The Zeta House
Hear It Calling
Our History - 1970s
The Zetas enjoyed every inch of their new home. The activities were endless. Whether hanging out in the kitchen, dressing for formal affairs, casual dating, even serious dating….it was a great place to live.
In the summer of 1970, a large amount of money was required toward maintenance of the house, which was then five years old. The entire outside of the house had to be repainted (white brick, grill work, shutters and overhang). In addition, the service drive and side walk had to be paved for insurance purposes, and air conditioning ducts had to be re-routed. At the same time LSU began to allow senior girls to live off-campus. This brought new challenges to Delta Kappa financially. The House Corporation had a huge responsibility in making sure the house would always be filled in order to obtain financial security.
After the fire at the Kappa Delta House, the insurance company required additional electrical outlets in each room, no extension cords, and that the dryers be vented.
In a letter written on July 23, 1971 to National Treasurer, Mrs. Winton Jenkins, the Delta Kappa House Corporation treasurer reported the following regarding the status of chapter:
Mrs. Roy ("Mom B") will be returning as housemother this fall. She is considerate of the girls and is exceptionally efficient. We are fortunate to have her. Food prices have gone up and so has household help in this area, but we felt we could not go up on our room and board, which is $550.00 per semester. This amount is in line with LSU air conditioned dorms, cafeterias, and the other sororities. By 1972 the house was going on its seventh year and practically nothing had been done with the interior. The rooms and halls were in need of painting, and most of the upholstered furniture had to be updated. Once again, Mr. Charles Nunn came to the rescue and made some dramatic changes to the interior.
The dining room was freshened up with new floral wallpaper. It became evident that our house would always be decorated in turquoise. Lighter upholstery on our old furniture enhanced the very masculine chapter room but the orange shag rug gave it a much needed modern feel. During the 70’s it served as a great room for watching soap operas during the day, eating popcorn at night, and even a place to conduct civilized debate during the Carter-Reagan era.
The living room was painted peach and accented with lovely English linen floral in shades of peach, rose, cream, and blue. A hunt board was purchased for the foyer so that coffee could be served for large events. Many of our wooden furniture pieces were repaired.
Ginger McCloskey became housemother in 1976-77. She was a very lovely person and such an accomplished pianist. Zeta became a magnet for musical and creative girls. We would sing Broadway, Gershwin, Cole Porter, and practice many classical pieces for our voice lessons. We would start singing after supper and keep it up until the engineering and accounting students would start banging on the living room doors. We would then get Ginger to come in to protect us, because they dared not tell Ginger to get off the piano. She also taught us about European antiques, and encouraged us tremendously in the arts. Those years of living in the Zeta House surely shaped my life, and I consider it a blessing and a privilege to now play a role in the interior design of the house.
The alarm clocks were set quite early on Thursday mornings so we could get in line for Geneva’s famous sausage rolls!!
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