Chapter History

          The Toledo Area Alumnae chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha had its beginnings in 1940.  The initial gathering had 12 Zetas, “only four of whom had known each other before.  At the close of the second meeting it seemed as if we had always known one another.  Many new and close friendships were made.  After one year we applied for the alumnae charter.  It was granted on March 20, 1941.

          “Dues were $1 a year.  The monthly average attendance was 13.  In fact we called ourselves  ‘the thirteen’.  The treasury was never very large.  Almost all the money came from the collection of Ohio tax stamps.   …. Due to gas rationing during the war, we had a taxi fund known as S. O. Rority Fund…. One member would drive to a meeting and her passengers paid ten cents for the taxi ride. 

          “Our projects were numerous, considering the small membership.  For Founders Day in lieu of pennies, we each brought a fifty cent war stamp.  Toys, games, household goods and clothes were packed annually and shipped to the Zeta Tau Alpha Health Center in the Appalachia area of VA.  It was the national project until 1947 when the state of Virginia took it over.

“….The chapter contributed to the Gideon Society for Bibles which were sent to service men.  Sewing for the Red Cross and for Sunshine Home in Maumee were other projects.  Picnics and Rush parties for Toledo girls were held annually.  By 1946 six Toledo girls had been pledged in the area colleges…”

 The above paragraphs were an excerpt from “The Birth of Gamma Eta” written by ZTA alumna Edythe Baumgardner.  As the title suggests, the Toledo alumnae chapter was instrumental in the formation of ZTA’s 80th link in the chain of chapters.  Gamma Eta was formed from the local sorority Tau Delta Sigma in 1946 at the University of Toledo.  Our archives still have some items with their insignia and our membership includes two of the members of this local sorority.