Happy Founders' Day Alpha Sigma Alpha

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by nyapbp

Alpha Sigma Alpha was founded on November 15, 1901 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its founders had been asked to join some of the other sororities on campus, but they wanted to stay together. The five, Virginia Lee Boyd (Noell), Juliette Jefferson Hundley (Gilliam), Calva Hamlet Watson (Wootton), Louise Burks Cox (Carper) and Mary Williamson Hundley, started their own sorority; they called it Alpha Sigma Alpha.


(Sarah) Ida Shaw Martin, who as a collegian at Boston University was a founder of Delta Delta Delta, played an integral role in Alpha Sigma Alpha's early history. Martin had written the Sorority Handbook, first published in 1907. She was an expert on women's fraternities/sororities.


Alpha Sigma Alpha sought Martin's help in 1913. While 13 chapters had been installed, only the Alpha chapter was viable. Martin encouraged the organization to consider extension to the Pi Alpha Tau organization at Miami University. In May 1913, the Pi Alpha Taus became an Alpha Sigma Alpha chapter. Alpha Sigma Alpha realized Martin's knowledge and assistance could help the group grow. She was elected its National President. Although she never presided at a convention, she was guiding the proceedings from behind the scene. Martin led Alpha Sigma Alpha until 1930, when Wilma Wilson Sharp was elected National President.

The post is at:
http://wp.me/p20I1i-sJ

Happy Founders' Day ASA!

I read the blog post, and it sounds like Ida Shaw Martin was an initiated ASA. Is that true ASAs? I don't think I ever realized that. I guess that makes sense since at the time you could be a member of two groups (and later an NPC group and an AES group).

[nyapbp]

She was an intriguing figure and I am in the middle of a post about her that I hope to be finished with before Tri Delta's Founders' Day. I suspect I put in too much about Ida Shaw Martin in the ASA post, but she truly played a very large role in its early years.

It has been said that she "expanded her fraternity outreach beyond Tri Delta and began a thirty-year engagement as a professional Greek consultant."

She founded Pi Lambda Sigma (it became part of Theta Phi Alpha), Theta Upsilon, Lambda Omega and Pi Delta Theta.

I do not know if she was an initiated member of ASA, but I suspect she was and I wouldn't doubt her influence in its inner workings. She had the knowledge and the presence and she absolutely loved those things.