On the P.E.O. calendar, January 21 signifies the annual celebration of the founding of our sisterhood and the seven young women who initially organized this incredible sisterhood 143 years ago.
When Hattie and Franc went to find the others— Mary, Alice C., Ella, Alice B. and Suela—they could not have known the widespread influence P.E.O. was to have on women around the world. Our seven Founders will be honored in celebrations across the United States and Canada for their vision and dedication to the common thread that has connected all lives since the beginning of time . . . the bonds of friendship. Their story will be told by many in gatherings of tens and hundreds
throughout North America.
We owe the existence of P.E.O. to “the seven” . . . teenagers who were wise beyond their years, with deep caring and devotion to each other. But have you considered where we would be today if P.E.O. had simply remained on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan? What if we couldn’t today enjoy the benefits of those foundation builders from around the country that serendipitously emerged in the life of P.E.O.? These visionaries have kept us moving forward, challenging our sisterhood as a dynamic organization to find new ways to assist and support higher education for women.
The seven planted the seed, but P.E.O. expanded because young women, especially those members living in the Mount Pleasant area, were reluctant to leave behind the legacy of P.E.O. when they graduated from college or moved to new towns and states. Early chapters were centered in southeastern Iowa but members dared to invest in the future and carried the idea of P.E.O. to new locations.
The first P.E.O. chapter outside the borders of Iowa was organized in Illinois by Ollie Downing; a young woman who told certain classmates at Jacksonville Female Academy about being initiated into P.E.O. while living in Mount Pleasant. Eventually P.E.O. did find its way to every state and became international when Bertha O. Clark took P.E.O. with her into Canada as a “transferring” member.
In the early 20th century P.E.O. expanded its focus to include education for women. Our first unified educational philanthropy grew from P.E.O. Day at the Saint Louis Exposition in 1904; an idea founded by Chapter O, Missouri. In 1927 P.E.O. accepted the gift of Cottey College to keep alive Virginia Alice Cottey’s vision of creating better education for women. World War II and the war effort work by P.E.O.s across North America was the impetus for scholarships to foreign students. The Program for Continuing Education, Scholar Awards and STAR Scholarship were all born from ideas on expanding the mission of P.E.O.
Founders can come from the most unlikely places in time—from all backgrounds and every corner of North America. There have been 143 years of P.E.O.s who have made contributions to P.E.O.’s growth and prosperity to make it what it is today. The little seed planted in 1869 by our original “seven sisters” in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, has grown into a massive tree with a strong network of friendship among its members plus significant support for women throughout the world who want to reach for the stars.
We should all ask ourselves “what am I doing to invest in the future of P.E.O. so that our sisterhood will be as relevant in years to come as it was for our Founders and the generations who have followed?” There is no better way in which to honor our Founders . . . all of them.
Remember … U.R.P.E.O.,
“P.E.O.s should ever keep their eyes forward, to note the possibilities of the future rather than to dwell on the achievements of the past.”
—Franc Roads Elliott
