Fraternity paddle from the Davidson College Alpha Tau Omega chapter. The paddle contains signatures of fraternity members and a space dedicated to the fraternity's housemother. Her signature reads, "Mrs. J. Carey Stewart."
Susan Lowery listed as a "housekeeper" in the Davidson town census from 1940. Lowery worked at a boarding house and was one of the first cooks for Davidson College fraternities. As she worked in a private home and not on campus, her affiliation with Davidson College is not listed.
This excerpt from the institutional self-study for Davidson College describes the role of housemothers and cooks in eating clubs and fraternities in 1973-74.
This guide for House Managers of Sigma Nu provides instructions for closing the fraternity house for the summer. This includes how cooks are paid up to the last week and details how housemothers hire/fire cooks at the end of the school year. The note at the bottom of the page describes how housemothers' relationship to the cooks as their supervisors.
Hand written notes by the house manager of Sigma Nu, a Davidson student. At the top of the page is the salary and benefits given to the housemother and following this the names and salaries of the two cooks employed by the fraternity are listed.
This handbook for incoming Davidson College students listed campus buildings and facilities, and as well as the fraternities and boarding houses available to students as dining options.
