Kappa Tau Scrapbook

The Kappa Tau Club was formed in the fall of 1948 by a group of girls who attended the Demonstration School at Mississippi Southern College (now The University of Southern Mississippi. These eight classmates formalized their friendship into a club for the dual purposes of hosting social events and conducting charitable works. The club was strictly an extracurricular organization, and it is not mentioned in the Demonstration School annuals. Meetings were held in the homes of members, and the group established a functional and formal system of electing officers, taking minutes, and collecting dues. Club officers were president, vice-president, secretary-treasurer, and historian.

It is not known why Kappa Tau was selected as the club’s name. However, at various points, attempts were made to change the name of the club. One of the alternative names was “The Darling Dixie Dolls”, which only lasted one week. The club’s colors were green and white, and its motto was “vera semper.”

Kappa Tau instituted two annual events. The first was a Mother-Daughter Tea held in late spring, and the second was a Progressive Dinner held each winter. From time to time, the club also hosted Coke (Coca-Cola) parties, spend-the-night parties, taffy pulls, and ice cream parties. Charitable works included donating money to the March of Dimes, preparing a “sunshine box” for an ill member, sending condolence cards, and preparing a box for a needy family.

There is no clear termination date for the Kappa Tau Club. The final entry in the minutes is dated July 26, 1955, and it describes installation of new officers. Therefore, it is likely that the club continued beyond the scope of this collection.