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→The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)
The chapter house, built in 1910, had met the needs of the group until growing enrollment required annexes for additional members. There were happy times in those modest homes, but there was also an unsatisfactory separation of members. In 1938 property adjacent to the chapter house had been purchased for $13,500 and, in spite of the war, the addition was almost finished by fall, 1942. Again members returned to an unfinished house, rushees walked over planks to the front door, but a large class of 26 was pledged. The remodeling costs of $46,000 which transformed the house into one with white Georgian columns were considered well spent.
Many campus customs were revived with the war's end. The Kappa house abounded with happiness, sisterhood, campus activity, achievement, and tradition. A full social life included cherished weekends for mothers and fathers, exchange dinners, serenades, and T.G.I.F. (Thank God It's Friday) parties. Drinking was not allowed on campus and curfew was enforced. Twenty-first birthdays were celebrated at the "Pretzel Bell" with names etched on its wooden table tops. Kappa, withKappa Sigma, won first place honors for the booth at "Michigras," the biennial carnival. During this period of years when the chapter was repeatedly bringing home first place awards for scholarship, activities, and athletic participation locally, the Fraternity recognized Beta Delta with the Westermann Efficiency Award (1944), the Standards Award (1946), and the Finance Efficiency Award (1948). A Sunday round table of advisers and new and outgoing chapter officers was instituted, a practice giving greater continuity to chapter programs, later to be recommended by the Fraternity to other chapters. The year 1942 had marked the last spring initiation to be held for a decade. There followed constant revision and re-evaluation of the rushing system, forcing continual change in the chapter social and financial patterns, culminating in 1949, in a quota system designed to spread membership to all houses, but never succeeding. Seniors emerged as secure and dedicated young women in the 1950s, aspiring to assume their roles in the world. Nancy Watkins Osius became the first woman president of the Literary College senior class and was selected by McCall's Magazine as the outstanding 21-year-old woman in the country. She later received a Rotary scholarship to study in Scotland. Gloria James Kerry chose a career in dentistry and became a leading periodondist. She received a Kappa Alumnae Achievement Award some years later. More housing space was needed by 1954. The university administration recommended that the capacity be increased to 45 so the beloved back porch was rebuilt into a wing which also provided study rooms, a lounge, and a new chapter room at a cost of $75,000. By using every remaining inch of property, and spending $110,000 on another addition in 1959, it became possible to house the entire chapter of 65 under one roof. Student Government Council began to interest itself in sorority rushing procedures and membership clauses. In 1957 it dictated a return to deferred rushing, which marked the beginning of significant changes in student attitudes, and presented constant challenges to keep the sorority system alive and healthy. In 1960, Beta Delta marked its 50th year as a corporation, and in 1965, the 75th anniversary of its founding. At the celebration luncheon "diamonds" were everywhere, even glued on the euonymus sprays massed on the tables. Once gain Mildred Hinsdale, now 95, delighted the more than 200 guests with reminiscences. Interest in foreign and cultural affairs brought two exchange students to live in the house at two different times. In 1961 the chapter instituted an "awareness program" which received first place in the Fraternity's national ratings and was much discussed at the 1962 Convention. The typical student of the 1960s seriously questioned society's ethical standards. Students became the center of national interest, and the university a focal point. President John F. Kennedy launched the Peace Corps on the Michigan Union steps in October, 1960, and at the 1964 Commencement President Lyndon B. Johnson voiced his first statement on "The Great Society." Along with the emphasis on intellectual involvement came greater freedom for women. University restrictions on women's hours were relaxed and senior women were permitted to live in apartments. Beta Delta issued door keys to seniors in 1964, and to juniors and sophomores the following year. "Sign-in" was no longer required, in accordance with university policy. Beta Delta required parental approval for "key privileges," and stiff penalties accompanied the loss or misuse of a house key. In 1968, after a period of frequent change of house directors, Mrs. Renee Kelley, with her French accent and flair, arrived. In the period of unrest in the late sixties, the Michigan Daily championed Gay Liberation, Black Action, and sexual freedom while degrading the administration, local merchants, and the Greek system. Sororities were termed shallow, superficial, and strictly social. Panhellenic restructured, unstructured, and again revised rushing procedures to be more appealing and less demanding of the individual, but the number of chapters on campus dropped from 22 to 15. Kappas everywhere can be proud of Beta Delta. In spite of the general questioning of fraternity worth, the girls have been able to communicate their happy enthusiasm for Kappas, and the feeling that one can join a group without losing individuality. The house has been filled every year with Beta Deltas, not boarders, as has been the case with many other houses on campus. The full house enable the Beta Delta Association to pay off the $110,000 mortgage in the fall of 1974. During the 15 year term of the mortgage a much larger sum had been spent for taxes, interest, repairs, and improvements to house and furnishings in addition to payments on the principal. Over 70 alumnae gathered with the chapter for a champagne luncheon at 1204 Hill Street for the celebration. The mortgage was burned as Catherine Kelder Walz touched it with a lighted candle set in an owl lantern. Beta Delta Chapter and its House Board have benefited greatly from the enthusiasm and experience of "Kay" Walz, who served as chairman of the Fraternity Housing Committee for 30 years. The Ann Arbor Alumnae Association has established a loan fund in her name, and in 1965 founded the Catherine Kelder Walz Diamond Key Award in appreciation of her devoted guidance and wise financial management over four decades. She received, not only her fifty-year pin, but a lovely miniature painting of "the house that Kay built" at the time of the mortgage burning.
==Highlights of 2012==
