From Locals to Nationals
 

Ok, I'll start off a thread. I have been putting together a database of local groups at various colleges and universities that have become chapters of the various national and international fraternities and sororities.

One of the things I've done is to visit a few headquarters of groups that are located near me, specifically in Oxford, Ohio, and Indianapolis.

The question I have which is a general question, is how many organizations try to preserve information and memorabilia from the locals that become chapters?

For example, Beta Theta Pi, and Lambda Chi Alpha and Kappa Sigma are three examples of fraternities who have created an extensive collection of local fraternity badges and memorabilia from the locals they absorbed. On the flip side, some sororities headquarters I've visited did not have any information of the locals they absorbed.

I am just curious as to which groups out there have made the preservation of historical info on locals a part of their archives and museums, per se?

Thanks.
BadgeGuy

AOII international does not, but each chapter is encouraged to preserve it's local history, which includes the history of its originating local groups. My chapter Lambda Tau started out as Phi Lambda Tau, and we have a scrap book with information about the local organization. I don't believe they had a badge (this was backwoods Louisiana in the 1940s ;) ) so there is nothing like that in our collection. Many chapters preserve the history of our locals through our chapter names...ie. Phi Lambda Tau became Lambda Tau chapter of AOII.

Ditto for SigEp. My chapter has photo books and other stuff from Kappa Phi Sigma, our local, and I've actually met a few of their alumni. I think the alumni of KPS were given the opportunity to become SigEps, so I've managed to meet our first member!

I've seen plenty of other chapters do the same to honor the local or absorbed national they came from.

I doubt IHQ has anything, but most of our chapters that started as locals had retained a lot of that history, in some cases including local rituals.

So, here is a list of groups I know have a local badge collection at their HQs:
Kappa Sigma
Lambda Chi Alpha
Beta Theta Pi
Phi Kappa Tau
Delta Upsilon
Phi Kappa Psi
Sigma Pi

Are there any others to add? I'm referring to any hq which has on display any local pins.

Badge Guy

I believe Delta Zeta has a lot of information about the sororities they've absorbed. But the HQ's is not at all open to talking to anyone outside of DZ about those sororities... A bummer really. /:

Delta Chi has some badges from the locals that became Delta Chi chapter in our collection.

We also have a good deal of information about those groups in some of the historical chartering petitions - they displayed a bunch of those at the Leadership College in 2011. I believe the pledge manual from the local that became our chapter at Trine University is in one of the display cases as well.

My chapter has kept things from when we were a local organization. I forget what our name was, but next time I am at the house I plan on looking through all of it.

The Delta Chis at Penn State Behrend actually have the Beta Upsilon Nu (the BUNs!) banner still hanging in their living room to this day. They also still carry out some of the traditions that were started by the local.

Badgeguy,

I appreciate your thread, however, there is something you need to know. It is not Nationals, it is National or International. Please take the s off. Just a pet peeve of mine along with alumna and alumnus along with alumnae and alumni.

Sigma Nu has such a thing at our IHQ.

You're not interpreting the title correctly. It is actually shortened because writing out "From Local [Fraternities and Sororitie]s to [Chapters of] National [Fraternities and Sororitie]s" would be way too long.

In other words, no need to get your panties in a bunch.

Thanks! I can relax now and solve other major world problems.lol

I can't say what KKG headquarters has with regard to locals, but the U of Arkansas chapter has memorabilia from the local that became KKG there. I am almost positive they were Kappa Kappa Kappa - which as I write (and consider abbreviating to KKK) seems very odd. Maybe I don't have that right. It was definitely Kappa Kappa something...

...writing a note to self to check on that asap...