THE HISTORY OF KAPPA DELTA

     The thought that over 100 years ago four young women could just sit down and create a sisterhood as enduring as Kappa Delta sometimes defies understanding.  But that's exactly what they did.

     Kappa Delta's founders were four very different women.  They ranged in age from 15 to 23, yet brought a singular sense of purpose to this particular endeavor.  Their dream was to create something more lasting than a club: a sorority!  It was to be an entity that would grow beyond their own chapter at State Female Normal School.  But they never dared to dream that it would grow into an organization of more than 175,000 women, over 200 charted chapters, with nearly 500 chartered alumnae associations nationwide.

     We think of our founders as larger than life because of what Kappa Delta is today.  Certainly they were women of vision, but more than that, they were like many other young college women of 1897.  They were privileged to be attending college at all, were concerned about their studies, had to obey rules, and worried about boys and dates.

     Three of them were roommates in a dormitory, and the fourth was a friend to all.  They just happened to get together to create the organization we now hold in highest esteem -- Kappa Delta.

OUR FOUNDERS

Lenora Ashmore (Blackiston)

      Lenora was unconventional.  She was a dreamer and an idealist filled with enthusiasm for new ideas. Nicknamed "Nora," she was a writer and a poet, able to put her thoughts into action.  She was the one who first suggested the idea of forming a sorority, but was unable to put her lasting personal mark on Kappa Delta's beginnings because, after the Christmas holiday, she transferred to Randolph-Macon Woman's College.

Mary Sommerville Sparks (Hendrick)

     Mary was much loved and respected by all students at State Female Normal School.  She was known for her fine character and gentle understanding.  Mary had concern for others, perhaps because, at 23, she was more mature than the others.  She was a Bible class leader.  Mary stayed on and helped the fledgling sorority through its early years. 

Sara Turner (White)

     Daughter of a Virginia senator, Sara was gracious and friendly, but known as being a bit more straight laced than most students.  She enjoyed her friends and social activities more than she did her studies.  Sara did not return to college the next year, but remained steadfastly involved with Kappa Delta throughout her long life. 

Julia Gardiner Tyler (Wilson)

      Charming and extremely intelligent, Julia came from a distinguished and respected family; her grandfather was John Tyler, former U.S. president, and her father was the president of the College of William & Mary.  She was characterized as capable, dependable and possessing considerable artistic talent.  She illustrated most of the school's first yearbook and designed the Kappa Delta badge.  Julia spent another year at State Female Normal School before transferring to Dana Hall, a preparatory school for Wellesley College where she earned her AB degree in 1904.  She joined her founding sister Sara at Kappa Delta's 50th anniversary celebration at the 1947 convention.

     In addition to Kappa Delta, the founders were active in other campus groups and community organizations.  But they gave their best energies to the sorority, always believing that somehow Kappa Delta would grow.  That may well account for the prophetic label on the Kappa Delta photo in the State Female Normal School yearbook, the "Normal Light": Alpha Chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority.

*taken from The Norman Shield of Kappa Delta