The Theta Archives: Collecting and Sharing Theta Connections

This past year, Noraleen has been sharing with us some amazing stories and artifacts from the Kappa Alpha Theta archives. But we don’t always have an opportunity to share how we receive these items or how we use them on a daily basis.

Receiving items from members is always exciting because we uncover so many new stories. We are also sometimes surprised by different items we collect through donations; my current favorite is a small dog with the Fraternity letters on it. And there are many more artifacts that make me giggle with glee.

It is through such a wide variety of donations that we collect connections between sisters.

This summer at Theta headquarters, I have watched Noraleen provide members with histories of friends, family members, and more. For example, in June a woman sent in her great-grandmother’s badge. Upon researching the owner of the badge, Noraleen found that we actually had pictures of her great-grandmother here in the archives. The photos were from the turn of the 20th century when she was a collegian, and the donor of the badge was overjoyed to learn about her great-grandmother’s history.

It’s important to document Theta’s history so we can tell a story, not only to the world but also to ourselves, one another, and our family members. So next time you think about deleting some Theta pictures, stop and think about what kind of connection they represent … and consider sending them to the archives to share your own story with Theta.