Changes

In 1950, Gamma Kappa began working with patients at Eastern State Hospital for the mentally ill. Four or five girls go out for an evening, with cookies and drinks, to play games with the children and read to them. Dr. Davis Y. Paschall, William and & Mary president, presented in 1964, the first-place scholarship award to Gamma Kappa. The chapter has held first place for ten semesters.

The Sesquicentennial of Phi Beta Kappa, the first Greek-letter fraternity (founded by William and & Mary students in 1776), was held in Williamsburg in 1926. Up to 1974, 52 members of Gamma Kappa had been elected to Phi Beta Kappa and 73 members to Mortar Board.

Five Gamma Kappas have been graduate counselors including former Fraternity Executive Director and Executive Director of the Foundation, J. Dale Brubeck; four have been field secretariessecretari, including Dale Brubeck. Four four have served on Associate Council and two helped colonize Epsilon Gamma at the University of North Carolina.

At the time of Gamma Kappa’s founding, there were 72 on the William and & Mary faculty; in 1973, there were 426. The 16 buildings of 1923 became 106; and the 854 students 5,558.

On February 17, 1973, nearly 100 Gamma Kappas gathered at the Kappa house to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the chapter’s Installation. Three of the five alumnae who were given 50-year pins were charter members; two had been initiated later that same year. Those honored five recalled interesting, isolated facts of chapter history, such as the year the old Debtors’ Prison in Colonial Williamsburg was used for chapter meetings; the season the dean of women’s office was in the Kappa house, the first chapter home of yellow stone with an old-fashioned porch and a zigzag roof. They must have remembered, too, the thrill of seeing Gertrude Wood (Thatcher), BI—SwarthmoreSwarthmore, Kappa’s Fraternity Treasurer, when she came to inspect the local Upsilon Delta Beta—the first live Kappa they had ever seen—and of passing her Kappa key from hand to hand, thinking of the future and a chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at William and & Mary.

Gamma Kappa alumna Phyllis Galanti distinguishes distinguished herself nationally with her Vietnam P.O.W. Cause – including a 1973 Newsweek magazine cover entitled “Free at Last!” (pictured with husband Paul upon release.) Phyllis rose to hero status after leading a national campaign of wives of POWs imprisoned in Vietnam. Husband Paul (Navy Lt. Commander and pilot) was shot down in 1966 and held for almost seven years in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” While incarcerated, Phyllis set in motion a national campaign to publicize the plight of POWs and became chair of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. In adddition to pressure on US U.S. politicians – on up to the President himself – thousands of letters were written to the North Vietnames urging humane treatment and, of course, eventual release.

In 1976, Gamma Kappa spread goodwill among other Greeks as they presented baked goods to fraternities on their respective Founder’s DayFounders Days. Kappa also stole the show at Homecoming with three women serving as princesses representing the upper classes. Kappas participated in the '76 Presidential 1976Presidential Debate on campus between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. That year recruitment was changed from January to September.

In 1977, Gamma Kappa won the intramural Softball Championship, continued the annual Monmouth Duo dance with Pi Beta Phi, and the annual "Pumpkin Walk" to all sororities. Pledge class activities included helping out at the Kappa house. Sigma Chi started their Derby Days philanthropy that sparked campus-wide involvement. Gamma Kappa has always taken took an interest in other Greek philanthropies and this year was no exception. In addition, Gamma Kappa changed the pledge formal to first semester in 1977. We They had always participated in Spring spring rush, but the switch to fall caused the change in the formal. The pledge class stained porch furniture and painted the cloak room in the house. Homecoming traditions were established when we the chapter won the homecoming float competition in 1977 and 1979.

Clue Week had been known as Peanut Week until 1982, where big sisters were revealed as a surprise. Each day was assigned a different color for inspiration, as each word had an associated meaning. This year, it was voted to combine R and W rooms during initiation ceremonies. An amendment was made to the chapter standing rules which would free the membership chair chairman from living in the chapter house.

On Halloween in 1982 Gamma Kappa delivered carved pumpkins to the other sororities and to President Graves. The chapter vocal group, Fit Your Fancy, performed during Rush and Mother-Daughter Tea. The philanthropy, Kappa Kakes, was revived this year, winning the chapter recognition at the National Fraternity Convention with the Pauline Tomlin Award for Outstanding Philanthropic Work. The chapter also won honorable mention for their Cultural Activitiesits cultural activities.

Among this year's the highlights of 1983-84 was capturing fourth place in the sorority float division during Homecoming, and having the Fall fall Pledge Dance at the lovely Williamsburg Lodge. Gamma Kappa also sponsored the Best of Rush as a Panhellenic gesture and to show pledges and alumnae the favorite skits of each sorority. In February, Gamma Kappa hosted several Fraternity officers at the annual Celebration of Sisterhood Banquet.

In the spring of 1985 four Gamma Kappas traveled to Blacksburg to stand serve as big sisters to a new chapter, Zeta Mu at Virginia Tech. The Gamma Kappa chapter presented Zeta Mu with a brass key to commemorate their installation. The highlight was meeting Fraternity President, Marian Klingbeil Williams. Missoouri.

Also in 1985 the House Board did a complete renovation of the chapter house with new wallpaper and paint, new furniture and new countertops in the re-done renovated kitchen. Chapter size increased with a record pledge class of 38 young women. In fullfilling the chapter goal of “Commit Yourself,” the chapter saw improvements in scholarship and philanthropy. For philanthropy the chapter supported a foreign foster-child, participated with Theta Delta Chi fraternity in an Easter egg hunt at Eastern State Hospital and with the Sigma Chi Circle K Christmas Party. Kappas won the overall first prize at their the Sigma Chi Derby Day balloon sale. The chapter newsletter, The Owlette, reported changes on the campus, such as the departure of President Graves, succeeded by President Verkuil, the opening of a new restaurant, Sakura, a popular Japanese restaurant, and the plans to renovate Ewel Hall and build a new Campus and Recreation Hall behind William and & Mary Hall in 1987.

Gamma Kappa consistently had the highest GPA on campus and this year, held an Easter Egg Hunt with Theta Delta at Eastern State Hospital.

Highlights of 1987 included chapter involvement in the colonization and installation of Zeta Omicron at the University of Richmond, helping with rush and serving as big sisters during initiation. The chapter philanthropy event raised funds for Multiple Sclerosis and placed third in Sigma Chi's Derby Day raising money for Red Cross and Sigma Chi's Wallace Foundation. The Gamma Kappa float placed fourth in the Homecoming Parade. Eight members attended Province Meeting at The the University of West Virginia and for the first time, Gamma Kappa alumnae began an annual drive for funds to help the House Board fund improvements in the chapter house.

The Gamma Kappa alumnae newsletter changes its name in 1988 to the Kolonial Kappa with the news that the chapter won “Outstanding Greek Chapter” award, selected by the Dean of Student Affairs, and at the National Fraternity Convention in Boca Raton, won the Fraternity Ritual Award and Honorable Mention for Scholarship. Alumnae contributions to the House Fund continued, making it possible to remodel the upstairs bathroom and purchase new porch furniture. Actives stay stayed busy on campus and in the community in a variety of philanthropy activities such as Habitat for Humanity, Childfest at Magruder Elementary and the annual Easter Egg Hunt for the children of Eastern State Mental Hospital. Scholarship shinescontinued to shine, with the chapter grade point rising from 3.07 to 3.21, and the scholarship committee presenting a program linking working alumnae around the country to seniors in search of careers.

For the second year, Gamma Kappa is was named “Outstanding Chapter” at William and & Mary. The chapter goal was Keyed up for K(appa) K(ommittee) G(rowth) aiming to increase chapter efficiency and productivity within their the committees. On Halloween the chapter carved pumpkins with each of the other sorority's letters and delivered them, singing “Pumpkin Carols,” and hosted a Kappa Kostume Party, inviting fraternities and sororities with “Kappa” in their name to bring canned goods for the Salvation Army. Four Kappas were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

The chapter is housed at 111 Richmond Rd. in Williamsburg. The building is owned by the College, and is operated under the same rules as the dormitories. The Gamma Kappa House Board sees to oversees the upkeep and furnishing of the house, but the College is responsible for repairs, painting, etc.