Our Roots

As early as 1899, Pi Phi alumnae in Baltimore were gathering as a social club. In 1906, the Baltimore, Maryland, Alumnae Club was formally organized by Michigan Alpha Alice Satterhwaite Wood, Maryland Alphas Lucy Murray, Helen Doll Tottle, Irene Fenton Clinger, Blanche Reisinger and May Keller, Pennsylvania Alphas Ester Cox, Edith Lewis and Helen Hull and Colorado Alpha Elizabeth Culver Hazzard. The club’s monthly meetings were devoted to the interests of the Maryland Alpha Chapter, the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School, local philanthropy and social activities. Blanche Reisinger managed a magazine subscription agency that raised more than $100—nearly $4,000 today—for the Settlement School. At the time, 32 Pi Phis lived in Baltimore, 16 of whom were active members of the alumnae club.