Grace Coolidge, Pi Beta Phi

[oldu]

I just finished reading the Calvin Coolidge biography by Amity Shlaes and it repeatedly mentions first lady Grace's involvement with Pi Beta Phi. I had no idea she was so involved, even while the Coolidges were in office. He was fairly involved with Phi Gamma Delta, but not nearly as much as she. It is unusual to see Greek organizations mentioned in a biography...but I loved it!

[nyapbp]

Grace was indeed a dedicated Pi Phi. When she enrolled at the University of Vermont, she could have joined one of the established groups, but chose to be one of two freshman who petitioned for a Pi Beta Phi charter. The chapter was installed in her family home and early chapter meetings took place there. She served as Corresponding Secretary and was her chapter's delegate to the 1901 convention in Syracuse. There she met Anna Robinson (Nickerson), the delegate from the chapter at Boston University and a life-long friendship was formed. Anna Nickerson would later serve as the Fraternity's Grand Vice-President.

Grace was founder and first president of the Western Massachusetts Alumnae Club. She also served as a Province Vice-President. She attended the 1915 Pi Phi Convention in Berkeley, California and had to cut short her post-convention tour of California due to her husband's political activities. She and the women she traveled with, all but one of them from the Boston University chapter, started a Round Robin letter which lasted until the end of their lives.

In April 1924, Pi Beta Phi members gave the United States the official portrait of Grace. In it she is wearing a red dress and her Pi Phi arrow is upon it. The Eastern Conference was an event which took place during the unveiling. Carrie Chapman Catt, a member of the chapter at Iowa State was the guest speaker. Two of the founders, by then in their 80s, attended. More than 1,100 Pi Phis filed through the receiving line and all were greeted personally by Grace.

On Memorial Day, I reran a post about Grace's visit with some Pi Phi WAVES who were studying at Smith College. Grace then wrote to her Round Robin friends about the lunch.

[navane]

nyapbp, Thank you for that neat history lesson. I enjoyed reading it! I have seen the portrait of Grace Coolidge you mentioned before and recall seeing the Pi Beta Phi arrow. For the benefit of others who haven't seen the portrait, here it is in full view and close-up view.

[Sciencewoman]

Thanks for sharing the story and the picture! I asked my daughter about Grace Coolidge, and she said she learned about her membership and the portrait during new member education, but she hadn't known she was a founding member of her chapter.

Navane, did you see that the newest issue of the Crescent is focused on Sorority history, and the new www.gammaphibetahistory.org site has launched? Nyapbp, you might want to check it out, if you haven't already!

[navane]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

Navane, did you see that the newest issue of the Crescent is focused on Sorority history, and the new www.gammaphibetahistory.org site has launched? Nyapbp, you might want to check it out, if you haven't already!

Yes, I did! I took some time to pick through the website and it's pretty cool!

[ZetaPhi708.20]

Where does the portrait reside now?

[nyapbp]

The portrait is in the China Room at the White House. There are black and white copies of it which were sold during the Eastern Conference in 1924 as a fundraiser for the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School. The cost was $2; $3 if signed by Grace. I've seen some still on display in the houses of older (chartered prior to 1920) chapters.

There is also a large panoramic shot of the 1,100+ guests (all women except for the artist, Howard Chandler Christy) taken on the lawn of the White House. Grace is front row center, the only woman not wearing a hat.