In 1957, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) met in French Lick, Indiana. The Editors met, too, and the picture below was taken of the Editors’ group. It caught my eye recently as I was searching for something else in an issue of a sorority magazine.
Young women, please note that only four of the NPC Editors pictured have first names. They are the unmarried ones with the “Miss” before their name. The others are merely identified by the name of their husband. This is how things were done in days gone by. I recall a previous post I did about woman who held some minor city office in the 1930s. It took me forever to figure out her given name. Every reference I found for her listed her as “Mrs. Thus and Such.” And then there was the alumnae club 100-year history that another friend was writing; one year the president started out as Mrs. John Doe and ended as Mrs. Jim Doe. Was it a mistake? Was there a story behind it? It so happened that John Doe died and his wife remarried someone who had the same last name (no relation, for those inquiring minds who want to know).
I know the job of editor of any NPC organization’s magazine is not an easy one, and 50+ years ago, it was much more difficult than it is today. (Word counting back then did not involve a click on the computer, it involved the actual counting of words.)
While the 18 Distinguished Authors who wrote Correct Social Usage: A Course of Instruction in Good Form, Style and Deportment (the 8th revised edition from 1907 is available as a google book) might not agree, I am very glad that women’s identities are no longer regulated by their marital status.
(c) Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013
