Yesterday was Ask an Archivist Day. Some of my GLO archivist friends and I used social media to answer questions. I also learned some fun facts yesterday by eavesdropping on their social media conversations.
Towner Blackstock, Curator of the Phi Gamma Delta Archives, had the best graphic for the day.
GLOs would sometimes publish “secret numbers” of their magazines. They usually contained facts and figures about each chapter and sometimes even frank assessments of chapter strengths and weaknesses.
Speaking of Phi Gamma Delta, I missed telling you about the new acquisition in the Kappa Alpha Theta archives. Bettie Locke was the first female to enroll at Indiana Asbury University in Greencastle, Indiana. Today it is known as DePauw University. The Phi Gamma Delta chapter offered her a badge, but it did not come with full membership rights and responsibilities, so she declined the offer. Instead, the chapter gave her a silver cake basket. She and three of the other women from that first class of women founded Kappa Alpha Theta in 1870. The cake basket has remained in Bettie Locke Hamilton’s family for nearly 150 years; due to their generosity it now has a home in the Theta headquarters.
“The family of Carole Cones-Bradfield, great granddaughter of Bettie Locke Hamilton, stopped by for a tour. Carole recently passed away, and she generously donated many items to the Theta archive that belonged to her great-grandmother. CEO Betsy Corridan is pictured holding Bettie’s famous Theta cake basket. On the left is Dane Hartley, great-grandson of Bettie Locke, a DePauw alumnus, and a Phi Gamma Delta. He was Carole Cones-Bradfield’s cousin. On the right is Landis Bradfield, Carole’s husband.” (From the KAT facebook page)
In my last post about the debate of the Vice-Presidential candidates, I failed to mention that Mike Pence is a Phi Gamma Delta member. He was initiated into the Hanover College chapter and served as his chapter’s president. Pence’s daughter, Charlotte, is a Chi Omega.
Tiffany Trump, the daughter of Marla Maples and Donald Trump is a Kappa Alpha Theta from the University of Pennsylvania. Her half-brother Donald, Jr., is also a Penn alumnus. He is a Phi Gamma Delta.
Former President Bill Clinton is an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma. He was initiated into the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega while he was a college student.
Gary Johnson is a Sigma Alpha Epsilon from the University of New Mexico. His son Erik was initiated into the Sigma Chi chapter at the University of Denver.
Please let me know if I am missing any other GLO connections with the presidential candidates and their families.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
