History of Kappa Delta | The Founders | Symbols | Atlanta Night Awards

The Dreamers at State Female Normal School
"A chilly rain spattered against the windowpanes of the little room on Professional Hall, the dormitory floor where most of the seniors lived. Saturday meant no classes, and the dreary weather that hung over Farmville was a perfect excuse for the four friends to tuck themselves away in that cozy spot and talk for hours about nothing and everything. We of the present day can almost see them, three teenagers and a young woman in her early twenties, sitting sprawled on Mary Sparks' bed in the simply furnished room she shared with Sara Turner and Lenora Ashmore.

It was that afternoon that Kappa Delta was born - October 23, 1897 - at the State Female Normal School in Virginia." The women sat together with their close friend, Julia Tyler, and thought about having a sorority at the school much like the fraternities of which their male friends were members. Their goal was to form an organization which would last for generations to come, providing true friendships and life-long bonds of love. Each woman contributed her personal strengths to the formation of a solid foundation for the sorority. The best of friends, they could not have been more different...
 

Lenora Ashmore (Blackiston), fondly referred to as Nora by her friends, was the romantic of the four. Throughout her life, she contributed generously to causes. Idealistic and imaginative, she dreamed of becoming a writer. These lofty aspirations were not without practicality, for she held her beliefs closely and was known to be a loyal and dutiful friend. This affinity for friends is what made her co-founders take her inspiration for a sorority to heart. Throughout her short life, Lenora remained involved in Kappa Delta. She also became a published writer in journals throughout the South before her death in 1923.

Julia Gardiner Tyler (Wilson), granddaughter to former
President John Tyler, was a "sparkling fusion of brains and charm." Sara Turner once said she "illuminated any room she entered." Julia not only achieved high marks in her studies, but also excelled in the arts, designing Kappa Delta's badge and authoring the sorority's first song, "A Faithful Band of Sisters We." Upon graduation, Julia became a teacher and married Dr. James Southall Wilson, a professor at the University of Virginia. She remained active in Kappa Delta throughout her life, often being treated like royalty by later sisters. She died on November 29, 1965.

Sara Turner (White), daughter of a Virginia state senator, was the true Southern belle amongst the four founders. Although she was the youngest girl (15 years of age as a second year student) enrolled in the school, Sara was popular with all her classmates and with the boys at nearby Hampden-Sydney. "Sagie," as she was nicknamed, left the university in 1898 and married Arthur March White in 1909. She continued to be involved in Kappa Delta, as well as her church and community in Norfolk, Virginia. Sara was extremely gracious and kind, always desiring news about Kappa Delta until her death on February 15, 1968.

Mary Sommerville Sparks (Hendrick) was the first spiritual leader of Kappa Delta: the true heart and soul of he organization. Although an unlikely candidate for a founder because of her age, 23 years at the founding, Mary inspired devotion in her friends because of her kind, gentle, and sympathetic nature. She had a maturity of judgment and an essential goodness which bound the early stages of Kappa Delta. Mary stayed at the school until 1902, when she left to pursue her masters' degree in teaching at the University of Virginia. Married to T.W. Hendrick in July 1909, Mary was only to live one more year. She died during childbirth, an ironic end for the woman who had mothered Kappa Delta for so many years. Her tombstone bears the inscription: "Blessed are the pure in heart."

All quotations taken from "Ordinary Miracles: 100 Years of Kappa Delta History" by Cynthia Allen Weston.