Alpha Gamma Delta was founded at Syracuse University on May 30, 1904 at the home of Dr. Wellesley Perry Coddington, a Syracuse University professor. By 1901, all seven of the founding National Panhellenic Conference organizations had chapters at Syracuse. Coddington, who had a hand in the early years of Alpha Phi, realized that the campus needed another women’s fraternity. He approached several young female students and discussions ensued. Though excitement started to grow, the women managed to keep the possibility of another organization on campus very quiet. Edith MacConnell was recovering from a serious accident and was a patient at the Homeopathic Hospital. Not even the nurses attending to her had any idea what was taking place, despite the steady stream of visitors to her room.
The announcement in the Daily Orange, the school’s newspaper, noted:
A new Greek-letter fraternity has been organized among the women of the university. The name is Alpha Gamma Delta and the members thus far are: Marguerite Shepard, ’05; Jennie C. Titus, ’05; Georgia Otis, ’06; Ethel E. Brown, ’06; Flora M. Knight, ’06, Estelle Shepard, ’06; Emily H. Butterfield, ’07; Edith MacConnell, ’07; Grace R. Mosher, ’07; Mary L. Snider, ’07.
During Alpha Gamma Delta’s first year, the chapter met in a third floor room of a home at 1005 East Genesee Street. The chapter’s first house was located at 761 Irving Avenue. On April 30, 1907, it was the site of the first Alpha Gamma Delta convention. Delegates from the Beta Chapter at the University of Wisconsin and the Gamma Chapter at Wesleyan College in Connecticut were in attendance, along with several Alpha Chapter representatives.
According to Alpha Gam history aficionado Dr. Ellen Wenzel, the squirrel was first used as Gamma Chapter’s mascot. It was adopted as Alpha Gam’s mascot at the 1909 convention in Athens, Ohio. The Gamma Chapter closed when coeducation was banned at Wesleyan University, but Skiouros the squirrel lives on. (Skiouros is the Greek word meaning squirrel.)
I’ve written about Emily H. Butterfield in other posts. She was an architect and designed the Alpha Chapter house, among others. Her best known sketches are the ones she did of Alpha Gamma Delta’s mascot. She was quite fond of him and when she was editor of The Quarterly, her drawings of him would appear often. By mid-century, some chapters weren’t cognizant of Skiouros’ existence.
From the 1972 convention. It is the first squirrel in Nann Blaine Hilyard’s collection.
From the Nann Blaine Hilyard Skiouros collection
Attendees at the 1972 convention received a small brass squirrel from Grand President Lorna Wilson Brigden. She hoped that the gift would spark the interest of Alpha Gams and bring its mascot to the forefront.
A needlepoint pattern of Skiouros was also distributed at the convention. The needlepoint pillow was designed by Jo Ippolito Christensen, member of Alpha Xi chapter (Maryland). She wrote several needlepoint design books.
This effort seems to have been the spark for a Skiouros revival.
