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Mortar Board Records, 1929-1975

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Mortar Board
Title
Mortar Board Records
Dates
1929-1975 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 cubic foot
Collection Number
MG371 (collection)
Summary
Minutes of meetings, correspondence, activity plans and plaques awarded by this honor society at the University of Idaho.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

Mortar Board, Inc., is a national honor society of college seniors, which recognizes in its membership the qualities of superior scholastic ability, outstanding and continual leadership, and dedicated service to the college or university community.

The University of Idaho chapter was organized in 1921, and chartered by the national organization in 1923, although no records exist until 1929. Among their activities were selling mums for homecoming, serving as hostesses for campus functions, sponsoring the Spinster Skip dance and the Narthex table, a tea which honored outstanding junior women, and overseeing the May Fete during which plaques were awarded to outstanding freshmen and sophomores. The group remained active on campus until the mid 1970's when apathy set in. In recent years attempts have been made to revitalize the group.

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Content Description

The first recorded meeting of the University of Idaho chapter of Mortar Board was held at the Blue Bucket, October 1, 1929; its officers were President, Laura Clark; Treasurer, Ruth Newhouse; and Secretary, Marylou Craven. Minutes for all subsequent meetings through 1956 were originally contained in a three ring notebook, but were transferred to folders during processing. Many years are missing, indicating either that regular meetings were not held or that no minutes were kept.

Other records, mostly dating from the 1960s, include chapter reports, historian's correspondence from the national organization, plans for the May fete, membership lists, correspondence from the national organization, and the national membership directory for 1979-1982. An index to the Quarterly, the publication of Mortarboard, is also part of the collection.

Several scrapbooks of activities and two plaques awarded to outstanding sophomores conclude the records.

A final item is a membership register for the Cardinal Key , another honorary group, for the years 1934/1935-1945.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Records of the University of Idaho chapter of Mortar Board were donated the library by Student Advisory Services in January 1992.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection
  • Description: Mortar Board Records
    221 items
    Dates: 1929/1930 - 1955/1956
    Container: Box/Folder 1/1-3
  • Description: Chapter reports and programs
    6 items
    Dates: 1964-1969
    Container: Box/Folder 1/4
  • Description: Historian
    18 items
    Dates: 1966-1975
    Container: Box/Folder 1/5
  • Description: May fete
    10 items
    Dates: 1964-1972
    Container: Box/Folder 1/6
  • Description: Membership lists
    23 items
    Dates: 1921-1969
    Container: Box/Folder 1/7
  • Description: National Council meetings, annual
    3 items
    Dates: 1967-1968
    Container: Box/Folder 1/8
  • Description: National conferences, triennial
    2 items
    Dates: 1964
    Container: Box/Folder 1/9
  • Description: National correspondence
    26 items
    Dates: 1966-1969
    Container: Box/Folder 1/10
  • Description: National membership directory
    1 item
    Dates: 1979-1982
    Container: Box/Folder 1/11
  • Description: Quarterly index
    2 items
    Dates: 1964-1967
    Container: Box/Folder 1/12
  • Description: Scrapbook
    1 item
    Dates: 1938-1952
    Container: Box/Folder 1/13
  • Description: Scrapbook
    1 item
    Dates: 1960/1961
    Container: Box/Folder 1/14
  • Description: Scrapbook
    1 item
    Dates: 1966/1967
    Container: Box/Folder 1/15
  • Description: Mortar Board plaque presented by Leah Tuttle Buchanan in honor of the sophomore woman with the highest scholastic average
    1 item
    Dates: 1953/1954-1960/1961
    Container: Box/Folder 1/16
  • Description: Plaque presented by Mortar Board in honor of the sophomore women with the highest scholastic average
    1 item
    Dates: 1962-1971
    Container: Box/Folder 1/17
  • Description: Cardinal Key membership register
    1 item
    Dates: 1934/1935-1945(?)
    Container: Box/Folder 1/18

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Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Mortar Board (Society). University of Idaho Chapter
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