Even Phyllis Has the Blogging Bug!

Phyllis Dreyfuss, Beta Alpha, shared this wonderful blog with us. As you will recall, Phyllis is our oral historian and has made the trip west with Kim and Judith.

Hi. I’m Phyllis Dreyfuss, an alumna from Beta Alpha, University of Maryland, and have been privileged to be the Fraternity’s oral historian since 2002. My responsibilities have taken me to many parts of the country to meet with sisters that included all from recent graduates to those who graduated as early as 1939.

Kim, Judith and I arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday, and thus began my first series of oral histories on the West Coast. The process requires some background research to determine the role the potential interviewee played within their chapter and perhaps, nationally, either as an active, an alum or both. Once identified as being able to provide information that may help us trace our history in a way that is more personal and anecdotal than that found in the written word, our Headquarters handles the necessary releases and makes appointments for me to speak in person with our selected sister. Judith, Kim and I review the basics of my interview guide and off I go…………off to meet and have a very private conversation that include, a sister I’ve never met before and a tape recorder.

Much of what I learn serves as new insights into what makes us a diverse group to be proud of….the stories of how we have learned to work together, live together and make a difference on our campus, in our community and for our fraternity….and serves as a window as much to our past as it is to our future. We shall keep you posted on how we can best use the information we have been gathering as part of our Centennial celebration. In addition, we will keep you posted on some of the very funny experiences we have had traveling together from the East Coast….ask any of us about Factor’s Deli and we can repeat.