Please click on a founders' photo to read her biography.
Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little
Little was raised by a family friend because both her parents were killed when she was three years old. She graduated from Shortridge High School in 1915 when she was teaching. Little moved to Los Angeles with her husband and finished her undergraduate training at UCLA. She taught in the Los Angeles school system until her retirement in 1967. The Mary Lou Loving Cup Award is presented at each Boule to the chapter reporting the most successful program.
Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson
Johnson was a product of the Indianapolis Public School System and received both B.S. and M.S. degrees from Butler University. In 1923, she received her first teaching assignment and over the years she was promoted to principal of one of the largest elementary schools in Indianapolis. She was also very involved with many clubs and organizations dedicated to community service and retired in 1966.
Vivian White Marbury
Marbury attended Shortridge High School and the Indianapolis Normal School. She received a B.S. from Butler University and a Masters from Columbia University in New York City. Her professional career included teaching at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Director of Practice Training of teachers from Butler University, Indianapolis University and Indianapolis State University. Marbury organized Public School 87 which grew from a 4 room portable school to 18 rooms and 24 teachers, where she was principal for 39 years until her retirement in 1967. She married in 1929 and is the mother of two children
Bessie Mae Downey Rhoades Martin
Martin was the youngest of six children and attended grade school in Indianapolis. She graduated from the Manual Training High School and the City Teachers Normal and taught school for over 25 years. She married twice and was a devoted wife and hard worker in the school and the Sorority.
Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford
Redford graduated from South Bend Central High School cum laude, from Indiana Stat Teachers College with a B.S. and Butler University with a M.S. She also studied at Western Reserve in Cleveland and Indiana University Extension. She taught one year in Terra Haute, and 37 years in Indianapolis, IN. She was Grand Epistoleus, Grand Tamiochus, Financial Consultant and received various awards from the Sorority. Plaques are awarded in Redford’s name at each Boule for the best exhibits for chapter achievements.
Cubena McClure
McClure graduated from Shortridge High School, the Indianapolis City Normal School and attended Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She won the Gregg Scholarship which she planned to use to attend Columbia University, but due to illness she could not accept the scholarship. McClure was talented in art and she helped design the Sorority pin. She died very young on August 24, 1924.
Dorothy Hanley Whiteside
Whiteside graduated from Shortridge High School and entered the Indianapolis Normal School. In 1922, when in training as a cadet teacher she met the teachers who became her best friends and Founders of the Sorority. She taught school until 1951 when she retired and later helped her husband to develop a business. She also started her own millinery business and worked with her church and various organizations. After the death of her husband, she ran their business from 1955-57 and returned to teaching in 1959 where she remained until her retirement in 1970.