pearls of wisdom A LOOK BACK
How the Squirrel Became
Our Mascot For
over a century, Alpha Gams have embraced the squirrel as Alpha Gamma Delta’s mascot. But do you know how it came to be the Fraternity’s official mascot? When Gamma-Wesleyan University was installed in early 1906, some enthusiastic members put their heads together to choose a mascot that would symbolize the colors and progress of Alpha Gamma Delta. They decided on the squirrel because of its energetic nature and popular appearance among the fall leaves in autumn. Beta-University of Wisconsin also adopted the squirrel as their mascot, but as time went on, the squirrel seemed to disappear. Then, in 1913, the Quarterly staff needed a name for what would become a secret addition to the magazine. Remembering the squirrels of Beta and Gamma Chapter, the Quarterly staff named the secret addition To Skiouros, the Greek name for squirrel.
The cover of To Skiouros, included in the November 1915 issue of the Quarterly.
Founder Emily Helen Butterfield, a talented artist, also adored the image of the little squirrel, and she often sketched it as part of her personal signature. When she became editor of the Quarterly in 1921, her sketches began to appear within the pages of the magazine. The little squirrel was then informally used as a Fraternity mascot until 1929, when it came to represent the Fraternity as a whole.
Founder Emily Helen Butterfield’s sketch of the squirrel from the November 1924 issue of the Quarterly.
Did You Know?
Skiouros (in Greek, Σκiουρος) combines the Greek word “σχια” meaning shady and “ουρa” meaning tail. You can download this cute squirrel graphic by going to www. alphagammadelta.org and searching “squirrel graphic.”
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