That's really interesting! I wonder after reading what I found below, if it was a local sorority seeking affiliation, or just a strange coincidence, because this school, in any of its names and locations, is not listed as ever having a chapter of Alpha Phi....
The Ogontz School was an all female forerunner of Penn State Abington -
http://www.abington.psu.edu/psasite/...llections.html
Ogontz School for Girls was established an elite finishing school for young women in Philadelphia in 1850 as the Chestnut Street Seminary. In 1883 the school was moved to "Ogontz," the luxurious estate of Civil War financier Jay Cooke located in Elkins Park. Retaining it's name from this location, it moved to Rydal in 1916, where it remained until closing in 1950. Abby Sutherland, principal and owner of The Ogontz School, donated the Ogontz School for Girls to Penn State Abington in 1950 and continued living there until her death in 1961. Just fifteen miles north of Center City Philadelphia, Penn State Abington is a picturesque, intimate campus with a long-standing tradition. In July 1997, the former Penn State Ogontz Campus became Penn State Abington, a college within Penn State that may grant baccalaureate degrees.
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There is an exhibit and reference collection that was created in 1991 through the benevolence of alumnae and friends of the school, the room is dedicated to the memory of Abby A. Sutherland, principal and owner of The Ogontz School from 1912 to 1950. The room may be visited by appointment. Please email library assistant
Jeannette Ullrich jhu1@psu.edu, or call (215) 881-7428.
Interesting excerpt from an article about Amelia Earhart attending the school when sororities were removed:
In 1916, at age 19, Amelia entered Ogontz school in Rydal, Pennsylvania, using money her mother had inherited from her parents. Amelia had originally intended to go to Bryn Mawr, then Vassar, but she filed too late to attend Vassar that year. While at The Ogontz School, Amelia played hockey, studied French and German, and continued to excel in her classes, although she alienated some of her fellow students when she spoke out strongly against secret sororities. Amelia was invited to join a sorority, but upon learning of some girls' exclusion, she instead petitioned to make sororities more democratic and include everyone. She was voted Vice-President of her class, Secretary to a local Red Cross Chapter, and Secretary and Treasurer of Christian Endeavor while at Ogontz. Amelia spent the summer of 1917 with friends at Camp Gray near Lake Michigan, then returned to Ogontz for the fall semester. Amelia was delighted to learn after the next school term started that the headmistress, Miss Sutherland, had done away with the sorority system, replacing it with an honor system for personal conduct. She strongly spoke out against some of the girls who were advocating the reinstatement of sororities, and campaigned fiercely against the purchase of class rings. In her opinion, only a simple band was needed and the remaining money could be better used by the Red Cross.
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