What our founder said
I was cleaning out my closet and found a Triad from Fall 1989. The first page is dedicated to Minna Goldsmith Mahler, Founder 1899-1989. I thought that I would share it with you since most of you probably have never seen it. I think that her words are as true today as they were in 1967.
Minna Goldsmith Mahler, Alpha, a founder of Delta Phi Epsilon, died August 11, 1989. She was 90.
A native New Yorker, she was a graduate of New York University and New York University Law School where she and Eve Effron, Dorothy Cohen, Ida Landau, and Sylvia Stierman met as young law students and decided to form a 'special kind of sorority.' Minna was the one who obtained the help needed to set up the constitution and by-laws of the sorority, accomplishing this through a close relative serving as an officer of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity.
She married a young dentist, Ben, and had one son, George. She had two grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Always interested in the cause of peace in the world and understanding between all peoples, she was an observer to the United Nations for the United States and Great Britain, an active member of the World Health Organization and the National Council of Jewish Women. A dynamic speaker, she was very much in demand, particularly when it came to the subject of world peace.
In 1967, unable to join three of our other founders in Detroit at the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Delta Phi Epsilon, for the Golden Anniversary issue of TRIAD, she wrote the inspiring message here re-printed because it tells so much more than the mere words of this writer:
"I appreciate the opportunity to join with you in marking the 50th Anniversary of Delta Phi Epsilon. It is a privilege given to us, the founders of this sorority, to watch its growth and development and see our principles extend unto generations to come.
All of us have a continuous responsibility long after the 50th year to face problems which will always be with us. Although we are united by the princiles of our charter we are not characterized by sameness, but by human diversity which is healthful. Resolving the tensions of ordinary living, working together with each other, and with our neighbors of differing opinions; working towards a system where men and nations can ultimately live together in peace on this troubled planet, needs intelligent understanding and enlightenment.
This seed of enlightened understanding is implanted in our formative years at school and it grows and flourishes in sorority relationship. I am proud to have witnessed the vitality of the life-tree of Delta Phi Epsilon, which has spread its many strong branches and will continue to be a dynamic force through the dedication of our sorors, and an influence for the betterment of mankind through its teachings."
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