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Trinkets Fit for Tinseltown: Convention Favors that
Sparkle and Shine By: Liz Johns, Delta Omicron • National Archivist A long-time Convention tradition has been to send
of stylish Sigmas, but they have been cleaned up and
Sigmas off with a small trinket as a memento. These
displayed in the Memorial Room in the Walton House
favors adorn the desks, dressers, nightstands and jewelry
to take us back in time.
armoires of Sigmas around the country.
Come see these and more at the 50th Anniversary
If you have been to a recent Convention, you may have
Celebration in May! Speak with the Archivist and
left with a silver badge box, a desk clock, or a piece of
members of the Archives Committee as you explore the
jewelry. Jewelry and jewelry storage seem to have been
house and celebrate 50 years of Tri Sigma in Woodstock.
among the most frequently distributed Convention favors—if you attended the Minneapolis Convention in 2010, you may be wearing a compass pendant necklace. Badge boxes have also remained popular throughout Convention history. At a recent Convention, Sigmas received silver jewelry boxes to store and protect their precious badges. Earlier Conventions distributed small,
We invite you to share information about any Convention favors you have collected over the years, and special stories you remember about Conventions past. For questions about the Archives and its collections, or submitting materials to the Archives, contact Liz Johns, National Archivist at archives@trisigma.org.
flat gold boxes lined with red felt, with our crest adorning the lid. And through the years we have seen Convention favors change with the styles of the times. How about a silver seashell ashtray? What would you have brought home if you had attended the 1908 Convention in Lynchburg, Virginia? Or the 1917 Convention in Edgewater Beach in Chicago? At the 1908 Convention, Bess Bennett Brower Willis, Gamma, was elected our second national president, and Sisters went home with a round pin featuring a smaller version of the indented triangle badge. Many Sisters pinned these to their coats and sweaters, but we have only one left in our collection. In 1917, women were accessorizing their hats with pins that were not only chic, but also functional. (Women had to pin their hats into their hair to keep them on their heads— we’re not talking about ball caps here!) The Archives still has a few hatpins in the collection, including the triple sigma pin, and the 1917 Edgewater Beach Convention pin. Today, these items are no longer adorning the hats
Top // Badge box from a previous Convention Bottom Left // 1908 Convention Favor Bottom Right // Hat pins from Convention 1917 The Tr i a n g l e |
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