A young woman with wistful eyes. Who was she? Whatever became of her? Did she become a Beta wife? I do not know is the answer to those questions. But for a time, this picture indicates she had a beau who was a member of Beta Theta Pi. And perhaps that beau was wearing her pin in a photo somewhere. There was a time when the giving of fraternity pins/emblems/badges might have been a two-way street. When a man would give a woman his fraternity pin, she might reciprocate.
In the 1870s, the Constitution of Pi Beta Phi (then known by its original name I.C. Sorosis) included a penalty for the “loaning” of it arrow to those not members of the organization. The minute books of the chapter at Simpson College show instances of fines imposed for the “loaning” of arrows.
The minutes of the May 16, 1876 meeting, noted, “Miss Noble fined for exchanging badges. Fined Miss Barker for letting a Delta wear an I.C. pin.” There was also a complaint “against Miss Alice Scoles for allowing a Delta to wear her I.C. Pin. The lady pleaded guilty, but as she was ignorant of the rules…it was thought best to excuse the lady this time.”
The minutes of the May 18, 1879 meeting of the Pi Phi chapter at Iowa State University reported that it was moved and seconded that any chapter member who lent “her pin to anyone outside of the society shall forfeit her pin to the society. Amended by saying shall forfeit it for one month. Amendment carried. Motion as amended carried.”
A November 1881 meeting of the Pi Phi chapter at Simpson College noted that the chapter would ask all the Delta Tau Delta men to return all the arrow pins in their possession.
(FYI – This photo was found in Iowa. I do not know if the woman in the photo is member of a GLO. It was the Beta pin that attracted me to it.)
