The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International was founded as an organization for women educators in Austin, Texas, in 1929. Dr. Webb Blanton was inspired by comments criticizing the ability of women to "stand together" for a common cause; she subsequently accumulated a team of outstanding teachers and laid the foundation for what is now an international organization. Theta State, the New Mexico chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, began on November 2, 1934. Miss Birdie Adams, who began her career as a kindergarten teacher in Pueblo, Colorado at the age of seventeen, organized Theta State. The local Delta Kappa Gamma chapter, Iota, was also organized by Miss Birdie Adams and began in the Las Cruces home of the first president, Mrs. Onna Butts, on May 4, 1938. The first meeting of the chapter took place on May 15, 1938, also in the home of Mrs. Butts. The first Secretary was Eulalia Lewis, and the first Treasurer was Mabel Hawthorne. The chapter still exists and is comprised of women educators from Doña Ana and Sierra Counties.
From the description of New Mexico Delta Kappa Gamma records, 1934-2002. (New Mexico State University). WorldCat record id: 56960182
