CURRENT EDITION: Issue 1 2010

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COVER STORY

The Lamp: A Beacon for 100 Years

In today’s online world, the demise of print has been predicted often, yet we find that print still endures. Delta Zeta’s national magazine, The LAMP, which celebrates 100 years of publication this year, is one such example. Making its debut in December of 1910, the official publication of Delta Zeta Sorority has seen many transformations in its century-long history, only to remain, perhaps, as the one steadfast connection to our members, even in today’s world of cyberspace news and information.

For many members, The LAMP may be their only connection to Delta Zeta. In reporting the events and trends that shape both the fraternal world and Delta Zeta, it is a chronicler, too, of a broader history. That history allows us to reminisce fondly and remember reverently what has come before. That history shaped not only an influential social sorority, but leads in innovative ways that affect not only the fraternal world, but the world community.

The First Issue of The LAMP

After the Sorority’s founding in 1902 and subsequent chapter expansion, personal letters exchanged between Alpha (Miami University) and Beta (Cornell University) chapters kept members informed of Sorority matters. Delta (DePauw University) and Epsilon (Indiana University) chapters were near neighbors and contact was relatively easy to maintain.

In 1910, Delta Zeta Sorority became a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), and the sorority’s influence in the fraternal world was cemented. At the 1910 Convention (made up of six voting delegates), The LAMP magazine was established for Sorority intercommunication to continue chapter development and growth. Moreover, there was the need to communicate with alumnae and other member organizations in the NPC.

The magazine’s name was taken from the symbolism of the Delta Zeta badge. The LAMP’s first editor was Ruth Gaddis Jeffries Alpha ’08 (Miami University), a high school English teacher and a close friend of Founder Alfa Lloyd Hayes. Ruth’s uncle, a member of Sigma Chi and a newspaper editor, was instrumental in helping her publish the first issue.

Subscribe to The LAMP!

In 1912, LAMP Editor Grace Alexander Duncan Epsilon ’09 (Indiana University) had a business manager and a small staff. Grace urged chapters to send in their news in the form of chapter letters. The LAMP also printed a list of new initiates and new members. By 1915, The LAMP’s business managers oversaw subscriptions as more alumnae began subscribing to the magazine. In 1916, Editor Arema O’Brien Kirven Theta ’12 (The Ohio State University) was elected as the National Panhellenic Editors Conference (NPEC) National Chairman.

 

“If you have not subscribed for The LAMP, you should do so
at once. Let me urge the alumnae who have not already done so,

to feel it a privilege, as well as sorority duty, to . . .
place your name on the subscription list.”

Alfa Lloyd Hayes, Grand President 1910
 

In 1922, Vera Brown Jones Alpha Alpha ’20 (Northwestern University) changed the cover of the magazine to a “dressier” light tan and green. She also used more photos, which were placed in the middle of the magazine on glossy paper.

The 1926 Convention voted for a life subscription to The LAMP to be paid at the time of initiation by each member. In 1928, Grace Mason Lundy Epsilon ’15 (Indiana University), future National President, became the editor and instituted one of the few humor columns in the fraternal world, “Wholly Smoke.” It was written by her sister, Rachel Mason Peden Epsilon ’20 (Indiana University), future Delta Zeta Woman of the Year for 1972, who became a nationally known columnist, author and environmentalist.

Margaret Huenefeld Pease Chi ’19 (University of Cincinnati), at the time National President, took on the role of editor from 1928 to 1934. She brought enlarged pages with handsome type on eggshell paper, adorned with two-color sketches from her own talented hand, to the magazine. By the end of her tenure in 1934, The LAMP published a membership directory, a map of Delta Zeta chapters and silhouettes
of the Founders and National Presidents.
 

Cover Story, The Lamp: A Beacon for 100 Years continues here...

To see a timeline of the Lamp Covers
click here...

To see a timeline of the Lamp Editors
click here...