Wednesday was a fun day and be forewarned that this post might qualify as a travelogue. I had the opportunity to do research in a new-to-me collection, in a new-to-me library. The Carroll L. Lurding Library of College Fraternity and Sorority Materials contains 2,340 items ranging in publication date from 1840-2014. These items detail “the history of fraternities, sororities, colleges, and universities from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the United States as well as some colleges in Canada,” according to the collection description on the Lilly Library website. It is an amazing collection but if you plan to use it, note that items must be requested in advance.
Afterwards I headed to the home of a very dear Pi Phi friend. We were assigned roommates at the 1987 Pi Phi Convention and I wish I knew who was responsible for bringing her into my life so that I could offer my gratitude. I am blessed and grateful for her friendship. and her warm and gracious hospitality.
On Thursday morning, when I left Bloomington, I headed to Plainfield, where I visited the headquarters of Triangle Fraternity. It combines two of my favorite things – a library and a fraternity HQ. The building housed a former Carnegie Library building and it was a private home before it became a fraternity HQ.
Triangle Fraternity Headquarters, Plainfield, Indiana.
Later in the day, I headed to Founders Road in Indianapolis. The Fraternity and Sorority Archivists Conference opened with a reception at Kappa Alpha Theta headquarters. A fun time was had by all.
Lyn Harris, Chi Omega’s Archivist at Kappa Alpha Theta’s HQ
Lyn Harris, Chi Omega’s Archivist. and I had dinner together, and we laughed and shared stories. We both agreed that we’d love to have a piece of Newcomb pottery with connections to our respective chapters at Sophie Newcomb/Tulane should anyone have any lying around.
Wish us luck on making it the three miles from the hotel to the site of today’s meeting, Zeta Tau Alpha’s new HQ in Carmel. I am the driver and I am not enamored with the roundabouts we have to traverse to get there.
