Senate Concurrent Resolution 544

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DESIGNATING SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2023, AS "DELTA GAMMA FRATERNITY DAY" IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI IN COMMEMORATION OF THE SESQUICENTENNIAL FOUNDING IN OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, (1873-2023) AT THE LEWIS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS.

WHEREAS, Delta Gamma Fraternity was founded in December, 1873, at the Lewis School for Young Ladies in Oxford, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Mary Comfort (Leonard), Eva Webb (Dodd), and Anna Boyd (Ellington) could not get home to Kosciusko, Mississippi, for the Christmas holidays due to inclement weather and impassable roads. Unable to be with their families that holiday, the young women decided to make their own. Cousins Eva Webb and Anna Boyd, along with Mary Comfort, founded Delta Gamma Fraternity at the University Avenue Lewis School for Females' site; and

WHEREAS, when the idea came to three homesick girls to found a fraternity or club in Oxford, Mississippi, they did not realize they were laying the cornerstone for an eventual international organization of currently over 250,000 initiated members; and

WHEREAS, Mary Buie of Oxford, who was one of the first four young women initiated into Delta Gamma Fraternity at the Lewis School, later bequeathed the funds to build a museum as a gift to the City of Oxford, which opened in 1939, and now operates on University Avenue overseeing numerous collections and exhibits; and

WHEREAS, the First Presbyterian Church of Oxford was the church home for the young founders, and Eva Webb Dodd's name is actually scribed in the membership book of 1873; and

WHEREAS, the first Delta Gamma Convention and the first sorority convention were held in Oxford, Mississippi, at the Henry Herman Wohlleben home near Madison Avenue in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1881, with Fraternity President Lillie Wohlleben with Glenn/Hudson of Oxford calling the meeting to order; and

WHEREAS, Mississippi has had two Fraternity presidents: Lillie Wohlleben from Oxford, Mississippi, and Wilma Johnson Wilbanks of Cleveland, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the original Delta Gamma House at The University of Mississippi was built in 1938 as the first sorority house on campus and designated as a memorial house honoring the founders of Oxford, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the Delta Gamma Fraternity is hosting a Homecoming celebration in Oxford, Mississippi, on July 1, 2023, where the fraternity membership is invited to spend the day in Oxford; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we join the City of Oxford in celebrating this landmark event in the history of this outstanding fraternity, the City of Oxford and the University of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby designate Saturday, July 1, 2023, as "Delta Gamma Fraternity Day" in the State of Mississippi in commemoration of the Sesquicentennial Founding in Oxford, Mississippi, (1873-2023) at the Lewis School for Girls, and extend the greetings of the Legislature at this auspicious event.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Delta Gamma representatives at the Homecoming celebration, forwarded to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Oxford and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.