Susan and JO ANN: "Sisters for Life" Because of Gamma Phi Beta

Susan and JO ANN reunioning at Honnen Ice Rink at Colorado College - October 15, 2017

When I was 18 years old and a freshman at Colorado College, I decided to go through Sorority Rush even though my parents advised me that because I was Jewish that I probably would not be accepted into a sorority.  In my "parents' day," Jewish students were never accepted into sororities or fraternities, but I thought times might have changed in the 1970s, so I decided to give it a try.

There were four sororities at CC, Colorado College: Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma.  (Sadly, Gamma Phi Beta is no longer a sorority at Colorado College.)

The sorority houses at CC were just lodges which meant that a house mom lived in the house, but there were no dorm rooms in the houses.  The houses were just used for entertaining and meetings.  We could hang out at the house anytime we wanted to though; it was common to go over to the house to make a home cooked meal, watch TV, or bake cookies.  Sometimes I would just go over to the house between classes to use the phone or to talk to "Mom Hand" and later "Mom Helen" who were thehouse moms at the Gamma Phi Beta house during my four years at Colorado College.

I decided to join Gamma Phi Beta instead of one of the other sorority houses for two reasons:

1. There were two girls in 1974 who were members who were Jewish in the Gamma Phi house.
2. No one else I met during Sorority Rush wanted to join the Gamma Phi house.  (I figured if no one else wanted to join Gamma Phi Beta that I'd get more attention!)  

The "Thetas" didn't want me, but I did get invites from the Kappas and the DGs.  The Thetas and Kappas I recall were the popular "Susie Sorority" types, but the DGs were more like Gamma Phi's, but seemed to attract more pledges.

Well, I was right....only seven girls pledged Gamma Phi Beta at Colorado College in the fall of 1974.  That meant I got plenty of attention and felt so welcome.

Gamma Phi Beta was just what I needed since my figure skating training and ice dancing schedule made it impossible for me to make any friends at all.  I trained from 11 pm at night until 4 am in the morning six nights a week at the Broadmoor World Arena which meant I had class Monday through Friday from 9 am to 12 pm, studied from 12:30 to 5 pm, slept from 5 pm to 10 pm, skated from 11 pm to 4 am, and slept from 5 am to 7:00 am.  I spent Sunday, which was a non-skating day, catching up on my sleep.  It was a ridiculous schedule.

When I joined Gamma Phi Beta, I went without sleep on Monday nights since our weekly meetings were from 7 to 9 pm, but going without sleep that one night a week was worth it because of the friendships I made.

The senior students seemed so grown up to me, but they treated me like one of their sisters from the moment I joined the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.  In fact, the girls in the sororities are told we were sisters and we would be sisters for life.  That meant a lot to me since my own sister and I were not all that close, and all of a sudden I had several sisters!

One of the seniors in the Gamma Phi House who graduated in 1975 was Susan, but we called her Sue Knock.  After Susan graduated from CC, I never saw her again, but due to Facebook, we reconnected over 40 years later!  Susan contacted me through Facebook Messenger before the Colorado College 1977 class's 40th Reunion in October of 2017 and asked if we could meet at the college's Honnen Ice Rink and skate together during the reunion weekend.

Susan and JO ANN - Honnen Ice Rink at Colorado College October 2017

Well, Susan and I did just that.  During that day of skating together, I learned that Susan had been a competitive and test skater.  While growing up in Calgary, Canada, She earned her Gold Dance test and 7th Figure test which are very impressive achievements, but when she was a student at CC, she really did not skate much, so I had no idea when I was a busy freshman skating in the middle of the night while at CC that she was what we in the figure skating world call a "Real Skater."

At that reunion at the ice rink on campus, I also learned that Susan is now Dr. Knock.  She earned a PHD and taught at a university in Texas.  I learned that she and her husband, Chuck, were now retired and live in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, so I asked Susan if I could visit someday and that's exactly what I did!

During the holiday break in December of 2017, my daughter Rebekah and I drove from Colorado Springs to Pagosa Springs and stayed at Susan and Chuck's mountain cabin next to the national forest in Pagosa.  We went downhill and nordic skiing, and did some snow scootering in Wolf Creek, skated at the new outdoor ice rink in Pagosa Springs, and toured downtown Pagosa Springs and had a wonderful time visiting with Susan and Chuck and their husky dogs and cat.

Chuck, Susan, and JO ANN in Pagosa Springs, Colorado  - December 29, 2017 

I truly believe now that when we were told we were "sisters for life" when we became members of Gamma Phi Beta that what we were told is true.  Susan and I are family and connecting again helped us remember how special our days together in college were.

We Gamma Phi's sang a song at the end of every school year that helps me remember Gamma Phi Beta.  It is below.  Yes, memories of Gamma Phi Beta are "truly with" me and Susan!

Remember Gamma Phi Beta
Remember when you're away
Remember the friends you made here
And don't forget to come back someday

Remember the pink carnation
The crescent in the sky
And keep truly ever with you
The memory of Gamma Phi

We'll remember you...

Below is a photo of the Gamma Phi Beta members in 1974-75:

It's easy to find me in this photo since I'm holding Sunny, the pomeranian dog I took everywhere...even to skating competitions such as Nationals! The big stuffed character next to me is the Big Blue Warm Fuzzy that we passed around our sorority house. Whenever someone was down, a sister would share the fuzzy with that person to cheer them up. This photo was taken in the spring of 1975. Most of the girls in this photo I've lost touch with. They were really a special group!

Further Reading:

• Alice - A Former Boss and Friend
• June and JO ANN - Celebrating Forty Years of Friendship 1977 to 2017
• Remembering My Friend Jeff
• Dan and I Treasure Our Friendship With Frank
• Facebook Reunited Me With My Junior High School Friend Bernadette
• Spur of the Moment Dog-Walking-Scootering With My Friend Larisa - 12-1-17
• Dog Scootering-Hiking-Running With My Friend Margar - Cheyenne Mountain State Park 12/1/17
• What This JO ANN's Friends Blog Is About
• I'm Thankful for My Friends