I feel a tad bit awful about my recent post refuting the current internet factoid on U.S. Presidents and fraternity membership. While the “all but two” statement is no longer true, the real statistic is nonetheless impressive. And for all those who believed the “all but two” statement, I offer the following story.
Picture it: Indianapolis, a few summer ago*
A trip to Kappa Alpha Theta’s headquarters for an impromptu afternoon with archivists from three NPC organizations: Noraleen Young, Kappa Alpha Theta; Kylie Smith, Kappa Kappa Gamma; and Marilyn Haas, Delta Gamma, shattered one of my favorite fraternity stories.
It was such fun looking at all the wonderful items at the Theta headquarters, including a by-the-decades display, books by Theta authors, and a macrame gold and black kite. After lunch, Noraleen took us into the archives and shared some of the tricks of the trade. We talked about badge closures and archival boxes, to name just a few topics . We oohed and aahed over some of the terrific items in the collection. She then gave us a demonstration of the cataloging software Theta uses.
Noraleen told us a story about Marlo Thomas. As a collegian from the Omicron chapter at the University of Southern California, Marlo attended Theta’s 1958 Grand Convention. Her parents stopped by the convention hotel for a visit. Marlo’s visit was later chronicled in a post by Noraleen on the Theta blog. She wrote, “Marlo Thomas, Omicron/USC, along with several of her fellow chapter members, presented a skit at fun night at the 1958 Grand Convention. Of course, this was before she made a name for herself and more attention was given to the appearance of her father, comedian Danny Thomas. He talked to the convention about his new project – St. Jude Children’s Hospital.”
I asked Noraleen about the story I heard decades ago from the Syracuse Thetas during rush (before it was called recruitment). They boasted that Margo flying a kite in the intro to That Girl was a shout out to her Theta sisters. Noraleen shot this notion down, just as I have had to shoot down long standing Pi Phi myths (arrows on Parker pens and Wrigley gum to name just two). “But that’s what they said,” I stammered (several times!). Noraleen again told me it still wasn’t true. Talk about having my bubble burst! Now I know how it feels.
* (extra points if you caught the Golden Girls reference, a shout out to my television historian daughter and if you know that Golden Girl Rue McClanahan became a Theta at the University of Tulsa).
(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
