New trivia question
 

Well, no one seemed interested in my 'first KD prez of NPC' question, so I'm moving along. (I'll talk to myself if I have to! :p )

From the history books:

Very early in Kappa Delta's history the "Grand Chapter" (as it was called) appointed one member from each existing chapter to give input on ritual elements that their respective chapters wanted to see included.

What note-worthy Kappa Delta was one of those appointed and from what chapter did she hail?

lol... I got so intrigued by SigKapAngel's CHI info that I completely missed your question!

Give me a little bit of time, and I'll get back to you on that!

There'll be no talking to oneself in the trivia thread! :D

I loooove reading the answers, but I have no idea what they are myself. So you can ask and then I'll say "ooo tell me, tell me please!" and then you can answer yourself if someone else doesn't beat you to it. :p

Leslie,

I am always amazed at the questions you put up...are all of these coming from "Ordinary Miracles"?

Ditto.

I've looked as much as I have time to for the answer to the "first KD NPC president" question. I'm afraid I'm going to have to bow out here. I hope someone (other than Leslie!) can provide the answer.

Now, onto the search for the answer to the Grand Chapter question...

For the first KD president of NPC, for some reason, I want to say Minnie Mae Prescott. I don't know why though. And, I have NO CLUE about the Grand Chapter question. :)

Pardon the Interruption...
 

Can I play since it's an NPC question? (History nerd, here!)

Kappa Delta's first member to serve as Chairman of NPC was Gladys Pugh Redd 1935-1937?

How you guys know all these answers?!

Calling Leslie!! We need the answer!!

Is it Minnie Mae Prescott or Gladys Pugh Redd???

(And has anyone made any progress with the Grand Chapter question?)

Grand Chapter's famous member was Georgia O'Keefe from Beta chapter.

I'm sure Nut was right since mine was just a guess :)

Awww, well -- Minnie Mae Prescott was a love, but the other woman pre-dates her. :)

eta: Gladys Pugh Redd, NPC Chairman 1935-37, Minnie Mae Prescott 1981-83

Wow, sorry for being away so long!

Nut is correct. It was Gladys Pugh Redd.

Thanks for joining in, Nut! I love when other NPCers drop in to participate! :)


Ta Kala got the other question correct. Georgia O'Keefe was appointed to bring ritual suggestions from Beta chapter to the Grand Chapter. This was in 1905. Good going, Ta Kala! :)


My questions don't generally come from Ordinary Miracles. I'm fortunate to have a copy of The History of Kappa Delta Sorority 1897-1972 as well as a 1901 State Female Normal School yearbook. The histories are really hard to find because they were only printed for chapters not individuals. I search ebay and abebooks constantly. About a month ago there was a history on ebay but it was only volume 1 and the seller was asking $400 for it! :eek: Otherwise, I would have posted it here.

So....how about an easy question?

Which came first; the current pledge pin or the second degree pin?

Ooooo I think I know!

The Second Degree pin was adopted during the first decade, so 1907 or prior.

The First Degree pledge pin was approved in 1916.

Does this mean I ask a question?

Bingo, Katmandu!

You can ask a question whenever you'd like. Please, post away! :)

Hmmmmm. My resources are limited, but fun......:)

Two questions, because one may have already been asked (I have looked at all the thread, but not in the past few days and may have missed one of these).


Who wrote the Kappa Delta Creed and what chapter was she from?

When was the Kappa Delta Pledge Manual first published?

Good questions, Katmandu. :)

I think Sydney and Daffy already answered the one about the Creed. As for the first KD pledge manual, I don't know. :confused:

Anyone??

Hope everyone had a wonderful Founder's Day! :)

I suspected one of the questions had been answered, but couldn't seem to find it, so put in two. Yes, the creed was written by Charlotte Long, Omega Xi, Cincinnati and adopted in 1917 at the 13th Convention in Birmingham.

Pledge Manual published, anyone?

The Kappa Delta Pledge Manual was compiled in 1935 by Pauline Reynolds.

Yes! 1935 is correct.

I just got a copy of the 1947 Pledge Manual, and it is wonderful. It is the size of an Angelos, and has some great information and "atmosphere", in addition to the typical information you would expect from a pledge manual. There are photos of NPC member and pledge pins (several of which no longer exist or were absorbed into other GLOs) a great KD history section and an extensive Gracious Living section that tells (among other things) how to order dinner in a fine restaurant while on a date, proper behavior at an opera, and how much to tip Red Caps (10 cents per bag). I believe the 1947 edition is the third edition---1935, 1943 and 1947. (at least those are the editions listed)

I would love to get a copy of the 1935 edition.

Going off of Kappa Delta books - Who wrote the first COHB and when?

It looks like you've stumped us again, ta kala!

I keep waiting for some of the KD history buffs to give us an answer, but either they aren't reading or no one knows!

I'm certainly stumped!

I don't even know where to begin looking for something like that. Any hints for us? It's a great question.

I can only find reference to a revised edition of the Chapter Officers' Handbook 1942--

Soooo I would say sometime after the establishment of the Central office in 1925, and prior to the revision in '42.

Since the Pledge Manual was published in 1935, and the Province President's Handbook in '36, I am going to guess around then, mid 30's.

I didn't mean for it to be a stumper! As for a hint, I found the question in a document that is on the 24/7 and since that covers a ton of documents, more specifically in one of the appointed officer's folders.

I'll see if someone can find it now!

Thanks for the tip, ta kala!

Sara Blue prepared the first COHB in 1921.

Correct! Did you find it in the history jeopardy? I love that thing! Your turn!

Yes, ta kala, I found it in the history jeopardy. I had never looked at that before - thanks for pointing us to it!!!

I'm drawing a blank on another question right now (and since everyone is probably looking through the history, I don't want to get something from there... yet ;) ). If anyone else has a question, feel free to put it out there!

I have a question, but it's a real question.... I don't know the answer and I am hoping someone will. It probably sounds stupid, but I always thought that our chapters were named down the greek alphabet by order of founding; i.e. Old chapters being single letter chapters, etc. Alpha, Beta....; then Alpha Alpha...

But aparently that's not correct. University of Cincinnati, Omega Xi, was founded in 1913, fairly early to have Omega Xi as a chapter designation.

Also, I recently found out that the first northern Chapter, located at Northwestern, was named Lambda chapter in honor of SAE leader, William Levere, who was instrumental in Northwestern's colonization. Also, that Florida State's chapter was named Kappa Alpha chapter in honor of The KA Society which helped in the establishment of the chapter at FSU.

So, what I was told lo these many years ago is not true, or at least not true all the time, so I am stumped. Ta Kala, SydneyK, Leslie Anne, and all of you fellow KD history buffs, help me out! Are our chapters in greek letter order with a few exceptions, or is there no order?

The first 3 chapters were done alphabetically (in Greek, of course) then there was a pretty long period of time when chapters got their names from the local sororities that had petitioned Kappa Delta for a charter. There are also those that were named for people and other groups, like you mentioned.

It wasn't until 1924 that KD started naming the chapters strictly alphabetically. This began with Alpha Alpha chapter at Michigan State (our 60th chapter) and went from there.

I'll post particulars in a bit for those interested.

(Great question, by the way!) :)

Chapter naming details (what I know of it)
 

So for those who are interested, I'll post some details of the early names.

(I have a complete list of all chapters chartered by Kappa Delta, their locations, and their years, but for some reason it was considered unwise to post it on GC, so I won't post it but rather just lay out the basics that I know. I definitely don't have the whole story though, as you'll see.)

Alpha, Beta and Gamma are clearly alphabetical. Then came:

Sigma (1902) - I have no idea why -- wild guess would be because it was installed by Susie Scott, National Treasurer at the time.

Theta (1903) - Again, no idea why.

Epsilon Prime (1903) - Possibly an attempt to get back to an alphabetical naming system? Also possibly named for it's location at Elizabeth College. Regardless, this chapter only existed for one year, sub rosa, before Kappa Delta determined that sub rosa chapters were not a good idea. (Not to be confused with Epsilon chapter at LSU chartered 6 years later.)



Starting in late 1903, a lot of chapters were named for the local sororities that petitioned Kappa Delta for a charter. This was the norm back then (for a local to select one particular national sorority with which they wanted to affiliate.)

Phi Psi (1903) - The local sorority was named Mu Phi Psi.

Zeta (1904) - Perhaps an attempt to return to alphabetic naming after Epsilon Prime?

Phi Delta (1904) - The local sorority's name.

Kappa Alpha (1904) - Named in honor of KA fraternity.

Rho Omega Phi (1904) - The local sorority was named R. O. F. Society.

Delta (1905) - Wild guess would be because a KD from Phi Delta chapter assisted in getting the group together to petition KD, then participated in the installation.

Iota (1907) - no clue

Lambda (1907) - Named in honor of William C. Levere of SAE for his assistance in Kappa Delta's expansion in the North.

Omicron (1908) - no clue

Sigma Sigma (1908) - The local sorority's name.

Epsilon (1909) - no clue

Epsilon Omega (1910) - The local sorority, originally named Black Cats, changed their name to Epsilon Omega Delta.

Alpha Gamma (1911) - The local sorority's name.

Sigma Delta (1912) - The local sorority's name.

Kappa (1913) - My only guess is because the local was named Kappa Lambda.

Omega Xi (1913) - I have no idea, but I'm very curious. Such an unusual name had to come from somewhere. Maybe Kaydee_cutie knows since that's her chapter.

Eta (1913) - Either from the name of the local, Eta Pi, or the location, Hunter College.

Chi (1914) - no clue

Rho (1914) - The local sorority was named Sigma Rho.

Mu (1914) - The local sorority was named Kappa Mu.

Phi Tau (1915) - The local sorority was named Phi Epsilon Tau.

Phi Epsilon (1916) - The local sorority's name.

Sigma Alpha (1916) - The local sorority's name.

Omega Chi (1917) - The local sorority's name.

Theta Sigma (1917) - another stumper - the local was called Nous Soeurs Club - there must be a good reason for this chapter's unusual name.

Phi (1917) - no clue (the local sorority was named Copo de Oro)

Sigma Beta (1918) - The local sorority's name.

Psi (1918) - no clue (doesn't match local's name)

Nu (1919) - no clue (doesn't match local's name)

Xi (1920) - no clue (doesn't match local's name) - perhaps Dani would know since this is her chapter.

Pi (1920) - no clue

Tau (1920) - This one has a little story. Four Kappa Deltas from Psi chapter transferred to the University of Wisconsin. One of them, Elsie Taylor, worked to get a local group together to petition KD for a charter. They named the local Tau Kappa Delta (Tau for Elsie Taylor + Kappa Delta for their goal.)

Upsilon (1920) - Just a guess but the local was named Kappa Phi Upsilon.



Now we go into a stage where double letters starting with Sigma were chosen. *Ta kala explains why in a post below.* This begins the first real attempt to go alphabetically with some minor exceptions.

Sigma Alpha and Sigma Beta had already been assigned to chapters so it begins with:

Sigma Gamma (1920)

Sigma Delta was already assigned to a chapter so it was skipped.

Sigma Epsilon (1921) - Although it does fit alphabetically, it's noted that the Epsilon part of this chapter's name was given in honor of Eliza Winn, of Sigma Alpha chapter, who was then a student at UT and assisted in selecting members for the new chapter.

Sigma Zeta (1921) - Again, this one fits alphabetically but there's more. It's noted that a Kappa Delta named Katherine Farrah, of Zeta chapter, transferred to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and joined a group named Caryatides. She pushed for them to petition KD for a charter, which was granted. Whether the Zeta in the chapter's name is for Katherine's Zeta chapter background or it's simply there alphabetically is, as the history books say, up to "the gods of chance."

The next 10 chapters were named alphabetically; Sigma Eta through Sigma Pi. Then it goes out of sequence to:

Sigma Tau (1923) - It's possible that the Tau was given in honor of the local which was called Tonora.

Sigma Rho (1923) - get's us back on track alphabetically, however, it is also the name of the local.

Sigma Sigma was already assigned so it skips to:

Sigma Upsilon (1923) - which brings us back to alphabetical naming.

Sigma Phi (1924)

Sigma Chi (1924) - This one is alphabetical but it's also noted that the local was named Delta Sigma Chi. Here I have a hunch that local groups with an interest in Kappa Delta started naming themselves after the next available chapter name. (Which would apply to Sigma Rho as well.) It's just a hunch though.

And the double letter Sigmas come to an end with Sigma Omega.


Starting with Michigan State in 1924, the chapters are named strictly alphabetically beginning with Alpha Alpha continuing until the present. (The only exception is Alpha Gamma which had already been assigned back in 1911.)

I have a feeling that I'm missing a couple of things. I distictly remember one chapter being named after a prominent Kappa Delta. I also think that one chapter later on in the alphabet is skipped but I'm not sure why.



Anyway, that's as much as I know about the naming of our chapters. If anyone knows the answers to my many "no clue"s or can shed some light on the many mysteries, please chime in! I'd love to find out more.

AOT,
Leslie Anne :)

Oh My Gosh, this is fascinating!!

Thank you so much for posting this. When read about Lambda and Kappa Alpha Chapter, and when I thought about Omega Xi being founded in '13, I realized I didn't know what I thought I knew about chapter naming.

You have some great sources. Now I will see what I can find out about some of the question marks. Kaydee Cutie, do you know about the origin of UC's chapter designation?

Thanks again Leslie Anne!

The Sigma chapters were named in honor of someone. I'm in the airport right now on my way home, so I will be able to tell you after I look through Ordinary Miracles!

Oooooo! Get home quickly (and safely) and let us know! I'm so curious. :) Could it have been for Sarah Blue?

Leslie, thanks so much for all that information! And ta kala... we can't wait for you to get home!

In the meantime, here's another trivia question:
What was KD's original open motto?

"... the 1919 Convention voted to make "Sigma" the key letter in honor of retiring National President Marion Mullins, an initiate of Sigma Chapter."

Some of the others:

Mu was also named in honor of Marion, who was National Treasurer at the time.

Epsilon Omega was "named for Edith Orilla KNown, the Naitonal Chapterian who worked with the chapter at the University of Kentucky in securing its charter"

It also said that in the early years, groups were allowed to choose their own name, so that may explain why it was not in order.


ETA: My guess for the open motto would be "Let us pursue the honorable things" or "We seek that which is noblest."

Wow! Thanks so much for the info, ta kala. I've been wondering about the double letter sigmas for so long. What a relief to finally have the answer. :)

ta kala - Your knowledge of all things KD astounds me. Thanks for sharing the info about the chapters!
And what a great question, katmandu!

The original open motto was, "Let us pursue the honorable." Not knowing Greek, I wonder if ta kala diokomen could have several translations, and therefore it has morphed (for lack of a better word) over the years.

I've also heard that when the flower was changed from the marguerite daisy to the rose, it was specifically the white kaiserin rose. Not being familiar with varieties of roses, I wonder if that's just an ordinary white rose.

Great. Now I realize that I don't know enough Greek and that I am flower-ignorant.

ETA: Here's a link to a picture of a Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria, which is the closest thing I can find to a "white kaiserin rose":
http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=3570%22

Thank you - but I can't take all the credit - Ordinary Miracles has provided me a lot of info.

For the motto:
"In the August, 1912 Angelos, classical scholar professor Winfield P. Woolf pointed out that the ancient Greek root word "dioko" was used more frequently to refer to a chase. Therefore, he said, the motto is 'active and aggressive, not lazy and passive.'"


KD has had 9 executive directors since 1925. How many chapters are represented in those 9 women?

This is all so wonderful! I love reading about our sorority's history and facts that they don't teach you during your new member period. Unfortunately I can't answer many of the questions but I just wanted to let you all know that I am having a great time reading all of this! :)