Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-05-11
ALBA WOMAN IS
P. F. 0. PRESIDENT
ELECTION HELD YESTERDAY AT
THE DIES MONIES CONVENTION
is INTERESTING.
CONTESTS FOR OFFICES
Greatest Social Event OF the Year
Among sisterhood Is the Reception
Held at the Chamberlain Hotel Last
Evening.

6S~UuSs
Iowa r. E. o. Officers.
President-Mrs. Helen d. Town
send of Abba.
First vice preside Ola Bab.
cock Miller Of Washington.
Second vice president Miss Nellie
Elliott OF Des Moines.
Recording secretary-Miss Dell GlaA
zier of Fort Madison.
Corresponding secretary--Mis Dill.
lie Dugan of Valley Junction.
Treasurer-Mrs. Inez Callen Bagley
of Eldon.
Organizer-Mrs. Katherine Yeager
of Greenfield.
Delegates to supreme chapter-Mrs
Jessie Swope Hollingsworth Of Des
Moines and Mrs. Mary Mcdonald
Knapp Of Ames.
Des Moines, May 10-When dele
gates to the P. e. o. convention emerg-
ed from Shrine temple late yesterday
afternoon they were fatigued, Just
simply worn out, They had been be-
hind closed doors for more than four
hours engaged in the tedious and
somewhat exciting task of electing Of.
fcers of the Iowa grand chapter 20
serve during the ensuing twelve
months
There was friendly contest for
practically all Of the Offices. The
chief interest, Of course, centered
around the selection of a president to
succeed Jessie Swope Hollingsworth
OF THO city. Helen d. Townsend Of
Abba, formerly vice president seem
ed at the very outset to have the
strongest following for the presidency,
and she succeeded in landing the larg-
I est number Of votes, but not before
Ola Babcock Miller had WNered the
race and succeeded in making the
contest interesting. In the end Mrs.
Miller lost, but she was later reward
ed by being unanimously chosen to
the first vice presidency, being adj
vanced from the Office of correspond
ing secretary.
Thrust Upon Miss Elliott.
While Chapter @ of this city sent a
communication to the body declining
to accept any Office, the second vice
presidency was thrust upon Miss Mel
lie Elliott, who has been prominent
figure in the entertainment of the
several hundred guests. It Is the Gus
tom in the P. E. O. to give the Office
of second vice president to repre-
sentative Of the entertaining chapter,
and while on former occasiones efforts
have been made to smash this Gus
tom, no opposition developed at this
meeting.
No Political Schemes.
The contest was not marked with
the strenuosity Of former elections,
but the balloting was nevertheless III
teresting to those on the inside. P. T..
O. elections are unusual in that candi.
dates must refrain from campaigning,
for political schemes are not in keep
ing with the dignified spirit which
permeates the sisterhood Another m
teresting feature is that an officer
may serve as many terms as she
wishes so long as her friends support
her. The change in the personnel of
the list of officers this year was prac-
tically complete, Mrs. Inez Callen Bag
ley Of Eldon holding over as treasurer
of the grand chapter. The balloting
for delegates to the supreme lodge
| chapter meeting at Brookfield, Mo-,
next October, was interesting, too.
By virtue of having been president
of the Iowa chapter during the last
year Mrs. Jessie Swope Hollingsworth
| was chosen as one of the delegates
The other delegate is Mrs. Mary Nc
Donald Knapp of Ames, also very
prominent figure in P. E. O. and q
past president. 3
~
Biggest Day of Week.
With the election Of officers, the
big formal reception and other fea-
lures, yesterdays program was the
most elaborate and important Of the
week. At the morning session Cedar
Rapids was chosen as the next meet.
ing place. an invitation to meet there
in 1908 having been extended by
Chapter D 4 Of that city The prin-
cipal topic Of discussion at the morn
ing session was the establishment of
a p e. o. home. The matter was
| brought up by Mrs. Emile Costigan
of Denver, president of the Colorado
grand chapter. Her idea is to estab.
| lish a home somewhere in Colorado
for the homeless, sick and aged. The
plan is to buy a tract Of about sixty
acres upon which to build The mat
ter will be presented at the supreme
chapter meeting and will likely be-
| come an important issue. Mrs. Costi-
gan states that over half Of the 300
chapters have pledged themselves to
subscribe 500 each toward the estab-
lishment of the home. The Iowa
chapter did not commit itself on the
matter yesterday Iowa is of course