This past weekend was spent working at the Friends of the Library book sale. Every now and then, while straightening up, I’d find an interesting book. The 2003 Illio, the University of Illinois yearbook, suddenly appeared and, of course, I found myself turning to the fraternity and sorority section. Sprinkled on the pages were interesting facts which, I sense, were submitted by the chapters. Some had me curious and wanting to learn more.
From the Pi Beta Phi page: “The only female Chief Illiniwek was a Pi Phi.”
Her name was Idelle Stith (Brooks) and, at the time, she wasn’t Chief Illiniwek, she was Princess Illiniwek. Stith was an authentic Indian princess of one thirty-second native blood with the name of Munk-a-Hop, meaning “eldest child.”
Harriet Haycock Brown, a former Pi Beta Phi Historian and, along with Stith, a member of the University of Illinois chapter during World War II, recounted the story in the Summer 1997 Arrow of Pi Beta Phi. The Homecoming game in October 1943 was a unique one in the history of Fighting Illini Homecomings. Most of the former players were serving in the armed forces, band members were few, and the stadium, which normally fit 68,000 people, had about 5,000 people in the stands. According to Brown, “Another problem was finding a Chief Illiniwek to perform the traditional Indian dance at half-time. The position had always been filled by male students who had attained the rank of Eagle Scout and had learned Indian dances. Idelle Stith, Illinois Zeta senior from Fairfax, Okla., stepped into the moccasins, donned the headdress and 40-pound costume made by Western Indians, and danced her way the length of the football field prior to smoking the peace pipe in the customary ceremony.”
Brown noted that there were attempts made to erase Stith’s name from the Chief’s headdress deleting any mention of a female having worn it. According to Brown, some students referred to Princess Illiniwek as “Illiniwench.” In the 1970s when Chief Illiniwek’s 50th anniversary was celebrated, Brooks “was assured by the other returning chiefs that her name had been returned to the headdress and the title of ‘Chief’ was now hers.”
Idelle Stith with the Chief Illiniwek headdress, 1943. (Photo courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives)
From the 4-H House page: “The 4-H house is the only 4-H house in the nation.”
In 1934, 4-H member Mary McKee founded the 4-H Cooperative Sorority. Women who have a minimum of three years in a 4-H club or a minimum of three years leadership experience in a widely recognized youth organization are eligible for membership. The women live in the 4-H house. The group joined the University of Illinois Greek system in 1980.
The 4-H House is the only 4-H House I could find, but I discovered something similar. Clovia, at Kansas State University, was formed in 1931 when a group of former 4-H members chose to live together in a cooperative manner. Clovia was founded on September 7, 1931 at Kansas State. A professor suggested the name Clovia, the Greek word for clover. In 1937, a group of University of Minnesota women stayed at the Clovia house in Manhattan while attending a conference a K-State. They returned to Minnesota and formed the Beta Chapter of Clovia. Four additional chapters of Clovia were founded, but are no longer active. The inactive chapters are located at the University of Nebraska, Mankato State University, Fort Hayes State University, and the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Clovia’s Alpha Chapter has lived in its current home since 1967. The house building was funded by former Clovia members and the Kansas 4-H Foundation. Although it was first a member of the Panhellenic Council, it is now an independent cooperative house.
4-H House, University of Illinois
From the Theta Xi page: “Benjamin Franklin is the patron saint of Theta Xi.”
William Smith Mason, Yale University Class of 1888, was a member of Theta Xi’s Beta Chapter and a devoted Theta Xi. He was also an avid collector of Benjamin Franklin memorabilia and papers. His collection was first housed in his home in Evanston, Illinois, where he employed a librarian to catalog it and invited Franklin researchers to use it. In 1935, he donated his Franklin collection to Yale University. At that time it was “hailed as the largest and most valuable gift ever made to the Yale Library up to that date,” according to the collection homepage on Yale’s website. Mason played an instrumental role in Theta Xi’s adoption of Franklin as the fraternity’s patron saint.
Benjamin Franklin
There are a few other interesting tidbits I am still researching, including furniture from the Gone With the Wind set, so there may be a second post at some point.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
