in the efforts put forth by an alumna of the Northwestern chapter who was teaching at Minneapolis Central High School. She selected a group of her high school students and imbued them with the idea of being charter members of an Alpha Phi chapter at the University of Minnesota. McElroy (1913) noted that these high school students were pledged and became “initiated into Alpha Phi after their college matriculation” (p. 141). Simultaneously, the teacher acquainted herself with female students at the university in order to have a mix of classes within the chapter. The chapter was installed in September 1890.

The Pi Beta Phi chapter owes it existence to the chance meeting of a Minnesota sophomore and a University of Michigan Pi Beta Phi alumna. On May 30, 1890, six women were initiated into Pi Beta Phi. Due to the effects of the economic panic of 1893, the charter was withdrawn in November 1896. The chapter was dormant for 10 years (Helmick, 1915).

As early as 1890, there were inquiries regarding a Delta Delta Delta chapter at the University of Minnesota. However, since the fraternity required nine charter members, the first attempt to secure charter was unsuccessful. The six students who had sought Delta Delta Delta charter, ultimately aligned themselves with another national organization, most likely Pi Beta Phi. In 1892, another female student took on the task of attempting to acquire a Delta Delta Delta charter. She was successful and the chapter was installed on February 21, 1894 (Priddy, 1932).

The Gamma Phi Beta chapter was installed on May 23, 1902. A local organization formed by 10 women formally petitioned Gamma Phi Beta for a charter. The formal petition included recommendations and letters, printed and bound with a copy sent to each chapter of the fraternity (Jones, 1913).

Company Q, University of Minnesota, 1888-89

For more information on Company Q, visit https://www.franbecque.com/2012/05/25/the-panhellenic-patriots-of-company-q/

This is the section about the University of Minnesota taken from my dissertation, Coeducation and the History of Women’s Fraternities, 1867-1902, and covers only those years. All rights reserved.

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com

Posted in Alpha Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Beta Phi, Sorority History, University of Minnesota, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , | Comments Off on Women’s Fraternities at the University of Minnesota through 1902

Ella Boston Leib, Alpha Xi Delta’s First NPC Chairman and a P.E.O. State President

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

I spotted the name Ella B. Leib as I was studying Illinois P.E.O. history in preparation for a session at the Illinois State P.E.O. Convention this summer. Ella Boston Leib played an important role in the early history of Alpha Xi Delta. She was Alpha Xi Delta’s first National Panhellenic Conference delegate, although the organization was known as the Inter-Sorority Conference when she served. 

The early history of Alpha Xi Delta is intertwined with that of P.E.O., a women’s Philanthropic Education Organization, founded at Iowa Wesleyan College on January 21, 1869. Alpha Xi Delta was founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois.

Between 1869 and 1902, the P.E.O. members who had been initiated while enrolled at Iowa Wesleyan College stayed active in the college chapter even though they were no longer enrolled in the college. Many remained in or near Mount Pleasant. Others formed chapters in towns and communities where they moved after graduation. The early P.E.O. chapters that had been formed at nearby schools did not survive and P.E.O.’s growth was in community chapters. The chapter at Iowa Wesleyan College was finding it difficult to operate on a college campus with the rules put forth by the community chapters.

The P.E.O. Chapter at Iowa Wesleyan College had been known as Original Chapter A. It later took on the name A-J to distinguish itself from the Mount Pleasant chapter. It ultimately became known as Chapter S. After the turn of the century, the governing body of P.E.O. made the decision to withdraw the charter of Chapter S. The college co-eds 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 if there was to be a resolution to these wishes.

Anna Gillis-Kimble, a member of the Alpha Xi Delta Chapter at Lombard College, was from Mount Pleasant. Her influence helped the Iowa Wesleyan women make the decision to become the Beta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta.

On June 9, 1902, the Alpha Xi Delta members entered the Lombard College Chapel wearing their tri-colored ribbons for the first time. The ribbons heralded the fact that they were now a national organization. After chapel, the installing officers made their way 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 Gillis (Kimble), and Edna Epperson-Brinkham.

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.

Ella Berry Boston entered Lombard College in September 1893 and joined Alpha Xi Delta in 1894. She married Dr. John Robert Leib on October 29, 1902. That year she served as Alpha Xi Delta’s first Grand Secretary. At the second annual convention in May 1904, she was elected Grand National President.

At the 4th Inter-Sorority Conference (now known as the National Panhellenic Conference) on September 15-16, 1905 at the Victoria Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, Leib served as secretary. She presided at the 1906 meeting. At that meeting a model constitution for College Panhellenics was approved and high school sororities were condemned.

Leib was a charter member of P.E.O. Chapter BF, Springfield, IL. It was organized on January 24, 1920. She went on to serve on the Executive Board of the Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. Leib organized several P.E.O. chapters in Illinois, including FA (Effingham), FB (Peoria), FC (Wood River), FD (Amboy), FE (Geneva), FF (Urbana), FG (Taylorville), FH (Quincy), and FN (Newton).

She served as Illinois State President from 1940-41 and presided at the 39th annual convention at the Central Christian Church in Jacksonville, Illinois. All but one of the 168 chapters in Illinois were represented. “Illinois’ support of the Educational Loan Fund and of Cottey College makes us all very proud,” is the summation of what transpired at the convention. Leib, a loyal member of Alpha Xi Delta and P.E.O., died on December 22, 1942.

To read more about the history of the Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. visit the link to the page about it and Lulu Corkhill Williams  http://wp.me/P20I1i-Qf .

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com


 

Posted in Alpha Xi Delta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Iowa Wesleyan College, Lombard College, National Panhellenic Conference, P.E.O., Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Ella Boston Leib, Alpha Xi Delta’s First NPC Chairman and a P.E.O. State President

Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities Debuted 135 Years Ago

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

My thanks to Christopher Walters, a fraternity history enthusiast and a member of Phi Mu Alpha, for writing this blog post.

In 1879 a revolution occurred in the fraternity world. It was in March of that year when a little booklet, Greek Letter Societies, was published by Albert P. Jacobs, a member of Psi Upsilon.  It was the first book of its kind published since the founding of Greek-letter organizations on American college campuses in the 1700s.  This small booklet was a directory to the then known organizations, from Kappa Alpha to Zeta Psi.  A few months later, another publication surfaced; it had the same purpose – to be a directory to the known groups – but this one was different.  This new publication was American College Fraternities: A Descriptive Analysis of the Society System in the Colleges of the United States, with a Detailed Account of Each Fraternity written by Beta Theta Pi member William Raimond Baird.

Baird’s book would change the face of the Greek-letter system in America.  For the first time there was a concerted effort to bring together in one resource a complete listing of all collegiate organizations located on American college and university campuses.  This book, which would become a highly sought after publication, would be republished in 20 editions.

From 1879 to 1991, this book which later became known as the Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities, was, in essence, the Bible of the Greek letter system.  Every chapter or lodge wanted one, every library had one, and many members would reference this manual to learn of other groups.

Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities, was, in essence, the Bible of the Greek letter system.  Every chapter or lodge wanted one, every library had one, and many members would reference this manual to learn of other groups.

Baird, a member of Beta Theta Pi, was one of the leading historians of the college fraternity system. People sought him out to help establish chapters of their own fraternity at a particular school. They contacted him to have their new fraternity listed in the next edition hoping this would benefit their new group by letting prospective members learn of their group upon entering college.  The fraternity world would soon have a “boom in the industry.”  Thousands upon thousands of local groups were being established yearly.

Groups were coming and going faster than the Baird’s Manual could keep up.  Hardworking and diligent, Baird tried to get every group listed, but there were dozens of groups that he just couldn’t get in.  Many colleges were somewhat obscure or unknown to the author even if he wanted to include them.  Baird did his best as long as he could.  At the time of his death he had published almost ten volumes of his work.  There were ten editions of a directory that included all groups from locals to literary societies, to high school groups, and of course college societies, and even a section on class or secret societies (it was especially hard to obtain information about these groups).  After the death of Baird, the book continued to be published under the direction of the National Interfraternity Council.  The editions were compiled and edited by some of the leading men in the fraternity world, such as Thomas Arkle Clark of Alpha Tau Omega, Francis Shepardson of Beta Theta Pi, and others.  The book maintained its form as Baird had created it until the 1940 edition.

In 1940, the book was apparently becoming too bulky with trying to classify all the various groups, so a slimmed down book was published. The 1940 edition was the first edition to exclude the listing of local fraternities and sororities. This section which was one of the best sections in the older editions seems to have been the first off the chopping block.  The next section to go in later editions was the listing of class and secret societies and literary societies.  By the 1963 edition, the entire book was devoted to listing just the National organizations, professional and honorary organizations, and known defunct groups.  The last edition to be published was 1991. To those who are familiar with the entire collection of the Baird’s Manuals, this edition, while useful for research purposes, was a much watered down version of what Baird himself had intended.

Many people have been waiting for the 21st edition to be published, but to their sadness no plans as of yet are in the works to have any more published.  The NIC and Baird’s Foundation which holds the rights to the publication have said on occasion that they still have copies of the 1991 edition.

Since the advent of the internet, there have been many websites which contain listing of various groups, and many groups have developed their own websites.  Imagine if William Baird had access to the internet.  He had the passion, and the connections to get his book published, but he lacked the means to acquire complete information at a moment’s notice. An on-line version of Baird’s vision would be like having a library of information at ones fingertips 24/7.  People wanting to learn a little about which groups are still active, which groups are defunct, or even where to turn to get more information.  Currently most information on many groups can only be found in libraries spread out all across the continent, or in private archives.  Many items of interest can be seen on many online auctions site, or in local flea markets or antique shops.  I (Christopher Walters) personally have about 6,000 pictures of pins or badges from many groups to which I do not know which school the organization belonged.  If this online archive was available, finding out about such groups would be much easier than trying to book a flight to visit some distant college library and searching through their yearbooks.  The internet can be a very useful tool, but only if the information is available. There is a need and demand for a new work and new tools to help people find out about their past.

As a side note, if you or someone you know belonged to a high school or prep school fraternity or sorority, I would love to hear from you.  I am currently trying to collect as much information as I can about these particular groups.

My Dear Sisson

For more information about William Raimond Baird, please see Fran’s other previous posts

https://www.franbecque.com/2012/06/17/my-dear-sisson-wrote-wm-raimond-baird-on-jan-1-1898/

https://www.franbecque.com/2012/07/21/my-dear-mrs-sisson-wouldnt-it-be-a-good-plan-for-you-to-look-some-of-them-up/

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com


 

Posted in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, Beta Theta Pi, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, NIC, North-American Interfraternity Conference, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities Debuted 135 Years Ago

Happy Founders’ Day, Phi Mu and a Snippet About the Phi Mu Healthmobile

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Phi Mu was founded on January 4, 1852 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. Originally known as the Philomathean Society, it and Alpha Delta Pi, also founded at Wesleyan College, are known as the “Macon Magnolias.” Phi Mu  was founded by Mary DuPont (Lines), Mary Myrick (Daniel) and Martha Hardaway (Redding). The founding was publicly announced on March 4, 1852, the day that is celebrated as Founders’ Day. On August 1, 1904, the group received a charter from the state of Georgia and was established as Phi Mu Fraternity. The second chapter was founded at Hollins College in 1904. Phi Mu joined the National Panhellenic Conference in 1911.

For Founders’ Day 1922, a fundraising campaign culminated with the purchase of the Phi Mu Healthmobile. Touring each of Georgia’s 158 counties, it operated as a clinic on wheels during the seasonable months. The State Board of Health furnished a physician, nurse, chauffeur, and movie operator. During its early years, many of the people that were treated had never seen a motion picture before; the films the Healthmobile showed were educational in nature. By the early 1940s, the Healthmobile assisted with tuberculosis control and carried both x-ray and fluoroscope machines.

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com


 

Posted in Founders' Day, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Mu, Sorority History, Wesleyan College, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Founders’ Day, Phi Mu and a Snippet About the Phi Mu Healthmobile

NPC Organizations That No Longer Exist; A Reflection on International Badge Day

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) celebrates International Badge Day on the first Monday in March. NPC asks its members to “Wear Your Letters on Your Heart.” Men’s fraternities and other Greek-letter organizations have joined in on the fun. The more the merrier, I say!

International Badge Day began in 1997.  In the spring of 1996, after she wore her Alpha Sigma Alpha pin to work one day, Nora M. Ten Broeck wrote an article about her experience. It appeared her sorority’s magazine, The Phoenix, and was titled “A Simple Solution – Wear Your Membership Badge Today.” The month of March was chosen because it is also National Women’s History Month. International Badge Day is an apt time to reflect on the organizations that once were a part of NPC, but no longer exist.

The first of these organizations admitted to NPC was Beta Phi Alpha; it joined NPC in 1923. Beta Phi Alpha was founded as Bide-a-wee on May 8, 1909 at the University of California – Berkeley. A few months later, the name changed to Aldebaran, In 1919, it became Kappa Phi Alpha. It then changed its name to Beta Phi Alpha. In 1936, chapters of Phi Delta at New York University and George Washington University affiliated with Beta Phi Alpha. On June 22, 1941 Beta Phi Alpha was absorbed by Delta Zeta. At that point, 30 chapters had been installed and there were 3,000 members. Beta Phi Alpha’s “Convention Lights” is still sung at the close of Delta Zeta conventions.

Beta Phi Alpha’s badge was a “Phi outlined in pearls with Beta and Alpha embossed on the black enamel at either side of the stem of the Phi.”*

Alpha Delta Theta was granted associate NPC membership in 1923 and full membership in 1926. It was founded as Alpha Theta in the fall of 1919 at Transylvania College and it took the name Alpha Delta Theta in 1922. That year, a second chapter was founded at the University of Kentucky. Twenty-five chapters had been established when Violet Young Gentry, Alpha Delta Theta, presided at the 26th NPC meeting at the Greenbrier Hotel in 1939. After the meeting, Alpha Delta Theta merged with Phi Mu. The national officers of both organizations then embarked on a trip to Alpha Delta Theta’s Alpha chapter at Transylvania University to install the collegians and alumnae as members of Phi Mu. Visits to the other Alpha Delta Theta chapters followed. Phi Mu affiliated five chapters and gained eight others through campus mergers. Four Alpha Delta Theta alumnae groups were installed as Phi Mu. In the 18 cities were Phi Mu and Alpha Delta Theta both had alumnae groups, Alpha Delta Theta’s alumnae chapters were disbanded and absorbed into Phi Mu. Hazel Falconer Benninghoven, Alpha Delta Theta National President at the time of the merger, served as Phi Mu’s National President, too.

Alpha Delta Theta’s badge was a “yellow gold pin, delta in shape, bordered with 15 pearls and with an emerald at each corner, the Delta superimposed upon a gold key place horizontally. The center of the Delta was of black enamel, bearing the emblems in gold, the Alpha in the lower left corner, the Delta in the apex, the Theta in the lower right corner, a lighted candle in the candlestick between the Alpha and Theta with crossed palm branches above.”

Theta Upsilon was granted associate NPC membership in 1923 and full membership in 1928. Theta Upsilon was founded at the University of California – Berkeley in 1914. Its roots can be traced to 1909 when a group of women rented a house on Walnut Street that they called “Walnut Shell.” On January 1, 1914, they organized as the Mekatina (“Among the Hills”) Club. In September 1933, Lambda Omega became a part of Theta Upsilon. On May 6, 1962, Theta Upsilon became a part of Delta Zeta. Three campuses overlapped, that is, they had both a Theta Upsilon and Delta Zeta chapter on campus. These three were Miami University, the University of Illinois, and Temple University. Delta Zeta gained nine new chapters.

Theta Upsilon’sbadge was a “jeweled Theta superimposed upon a hand-chased Upsilon.”

Sigma Phi Beta was granted associate NPC membership in 1928. It was founded at New York University on November 1, 1920 under the name of Sigma Sigma Omicron. It became Sigma Phi Beta on July 28, 1927. Phi Alpha Chi, with its three chapters, joined Sigma Phi Beta’s five chapters on January 7, 1928. On October 1, 1933, Phi Omega Pi absorbed Sigma Phi Beta; on August 10, 1946, Delta Zeta absorbed Phi Omega Pi.

Sigma Phi Beta’s badge was a circle bearing a Sigma, Phi, and Beta, with six jeweled points on the edge of the circle. The bottom badge is that of Sigma Sigma Omicron, which preceded Sigma Phi Beta.

Beta Sigma Omicron was granted associate NPC membership in 1930 and full membership in 1933. It was founded in 1888 at the University of Missouri. A second chapter was founded in 1891 at the Synodical College in Fulton, Missouri. The Alpha chapter closed in 1892. Although 61 chapters had been established, in 1964 when the organization was absorbed by Zeta Tau Alpha, there were only fifteen active chapters. Seven chapters became Zeta Tau Alpha chapters. These were: Howard College (now Samford University); Millsaps College; William Jewell College; Evansville College (now University); Thiel College; Westminster College; and Youngstown State College (now University). Alpha Phi picked up three chapters from those on campuses where there was already a chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha. The three Beta Sigma Omicron chapters that became Alpha Phi chapters were located at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, Baldwin Wallace College, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Beta Sigma Omicron’s badge was “a monogram of the Greek letters Beta Sigma Omicron, the Sigma being superimposed.”

Lambda Omega was granted Associate NPC membership in 1930.  Lambda Omega was founded on May 5, 1923 at the University of California – Berkeley. It began as the Norroena Club founded in November 1915. It existed as a local house club for more than seven years until the house burned. Norroena “meaning ‘breath of the North,’ developed its ritual around an Indiana legend and had a Norse motif emphasizing the hardihood of the Norse people, their hospitality, economy, and friendship.” Other chapters were founded shortly after the organization became Lambda Omega. The Iaqua Club was founded at Berkeley in 1919, and it later became Alpha Sigma Delta; it merged with Lambda Omega in 1932. In 1933, Lambda Omega merged with Theta Upsilon. In 1962, Theta Upsilon merged with Delta Zeta.

Lambda Omega’s badge was a monogram of the Greek letters.

Phi Omega Pi was granted associate NPC membership in 1930 and full membership in 1933. It was founded at the University of Nebraska on March 5, 1910. In its early years, membership was limited to those belonging to the Order of the Eastern Star. In 1931, this restriction was eliminated. In 1933, Sigma Phi Beta was amalgamated with Phi Omega Pi. Phi Omega Pi disbanded in 1946. Four chapters were inactive. Other chapters were taken over by Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Sigma Kappa, and Kappa Alpha Theta. Delta Zeta was asked to consider the alumnae and a few chapters that remained. On August 10, 1946, Delta Zeta absorbed Phi Omega Pi.

Phi Omega Pi’s badge was an “irregular pentagon of black enamel surrounded by a gold band, had a five pointed star set with a sapphire above the Greek letters Phi Omega Pi engraved in gold.”

Pi Sigma Gamma was sponsored by NPC in 1930. It was founded in 1919 at the University of California – Berkeley. There were four chapters. The other three were at the University of Washington, Hunter College.  and the University of California – Los Angeles. The UCLA chapter closed in 1930. Sometime in 1931 or 1932, the three remaining chapters affiliated with Beta Sigma Omicron.

I could find no description of the Pi Sigma Gamma badge, but above is a picture of it.

Delta Sigma Epsilon, an Association of Education Sororities member, became a member of NPC in 1947. Delta Sigma Epsilon was founded on September 23, 1914 at  Miami University. It became a member of the Association of Pedagogical Sororities, an organization that then became the Association of Education Sororities. In the fall of 1941, Pi Delta Theta, another Association of Education Sororities member, merged with Delta Sigma Epsilon. It was the only merger within the Association of Education Sororities. In 1941, Delta Sigma Epsilon alumnae donated an outdoor drinking fountain and patio to Miami University. In 1956, Delta Sigma Epsilon was absorbed by Delta Zeta. At the time of the merger more than 13,000 women had been initiated as members in its 52 chapters. The chapter at Southern Illinois University Carbondale became an Alpha Gamma Delta chapter; both its collegians and alumnae were released from obligations to Delta Zeta (there is a chapter on this episode in my master’s thesis).

Delta Sigma Epsilon’s badge was a “shield-shaped, having seven point, the background of enamel, bordered with pearls, and displaying the fraternity letters, a circle, and a cornucopias. There was a plain badge in black and gold.”

Pi Kappa Sigma, an Association of Education Sororities member, became a member of NPC in 1947. It was founded on November 17, 1894 at the Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University). At first it was known as J.P.N. In 1897, it reorganized and the name was changed to Pi Kappa Sigma. It was absorbed by Sigma Kappa on May 15, 1959.

Pi Kappa Sigma’s badge was “a modified triangular shield of black enamel displaying the letters Pi Sigma Kappa and a lamp and carrying a diamond surrounded by thirteen gold rays.”

Theta Sigma Upsilon, an Association of Education Sororities member, became a member of NPC in 1947. It was founded on March 25, 1921 at Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia. Its roots can be traced to 1909 when it was known as the Sigma Society. Theta Sigma Upsilon united with Alpha Gamma Delta on June 29, 1959.

Theta Sigma Upsilon’splain badge was “a five pointed shield of black enamel, displaying a torch and the Greek letters and mounted upon a beveled shield of gold similarly shaped.” The jeweled badge was “shield similar to the plain badge, but jeweled with pearls and turquoises.”

Iota Alpha Pi was granted associate NPC membership in 1953 and full membership in 1957. The oldest national sorority for Jewish women, it was founded in 1903 at the New York Normal College  (now Hunter College).  A second chapter was founded in 1913. The first six chapters were all in the metro New York area.  The organization disbanded in 1971.

Iota Alpha Pi’s badge was a “diamond shaped pin, with two full-blown gold roses on each of the horizontal points, consisting of a scarlet field surrounded by a border of twenty pearls.” The roses were added to the corners after Iota Alpha Phi joined NPC, perhaps because it was so similar to Alpha Delta Pi’s badge.

*Quoted descriptions of badges are taken from the 19th edition of Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities.

My thanks to Christopher Walters for providing pictures of the badges.


 

© Fran Becque,  www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Posted in Alpha Phi, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Association of Education Sororities, Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, Delta Zeta, George Washington University, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Hunter College, Miami University, National Panhellenic Conference, Phi Mu, Sigma Kappa, Sorority History, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, The Phoenix of Alpha Sigma Alpha, Thiel College, University of California, University of California at Berkeley, University of Illinois, University of Missouri, Women's Fraternity History, Zeta Tau Alpha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on NPC Organizations That No Longer Exist; A Reflection on International Badge Day

The 100th Anniversary of the Suffrage Parade, Sorority Women, and a Guest Appearance by High School Student J. Edgar Hoover

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the March 3, 1913 Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C. Among the women who marched were sorority/fraternity women. Pi Beta Phi Carrie Chapman Catt was one of the speakers.

Pi Beta Phi’s former Grand President Emma Harper Turner was one of the marchers joining the George Washington University collegians and alumnae. Goucher College collegians and alumnae were in full force, too, as the campus in Baltimore was within easy traveling distance. Edna L. Stone, an alumna of the Pi Beta Phi chapter there, wrote an account for the Arrow of Pi Beta Phi. Several Kappa Alpha Theta members from the Goucher chapter also marched. Marching in the parade was one of the first activities that the founders of Delta Sigma Theta did after creating the sorority at Howard University.

Alpha Chi Omega, Myra Jones, who would later serve as Alpha Chi’s National President, wrote in the April 1913 Lyre of Alpha Chi Omega, “For months before it took place it was the subject of the liveliest comment by friends and foes alike and of headlines by the press; and for weeks afterward, thanks to those who opposed and ridiculed and jeered, it has enjoyed even greater publicity.” She went on to comment, “No woman who, without protection in this our capital city, struggled though that irresponsible mob, subjected to jeers and insults on every side, can ever again be lukewarm or indifferent on the subject of women’s suffrage.”

Emilie Margaret White, an alumna of the Pi Beta Phi chapter at George Washington University, marched. She was one of those women who was subjected to the jeers and insults of anti-suffrage men who were in town for Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. She graduated with a undergraduate degree in three years, studied twice in Europe and earned a Master’s from George Washington University. Although she was a teacher of Latin and German at Central High School, she marched with the college students. She was a member of Columbian Women, an organization of many of the first women to attend the university who organized to help other women become college graduates. The Columbian Women award a scholarship named in her honor. She later provided testimony to the Senate Committee (her name was misspelled as Emily). As a testament to the strength of character, I am including all of her testimony.

 

The witness was duly sworn by the chairman

The Chairman. What is your full name?

Miss White. Emily (sic) Margaret White.

The Chairman. Where do you live?

Miss White. 2568 University Place.

The Chairman. You are one of the teachers here?

Miss White. Yes.

The Chairman. You were in the teachers section of the parade?

Miss White. I marched with the college women with the group from the George Washington University.

The Chairman. Were you on the Avenue before the parade occurred?

Miss White. I was, yes.

The Chairman. What time did you reach the Avenue on the 3rd of March?

Miss White. I think it was between half past 1 and 2. I arrived at the Capitol about 2.

The Chairman. Where did you first reach the Avenue at the Treasury Building?

Miss White. Yes, at the Treasury.

The Chairman. You reached there at about what time?

Miss White. I should judge about half past 1 or a quarter after 1.

The Chairman. And you came from there down the Avenue?

Miss White. Yes.

The Chairman. What condition did you find the Avenue in?

Miss White. At Fifteenth Street the people seemed there were many people standing there in crowds but they were behind the ropes on the sidewalk. Beyond Twelfth Street I did not notice the Avenue. The car was very crowded and I did not notice it again until I reached the Capitol.

The Chairman. So you cannot say what the condition was?

Miss White. No.

The Chairman. You saw ropes along the curbing?

Miss White. I saw them as far as I observed the Avenue.

The Chairman. And the crowd packed behind them?

Miss White. Yes.

The Chairman. What time did you start in the parade?

Miss White. I think it was 20 minutes past 3 that our section started.

The Chairman. When you reached the Peace Monument what was the condition?

Miss White. The people were all standing behind the ropes and the police seemed to be in control of them.

The Chairman. Were there police there?

Miss White. Yes there were police.

The Chairman. Do you remember how many policemen you saw about the Peace Monument?

Miss White. I remember two at the place I observed them.

The Chairman. Were they in uniform

Miss White. They were.

The Chairman. What were they doing?

Miss White. They were pushing back the crowd.

The Chairman. I understood you to say the crowd was all behind the ropes.

Miss White. The crowd was pushing forward and they kept them back there.

The Chairman. Were they walking then in front of the crowd on the Avenue close to the curb?

Miss White. I am referring now to the place at the Peace Monument at the curbing along there.

The Chairman. Yes.

Miss White. They walked in a very small radius.

The Chairman. That was around the monument?

Miss White. Yes

The Chairman. What about the street?

Miss White. The Avenue up to between Third and Four and a half Street was well cleared.

The Chairman. Were all the people there practically behind the ropes?

Miss White. I think so. No, they were not behind the ropes. They were out in the street and they were pushing forward toward the car tracks.

The Chairman. Were there any policemen along there.

Miss White There was one policeman in uniform and one in plain clothes dress and an officer. The officer was ordering the other two men to push back the crowd and they were doing it just as well as it was possible to do at that point.

The Chairman. You say at that point, where do you mean?

Miss White. Between up in the first two squares beyond the Peace Monument.

The Chairman. Were there no policemen walking up and down the Avenue to keep the crowd back?

Miss White. I saw these three in just two squares.

The Chairman. They were not walking up and down the Avenue were they?

Miss White. They were pushing the people back. They were doing it with physical force.

The Chairman. At that particular place.

Miss White. At that particular place.

The Chairman. Did they keep the crowd back very well there?

Miss White. They did pretty well on those two squares.

The Chairman. Were these policemen close together?

Miss White. Yes they were right together.

The Chairman. Working right together?

Miss White. The three. The two men under orders from the officer.

The Chairman. What was the officer doing?

Miss White. He was walking along up the square and ordering the men to keep them back and he was himself trying to keep them back.

The Chairman. In front of the crowd?

Miss White. Yes.

The Chairman. Did they seem to keep the crowd back pretty well?

Miss White. They did pretty well in that one place.

The Chairman. Did you have plenty of room for marching there?

Miss White. In those two squares.

The Chairman. Did you march four or five abreast?

Miss White. Four abreast.

The Chairman. What was the condition after Fourth Street?

Miss White. Between Third and Four and a half Streets the crowd surged out so that we marched with our arms overlapping and it grew worse until we got to Seventh Street where the crowd was so dense that it was then necessary to fall out and march in double file.

The Chairman. Were there any policemen there after you got past Third Street?

Miss White. Yes. I saw a number of policemen in uniform and a great number of plain clothes men.

The Chairman. What were they doing?

Miss White. They seemed to be making no effort whatever to keep the crowd back.

The Chairman. Were they just standing in the crowd?

Miss White. They were standing in the crowd and laughing and joining in with the crowd.

The Chairman. And the crowd was getting closer and closer all the time?

Miss White. It was crowding so it was very difficult to walk I was afraid there might be violence at that point when we got to Seventh Street.

The Chairman. You saw no policemen from Third to Seventh Streets making any efforts to keep the crowd back?

Miss White. As I remember, no.

The Chairman. No mounted police along there?

Miss White. I saw no mounted police until we got in front of the New Willard Hotel.

The Chairman. What was the condition from Seventh Street on?

Miss White. I should say from Seventh Street to Twelfth Street the march was equally difficult. Twice in that time we had to fall out and march in double file. The crowd were pressing around just as closely as they could and once a man started to cross over between the line of march but changed his mind and went back and there was no policeman there to prevent him at all.

The Chairman. Then did anything happen along there that you think you ought to tell the committee about?

Miss White. I have here a signed statement from one of the captains of the High School companies. Shall I give it to you? It is what he heard and I heard myself another thing.

The Chairman. You may tell what you heard.

Miss White. I heard a policeman when the crowd pushed forward very hard he made no effort whatever to push them back. He said with a laugh, ‘Stop pushing or you will get me into this procession.’ I heard another I am not sure it was a policeman. It was either a policeman or the man next to him.

Senator Pomerene. Can you identify that first policeman?

Miss White. I cannot.

Senator Pomerene. Or give us any means of identifying him?

 Miss White. I have no means of identifying him.

The Chairman. Was he in uniform?

Miss White. Yes, in uniform in regular uniform. This other one as I say I am not sure was a policeman. It may have been the man next to him who in an attempt to imitate a woman’s voice said ‘Stop pushing please,’ but made no effort to stop the pushing.

The Chairman. What is the substance of the statement you have? Of course it is not evidence but perhaps it will lead us to some evidence.

Miss White. One policeman went up to this boy as he stood at Fifteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and he said ‘Why do you not kid the women more?’

The Chairman. What is the name of the boy?

Miss White. J.E. Hoover.*

The Chairman. Do you know where he lives?

Miss White. I do not know.

The Chairman. He is the high school captain?

Miss White. Yes.

The Chairman. Of what school?

Miss White. Central High School.

The Chairman. He was not one of the Boy Scouts was he?

Miss White. No he was not.

The Chairman. You do not know whether he took the number of this policeman’s badge?

Miss White. He did not, he said.

The Chairman. Are there any other facts you desire to call to the attention of the committee?

Miss White. I think that is all I have to say.

The Chairman. Did you see any personal indignities offered to anybody in the parade?

Miss White. No I did not.

Senator Dillingham. You say, Miss White, that the police were laughing with the crowd. What were they laughing at?

Miss White. They were laughing at the remarks the crowd made. I happened to be marching next to the young lady who carried the George Washington University banner and that was made the butt of many remarks. The police seemed to enjoy the remarks as much as anybody in the crowd. They laughed with the others.

The Chairman. That is all.

 

Co-eds from George Washington University get ready to march. In 1913, there were three NPC organizations on campus – Pi Beta Phi (1889), Chi Omega (1903), and Sigma Kappa (1906).

* J.E. Hoover is J. Edgar Hoover. He graduated from Central High School in 1913 and was the class valedictorian. He entered George Washington University that fall as a law student in the night school, in the days before an undergraduate degree was required for law school.

 

 

Posted in Alpha Chi Omega, Carrie Chapman Catt, Chi Omega, Delta Sigma Theta, Fran Favorite, George Washington University, GLO, Goucher College, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Howard University, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, The Lyre of Alpha Chi Omega, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The 100th Anniversary of the Suffrage Parade, Sorority Women, and a Guest Appearance by High School Student J. Edgar Hoover

A Smoking Issue at the 1928 NPC Meeting

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The 20th National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) meeting took place at the Parker House in Boston from February 27 to March 1, 1928. By that time, more than 210,000 women had joined the 21 NPC organizations. At the meeting, it was affirmed that “the policy of NPC is against smoking by active chapter members in chapter houses or on campuses, and that alumnae and guests be asked to respect this policy as they do house rules.”

In an editorial in the May 1928 Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, Agnes Wright Spring noted,  “Pi Beta Phi as a national fraternity has maintained a policy against smoking and has not permitted its members to smoke in chapter houses and has dismissed active members who persisted in smoking in public.”  The editor outlined what had taken place in 1926 at Mount Holyoke College. The college “took a stand against smoking and since then always sends a form letter to all prospective students.”

The form read, “Mount Holyoke College disapproves of smoking by college students and has made the regulation that no student may smoke while under its jurisdiction… Any prospective student who is unwilling to conform to this regulation is advised to withdraw her application, as all students entering the college will be considered to have given their word of honor to observe it. A student failing to do so will be asked to withdraw.”

The editorial closed with a shout out to the other NPC organizations, “As an organization endeavoring to uphold the highest ideals of womanhood, Pi Beta Phi is gratified to find the other national women’s fraternities maintaining a policy against smoking.”

It is interesting to note that while there was a policy in the 1920s, by the post-war years of the late 1940s and through the Mad Men era of the 1960s and 1970s, smoking became an accepted part of American life. More than half the American adult population smoked. Watch an episode of I Love Lucy and you’ll see cigarette placement throughout the show. After all, Philip Morris was the show’s sponsor. Flip through Life, Look, Saturday Evening Post and other magazines to see the ads portraying smoking as the cool thing to do. Talk to alumnae of that era and many will tell you that smoking was ever present on the college campus and in the chapter house.

The tide started to shift in the late 1970s and the landmark report of the Surgeon General helped bring an awareness about the health risks associated with smoking and second-hand smoke. Cigarette companies were forced to change their advertising methods. That in turn helped create a cultural change.

NPC policy about smoking in chapter houses went by the way-side, most likely put aside for more pressing matters.

 

A Chi Omega ashtray (courtesy of Lyn Harris)

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2019. 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/. Focus on Fraternity History Facebook group

Posted in Mount Holyoke College, National Panhellenic Conference, Sorority History, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on A Smoking Issue at the 1928 NPC Meeting

Happy Founders’ Day Sigma Pi – The Founding of the SIUC Chapter

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

February 26 is recognized as Sigma Pi’s Founders’ Day. In honor of my next-door neighbor, a former Grand Sage and charter member of the chapter at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, I offer this snippet about the history of the chapter.

 
Nu Epsilon Alpha was founded in the fall of 1942 at the Methodist Manor,
605 South Normal Avenue.  Its purpose was to “foster a closer brotherhood and
develop more sincere friendships among men of Methodist faith” (Obelisk, 1942).
There were 22 charter members and Louis Gellermann was the faculty sponsor.

As with the other SIU men’s fraternities, the chapter went inactive during
World War II.  Throughout the war years, the fraternity kept members in close
contact through regularly published editions of the NEA Newsletter.  It was also
known as the Nu-Eps “Tattler” (Odaniell, 1993).  The chapter was reactivated in
September 1945.  In honor of Henry Hinckley, a  NEA who was killed in action,
the chapter awarded for many years a Henry Hinckley Memorial Award.  It was
an award chosen by SIU athletes to recognize the most outstanding athlete
(Obelisk, 1946).  An African American athlete, Dick Gregory, who was to later
receive popular acclaim as a comedian, received the 1952-53 Henry Hinckley
trophy. (Egyptian, 1953, June 17).

Sigma Pi’s quest to colonize a chapter on the SIU campus is chronicled in a
separate chapter of this paper.  The exchange began in the late 1940s with several
letters of inquiry from the national headquarters of Sigma Pi as well as the
chapter at Eastern Illinois University.  George T. Garven, a Sigma Pi National
Traveling Secretary, visited the Nu Epsilon Alpha chapter in December 1950 or
early January, 1951. (I. C. Davis, personal communication, January 24, 1951).

On April 27, 1951, Davis spoke with Curt Messner, Sigma Pi’s Province
Archon.  His written confirmation of the conversation stated that “SIU would be willing to permit a colony of Sigma Pi fraternity to be established as a student
organization at SIU.  It is understood that this colony is to take over the present
local, Nu Epsilon Alpha” (I. C. Davis, personal communication, May 5, 1951).
The group was to remain a Sigma Pi colony until the discriminatory clause was
removed from the Sigma Pi constitution, a deadline being set as September 1,
1955 (I. C. Davis, personal communication, May 5, 1951).

Messner wrote Anson Smith, Nu Epsilon Alpha President, and stated that
Sigma Pi had acted favorably upon the chapter’s request to become a colony of
Sigma Pi (C. Messner, personal communication, May 14, 1951). Sigma Pi’s Grand
President, William A. Smith, and Messner were joined by  installation teams
from the University of Illinois and Eastern Illinois State College.  Together they
performed the initiation of Nu Epsilon Alpha pledges, actives, and alumni.

An installation banquet was held at the Roberts Hotel on Saturday evening.  On
Sunday afternoon, Sigma Sigma Sigma hosted an open house in honor the Sigma
Pi chapter.  A week later, on the following Sunday, Pi Kappa Sigma and Delta
Sigma Epsilon had a joint open house at the Delta Sigma Epsilon house in honor
of the new chapter of Sigma Pi (Egyptian, 1951, June 1).  Full chapter status was
not obtained until January 15, 1955. Sigma Pi’s quest for University recognition is
chronicled in Chapter VII.

Sigma Pi was founded in 1897 as the Tau Phi Delta Society at Vincennes
University in Vincennes, Indiana.  Through a series of unique consequences, the
Alpha Chapter at Vincennes University had the distinction of being the only
chapter of a nationally recognized college fraternity on a junior college campus.
The badge is a Greek cross of gold, bearing a raised oval of blue enamel.  An
emerald in its center is between the letters Sigma and Pi (Anson & Marchesani,
1991).  J. Robert Odaniell, a member of the Beta Nu chapter, served as Sigma Pi’s
National President.

In 1953, the chapter also had the distinction of being the first fraternity to be
permitted to host an off-campus event.  Davis allowed the group to host its
annual Orchid Ball at a hotel in Herrin (I. C. Davis, personal communication,
February 3, 1953).  President Morris noted this in his remarks at the Sigma Pi
Founders’ Day Banquet on February 24, 1953.  The notes for his speech
mentioned “It was the first frat to use off-campus privileges, having its winter
formal dance in the Gold Room of Lymar Hotel, Herrin. Successfully carried out,
no difficulties at all reported by Dean of Men” (D. W. Morris, personal
communication, February, 1953).

Sigma Pi sponsored an annual winter concert festival.  Performers included
Ray Anthony (Obelisk, 1954), the Crew Cuts (Obelisk, 1955), and for two years in
a row, the Four Freshmen (Obelisk, 1956, 1957).  The chapter also planned a
holiday party  for Mount Vernon Orphanage and in 1958, it placed third
scholastically among all Sigma Pi chapters (Obelisk, 1959).

A quilt square of the Roberts Hotel, from a quilt on display at the Carbondale Public Library. Before it was the Roberts Hotel it was the Newell House. Today, the name Newell House is used for the restaurant on the first floor of the building. Roberts Hotel by Judy Moeglin: Built in the 1870's by James M. Campbell, the Newell House was remodeled in 1903 after a fire and renamed the Roberts Hotel after its manager. This building still stands at the S.E. corner of Main and Washington streets across from what was the old Opera House. The building was again remodeled in

A quilt square of the Roberts Hotel, done by Judy Moeglin,  from a quilt on display at the Carbondale Public Library. Before it was the Roberts Hotel it was the Newell House. Today, the name  Newell House is used for the restaurant on the first floor of the building.

From “The History of the Fraternity System at Southern Illinois University 1948-1960,” 1995.

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013   All rights reserved.

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Sorority Women Who Have Won Oscars at the Academy Awards

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The list of sorority women who have won Academy Awards:

Best Picture

Nancy Utley Jacobs, Chi Omega, President of Fox Searchlight, Producers of 2014’s Best Picture 12 Years a Slave and 2015’s Birdman

Best Actress

Kathy Bates, Alpha Delta Pi, Misery

Faye Dunaway, Pi Beta Phi, Network

Jennifer Jones, Kappa Alpha Theta, The Song of Bernadette

Patricia Neal, Pi Beta Phi, Hud

Eva Marie Saint, Delta Gamma, On the Waterfront

Joanne Woodward, Chi Omega, Three Faces of Eve (And she made her own dress for the festivities! https://twitter.com/ChiOArchives/status/305797317385146370/photo/1)

Best Supporting Actress

Eileen Heckart, Pi Beta Phi, Butterflies Are Free

Cloris Leachman, Gamma Phi Beta, The Last Picture Show

Hattie McDaniel, Sigma Gamma Rho, Gone With the Wind

Costume Design

Edith Head, Delta Zeta, The Heiress, Samson and Deliah, All About Eve, A Place in the Sun, Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Facts of Life, and The Sting

 Mary Wills, Kappa Alpha Theta, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Director, Short Action Film

Christine Lahti, Delta Gamma, Lieberman in Love

Make-Up

Tami Lane, Alpha Chi Omega, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Oscar Tidbit – The play on which the Academy Award winning Best Picture Chicago is based was written by Marine Dallas Watkins, a Kappa Alpha Theta. She wrote a three-act play, “A Brave Little Woman,” in 1926 while attending the new Yale School of Drama in 1926. Its name was changed to Chicago when it debuted on Broadway later that year.

Patricia Neal (Courtesy of Northwestern University)

Patricia Neal (seated in the middle of the couch) surrounded by Pi Beta Phis, 1981

This was a tough list to cobble together. If you know of winners who are not on this list, please let me know. I’d love to have a list of the fraternity men who have won Academy Awards; if anyone would like to put one together, I’d be happy to post it.


 

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013.   All rights reserved.

Posted in Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Zeta, Fran Favorite, Gamma Phi Beta, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, Kappa Alpha Theta, National Panhellenic Conference, Notable Fraternity Women, Notable Sorority Women, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Gamma Rho, Sorority History, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Sorority Women Who Have Won Oscars at the Academy Awards

The First Time NPC Met in Denver, Winter 1930

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) usually meets in the fall. However, there have been some exceptions. The 21st NPC meeting took place from February 23-28, 1930 at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado. It is likely most of the delegates traveled to the meeting by train.

Amy Burnham Onken, Pi Beta Phi’s Grand President, served as its delegate. She wrote an Arrow article about the meeting, “To the friendships formed between officers of different fraternities through the personal contacts of National Panhellenic Congress has come much of the mutual understanding and appreciation which mark the relations between present day fraternities. As active chapters gain for the college interfraternity relationships the respect and friendliness which, almost without exception, are so apparent in national relationships, we shall find fewer and more easily solved college Panhellenic problems.”

She also described the social events that took place at the meeting, “For Pi Beta Phis, it is a most pleasing coincidence that the president of the Denver City Panhellenic for this year is Laura Louise Clough White, Ohio Beta (Ohio State) and Colorado A (University of Colorado). Under the direction of Mrs. White and the very efficient committees from the city Panhellenic, a social program of unusual completeness provided many enjoyable contacts. On Monday evening, a ‘Round Up’ gave delegates an opportunity to enjoy a clever program and to visit with local representatives of their own and other fraternities. Tuesday evening found everyone en route to Boulder where they were the guests of the University of Colorado Panhellenic for a delightful buffet supper, served at the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, after which they were free to visit at their own or other fraternity houses. Wednesday evening was left open for an opportunity to meet with one’s own Denver members, while on Thursday afternoon, the Denver University Panhellenic was hostess for a sightseeing drive and for a charming tea at the Shrine Temple. The banquet, which marks the social close of each Congress, was held this year at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and brought together seven hundred fraternity women for the greatest Panhellenic banquet ever held. Since there were a hundred Pi Phis present, it was perhaps a little selfish to regret that for the first time the fraternity roll call was omitted from the banquet program!”

NPC Chairman Irma Tapp, Alpha Delta Pi, served as toastmistress at the banquet. The evening’s speaker was James Grafton Rogers, dean of the Law School of the University of Colorado. According to Onken, he “spoke most interestingly and inspiringly of the place of the college fraternity in campus life. A chorus added much to the enjoyment of the banquet through its singing of fraternity songs.”

© Fran Becque  www.fraternityhistory.com   All rights reserved.

Amy Burnham Onken, Pi Beta Phi’s Grand President and NPC Delegate at the 1930 meeting. She chaired the 1947 NPC meeting.

Posted in Alpha Delta Pi, GLO, Greek-letter Organization, Greek-letter Organization History, National Panhellenic Conference, Pi Beta Phi, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, Women's Fraternity History | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The First Time NPC Met in Denver, Winter 1930