Fraternity History & More

With a Little Help From My GLO Friends…

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

“I get by with a little help from my friends,” has been playing in my mind all morning, including the hour I spent in the dentist’s chair. I had nothing for a post in mind. I was toying with using something from one of the instagram accounts I follow, syracusehistory (https://www.instagram.com/syracusehistory/). The last few posts on syracusehistory have been about Harold MacGrath and his home at 1618 James Street.

I wondered if MacGrath was a fraternity man. In searching, I found out his wife, Alma Kenyon MacGrath, was a member of the Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi. In the January 1922 Alpha Phi Quarterly, it was noted that she “says that she and her husband Harold MacGrath (the wk novelist) are not going abroad this year as had been stated by Syracuse newspapers. She is to be at home and will add her bit toward making the fiftieth anniversary of the Fraternity a success.”

But some more searching made me confused. In the marriage section of the 1899 Quarterly, it was noted that Alma J. Kenyon Alpha ex-’94 married Waldo Ballard Tourtellotte, a Cornell man on August 24 at Syracuse NY. A later issue noted, “By an error the address of Alma Kenyon Tourtellotte Alpha ex-’94 was incorrectly given in the November issue Sister Alma lives at 352 W. 117th St., New York.” A search of her gravestone lead to an article stating that she had divorced Tourtellotte and married MacGrath in 1905. MacGrath died in 1932, and in 1936, she married a Syracuse student (and younger man), Augustus Beauchat. (In researching, I found this blog post about the MacGraths and Skaneateles, one of my favorite places, https://kihm6.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/harold-macgrath-at-glen-haven/.) I fell down a giant rabbit hole and I was as confused as when I began. Suffice to say, Alma Kenyon (Tourtellotte) MacGrath Beauchat must have been one colorful woman. Oh, to have afternoon tea with her and hear her life story, wouldn’t that have been fun?

I left that idea where I found it. The loose ends could not be tied up, so I headed to facebook feed for a read of what was happening in my friends’ lives. My Alpha Gamma Delta friend, Nann Blaine Hilyard, whose friendship spans 30+ years, commented on this post:

Lilac Girls

The novel started with Victoria Magazine. I carried this article from the May 1999 Victoria Magazine around with me for months, not knowing it would lead me to write Lilac Girls, a novel about Caro…WWW.MARTHAHALLKELLY.COM

I am intrigued by buildings, too, and the stories they tell. I wanted to learn more about the book Lilac Girls so I went to Martha Hall Kelly’s website. It turns out that she, too, is an Alpha Phi and was initiated into the Alpha Chapter at Syracuse. I hope to listen to the book on one of my upcoming drives and I will keep you posted. Congratulations, Martha Hall Kelly on bringing ten-year’s worth of research to life.

Congratulations are also in order for my friend, Sally Brancheau Belknap, as she takes the helm of the Indianapolis Alumnae Panhellenic. I am certain she will do great things during her presidency.

sally

One of my Hillsdale Pi Phi friends, Susan Bruch, sent me this and I offer congratulations to Beth Walker, West Virginia’s newest Supreme Court justice.

News to share with your Chi Omega archivist friend. The newly elected West Virginia Supreme Court justice is a Hillsdale Chi Omega.

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160510/beth-walker-wins-wv-supreme-court-race-ousts-benjamin

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory.

Posted in Alpha Phi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Chi Omega, Fran Favorite, Syracuse University | Tagged Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Nann Blaine Hilyard, Sally Brancheau Belknap, Syracuse University | Comments Off

Mother’s Day Reflections

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

In case you didn’t know, yesterday was Mother’s Day. My facebook and twitter feeds had picture after picture of mothers and their children. I didn’t post anything on facebook and I know other friends didn’t post anything either. While it was fun seeing all the pictures and wonderful sentiments, it didn’t ease the pain of having a mother who is no longer here. I suspect it is equally hard for those who wished they could be/have been mothers, but haven’t had the opportunity.

On Saturday, I was up at o’dark thirty and hit the road before the sun came up for an eight-hour drive home. When I arrived at about 1:30 p.m., I walked the dogs who were mighty glad to see me. Then I made my way over to the SIU Arena where the Rotary Club of Carbondale-Breakfast was participating in a yard sale put on by the Civil Service Employees Council. It was rained out from the previous weekend. Our club does a similar sale in the fall and I thought it would be good for the club to participate as a vendor in this sale so the members could get a good feel for what the vendors in our sale encounter. I helped tear down the space and get the left-overs into storage for our sale in the fall. Came home and took the dogs for another walk. Then we went to church. Our church has a tradition of giving away a cake at all the Masses for Mother’s and Father’s Day. On our way in, I saw the basket for names and put in the name of Dan Becque, not giving it another thought until it was time to draw the names for the cake for, egads, Mother’s Day. I turned to Dan and whispered that I thought it was for Father’s Day and I put his name in the basket. He laughed and said “What are the chances that the altar server will pick my name out of the basket?” Well, apparently, the chances were pretty good, because the words out of Father Bob’s mouth as he read the name was, “Well this says Dan Becque, but we know it must be Fran Becque.” On the way back to my seat, after picking up the cake and explaining the confusion of me thinking it was for Father’s Day, a friend a few rows ahead of us said, “Fran, you need a vacation.” And indeed I do!

I also suspect that yesterday was a red-letter day for sorority and fraternity house mothers/moms/directors, if this post by the University of Kansas Sigma Nu chapter is any indication. Over the years, I have met many wonderful women who have served in that capacity. In that role, these women can be a positive influence on the men and women who walk through the chapter house doors. At the Pi Phi house at Syracuse University, we had graduate students who served as House Directors, but the cook, “Mrs. A.” was the advice giver and sage of life experience. She would also admonish us if necessary. I still hear her voice in my head every now and then and I can’t help but think about the loving way she treated us all.

Sigma Nu Fraternity Retweeted

‏@KansasSigmaNu

We love our house moms! #HappyMothersDay to Mom Sally and Mom Molly!

sn house moms

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Kappa Kappa Gamma Connections in an “I” State

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

These last few weeks, I’ve been on a tour of “I” states. My recent visit to Iowa, although it has nothing to do with the Monmouth Duo – Pi Beta Phi or Kappa Kappa Gamma – has conjured up a post about the Duo.

Watching a morning news program on Iowa television I watched a segment about one of the station’s longest on-air personalities, Betty Lou Varnum, who was turning 85 that day. She was the host of the “Magic Window.” From 1951-94, the show, a locally produced children’s show, aired on WOI in Des Moines. Of course, I wondered if she was an #amazingsororitywoman. I found the answer in the Fall 1979 issue of The Key of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Betty Lou McVay Varnum, H – Wisconsin, hostesses and produces the nation’s longest-running locally produced children’s show, ‘Magic Window’ on WOI-TV, Des Moines. She also produces a weekly public affairs show, ‘Dimension Five,’ as well as occasional specials. The puppets who share the screen with her are very real to Betty Lou and, in turn, she is. often recognized by Iowa State students as she crosses campus to the television studio.

I hope she had a wonderful birthday celebration!

Yesterday, the picture below appeared on my facebook feed accompanied by this message:

Dr. Becque, we’ve arrived! My only disappointment is the omission of my answer to the question of greatest professional achievement…”being quoted in Fran Becque’s blog.” 😊

Of course it made me laugh out loud. Kylie Smith, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Archivist, is a friend and kindred spirit. In addition to her Kappa duties, she is on the Ohio State Chapter delegation of P.E.O. and will serve as the State Chapter’s President during P.E.O.’s Sesquicentennial celebration. A few months ago she asked me if I would participate in this monthly column in Kappa’s magazine. It sounded like fun and it was! Thanks, Kylie and Kappa Kappa Gamma for asking me.

Kylie Smith’s photo of our archivist’s face-off.

The page in the Spring 2016 issue of the Key is located at http://digital.watkinsprinting.com/publication/?i=299860#{“issue_id”:299860,”page”:50}. It is a wonderful issue. There is an article on Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, a member of the Kappa chapter at Cornell University.

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Jane Tunstall Lingo #notablesororitywomen

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Sometimes a picture leads to a post. Yesterday, in doing research on Harry S. Truman, I came across this wonderful photo of Jane Lingo, Margaret Truman, President and Mrs. Truman. The first name I recognized immediately.

Jane Lingo, Margaret Truman, President and Mrs. Truman. (Harry S. Truman Library & Museum.)

Jane Tunstall Lingo was a Pi Phi legacy. Her mother, Marie Tunstall Lingo, was a 1908 initiate of the D.C. Alpha Chapter at George Washington University. Jane and her friend Margaret Truman became members of the same chapter on February 6, 1943.

Jane Lingo as a GWU student

It was during World War II and their initiation was held in the “chapter apartment, more easily reached than a member’s home where it usually takes place. After the ceremony. the new initiates were feted with a dinner at the home of Mary Ring,” according to a report in the May 1943 Arrow of Pi Beta Phi. Due to food rationing, “it was decided to abandon the custom of having dinner in the rooms on Monday nights. So as not to lose this opportunity for all the girls to get together, it was agreed that everyone should come up for tea every Monday between the hours of four and six.”

On January 31, 1944, Margaret Truman, then the daughter of Senator Harry Truman of Missouri, christened the United States Ship Missouri at the New York Navy Yard on January 31. Her Maids of honor during the festivities included D.C. Alphas Jane Lingo,
daughter of Commander and Mrs. B. H. Lingo, and Edith “Drucie” Snyder, daughter of the Secretary of the Treasury, John Wesley Snyder.

On July 9, 1945, Pi Beta Phi’s, Margaret Truman, was the guest of honor at a picnic hosted by the Kansas City Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi. She was accompanied by her house guest, who was also described in other publications as her “best friend,” Jane Lingo. Approximately 175 alumnae and collegiate members “spent the afternoon swimming, boating, and playing bridge. A buffet supper was served on the lawn.”

In the summer of 1946, with First Daughter Margaret Truman unable to attend, Drucie Snyder was chosen queen of the President’s Regatta. Jane Lingo was in her court, according to a report in The Arrow.

On February 23, 2007, Jane Lingo died. She spent more than 50 years working for her alma mater and, at her death, was its longest serving staff member. In an interview in a GWU publication, she described how she returned to GWU as an employee, “In 1956, I was back on campus taking some classes when I ran into an acquaintance who worked at GW. She told me the University was looking for a staff writer, and the rest is history.”

Her obituary in the February 28, 2007 Washington Times gives a glimpse into her life:

She earned a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature from GW in 1946 with close friend Margaret Truman.

She spent the next decade traveling and performing volunteer service before returning to GW in 1956 as a staff writer in the Office of University Relations.

She then served as assistant director of university relations from 1964 until her death.

During her years at GW, Miss Lingo earned membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and joined Mortar Board, Pi Beta Phi sorority, the GW Hospital Women’s Board, the Faculty Women’s Club and Columbian Women, which is the school’s oldest scholarship support group.

Miss Lingo was one of the first women invited to join the National Press Club in 1971.

A former president of the American News Women’s Club from 1990 to 1992, Miss Lingo was friends with journalist Helen Thomas. The two became acquainted in the 1940s when Miss Lingo attended events at the White House during the Truman administration.

Posted in Fran Favorite, George Washington University, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged George Washington University, Harry Truman, Jane Lingo, Margaret Truman, Pi Beta Phi | Comments Off

Life is Precious, Sharing Grief in the GLO World

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

When I was at Monmouth College last week, I happened upon the most recent issue of the College’s alumni magazine. As I quickly turned the pages, a name popped out at me. In the list of newly deceased members was the name of Cynthia Lust, an alumna and member of the Pi Beta Phi chapter in the late 1970s. The name hit me. We had met only once in my life, but it was an important meeting for me and what I do today. In 1991, after the Pi Beta Phi Convention in St. Louis, she had resigned her volunteer position as Lambda Collegiate Province President. Shortly after that, I received a call asking if I would serve the year left in her term. So a few weeks later, on a Saturday, Dan, the kids, and I drove up to Champaign, a three-hour drive on the flattest land we’d ever seen. I think it was a rainy day. He dropped me off at Cynthia’s apartment and then took the kids somewhere, perhaps a movie. During the next few hours, she trained me in what was required of the job. When Dan arrived back, he wrangled the small filing cabinet and its contents down to the mini-van. I likely sent her a note thanking her for the time together. And our paths never crossed again, yet I was so sorry to read of her passing from ALS at such a young age.

carnations

Later, as a few of us were sitting in the kitchen of Holt House, Pi Phi’s founding home, one of the HQ staffers who was at the dedication, was reading e-mails. She told us that a Georgia Alpha member had been killed in a car crash and that there were other sororities affected, too. Brittany Feldman was the Pi Phi who was killed. The Tri Delta chapter lost Halle Scott and Alpha Chi Omega lost Kayla Canedo and Christina Semeria. How sad for the entire University of Georgia community. My heart breaks for their family and friends. Agnes Kim remains in critical condition and healing thoughts are sent to Athens.

Yesterday, a message from a long-time friend told of her diagnosis of cancer. Not wanting to announce it to the world on facebook, she nonetheless wanted to tell us about it. It was as if someone punched me in the stomach. I hurt for her.

Life is precious. It is a fact I know all too well. I started writing this blog to help me through my sister’s death (http://wp.me/p20I1i-1j4). The only things that really matters in this life are the people who touch our lives and give it meaning. Things don’t matter. Status doesn’t matter. The ones we love and who love us in return are the only things that matter. Zadie Smith’s quote “Time is how you spend your love,” keeps running through my mind. My prayers to those who are hurting.

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Happy 168 Years, Phi Gamma Delta!

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Phi Gamma Delta was founded on May 1, 1848. The “Immortal Six” – John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott, Daniel Webster Crofts, Ellis Bailey Gregg and Naaman Fletcher – were students at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, when they founded the fraternity. The fraternity’s Beta chapter was established the same year at Washington College in Washington, Pennsylvania. In 1865, the chapters became one when the colleges merged to form Washington and Jefferson College.

If you regularly read this blog, you likely know that Grace Goodhue Coolidge is one of my very favorite First Ladies, for a whole host of reasons. She was a charter member of the Pi Beta Phi chapter at the University of Vermont. She had the good sense to marry a Phi Gamma Delta from Amherst College. According to reports, Grace’s mother was, at first, opposed to the marriage. In his autobiography, the President said of their marriage, “We thought we were made for each other. For almost a quarter of a century she has borne with my infirmities, and I have rejoiced in her graces.”

Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge won the Vice Presidential spot on the Republican ticket in the summer of 1920. At the time of the nomination, the Coolidges were in Amherst attending his 25th college reunion and the 99th anniversary of the college. A reception at the Phi Gam chapter house was arranged with his wife helping the chapter plan the event on short notice. More than 1,500 people attended.

The Coolidge family – Calvin, Jr., Calvin, Grace, and John shortly before Calvin, Jr.’s death. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On August 2, 1923, Calvin Coolidge became President after the death of Warren G. Harding. The Coolidges were planning to attend Phi Gamma Delta’s 75th anniversary celebration in Pittsburgh in September 1923, but the plans had to be cancelled. Later, a founders badge was presented to the President. At the presentation, he said, “I am very glad to have this badge. My wife wears mine most of the time.”

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."

This full size portrait of President Coolidge was painted by Ercole Cartotto. Although it is now at Phi Gamma Delta’s Headquarters, it was originally commissioned by the Xi Graduate Chapter for the Phi Gamma Delta Club in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Phi Gamma Delta)

On November 17, 1924, John, the Coolidges’ eldest and only living son, became a member of his father’s Phi Gamma Delta chapter at Amherst College. On Founders’ Day, May 1, 1925, FIJI Sires and Sons was organized. Its purpose is to “impress upon all fathers and sons, who are members of the fraternity, and in time upon their sons, a realization of the noble trinity of principles of the fraternity, with the hope that they may outrun the fervor of youth.” President Coolidge, Sire No. 1, signed the preamble of the organization.

President Coolidge throwing out the first pitch while his wife looks on.

Posted in Amherst College, Fran Favorite, Phi Gamma Delta, Washington and Jefferson College | Tagged Calvin Coolidge, Grace Coolidge, Phi Gamma Delta, Sires and Sons | Comments Off

On Theta Phi Alpha’s Founders’ Day

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

Theta Phi Alpha’s roots can be traced to the 1909 establishment of a local organization, Omega Upsilon, at the University of Michigan. Father Edward D. Kelly, a Catholic priest and the pastor of the student chapel at Michigan, felt that there should be an organization that could provide the Catholic women at Michigan with an environment that “resembled the Catholic homes from which they came.” This was in a time and place when Catholics were not always welcome in the other fraternal organizations on campus. I find it fitting that an organization founded by a Catholic Bishop for Catholic women began at a state institution that was co-founded by a Catholic priest, Father Gabriel Richard.

By 1912, after Father Kelly left campus and became the Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, Omega Upsilon was struggling, likely because there were no alumnae to guide the organization. Even without him being in Ann Arbor, Bishop Kelly’s vision that the Catholic women at Michigan should have a place to call their own was still alive. He enlisted the assistance of Amelia McSweeney, a 1898 University of Michigan alumna. Together with seven Omega Upsilon alumnae, plans were made to establish a new organization. Theta Phi Alpha was founded on August 30, 1912 at the University of Michigan. The ten founders were seven Omega Upsilon alumnae, two Omega Upsilon undergraduates and McSwenney.

Today, just as other organizations have accepted Catholic women, Theta Phi Alpha is open to women from all religious backgrounds. Since most colleges and universities are not in session on August 30, Founders’ Day is celebrated on April 30, the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena.* Her motto, “Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring,” is also the motto of Theta Phi Alpha.

The Theta Phi Alpha Founders

Hill Auditorium, now a fixture on the University of Michigan campus, was just being built in 1912. Fielding Yost was the football coach and he led the team to a 14-0 win over Ohio State University. More than 10,000 football fans attended that game.

According to a 1912 University of Michigan catalog, all Catholic students were “expected to become members of the Students’ Catholic Club, which meets twice a month in St. Thomas Parish Hall. The society is under the personal supervision of the pastor of St. Thomas Church. Its object is both social and religious. A fund is being collected with which to erect a Catholic Club building.”

In 1912, women were also under strict rules as to where they could live and what they could do. They could not live in the same rooming houses as men and their housing choices were to be approved by Myra B. Jordan, Dean of Women. A matriculation fee of $10 for legal Michigan residents and $25 for all others was required before a student could enter the University. An outdoor physical education fee of $5 was assessed to each student on a yearly basis. Locker rentals were $2 per year and the graduation fee was $10.

Theta Phi Alpha remained a local organization until 1919 when the Beta Chapter was formed at the University of Illinois. In addition, chapters at Ohio State University, Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati were chartered that year.

In 1921, Pi Lambda Sigma was founded as a Catholic sorority at Boston University. On June 28, 1952, Pi Lambda Sigma merged with Theta Phi Alpha. Its members at Boston University and the University of Cincinnati became members of the Theta Phi Alpha chapters on the two campuses. The chapter at Creighton University became the Chi Chapter of Theta Phi Alpha in the fall of 1952 and the Quincy College chapter became the Psi Chapter of Theta Phi Alpha in 1954.

I first heard of Theta Phi Alpha when on a Homecoming weekend in the late 1970s, I was sitting on the porch of the Pi Phi house at Syracuse University. Several alumnae stopped by to chat. With them was a Theta Phi Alpha who said that the chapter had closed and her house was no longer standing. Indeed, the Lambda Chapter of Theta Phi Alpha, installed in 1923, closed in 1968. The chapter assets were turned over to the Catholic Newman Center. The Alibrandi Center is located upon the site of the former Theta Phi Alpha house. There is a plaque inside the center thanking the Theta Phi Alphas for their generosity.

Theta Phi Alpha’s Silver Jubilee convention was held in Ann Arbor in 1937 and its Centennial Convention took place there in July 2012. Happy Founders’ Day, Theta Phi Alpha!

*Saint Catherine of Siena was canonized in 1461. From 1597 until 1628, the feast of Saint Catherine of Siena was celebrated on April 29, the date she died. In 1628, due to a conflict with the feast of Saint Peter of Verona, hers was moved to April 30. In 1969, it was changed back to April 29.

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In Monmouth, Important Events Galore!

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

It should come as no surprise that many of these posts are written a hour or so before they are posted, with a cup of coffee at my side.

My current favorite mug with the serious design flaw. The arrows are only visible if I drink my coffee with my left hand. Target, please take note.

This morning, I needed more coffee than usual. On Wednesday, my daughter and I took a road trip. After I picked her up we headed north to Monmouth, Illinois. It’s a five-hour drive, about a third of it on two-lane roads. (The thrill of being in a long line of cars in back of a farm implement going 25 miles an hour is one that I’d never experienced until moving to Illinois.)

We made it to Monmouth, checked into its finest hotel, the Americinn, and changed into our “whites.” I am not giving away state secrets by mentioning that Pi Phi initiates and attendees at initiation wear white. We made it to Holt House, Pi Beta Phi’s founding home, where two young women were becoming alumnae initiates of the Illinois Alpha Chapter. Their grandmother had been initiated into the same chapter in 1932. Their great-great-grandmother was the chapter’s 44th initiate, and served as an officer in the early years of the fraternity. Their mother is a member of the University of Arkansas chapter. Needless to say, it was a joyous event.

After the beautiful initiation ceremony, the newest members of the chapter were treated to a Cookie Shine, a tradition that began six years after the founding of the fraternity.

Arrow shaped cookies baked by the wonderfully talented Amanda Pilger, Alumnae Advisory Committee Chairman left

Arrow shaped cookies for the Cookie Shine.

The next morning a wonderful event took place. The new home of Illinois Alpha was dedicated.

The house on the left is the college owned home that the chapter used for five or six years. The house on the right is the house which was dedicated on Founders' Day.

The house on the left is the college-owned home that the chapter used for several years. The house on the right is the house which was dedicated on Founders’ Day.

I insisted on parking in the Holt House lot and walking across campus to the new chapter house. I wanted to give my daughter a glimpse of the streets where the Pi Phi founders walked. We went through the Huff Athletic Center where the facade of the old gymnasium is incorporated into the design of the center. It’s one of my favorite places on campus. I pointed out the football field on which her brothers played in the Turkey Bowl where the prize was the coveted Bronze Turkey; it is one of the oldest collegiate rivalries in the country, Monmouth College versus Knox College.

As a crowd gathered in the parking lot of the house, there was much hugging as old friends greeted each other. I spied a Kappa Kappa Gamma (she’s also a P.E.O.) in the mix.

Gail Owen, Monmouth College Trustee and Kappa Kappa Gamma Council member, on the left.

The new home was a gift to the college from the Knapheide family to honor their mother, Mary MacDill Knapheide. Her son and daughter gave a wonderful gift to the College in her memory.

I am certain Mrs. Knapheide would be proud of their generosity and devotion. The house is exquisite on the inside and outside. It sits on the corner across from the Fraternity Complex and Stewart House, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s founding home. It is an impressive anchor on the northeast side of the campus.

The dedication and ribbon cutting were joyous events, too. The rain had moved through the night before and all took place according to plan. The Pi Phis in the crowd sang two rounds of Ring Ching, Ching despite not being at tables with available water glasses and coffee cups. Two spoons hit together produced an acceptable sound.

The display in the Ring Ching room. Astute Pi Phis will note the two Past Grand Presidents on the screen in the middle. That the image was there when the picture was taken happened quite randomly as that is a computer screen generating changing images.

This is the historical display in the Ring Ching room. Astute Pi Phis will note the two Past Grand Presidents on the screen in the middle. That the image was there when the picture was taken happened quite randomly as that is a computer screen generating changing images. There is also a picture honoring the Monmouth Duo with the two then-Presidents in attendance. (Photo courtesy of Monmouth College)

I had a hand in helping with the historical displays and it was terrific to finally meet the project manager for the displays, Sara Deuel of Dimensional Innovations. She is an Alpha Sigma Tau. The graphic designer for the project is a Chi Omega, but she was unable to attend.

Sara Deuel and I finally had the chance to meet. (Photo courtesy of Monmouth College)

After touring the house and oohing and aahing over all the delightful touches, I made my way back to Holt House. As I walked towards Broadway, the Alpha Tau Omega flag greeted me. The names of the ATO founders, Glazebook, Marshall, and Ross, flashed into my mind. Perhaps it was a nod to the twelve young women who founded Pi Beta Phi 149 years ago to the day.

In addition to April 28 being the start of the countdown to 150 years of Pi Beta Phi, it also happened to mark the 75th anniversary of Holt House opening its doors to the Monmouth community.

Mary MacDill Knapheide visited Holt House shortly after it opened as a memorial to Pi Beta Phi’s founders.

The afternoon’s events included a dedication of a painting of Pi Phi’s founders which will hang at Holt House. Committee member Lisa Lahman Carmin, Indiana Gamma, coordinated the project with a Bloomington, Indiana, artist, Carole Diane Heslin.

Four members of the Holt House Committee along with the painting of Pi Beta Phis 12 founders.

It was a Pi Phi Founders’ Day spent in the home where Pi Beta Phi was founded 149 years ago, when the world was a different place. The women of 1867 could not fathom the world in which the women of 2016 live. But the one constant, the sisterhood which they shared, is the same sisterhood which has touched the lives of more than 300,000 women in those 149 years. I find it all so amazing. On to 150, Pi Phi sisters!

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory.

Posted in Alpha Tau Omega, Fran Favorite, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Knox College, Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Knox College, Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi | Comments Off

And Hearts That Are Bound by the Wine and Silver Blue!

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

When I accidentally became a member of the New York Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi, I had no idea where Monmouth, Illinois, was located. It was there in Monmouth on April 28, 1867 that the organization was founded. As one born and bred on Long Island, I had a New Yorker’s view of the world and anything to the west of the Hudson River was just an empty space until California and the other ocean came into sight. I would have been hard pressed to locate the state of Illinois on a map, let alone figuring out where Monmouth was situated.

As life sometimes happens, I have been a resident of the state of Illinois longer than any other place I’ve lived. I have been to Monmouth many times and I have been in that house where Pi Phi was founded 149 years ago. I have walked up the staircase, holding on to the same banister that the Founders did. I have stood in that very room and wished I could transport myself to that Sunday afternoon in a different time and place. Those young women, most of them teenagers, created an organization that has grown and changed and yet at its core offers today’s members the same values and benefits. I am but one very tiny, tiny little link in one very longggggggg chain of sisterhood.

I love this wonderful wine carnation made by Lake Angel Glass, Past Pi Beta Phi Grand Council member Karen Price!

Today, I am in Monmouth celebrating the 75th anniversary of the opening of Holt House to the public. After falling into disrepair, it became uninhabitable and was auctioned off for delinquent taxes. It was purchased by a Pi Phi father and turned over to the fraternity. Some who had seen the property thought it needed to be razed. After consultations with structural engineers and architects, the building was found sound and renovation began.

While at Holt House, I like to read the old guest books. I came across the name Marilyn Simpson in one. It’s the same Marilyn Simpson who married Bill Ford and edited The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi for many years. Marilyn had not yet become a member of the Nebraska Beta Chapter at the University of Nebraska, her mother’s chapter. That would happen in 1943.

2015-03-16 11.19.15

I will likely write more about today’s events, but before I sign off I wish my Pi Phi sisters a very Happy Founders’ Day! Thank you, Jennie H., Jennie N., Fannie T., Fannie W., Ada, Inez, Magaret, Clara, Rosa, Emma, Nancy, and Libbie!

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory.

Posted in Fran Favorite, Monmouth College, Pi Beta Phi | Tagged Pi Beta Phi | Comments Off

A Busy Weekend for GLO Members

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Fran Becque, Ph.D.

This past weekend was a busy one in the GLO world. Founders’ Day celebrations, International Reunion Day festivities for my Alpha Gamma Delta friends, philanthropies galore, Awards celebrations and a few Spring Formals, too.

I spent Saturday morning at a Rotary District Assembly. There, I listened to two presentations on recruitment and retention. Yes, civic organizations discuss the same topics that GLOs discuss. The pesky truth is that every membership organization needs to keep one eye constantly on those important issues. And none of what I heard on Saturday morning was news to me. It was the same message I heard decades ago as a new member of a women’s fraternity preparing for my first recruitment on the other side, from the recruitee (rushee) to the recruiter (rusher). “Life is just one big recruitment party” is a theme that was going through my head as I sat through the presentations on Saturday. Did I mention that I have 10 meetings left in my term as Rotary Club President, but who’s counting?

When I left the Rotary event early, it was to get to the Relay for Life accounting table. From my twitter feed, it appeared that there were several others going on around the country and that GLOs were participating in those, too. Our Relay is in its 23rd year and it is one of the oldest in the region. I recall our first Relay which was held in McAndrew Stadium. The stadium was named for William McAndrew, a Phi Kappa Psi from the University of Chicago chapter, who was a much loved coach here in Carbondale. The stadium was torn down in 2011, but it hosted several early Relays. Over the years, the accounting procedures have changed, a shift from real money to on-line contributions has taken place, but our accounting facilities are almost always locker rooms. Saturday’s accommodations were in the coaches’ locker rooms at the new Lew Hartzog Track and Field complex. The fraternity and sororities at SIUC made up the majority of the teams and brought in the most money. On a campus where the membership of GLOs has never exceeded 10 percent of the student body, I find this impressive. One of the groups which has participated in the event from its early years is the Sister to Sister team, comprised of alumnae from the four National PanHellenic Council sororities, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Zeta Phi Beta.

The SIUC Alpha Gamma Delta chapter

The SIUC Delta Phi Epsilon chapter

The best part of my accounting duties was getting to catch up with my 93-year-old friend who roped me into doing the accounting duties decades ago. She is a cancer survivor who still teaches dance to youngsters and adults. She is an amazing woman and I want to be just like her when I grow up. She and Eleanor Roosevelt shared a birthday and a connection was made when her father, a florist, delivered a bouquet to the First Lady as she was travelling through a Kansas town. Mrs. Roosevelt thanked him for the bouquet and mentioned that it was extra special as it was her birthday. He remarked that it was his daughter’s birthday, too. From that exchange a series of letters were exchanged between the two who shared a birthday. There’s a story in there, and I just need to convince her of it.

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory.

Posted in Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon, Delta Zeta, Fran Favorite, Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Tagged Relay for Life, SIUC, Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Comments Off

Fraternity History & More

With a Little Help From My GLO Friends…

Mother’s Day Reflections

Kappa Kappa Gamma Connections in an “I” State

Jane Tunstall Lingo #notablesororitywomen

Life is Precious, Sharing Grief in the GLO World

Happy 168 Years, Phi Gamma Delta!

On Theta Phi Alpha’s Founders’ Day

In Monmouth, Important Events Galore!

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. 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.

And Hearts That Are Bound by the Wine and Silver Blue!

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. 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.

A Busy Weekend for GLO Members

© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. 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.

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© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. 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.

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© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. 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.

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© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. 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.

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Welcome!

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Posts about #NotableSororityWomen