Kappa Alpha Theta - Purdue University

Theta Kite Alpha Chi Facility Corporation P.O. Box 2164 West Lafayette, IN 47996 Address Service Requested Save the Date Alpha Chi Chapter Founders Day Luncheon January 19, 2019, at 11 a.m. Lafayette Country Club Guest Speaker: Erika Fay '92 LMFT, Certified Life Mastery Consultant, Professional Speaker, Writer Honoring our 75-, 50-, 25-year sisters from 1944, 1969, 1994 All Thetas are welcome! RSVP to Barbara Puterbaugh Ballard '86 barbballard4487@gmail.com Alumnae Page Kappa Alpha Theta - Alpha Chi Chapter Active Members @purdue_theta H arken back as you trudged through a blinding snowstorm to the Theta house for dinner. The glowing house lights beckoned you home while the sounds of piano music reverberated throughout the neighborhood, warming your soul. Those sounds came from a 1907 Baldwin baby grand piano that is steeped in the rich history and tradition of both the Littleton Street and Russell Street chapter houses. But where did the piano come from? As with many stories over 70 years old, the exact details are not remembered, but what we do know is that the donor was Jacqueline Decker '40. It is believed that she donated the piano in the late 1940s since the piano made the move from a parlor in the Littleton Street chapter house to the new living room on Russell Street. Jacqueline was one of three girls in a family of six children, and her two older sisters were also AX Thetas: Janet Decker Shelton '37 and Emily Decker Considine '34. The family was from Lafayette, near St. Mary's Cathedral, and owned the downtown Decker Office Supply. Jacqueline was a math major and her first job after graduation was with IBM in Chicago, working to help install telephone exchanges. She moved with IBM to White Plains, New York, and was one of only three female employees. She became the first female in IBM's One Hundred Percent Club, the company's top sales honor, and became the company's first female vice president. Her nephew, Phil Decker, says his aunt, whom he remembers having sparkly blue eyes, had a focus at IBM on media relations, and her work was published in scientific journals. He says both Jacquelyn and her dad stayed close to Purdue and that her gift of the piano to the Thetas was a "big thing for the family" (the family had earlier donated an organ to St. Mary's). Jacqueline Decker never married and died at age 60 in 1979. Over the past 70 years, our Baldwin baby grand piano has been the centerpiece of life at Kappa Alpha Theta. Many sisters played for fun and many were talented sisters who led us in choreographed song, whether for sisterhood events, Mother's Day weekend, or the much- loved U-Sing competitions. One thing stands out: Jacqueline Decker's generous gift brought all of us the sound of music throughout our college years. What are your favorite memories around that piano? Join the conversation on Facebook. You can join the alumnae group by searching for Alpha Chi Chapter - Kappa Alpha Theta. The Saga of Our Baby Grand Piano Jacqueline Decker '40 donated the chapter's 1907 baby grand piano in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The chapter's Baldwin baby grand piano was refur- bished as part of the 2016 living room remodel. Missing Composites Do you know the whereabouts of the 1999 and 2001 composites? Do you have a photo of 1978 or 1979? We have two 1978 composites that are very different and 1979 is missing; they may be mislabeled. Contact Elaine Haehl at ehaehl@comcast.net.

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