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Lambda
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|Image= [[File:Lambda.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1877|06|10}}
|College= [httphttps://www.uakron.edu/ University of Akron]
|Location= Arkon, OH
|Homepage= [httphttps://chaptersuakron.kappakappagammakappa.org/lambda/ Lambda Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Lambda Media related to Lambda Chapter]}}
'''1University of Akron founded in 1914,801 members as of (June 2014)formerly Buchtel College founded in 1870'''
'''Lambda chapter: founded June 10, 1877'''
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'''Some of Lambda’s Outstanding AlumnaeCharter Members:''' (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories Mary B. Jewett, Harriet Evelyn Pardee, please list them with the date(s) of recognitionElizabeth Undine Slade.)
'''Fraternity Council Officers:'''
Marion Bell Slade (Ransom), Grand Marshal 1884-1986; Mary Krenzke (Grandlin), Grand Secretary, 1886-1888; Lydia Voris Kolbe, Grand President 1916-1918, Grand Treasurer 1908-1914; (Lydia) Elmie Warner Mallory, Grand President 1904-1906, Grand Registrar 1900-1904; Elizabeth Voris Lawry, Editor of The Key 1904-1905, Martha Simmons (Murray), Field Secretary 1961-1963; Lesley Dillon (Lage), Traveling Consultant 2001-2002
'''Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:'''
'''Additional Outstanding Lambda Alumnae:'''
Dale Hinton (Hertel), Graduate Counselor 1944-1945; Martha Simmons (Murray), Graduate Counselor 1960-1961; Jill Hughes (Mealy), Chapter Consultant 1996-1997
A happy event mentioned in early minutes told of a visit in 1882 to the Wooster chapter (two years later the Wooster girls were refused a return visit by their rigid faculty), and the two groups celebrated Thanksgiving together with dinner, a reception, and, next morning a sleigh ride.
Strawberry festivals, taffy pulls, and chestnut roasts were popular pastimes. A Lambda girl was fined $2 for wearing a gentleman’s fraternity pin. Term dues to the Grand Chapter were $1; personal dues, 25 cents; initiation fee, $1.25; fines for absence, tardiness, and disorderly conduct, 25 cents, 10 cents, and 5 cents.
The most tragic event ever associated with Lambda was the fire of 1890, started at the praeceptress’s party for birthday girls. A Mother Goose cap, made of paper and tufted with cotton, took fire from a gas light. Two girls died that night and another later; five others were badly burned. The whole college mourned.
==The Fire of 1890==
Emily Bader Chapter Registrar Kappa Kappa Gamma Lambda September 28, 2017
Viola Myrtle Steigmeyer was born on November 10, 1870 in Seneca, Ohio (Archive 1). [[File:Artifacts from Lambda fire of 1890 1.jpg|thumb|Artifacts from Lambda fire of 1890]]
Viola also went by two other nicknames, Lulu or Lula. It was not easy to find Miss Steigmeyer in historical records because of her other two nicknames. In the U.S. Census of 1880, Miss Steigmeyer was put down as Lula (Archive 2). This name was used in other newspaper articles such as Mourning Buchtel (Archive 3). It was not until the end of my research, that we found her real name. On Ancestry.com, someone made a family tree with her father, Frederick H. Steigmeyer, and mother, Caroline Steigmeyer. They had labeled Viola Myrtle Steigmeyer as the daughter of Frederick and Caroline Steigmeyer. I can assume that Lulu and Lula are nicknames for Viola (Archive 8). On Viola’s gravestone, it uses the name “LuLu Steigmeyer.” Under her name, are the names Lockie and Clarence. These were the names of her brothers who died a year after birth. However, Lulu died in 1890, but her gravestone says 1870-1900 (Archive 9). I can only assume that this was a mistake. I have read online articles saying that gravestones are not always an accurate way to get a person’s date of birth or date of death. I can hypothesize that with the sudden death of their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Steigmeyer may have not had the funds at the time to create a gravestone for their daughter. It also could have been just a mistake made by the gravestone maker that in fixing it would have cost too much time and money (Archive 10). The real reason may never be known.
On December 13, 1890, the women of Kappa Kappa Gamma were having a birthday celebration for all the girl’s birthdays that fell between the months of September to December. This celebration occurred at Cary Hall in Buchtel College. There were about a dozen or so girls dancing around a piano. These girls were wearing festive costumes, tall paper caps trimmed with cotton, surmounted by a tassel, upon their heads (Archive 4). While they were dancing, Miss Aurelia Wirick, of Iowa, moved her head up and the tassel went over the gas jest. Within an instant, she was covered in fire from head to toe. Some girls did not notice and they danced past Miss Wirick and soon caught themselves on fire. Spectators were frightened with fear, but some quickly tried to put out the fire by tearing the clothes off of the women (Archive 5).
A hero arose from this tragedy; Mr. Shoaf grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran into Cary hall. On the second floor, Miss Wirick was lying on the floor. Mr. Shoaf extinguished the flames and ran to the third floor. There Mr. Shoaf found Miss Addie Buchtel on the ground with all of her clothes burned off. Miss Steigmeyer was a few feet away on the ground unconscious. Shoaf put out the flames in the room and moved on towards the west end of the hall. There he saw Miss May Steves engulfed in flames. She moaned out, “My God! Won’t somebody do something for me?” Shoaf put out the flames. Miss Steves then said, “My God! My God! Won’t somebody send for my mother?” Miss Eva Dean was a few feet away with fire burning on her head and her arms. Shoaf then put out the fire. The last girl on the fourth floor was Miss Dian Haynes, who covered herself with blankets and quilts to stop the fire, but those too ended up catching fire. If it was not for Mr. Shoaf, she would have been dead (Archive 5).
Shoaf went into room 61 and found two girls ready to jump from a fourth story window. He put out the flames in the room and continued to stop the fire in Cary Hall until it ended for good. Miss May Baker found her way to a bathtub to stop the fire that was on her (Archive 5).
Miss Steigmeyer was taken to her room. She was burned in many places to a crisp. Her lower limbs, back, and shoulders were deeply burned. Her lips, nose, and ears were burned into mere cinders. Miss Steves’ clothes were burned from her body and then she was taken to a room and placed on sheets. When physicians arrived, they decided it was best to move her to another position. In doing so, shreds and bits of tissue stuck to the sheets, which caused intense pain for Miss Steves. She was constantly calling for her mother. At 12:20 a.m. Miss Steves passed away. Miss Steigmeyer passed away at 5:15 a.m. that Sunday morning (Archive 5).
Two girls died within 12 hours of the fire; however, this event would claim another life one year later. Three of the women recovered from their injuries and returned to college. They were Miss Eva Dean, Miss Myrtle Barker, and Miss Dian Haynes (Archive 6). Miss Barker had suffered from her injuries ever since that fire. The burns healed rapidly, but other complications soon came apparent. Despite these complications, she was determined to finish her college courses. When she returned to school in the fall of 1891, she was not the same. The pores of her skin were entirely closed so that perspiration was impossible. All the heat and impurities could not escape her body. She suddenly became ill and died at 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 10, 1891 (Archive 7). This fire had claimed a total of three lives and scarred about a dozen more. It was featured on the front page of the Summit County Beacon on December 17, 1890 and the Cleveland Plain Dealer on December 15, 1890. It was a horrific tragedy that even death came as a relief from such horrible torture.
Summary
The fire of 1890 was tragic. This fire took place in 1890 at Buchtel College in Cary Hall. It took
the lives of May Steves, Viola Steigmeyer, and Myrtle Barker. May Steves and Viola Steigmeyer died within 12 hours of the fire. Myrtle died one year later from her injuries. Many speculate that the reason Kappa has a no open flame rule in their houses was because of this event. Lambda Kappas have always referred to our house ghost as Lola. From the information above, we can now call her by her right names; Viola, Lula, or Lulu. We also now know that two other girls died. May and Myrtle will be given attention as our “ghosts” in our house as well. Even though the fire did not happen at a Kappa house, I am sure we will say that they are with us in our house. For more information please refer to the archives mentioned. Archive 5 explains in great detail what happened. A special thanks to Jeff Bader for helping me find all of this information.
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Lambda’s interest in the Fraternity at Large was spurred by the election of Marion Bell Slade (Ransom) as grand marshal in 1884. The 1886 Convention was held in Akron, costing considerably less than $75. Lambda presented another honorary member, Emma White Perkins, who sang at the Convention. Mary Krenzke (Grandlin) was Grand Secretary, 1886-1888. Lambda had continuous representation on Council. Elmie Warner (Mallory) served four years as Grand Registrar and two as Grand President after her marriage, 1904-1906; Elizabeth Voris Lawry was Editor of The Key and then Grand Treasurer; Lydia Voris Kolbe was Grand Treasurer six years, Business Manager of The Key two years, and Grand President, 1916-1920. She was also the first Gamma Province president. Helen Farst Walace wrote the Lambda chapter report for the 1870-1930 History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity.
Turn of the Century
During the Depression many Kappas worked part time, dues were lowered, and the spring formal was cancelled. Song Fest took place for the first time in 1933.
==World War II Years==
==Highlights of 2020s: (From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship2013==Lambda Chapter started off 2013 by recruiting four lovely ladies through several recruitment events such as Kappa Kampout and the favorite Kappa PJ Party, where they watched the movie Pitch Perfect. Six members were initiated, one of whom was visiting from Denison University. Overall, group honors/awardsthe spring semester was quite busy, traditionsespecially when it came to philanthropy events. Lambda chapter hosted a Zumbathon and the annual Spaghetti Dinner, special which the proceeds went towards our philanthropies. The ladies also volunteered at various events, changes such as WITAN and Relay for Life. Lambda supported Camp Quality by participating in Songfest, which is a Greek wide fundraiser and competition at the University of Akron. Socials were also held with three fraternities on campus or within , which were Phi Kappa Psi, Alpha Sigma Phi, and Phi Delta Theta. A Tiffany themed Mom’s Day tea was also held at the Lodge for Mother’s Day. Lambda chapter won several awards at the Greek Life Awards, including the Silver Praestantia. Several members also traveled to the Province Convention in Columbus where they attended workshops and also won awards. At the end of the semester, Lambda chapter held their Masquerade formal at Guy’s Party Center. In the summer, members attended Kappa Kidney Camp to spend time with the campers. The fall semester for Lambda chapter began with formally recruiting nineteen women. The Bid Day theme was Toy Story, and t-shirts were made that had the phrase, “You Have a Friend in KKG.” A chapterretreat was held to help the new members connect with the actives. The ladies were split up into four teams based upon the houses from Harry Potter, and they competed against each other in mini games. In the end, overall nature the Slytherin House won the cup. A separate new member retreat was also held so that the Fall 2013 pledge class could bond with one another. The first week of October brought Greek Week, which had a Hunger Games theme. The homecoming dance was held this week, and the Lambda chapter president was named Homecoming Queen. Balloon Pop was also held during the same weekend, and the chapterraised over $700 for Kappa Kidney Camp. The new members created a drink for the University of Akron’s event Mocktails, which promotes alcohol awareness. It was decade themed, and Lambda had the decade of the 1920s and named their drink Gatsby’s Green Light. Founder’s Day was held on October 13th at the Portage Country Club, where the ladies of Lambda chapter goals, challenges active and alumna, came together for a great lunch. This event helped to deepen their appreciation of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Lambda had three socials with the fraternities Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Chi, and Kappa Sigma. They also participated in other Greek chapter’s philanthropy events, such as Phi Delta Theta’s Soberfest, Sigma Nu’s KanJam, and Alpha Gamma Delta’s Lip Jam. Many members also participated in various volunteering opportunities, one of which was the University of Akron’s Make a Difference Day. A Kappa trainer also came to the lodge to put the ladies through a couple activities to teach them about how they to effectively communicate with each other. Overall, 2013 was a great year for the women of Lambda chapter. '''Campus:'''The University of Akron is located in the metropolitan area of Akron, Ohio. The campus’s student population of over 27,000 is a very diverse group who hail from over 46 American states and from over 80 countries around the world. The university has more than 300 programs for undergraduates and graduates, and with over 250 student organizations, it keeps its’ students busy. The campus boasts over 80 buildings, including a recreation center (The Rec) and the Goodyear Science and Polymer Building. The University of Akron’s president, Dr. Luis M. Proenza, announced his retirement was set to take place at the end of the academic year. At the end of 2013, it was announced that The University of Akron had the best lifetime return of investment of any public Northeastern Ohio university, and that students also have the lowest amount of student debt in the state. '''Chapter:'''One of Lambda Chapter’s best qualities includes its diversity of its members. With over 60 members, there is a wide variety of majors being achieved. Examples of these majors are: engineering, education, business, communications, geology, dance, psychology, and nursing. Many members are also apart of more campus organizations, such as ZPN, Greek Honoraries, SHRM, and Campus Focus. Some members are also apart of the Honors College. In addition to their academics and extra-curricular activities, numerous members have jobs either on or off campus, and have also achieved internships. ==Highlights of 2015== 2015 began as our chapter participated in the first annual Warm Up with the Greeks that kick started spring recruitment. After hosting many recruitment evens including a pajama party and a piñata party Lambda chapter welcomed four new members. At the end of January we celebrated our new members by having our first spring bid day that was candy themed. February was an exciting month for Lambda chapter as we participated in events such as IFC’s Next Top Pizza, Delta Gamma’s Spaghetti Dinner and a Social with Phi Delta Theta. Six of our members also had the opportunity to go to Pittsburgh to attend the Kappa Regional Meeting. In March Lambda attended the Greek Leadership Awards where we won the Sportsmanship award and the Public Relations award. April proved to be a busy month as kicked off Initiation week with Spread where our House Chairmen made us a taco dinner. On that Saturday we were able to initiate all four new members and wrap up the day by participating in the University’s Relay for Life. The next day Lambda participated in Songfest where our theme was “Tween Radio Station.” We may not have won any awards but we had a lot of fun singing and dancing on the EJ Thomas stage. April was also filled with many philanthropy events. We hosted Kapparonie and Cheese at the lodge where we sold mac and cheese to the community to raise money for Kappa Kidney Camp. We also hosted Kolor a Kappa where we sold food and people could throw water balloons filled with colored water at us. This event was super successful and we were able to raise a lot of money for Girls Academy. The Spring Semester wrapped up with Formal which was called “A night at the movies”. Over the summer our lodge underwent renovation as we got a brand new kitchen. The Fall semester began with formal recruitment. To kick start recruitment Lambda volunteered for Freshmen Move In throughout the week where we had the opportunity to help new students move into their dorms. We also participated in the Glow Party and the Ice Cream Social put on by the Fraternity and Sorority Life Office. After a fun week of formal recruitment Lambda Chapter was able to welcome 22 new members with a Katy Perry themed bid day complete with Left Shark. September proved to be an even more exciting month as Lambda was paired with Kappa Sigma and Phi Kappa Tau for a superhero themed Greek Week. October was as busy as ever as we had our annual Chapter Retreat where we played Disney themed games and ate food while bonding over our sisterhood. We were overcomealso able to have some fun at our Margaretville themed date party where we danced and at lots of good food, etcdespite the rain.)
In November we initiated 20 of our New Members as well as having socials with Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Sigma Kappa. The standards committee also hosted an overnight sisterhood to help us bond and grow as a chapter. Overall 2015 was a very good year for Lambda chapter as we were able to contribute to all of our philanthropies and build our sisterhood.