Tri Delta Digital Museum

Founder Sarah Ida Shaw Martin 50th Anniversary Message Audio, June 25-July 1, 1938 (Edited Version)

Founder Sarah Ida Shaw Martin, Boston University, reflects on the legacy of Tri Delta on the occasion of its 50th anniversary and shares her astonishment at how far Tri Delta has come. The full transcript is below.

A miracle has come to pass. Ney, many miracles have come to pass. Never in my wildest dreams did I dare to hope that I should live to see our beloved Delta Delta Delta 50 years old. Never in my earliest dreams when a college woman with a curiosity did I expect that women would one day do to college in such crowds, that Delta Delta Delta would flourish in places in that time unknown. Though we did think of Canada and of England which had just awakened to an interest in college education for women, never for one moment did I dare to hope that I could look in upon the Golden Anniversary Convention as I did last night or be able to broadcast the words that I am speaking to you at this moment. Yes, I was really there; heard the music, saw inspired young faces from every part of the United States in their lovely evening gowns. Many of you saw me too and looked at me with interest. Those of you who saw me will remember a beautiful Paris gown of black lace with a Spanish mantilla from my mother’s southern trousseau, treasured for well-nigh 75 years. In honor of our baby chapter I carried a glorious embroidered shawl from old China that had come to me as a graduating gift in Alpha’s first year, from an El Paso cousin whose daughter was admitted to Theta Psi chapter in May with a group that had waited 13 years for its charter.

The setting here, in my home is perfect; for I am broadcasting from a tower where much of my work for Delta Delta Delta was done. The tower that on its highest story carries the 3 delta shaped windows where light has glowed from many a Thanksgiving Eve calling my daughters home to the well-loved fireside. These delta windows which face the north, west and the south were placed in position in 1894 by my architect father who believed in Delta Delta Delta as completely as I did myself and who desired to express that faith in a fitting monument to an organization barely 5 years old. The tower is a beautiful setting for this broadcast, for stretched across the five windows is a tracery of asparagus fern that have been sprinkled for months with small white buds like the pearls in your badge. When they burst into blooms, they form lovely white stars. The flowers around me are also worthy of notice. There are quantities of the white flowers of the plant called Infant’s Breath that symbolize our pledges who come to us each year. There are 18 golden roses, in remembrance of the 18 girls who formed the original group, 3 of whom were present to unveil the bronze tablet yesterday at Boston University. There are also great stalks of blue delphiniums which you may know as larkspur. They represent our thousands of alumnae. There are many double ones to honor our married girls, and many single ones to represent our bachelor maids. Mrs. Grigsby told me yesterday that these flowers had no significance for her beyond their color when she selected them, but that Latin word “delphinium” means dolphin who shape the flower. Dolphins are happy followers of Poseidon. Their coming to the surface is a pledge of calm seas and sunny skies. Mrs. Grigsby can show you my conception of a dolphin entwined about a trident. She can also show you a picture of a dress that I am now wearing in honor of this golden memorial. Only the pendant at the throat is missing. That was willed 20 years ago to our successive national presidents, but Mrs. Grigsby is the first to it and in our anniversary year. Of course, there are lovely velvet pansies here with their wistful fasces. The first that came here were brought by our own Ruth Messer who was on her way to Convention, and they were picked by her mother from their own garden. The other pansies, potted and flowering in profusion, were from our and your Convention manager Helen Gerry. And now that you have the picture in your minds, there are just a few moments for my special message to Delta Delta Delta.

There is in the Greek language a root composed of two letters—Theta and Upsilon—and from that root come may words. There is one derivative that means giving thanks unto the Lord for benefits received. The Greeks gave thanks by sacrificing an animal upon the altars of their gods. And the fragrance went up to Heaven, soul satisfying, heart satisfying. It was akin to our thanks before meals. From that “spiritus” came strength for their bodies and inspiration for our souls. There is another derivative that means spirit. From that word “thoma” comes our English word for a simple herb, thyme, which gives to all it seasons a piquancy, a pungency and a savor that makes the simplest food a delight. A third derivative is the one you know and love the best. It carries the thought for which the golden candle glows. There is yet another derivative that gives us the English word enthusiasm, and that is a word that has governed all my life. Our golden word to me is not a giving-up but a giving-out enthusiastically and receiving in return some of the richest blessings that life can bestow. This, then, is the message that I would pass on to you and to Tri Delts everywhere. This I do most earnestly, for after 50 years of experience I know that this opens all the wellsprings of life and is a joy forever.
Almost from the beginning, I have sensed a mystic influence in the fashioning of our beloved sorority. When I started on the work of creating a new one my thoughts went far afield in search of attractive designs for jeweled badges; but when by pure accident a star slipped from my pencil, the whole picture stood revealed in all its beauty.

There was work to be done, much work. But it is my privilege today to testify to the goodness that has followed Delta Delta Delta all the days of its life—the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory that has come to Delta Delta Delta because it was founded on the eternal verities in which there is no variableness, neither shadow nor turning.

To those of you who have passed the mystic veil and are working in spheres of widening influence, to those of you who are now carrying on in the magnificent work of Delta Delta Delta, it is my precious privilege to give you the charge that you are to pass on the torch undimmed. For me it is Hail and Farwell!

Collection: Tri Delta Audiovisual Collection