In 1929, Ralph P. Tittsler prepared A History of the Pennsylvania Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta with a sketch of National History, Purposes, Aims. This was a very thorough treatment of the aims and purposes of the Society and included the constitution. It contained detailed information about the first few years of the Penn State Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta including names of seniors, graduate students and faculty who had been initiated. There is no record of a complete history having been prepared since that time.
Excellent records were kept during some of the intervening years but in others, information was very sketchy and fragmented. No one location was provided for records until 1979, when a file cabinet was purchased. Records which previously had been handed from one office holder to the next were centralized in once location and were maintained in 413 Agricultural Administration Building, The Pennsylvania State University. However, current records are, again, maintained by the appropriate officer holder.
Throughout the years, Historians have prepared brief summaries of the history of the local chapter for presentation at annual meetings, but no effort had been made to assemble chapter information into one volume since 1929.
In October 1980, the national Historian wrote to all local chapters asking that each make a special effort to prepare a local chapter history if one did not already exist. The Executive Committee requested M.R. Heddleson to prepare the history since he had recently served on the Executive Committee, the permanent records were maintained at his office, and he had been actively involved in Gamma Sigma Delta for many years.
A detailed and thorough examination of the local chapter files were conducted. All available records, from initiation of the chapter to the present, were reviewed. The appendix contains various tables compiled from information gleaned from the files. Even though there are some minor inconsistencies with respect to dates and even names, especially in the earlier years, it is believed that the history presented is as complete and accurate as can be compiled from the existing data.
During 1981-1982, Milford R. Heddleson, Archivist and past chapter officer, (President, 1978-1979) developed a now available booklet identifying the Penn State Chapter's History, 1922-1982.
It is our privilege to provide this historical update to the membership of Gamma Sigma Delta, The Honor Society of Agriculture, on this 1st day of April, 1997, our 75th anniversary year.
Milford R. Heddleson, Archivist
Joseph D. Harrington, Assistant Archivist
