Upon my arrival at the Pi Beta Phi Archives yesterday, I was met with about 30 boxes of various sizes and shapes. They were the remains of my own chapter, the New York Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi. Its roots on the Syracuse campus are deep. The chapter was founded in 1896 and it hosted the 1901 Pi Beta Phi Convention (the one where Grace Goodhue [Coolidge] was the University of Vermont chapter’s delegate). The chapter was closed once before – from 1984-1988.
Quite by chance, the first box I opened happened to be from my own years in the chapter. I knew immediately when I saw the cover of this history who the artist was – the very talented Marilyn Stevens (Smith). Arrow Annie, a Raggedy Ann doll, was a chapter award we gave to the member who needed a little comfort. How very appropriate that Annie found me as I started the task of sifting through and preserving the chapter’s treasures.
To realize that every member of each fraternity and sorority is but one little link in a chain is not usually the first thought of a new member. It comes slowly to some and never reaches others. The ones who get it stay involved giving of their time, talents and treasures, as they are able, to preserve that chain.
As I quickly skimmed the more than a century of history, I saw the bright faces of young college women frozen in time. Much of the scenery remained the same – the house at 210 Walnut Place – but the fashions, hairstyles and photographs themselves reflected the norms of the day. My years at 210 Walnut Place were all too short, but the lessons I learned there and the people I met helped me become who I am today. For that I am very grateful. And I am sorry that, for the time being, Syracuse women will not have the opportunity to be members of Pi Beta Phi.
