P.E.O. Record
The P.E.O. Memory Room:
Commemorating the Birthplace of the P.E.O. Sisterhood
On January 21, 2009 P.E.O. will celebrate its 140th anniversary. P.E.O. and its members have a lot to look forward to. You read on pages 24-25 about the exciting changes proposed by the ad hoc and special committees and of course sisters are already planning their trips to San Diego for the 69th Convention of International Chapter on September 9, 10 and 11, 2009. And in the longterm, there are generations of young women yet to be initiated into the Sisterhood and thousands more women whose lives will be touched by the philanthropies we support.
As we move forward there is no better time than this anniversary to glance back and remember our Founders. As its name suggests, the Memory Room in Old Main at Iowa Wesleyan College is dedicated to remembering—specifically remembering the birthplace of P.E.O. A bronze tablet in the Memory Room is inscribed with the names of the seven Founders. Significant historical items from the beginnings of the Sisterhood are on display.
The idea for the P.E.O. Sisterhood was conceived in this former classroom on the second floor of Old Main on the Iowa Wesleyan campus. The room has been known by various names: Music Room, Founders’ Room, Historical Room, P.E.O. Room and Memory Room. It is the Memory Room that most tellingly speaks to the history and meaning of the room. This room is the visible link between past and present. It is a visible presence that evokes the founding commitment, a commitment to lifelong learning in a supportive, nurturing association with women of like minds and interests.
On September 25, 1917, a memorial tablet to mark the significance of the room was installed and shortly thereafter Iowa Wesleyan College placed the room under the custodianship of Chapter Original A, Mount Pleasant, Iowa. While members of Chapter Original A were zealous in their guardianship of the rooms, they were equally determined that the room be readily available to all P.E.O. chapters everywhere. After furnishing the room in the period style of 1869 the Memory Room was officially opened to visitors as a Founding Site in 1922. The Memory Room’s guestbook is signed by P.E.O.s from all over North America.