Tag Archives: Pi Beta Phi

100 Years Ago at the White House – Grace Coolidge Entertains Her Pi Beta Phi Sisters

On April 11, 1924, one of the most unique events took place at the White House. It did not involve the President, a Phi Gamma Delta from Amherst College, and he was not a part of the festivities. It was … Continue reading

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Charlotte Herman Kerr, M.D., Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2024

Charlotte Herman Kerr, M.D., was born on May 25, 1920, in Champaign, Illinois. Her father worked for printing service at the University of Illinois. That may have entered into her college choice. At Illinois, she became a member of Pi … Continue reading

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8/3/1923 – Calvin and Grace Coolidge Become President and First Lady

On August 3, 1923, Americans were waking to the news that Warren Harding had died suddenly, late in the evening on August 2, after he became ill in a San Francisco hotel. The Vice-President, Calvin Coolidge, and his wife Grace, … Continue reading

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Virginia Hunt, Ph.D., Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2023

Virginia “Ginny” Hunt, Ph.D., grew up in Tipton, Iowa. As a young girl in the 1940s, she loved sports and was a good athlete, but women of that era did not have many opportunities to play organized sports. Some thought … Continue reading

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The Importance of Indiana in Sorority History

On December 11, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state. Today Indiana is home to many GLO headquarters, but its importance in the history of women’s fraternities happened about a century and a half ago. Between 1867 when Pi Beta Phi … Continue reading

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Was Mrs. Parker (of Pen Fame) a Pi Beta Phi?

During my first forays to the Pi Beta Phi chapter house, I heard that Parker pens have arrows because Mrs. Parker was a Pi Phi. And I believed it until I became the Fraternity’s historian. But my friend Penny Proctor, … Continue reading

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OTD – A Phi Gam and His Pi Phi Wife Become President and First Lady

On August 3, 1923, Americans were waking to the news that Warren Harding had died suddenly, late in the evening on August 2, after he became ill in a San Francisco hotel. The Vice-President, Calvin Coolidge, and his wife Grace, … Continue reading

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Two Planes Over the Grand Canyon in the Summer of 1956

Pi Beta Phi’s 40th Biennial Convention at the Huntington Sheraton Hotel in Pasadena, California, was the largest one to that date; it took place from June 24-30, 1956. The final banquet was held on Friday evening. Afterwards, many attendees began preparing … Continue reading

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Happy Founders’ Day, Pi Beta Phi!

Pi Beta Phi was founded on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois by 12 female students. The chapter, along with all its counterparts, was forced to close in the late 1870s because of anti-fraternity sentiments. Luckily, extension … Continue reading

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Carole Ashkinaze, Pi Beta Phi, #NotableSororityWomen, #WHM2022

Carole Ashkinaze was raised in Malverne, New York on Long Island. It was said she wanted to be a journalist from the time she was in grade school and worked on a camp newsletter. Like many Long Islanders, she went … Continue reading

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