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VOLUME III 0
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JM!UARY 2;:.=, 1917 .,
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NO , 16 0
IN HEMORIA.M Elva Doyle Reed was the first member of i\.lpha Si gr.aa 'Tis saj.d Death l oves Alpl1a to attain the · crmm imperishc>.ble . a shining I?ark. He could not have found in Alpha Sigma !:.. lpha a mor e bear2t1.ful charact er , a mo re belc·ve d member, a mor e widely . . . ~no~n worker, a more effici~nt Councillor . The loss t o Alpha Sigma 1.s 1.rreparable, for there 1.s no one that can ever fill her plac e i11 just the way that she did . Her ta~cing away in the full flush of h e alth from a work that she loved., -frcm a po st where she waf:i rendering a distinct and invaluable service is something to which it i s not easy to be reconciled. It was· her mother who has eased i n a measure the poignant pai n over th e ilioss of her, for it was her mother who said,"She has only gone ahe ad, so a s to be ready towel M1, mo~hers upderste.nd! Heaven is a come her sorority sis te r s •.; sweeter place because Elva Doy l e Reed is there . Alpha Sigma Al pha is so young , having but two years t o its credit since the r ebrr;aniza tion of th e Sorority in No v emb er of _ 1 9 14 , -th at it has not had time to arrange for many of the things tha t from a vital part of long- established orders , It has a s ye~ no burial service , no memo rial servicei no r egul at ions concerning · the wearing of mourning . When, howev e r, the t e legram came announcing the Sorority ' s gr eat loss, your National President sent out instructions at onc e to a ll t:'::e Chapter s. Thes e i nstructions wer e based on the best Hell enic custom, and explained t he offici a l draping of the badge with black_ g rosgrain ri0bon, as we ll as stating th e . length -Df t he mourning po :c::i.o cL The instruc.tions re ached the Ee.st er n Chapters in ·c1.me for -tl1em to wear mourning on the day of t he funeral . Alpha Beta re ce ived vvord dir ec t from Iowa City, and so had an opportunity to add ' a shee.f of na~ci ssi to the spray of whit e chry s anthemums s ent in the name of the national Sorority , as well as t:o be repres e:;.J.ted at the fu:neTa l in Sh e lbyville , Ho., on December 12th, by Ida-A. J ewett, Fa cul ty A dvisor ~ M ~rio n Gardne r Bl ackwell, Stat~ Secr etary , an d Dale Zeller , Chapter Pres1dent . I da Jewe tt, writi n g immediat ely afterwards, stated tha t the funera l at the Me thodist Church was perfect in ev ery detail, that t~e ro were quantiti e s of flowers and hosts of friends, many of whom had lcnown our Elva s inc e chi11:dhood, and all of Y.:hom. spoke of h er l '"'v oly una ssuming v-.:ays, of her sHeet influ ence over ev e r yone wi t ~1 Frh.om -she c.ame in touch. The Iowa Oi t y 1 ~~ irk~ill e and She lbyvill r: ~!<! p ers .O'.l l devo te d much s pace to acc ounts of her "life, while mak i ng Dention of th e unusua l sweet ness of her po ~sona lity . Tho death o:f ·Elva Doyl e Roo d came homo ·wi th peculiar forc e and signific ance: t Alpha Bota 1 for tho Chapt e r ua n in the midst of t ho Initi at i on SDrvice vvhon t ho to l egrc:.m r e2. c h r· ~ !·:i rl<svil~e . and it had a t hand l etters of g re e ting and instru ct i on from her . Theru was no break in tho Scrvi t:.o , becau se those i n- charg e felt that
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that it would bo Elva's Tiish that tho Chap~c r go on with tho s acred ·ceremony, but -ovary ASA in Iiirlcsvillu vms sad that niE:,h t. a n ( for long days aftorv72.rds . They roc2.llod w:1.th pain that Elva 1 s b uri 2. l day w2.s tho second anni vo:;."'sary of hor installation of the I(i r1-csvi llo group as Alpha Be ta Chapter, v-rhon, assisted by Lonnye Tucko r, she had initiated fort~-throo young vvo1nen into Alpha Sigma Alpha, alumnae, acti v.os and pledges of ICappa Theta Psi . Those pr esent on that occasion will long remember the joy, tho inspiration, tho fervor in Elva's face as she welcomed form e r associate s into the lsrgor and more si~Jificant membership of a National Sorority. A few days a fter th e funeral, Alpha Beta hold a little Memorial Service 1 wbon thoce ;vho had l{novm Elva intimately ende avored to make the new ini t"L :1t es real ·: .z o :s :)Elo t.hinr; of the svre etncss a.:1d. beauty of tho lif e ·L,hat ~1 ac. p as se d beyond the stars 1 somethjnc; of v.rhat her 2.nfluence had boon :..n Alpha Sigma Alpi1a, something of what the loss of, her me ant t o t:he Natior12. l So"'ori ty, something of vrhat Alpha Sigma Alpha co1..:;.ld b e made to iJ:an in ~he life of every memb e r who should try to li v o according -~ o i t.s idGals. Alpha Beta, t.hrou~h one of its over-thoughtful members, had a share in another littl e Uemcrial Service, one that was hold on Christmas Eve in tho home of your Nationa l President. The followlbng letter Hill show h ow thj_s came t o pass . Dear Mre. hlartin:I know that your Christmas candles this year will bring you tl1oughts no t only of our greatest Exemplar, but also of tho srrect, p:"ro spirj.t of our El.V'<l ? who made her sacrific e for Emothor. I chose these ~ 2. n~ dles hoping ;¢ou would see much that is symbolic in t~1em and believing that, as the 11hi t o in them p r edomin a t e s tho black, so wj.ll ttw radi ance of h e r memory outli ~.r e t h o b it.terness of our g ri ef ; and thst 7 in death as in li fo, oho will be the li ght of our Sorori t~r ,
With
sinc e rest lov e, Ida A. Jewet t .
The candl es, four in numb e r, ~o·Je r e r.1oulded square, each side striped with a bcmd of blaclc 7hey wo re l:!i~glJlted at n o 1 clock and burned until midnight., whi J. e y our Nat ional Presidertt read in their radiance Tenny son 1 s beauti fu l 11 In Momoriam 11 , -" a ri ed at tirn e s with several lovely s on~ s ·whos e vrords ar e pe rha!JS familiar to Y?u all, but which aro gi v on h ere bec-au se of their singu lar ap p roprlc,teness for a member of 1\.l ph a Si gma 1\.l iJha ·11vl1o passed. away a t sunset · Suns et o.rrd ov e:.1.inG sta r ~ An d one clear c a ll f or mQ! And may thel~e be no moaning of the bar, \'!h en I l?U t out to ~..,e<J. 1 But s uch a tide a s moving seems asle e p ; To o full f or sound and f oam ~ When that which dr e w f rom . out the boundless dee p Turns a g ain :vJmA.
Twilight ar_d e veni r! !~ bell ; And aft e1· tho.'..; t.:l r'; d :~. r.k : And may ther o b & no s2.cinoc: s oi' !'arov J J , When I embark ; For Tho' from ot~t our bourne of Time 2.nc P J.a Ge The flood may bear me far 1 I hope to see my P~lot face to face Wnon I have crost the bar.
In the lanDof fadeless day Lies the "City Four-souare" ... It shall never pas s away , ' 1 .And there is 'no night there 1i , God shall 11 wipe ama:y all tears 11 1 There' s no death , no pain, nor fears; .And they count not time by years , -In that"City Four-square 11 • All the gates of pearl are made 1 the 11 0ity 1four-squar0 11 ) 11.ll the streets with g~ld a re laid 1 And there is "no night ther ea, God shall 11 wipe away al l tears 11 , There' s no death, no pain, nor tears 1 And they count not time by years 1 In the 11 City Four-square ;' .
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Believing t hat every member of Alpha Sigma Al pha woul d prize greatly, and in some cases treasur e f or years 1 a picture of Elva Doyle Reed, the PHOENI~~ s ecure d for it s fifteenth issue the littl e folder that is enclosed , The Sorority is indebted to Mi ss Jevre tt 1 who most graciously at t endod to al l the detail worl<: in connect ion with the printing, The quot a tion from Emerson on pag e three is her sepection, The poem, entitl ed 11 Fai th 11 is one that your National President has long love d . It c ame ins tant l y to mind at the time of the Sorority's g r eo..t loss 1 both . because of the time of year, and also because of' the referenc e to May, a month peQuliarl y sacred to Alpha Sigma Alpha. · Al thour;h the membe r ship has had unde r considerat ion many suggestions for memorials of 8lva Do¥le Reed , the li t t le fo lde r was the first one to be cr y stal l~ ze d , into shape , Ui thin the present month, how·ever, a second one has been ostabliohed. Among Mrs. Rood' ~· bequests was ono leaving ~~ 50 to your National President, tho only instruction being that tho money vras to b e devot e d to tho PHOENIX . It was undoubtedly her pla n to tide the magazine over tho unusual financial strain under which it is l nboriri8 this yec.r bocauso of the abnormal and oxorbitnnt pri.:: c n thnt must be paid for suyiios, but your President could not bring herself to usc for ophor me ral purposes money that had such sacred associations. She has turned it ov er , tJ.1orcforc, to the Nro.tionn.l Troo.surer with instructions to doposi t it o..s tho nucleus of tho ELVJ~ DOYLE REED LIFE SUBSCRIPTION FUND; with
66. ~ho husband,. Char~cs R. Ro od, nncl tho si st er , Ge r trude Doy}_o, a mem ber of ~he K~rlcsvJ.lle Chapter, :J.s the f :;_rs·c beneficiari e s, these tno to receJ. ve the · PHOENL~ during their l LL'e-~ :i. mo. The Life Subs crip t ion ?l~n is one that h a s ceen in use for some years among the older and s tronger I e ll enic orders . The fcc for this so-called iilife 0 subscription :i.s generally p laced at ~~?,5, · ~s this sum put out to interest at 1-% -vrill yi eld annually ~1, v1hich J.S the regular price of Hellenic j ournals . ~lpha Sigma 1 lpha has never arranged for such a fund 2,1 th ough i t h as an endov/ffient for t he ~HOENI X. Doubtless it i•roulc~ have followed -others in this par ticul a l~ J.n the years to come, but it could no t have come until the membershi 1 had been willing to shov-r it s beli e· in the magazine , It was Elva -Doyle Reed Is faith in the PI:OE n~~ that ll.as made this foundat ion ppssible. Tl1.is is somethinr; that r.m st never be for gotten. Th . . PHOENIX is the first magazine th~t had an endorrrJent f und provided fo r at birth? and it i s . t~1.e first that ever ha,d e stablished in it~ honor, within two y a ars of its publication , a Lif e Subscription Fund. Your National Presi dent h op e s, of course, t h 2..t this Fund will grow rapidly, not only thro the addition of lif e s ubscriptions from those who knew and lov e d Elva Doyle Reed, and believe with her in the glorious destiny or :.l pha Si gma !~.lpha ; but al so thro addition; from other sources . The copies now ft;_r·:'li shed for the C}1.apter File s are not charged up to the chapte r s 7 but ar e a fre e will offering . Even if the chapters wer e to pay for these copies 1 the income would be ~~6, an amount t oo sma.ll t o affec t mat e rially the financial fa te of the PHOENI X. If , hoviever, there i·re re on the roll, not six , but 40~ 50 ; pr 60 , as may b e expec ted in the years ahe a d, the strain of furnishing free co pie~ for t h e ChalYi:.e r Files woul d be u nwarrantable , When the t ime comes :Z'or the PHOENI X to be a printed and bound mq.gazine, with a large c omp+iment.ary exchange lis t, it will be -uite impossible to furnish co pie 3 f or th e eh2..pt er ~ ileo, or fo r the School Lib raries where our chapters may be locat ed, unless t her e is s ome such fund as the one that h as been estab lished through the beques t of Elva Doyle Reed. Such a Hemori a l ao t h is, far-r e aching as may b e its effectm in the years to come 1 can not compare in power or perman enc e with those that Elva Doyl e Reed herself established in the hearto of hor friends. The mails have been heavy vii th tributc.s from those v1h o felt impelled to 6xprcss th eir d ocp sonse of ~ ratitude for the pro cious privilege of lcn~YVling he r . Thoro is one who spealcs of her as 1 incomparable' , and ago.in 1 indis pensable' . Another ·wh o had never soon her says tha t the l o ss uas that of 'a per sonal fri end ', so deep had tho influence boon . The tributes ne r o not confined t o nembors of !l.li)h D. Sigmo. Alpfp.. . The Kirlc ov illo Bhaptor of Tri Si gma expro~se d dee p s orrav over her doo.t h , o.nd a National Officer of the Delt a Slgm~ Epsil on Sorority cxprc s cod c ondol ences, adding a pers onal tcsttmony of her gr eat admirati on for Elva Doyl e Rood, Ylhom she had'f ounc1 a t o.ll times unfailingly c ourt e ous .::m d generous 1 • Somo · f thso peopl e P-lay forget in time tho on e uhom Alpho. Si gmo. Llph o. shoul d forcvcrr:10 r e cheri sh , but tho gontl o influenc e of o.. oi nccrc, c o:mrJ:Jous, ChristJ.L'..n life can never be l o st, fo r that influen ce lives on thr ough the centuries. "Wha±. is exc ellent, As God '1ivos, i s po rmanc nt 11 •