I know that there are high schools sororities here in Tuscaloosa, Ala., as well as in Memphis (Germantown area), Warner Robins, Ga., and other areas around Alabama. It's a pretty big deal.

At my high school we had this organization called Mu Sigma. I guess it was a service/honor fraternity. (No one ever questioned it's official catagorey.) It is co-ed and we had a g.p.a requirement. We qualified to join at the end of our jr year; during our membership as a senior we did a lot of community service and other stuff. There's one catch though; we had to dress up in costumes and parade around the school singing a song that went with that year's theme before we could be a member. The previous class gets to choose the theme for the incoming class. For my year, we had to dress up as Teletubbies and sing one of that show's songs. It was mortifying! Now that I think about it, that's hazing!!!!

Teletubbies...how funny! But yeah, that's a form of hazing, a real no-no.

I noticed you're in NO. So am I!!! PM me sometime.

I notice that the membership info for OES says that if you're a great-granddaughter of a Mason in good standing, you can be in OES. Does this count if my great-grandfather is deceased now? If so, how would I go about joining OES if I so desired?

It does count if your great-grandfather is deceased. You will need to know which Lodge he belonged to (a dues card might be helpful, but I am not sure it is necessary). To join, contact the chapter closest to you. Since your profile says you are in Alabama, you can go to the Alabama OES website (http://members.aol.com/alaoes/) and find the closest chapter and their contact information, if you do not know it already. The Worthy Matron or Secretary would probably be the best people to contact, though any member can help you with the process. First they will have you fill out a membership application known as a petition. Then you will meet with a few members, be voted on, and hopefully intitated.

Hope this helps!

Prior to the new House System at my high school, which started in the late 60s/early 70s, all senior school (Grade 7+) students were assigned to teams consisting of a single Greek letter. I believe there were 6 of them. Like the current House System, the girls would compete in athletics, academics, etc for points.

We had 2 sororities, Thaelis and Delphi, in my high school my sophomore year. After that, all HS sororities were banned, and they just went underground.

I was a Rainbow Girl for 7 years, and I was able to join Eastern Star on my Rainbow affiliation.

There were 2 HS sororities in Jacksonville that I knew of. LSS and IDS. I was a "legacy" to IDS, but both were shut down (parents found out about hazing) before I could join. My senior year there was a movement to restart them. I was asked to be a re-founding member of LSS, but it never got off the ground - not sure if they have now. You could attend any school to belong to these, but I think the majority of the membership came from the predominant private schools in the area.

Quick question... What is a Rainbow Girl? I've never heard of them.

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is an organization for girls between the ages of 11 and 20. At the age of 20, or upon marriage, which ever occurs first, girls who are members in good standing are eligible for Majority Membership. To join, girl must be sponsored by two other girls who are either active members in good standing or a majority member, and at least one adult whom must be a member in good standing of either the Masonic Lodge, Order of the Eastern Star, Order of the Amaranth or the White Shrine.

More information: www.iorg.org

Our service clubs basically held the function in HS that fraternities and sororities held in college. They had jerseys, teas, and hung out with the "brother" service clubs. There was a tea that each upperclassman woman could go to and talk with the girls of each group--and at the end of the night, they had to pick one to join (sound familiar?). There were two "cool" service clubs, and two really dorky ones.

Oh, memories!