A to Z April Challenge: K is for Kappa

Genealogists and family historians get a lot of satisfaction from chasing their ancestors’ stories. Finding a diary, a message on a postcard, or a photo with a name attached is like the sun coming out after a storm. One day we will be somebody’s ancestor. We need to leave our descendants a little bit of sunshine too. So here is my story told alphabetically, not chronologically: Growing Up in Cradock.

is for Kappa.

At Cradock High School there were three service clubs open to the girls. At the beginning of the new school year, my friends and I attended a meeting of Delta. The meeting was a joke, so terribly disorganized. Not impressed. Then we tried Admiralettes. Right off the bat, the president announced there were limited slots available and she wasn’t sure all of us visiting that day could get in. Hrmph. These were definitely the cool girls. I thought I was pretty cool, semi-popular, but I knew right away I was not in their league.

Like Goldilocks finding the right porridge, chair, and bed, we knew from the first meeting Kappa was a good fit. The president Cheryl was funny, welcoming, and a natural leader. For the next three years, my friends and I were devoted members and took part in all the Kappa activities.

1966-67 Kappa Officers 

One of our main projects was painting the lines in the parking lot just before school started. Now how this came to be a club project instead of general maintenance I have no idea. But we made it fun. When we finished, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to Burger Chef, the first fast-food joint in our area, years ahead of McDonalds. We could get a burger, fries, and drink plus change for a dollar.

Burger Chef on George Washington Hwy in the mid-1960s
photo courtesy Todd Renigar Monis

Logo found on Pinterest

Another major project that always provided lots of laughs was “Send a Mouse to College.” Tuition for one mouse was 51 cents. I Googled just recently to learn what this project was all about because I had forgotten. The project provided mice for cancer research. The conversation online was heated ranging from blasting the American Cancer Society for animal cruelty to blasting them for taking advantage of little school children who merely wanted the glory of raising the most money but who did not understand “the ugly truth.” Oh man! And here I thought we were advancing medical science. Seriously, having lost both parents to cancer, I am glad for any advancement in research for prevention and cure.

Like all clubs at Cradock, Kappa always entered a float in the Homecoming parade. My house was the designated “float” house. Every year I rearranged the lawnmower, paint cans, and old screens in the garage to make room for our creation. I could never be sure if my parents were glad for the cleaning or annoyed at hosting a houseful of giggling girls night after night. At any rate, my parents survived three homecoming floats.

In my day, tissue paper carnations were the main ingredient of a float. Yes, we made tissue flowers from either Kleenex or toilet paper by stacking and folding several at once like a fan, then tying them in the middle with wire or string, and finally separating the layers of tissue to form the carnation.

We had the technique down, but Kappa was never a winner in the contest for outstanding floats in the Homecoming parades. Here are the floats that were made in my garage:

Club the Cavaliers: In 1966, having a real live person on the float was frowned upon. Ironically enough, this Flintstone-esque cave with cavegirl was one of our best efforts.

Time Slurps On: How cutting edge and current was this? The Slurpee was the hottest icy refreshment brand new to the area in 1967. The 7-11 even donated the cups dotted around the sides of the float.

Hats Off to Alumni: Oh what a mistake that was! The Homecoming theme was “Alumni Roundup.” We thought making a cowboy hat in hip 60s colors and then WALKING it through the streets of Cradock would be a winner. But the hat never took on the right shape, and obviously the color just made it look like a big cake. The worst of it though was that the frame was way too heavy for the Kappa girls who volunteered to carry it. One girl even quit half way through and crawled out.

Oh well. We had a good time just the same.

Don’t keep your knickers in a knot; put the kibosh on that kerfuffle; keep a hold on your Kinkajou and Kangaroo; kick up your kilt; knit a kerchief.  And whatever you do, key up for the A to Z April Challenge.

© 2016, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.