1977-1978 group photo. 

Eric Knudsen and Mike Burns

As a fraternity brother “Bunny” was a good friend, a good listener, and endless entertainment. Whether it was cramming people into his Saab 90, having bottle rocket fights, hanging upside down from a tree limb like a trophy deer, or climbing on a dormitory ledge to spy through the window on unsuspecting fraternity brothers, “Bunny” did everything at full speed. ​

Mike Burns, University of Maine Athlete

Peter Bergh and Charlie Foote

Mike Burns and Tim Ames

Let’s see. Fake fights in the stairwell on 11-2 nights. Girls had to use the second floor bathroom. Bunny would sprint up the stairs yelling he was going to kill me. I would fake a right to his jaw and he would tumble down the stairs, bounce off the wall and then tumble down the second set of stairs. The girls would scream; it never got old. Hanging by his feet on the game pole next to Bobby’s deer. Putting mustard on the receiver of the kitchen phone and calling it from the library, and then listening to Bill Horr scream as he chased us through the house. ​

​Bill Horr

Driving his Saab around campus with me running the pedals, Bunny steering from the middle, and someone in the passenger seat shifting. Pretty sure that I would have gotten a ticket. Backing said Saab up the driveway about 30 miles an hour and then performing the power slide tactical evasive maneuver without scrubbing any speed then refusing to try it with my vehicle. ​

​

We are proud and grateful for the many Sires and Sons in our Omega Mu history: Chaplin, Davis, Flint, Garland, Haskell, Hitchings, Keith, Mitchell, Mullen, Smith, and Williams. To be sure, all of the families are inextricably woven into our fraternal history. Above all else, it is a proud heritage, and the love and goodwill that these families have exhibited toward the Omega Mu brotherhood, through many generations, has been meaningful, a fraternal vision of unity that causes one to smile at that historic connectedness. Intrinsically, that is what fraternity is all about: family, a very large family. Our Omega Mu family is a long-lived family at the University of Maine. And, in the end, in the unfolding of our fraternal history since 1874, the Martin family from Fort Fairfield, Maine, shines the brightest in their historical importance for our Omega Mu brotherhood. Nelson, Bertrand, and George Martin were the first father, son, grandson fraternal lineage in our history. And thought we sincerely admire and honor every family legacy in our fraternal history, the Martin legacy, in truth, is genuinely incomparable in our history. Their fraternal legacy goes significantly deeper than being the first three generation family legacy in being Omega Mu Fijis. Their combined Q.T.V.-Phi Gamma Delta story comprise a wonderful family chapter in our Omega Mu history because they were each present at defining periods in our history. To begin with, they each articulated our durable, forward-focused character during times change. Nelson H. Martin, ’76, was present at our inspirational beginning when the first Q.T.V. Chapter Hall was completed in 1876, and he was, undoubtedly, one of the Q.T.V. brothers who helped build our first fraternal home. Bertrand C. Martin, ’01, was part of the first initiatory class of Phi Gamma Delta brothers at the University of Maine in 1899. He signed the oath imitation oath on December 8th, 1899. Just as his father lived in the first Q.T.V. Chapter Hall, Nelson may have lived in the last Q.T.V. Chapter Hall, but he certainly lived in the first Phi Gamma Delta House. George, ’27, quite possibly may have been a pledge when the first Phi Gamma Delta house was destroyed by fire on April 4th, 1924, and he certainly was one of the first brothers to walk through the front door of the newly built Castle a year later. ​

​Maine State College Campus, 1876

The house as it would have looked when George N. Martin lived there from 1925-1927. ​

Wilbur F. Decker left Maine State College for a similar position at the University of Minnesota where he taught drawing, shop work, engines, and physics. ​

​After teaching at the University of Minnesota, professor Decker became principal of the Industrial School in Minneapolis, and he wrote the first training course manual for the public schools in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis ​

​Author

​Astronomy

​Professional Articles

​Kennebec River, Maine

​Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota

​Traveling

​In his spare time, Mr. Decker traveled extensively around the world with his family. He was in Paris, with his daughter, when World War I started, and he had to stay there for an extended period before finally finding safe passage home.

​Omega Mu Brother

​.Finally, Mr. Decker often returned to Maine to see his fraternity brothers, and he established the Decker Prize at the University of Maine for the sophomore class.

Wilbur Fiske Decker did substantial, compelling work throughout his life for the well-being of the city of Minneapolis, its future, and its citizens. He was professional jack-of-all-trades, a utility infielder, in doing the right thing to benefit every facet of the Minneapolis community: educationally, economically, culturally. It was an honest, true, and life-long love in creating a good, enriched civic community, and this desire was a direct reflection of his multi-facets personality and his natural curiosity. To be sure, there were many unmistakable facets to his unique personality, and in an enjoyable and uncompromising way he showed them all. In short, he did not fall short in living up to the inward harmony of his ideals, personal, fraternal, and professional. With resolute wisdom and courage, he wove all of his ideals together and gave them full expression to live an important, free-spirited and enjoyable life. Seemingly, he was content with who he was and the many things he cared about. He was an eminent leader in Minneapolis who always exhibited great civic concern for the well-being of city of Minneapolis, and with equal thought and eminent care he did the same for the University of Maine and our Phi Gamma Delta brotherhood. His life, and the many good, down-to-earth decisions that he made in his life, clearly showed the qualities of good leadership, and living life with determination, curiosity, confidence, and joy. These are the constituent and principal things, I believe, that fraternal life, at their very best, does instill, and we have countless real-life testimonies, equally compelling and true, to the absolute good of our Omega Mu fraternal life throughout our 147 years of fraternal history at the University of Maine. As ever, in unison, persistence and determination remain the real barometer of our fraternal success as undergraduate and graduate brothers. That’s real; that is the compelling Omega Mu way throughout our history, and it will not end now with the great group of undergraduate brothers that now live in the Castle! They continue to be, pure and simple, a great witness to perseverance and determination during this historic period of critical, off-balancing difficulty. Their fraternal spirit did not atrophy during the first semester, it only strengthened in every meaningful way. With calm historic assurance, pride, and dignity, we always move forward because that is our heritage, and that generationally resonating fact started in 1874-1876 when our Q.T.V. brothers paid for and built the first fraternal house, our fraternal home, at Maine State College. Fraternally speaking, no more, no no less, we continue that determined heritage: “Here, now, always.” (T. S. Eliot was correct) That is to say, we are all proud Omega Mu Fijis. Perge. ​

Our brothers’ careers have been productive, constructive, spirited, and prosaic. They displayed impressive skills, talents, and abilities They were, and we continue to be, a beautiful and lively expression of our enduring fraternal beliefs, and that underlying harmony is far-reaching in expectation for all brothers’, undergraduate and graduate. It is the core of what our fraternal founders asserted in 1848 and 1874 and 1899: to live active, commendable, and responsible lives, and to build up community. Clearly and compellingly, they added, and continue to add, positive value at the local, state, national, global, and fraternal level because they engaged life fully and responsibly. In short, they were authoritative pillars throughout life. They were-are exemplary in their citizenship, character, and their sense of dutiful responsibility, and, in many instances, they were leading voices in their career fields. They prove that success of any kind does not occur by luck or accident, and we remember them because they continue to provide that message for our time. We have long been, from one generation to the next, proud to be Omega Mu Fijis. We continue to cherish our fraternal friendships, our shared memories, and our evolving, forward-focused history at the University of Maine. These things, above and beyond everything else, are the underlying rooted connections that make us proud to be Omega Mu Fijis. Why, after all, should we believe otherwise? We have been doing it well since 1874, and we continue to do so now. Perge!

Fraternally,

Chip Chapman, ’82
​
Perge!

Monson Academy

Foxcoft Academy

James N. Hart is first on the left, front row

James N. Hart is first on the right, third row

Fraternally,
​Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge!

Our brothers’ careers have been productive, constructive, spirited, and prosaic. They displayed impressive skills, talents, and abilities They were, and we continue to be, a beautiful and lively expression of our enduring fraternal beliefs, and that underlying harmony is far-reaching in expectation for all brothers’, undergraduate and graduate. It is the core of what our fraternal founders asserted in 1848 and 1874 and 1899: to live active, commendable, and responsible lives, and to build up community. Clearly and compellingly, they added, and continue to add, positive value at the local, state, national, global, and fraternal level because they engaged life fully and responsibly. In short, they were authoritative pillars throughout life. They were-are exemplary in their citizenship, character, and their sense of dutiful responsibility, and in many instances they were leading voices in their career fields. These things, above and beyond everything else, are the underlying rooted connections that make us proud to be Omega Mu Fijis for the past 120 years.
 
Unreservedly, these Omega Mu brothers’ are worthy of emulation because of who they were, what they achieved in their respective careers, and in their fraternal dedication in providing timely, relevant, and practical advice through many years of brotherly service to our Omega Mu chapter. They were especially helpful during times when our fraternal reputation was tarnished. Each of them were a vital component advocating for the good of fraternal life throughout their respective lives because they believed that fraternal life can be a life-changing experience for the good for all young men, always. Due to their authentic and genuine character, and the unreserved nature with all of their commitments, these Omega Mu brothers are witnesses to our proud fraternal history at the University of Maine. In fraternal doctrine and practice, year-after-year, their actions had a far-reaching effect in sustaining our deep-rooted fraternal kinship at Maine. They are telling portraits of the life-long good of fraternal life, and they continue to shine for us today, and we say thank you again and again for their manifold achievements and the indispensable role they each played in our history. They prove that success of any kind does not occur by luck or accident, and we remember them because they continue to provide that message for our time. We have long been, from one generation to the next, proud to be Omega Mu Fijis. We continue to cherish our fraternal friendships, our shared memories, and our evolving, forward-focused history at the University of Maine. Why, after all, should we believe otherwise? We have been doing it well for 120 years, and we will continue to do so.
Perge!

Dave Rand, 4th row: second left

Dave Rand, 3rd row: seventh from right

Dean Rand’s letter about our linked Omega Mu brotherhood

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, 82
Perge!

Our brothers’ careers have been productive, constructive, spirited, and prosaic. They displayed impressive skills, talents, and abilities They were, and we continue to be, a beautiful and lively expression of our enduring fraternal beliefs, and that underlying harmony is far-reaching in expectation for all brothers’, undergraduate and graduate. It is the core of what our fraternal founders asserted in 1848 and 1874 and 1899: to live active, commendable, and responsible lives, and to build up community. Clearly and compellingly, they added, and continue to add, positive value at the local, state, national, global, and fraternal level because they engaged life fully and responsibly. In short, they were authoritative pillars throughout life. They were-are exemplary in their citizenship, character, and their sense of dutiful responsibility, and in many instances they were leading voices in their career fields. These things, above and beyond everything else, are the underlying rooted connections that make us proud to be Omega Mu Fijis for the past 120 years.
 
Unreservedly, these Omega Mu brothers’ are worthy of emulation because of who they were, what they achieved in their respective careers, and in their fraternal dedication in providing timely, relevant, and practical advice through many years of brotherly service to our Omega Mu chapter. They were especially helpful during times when our fraternal reputation was tarnished. Each of them were a vital component advocating for the good of fraternal life throughout their respective lives because they believed that fraternal life can be a life-changing experience for the good for all young men, always. Due to their authentic and genuine character, and the unreserved nature with all of their commitments, these Omega Mu brothers are witnesses to our proud fraternal history at the University of Maine. In fraternal doctrine and practice, year-after-year, their actions had a far-reaching effect in sustaining our deep-rooted fraternal kinship at Maine. They are telling portraits of the life-long good of fraternal life, and they continue to shine for us today, and we say thank you again and again for their manifold achievements and the indispensable role they each played in our history. They prove that success of any kind does not occur by luck or accident, and we remember them because they continue to provide that message for our time. We have long been, from one generation to the next, proud to be Omega Mu Fijis. We continue to cherish our fraternal friendships, our shared memories, and our evolving, forward-focused history at the University of Maine. Why, after all, should we believe otherwise? We have been doing it well for 120 years, and we will continue to do so.
Perge!

Wilbur A. Bumps

“Natty” Bumps and “T Pictum Pursh” Colesworthy

Dr. Wilbur A. Bumps

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge!

​Anthony Flaherty
Omega Mu
 
Thank you for sharing the words from Dewey.  They brought back memories of my football "career" at UMO.  Note that the word "career" is in all lower case letters.  That's for good reason.
When I got to Orono in August of '66, I was looking forward to playing football.  The first several days of practice gave me several first impressions, of my future Fiji brethren, and of myself.  I should take a second to note that the squad picture of the Freshman Football team included in Dewey's musings was missing Mike O'Leary.  

​Mike had blown out his knee a few days prior to the squad picture, and was recovering, I believe, from ACL surgery in the Infirmary.  Mike and I had been playing next to each other on the right side of the defensive line.  We would commiserate about the heat, the black flies, our mutual thirst for cold brew, et cetera. We would also bitch about a conditioning drill that was a favorite of Coach Bob Pickett's where one had to stand on one foot, reach behind with one hand and grab the opposite foot, and hop one-footed backward and forward and side-to-side for what seemed like forever, and then do the same thing on the other leg.  It was murder. The day O'Leary got hurt, the first day in preseason, we did nor do that drill.  Mike always said that he thought that not doing the drill somehow set him up for his injury.
 
That was a pretty good bunch of future Zobes.  O'Leary went on to start at defensive end for a couple of varsity years before breaking his leg.  John  Kimball was about 180 pounds of gristle and spit at linebacker, who somehow or other managed to get to the ball carrier every time while looking like he was never in a hurry, and tough.  

​John Collins looked like a perfect combination of an Eagle Scout and an altar boy, until it came time to hit someone.  

​And, of course, Dulac.  Not a big guy, by any means, but one of the best football players I ever knew.  He was undersized, half-blind, and I have a memory of Dewey wearing a pair of black rubber 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle' styled goggles that he wore until contact lens technology caught up to his vision, and lean and mean for a defensive lineman.  He was fundamentally perfect. He would fire off the ball, low, diagnose what was going on and get in the middle of the play, every time, all the while giving away 30-50 pounds to whomever was trying, notice I said “trying”  to block him. Future captain of the Bears.

​I remember our first game was against Bridgton Academy.  It was a warm, humid late September afternoon.  They were fucking HUGE.  I think their offensive and defensive lines averaged over 250#.  They kind of had their way with us for the first half, but wilted in the second half.  It was 14-0 at the half, and we beat them 21-14. I remember my life-long best friend, a guy named Mike Doyle, played nose tackle for Bridgton that game, head up over Paul Pooler.  After the game, he said that he'd never been hit so low playing football.   I got moved from defense to offense in the second half, and never got back on the defensive side of the ball again.  We went on to play Colby, Bowdoin, and the BU freshmen.  We lost to BU, I think by a score of 14-6.  My biggest memory of that game was when future San Francisco 49er All-Pro Bruce Taylor intercepted a little pass over the middle.  There was no place for him to run, no place at all, except right at me.  He was literally two feet away from me when I made the mistake of putting my head down to make the tackle.  I still don't know how he evaded me, but he did.  I never touched him.

​Anyhow, the season served to humble me as a football player.  And then a Perfect Storm of personal shortcomings hit me: lack of discipline, laziness, monumental immaturity, and, I had no drive whatsoever to do any of the work it might have taken, maybe, to make me better.  After spring football, where I got my ass handed to me on a daily basis, reinforced everything I suspected about my chances going forward, I gave up football, but the friends I made on the field, in the dorms, and within the Castle served me in good stead. 

​I never got to play with John Rhodes.  My football days were over by the time he got to UMO.  But he's a story unto himself, another undersized defensive lineman.  I am not sure he never weighed over 200 pounds, but he was tough beyond description, and an athlete. The story was that on the first day of varsity preseason, everyone had to run a mile.  If a player could not do a mile in 6:00 or less, he had to come out before practice every day until he could make that time.  In the year in question, John Rhodes had the fasted time on the squad.  I think he ran about 5:20; a defensive lineman, which is astounding enough until you factor in that he smoked at least a pack of unfiltered Camels a day. One of my all-time favorite guys, always smiling.

Well, that's that.  Sorry to be long-winded, but this brought back some good times.
​Flaherty
Perge! 

​Richard M. Paganucci
Omega Mu, 1971
 
I wanted to add a few words on my dear long departed friends, Rick ‘Dusty’ and John Rhodes and a couple of other points, which will be rather long & convoluted so I beg your Indulgence. 

I have to start with my life long friend, George Paul Dulac - ‘Dewey’, one of the nicest people on the planet. He and I go back to third grade in grammar school, St Mary’s in Augusta, Maine. Sports were a big part of our lives, and we could not wait to play football in high school. Dewey even played basketball while at St Mary’s. He was a rebounding animal as you could imagine.

​Dusty and I we’re planning to live in the house our sophomore year with John Nale and Tommy Richardson. Dusty called me during the summer with a change of plans. His older brother, John, ‘Rocky’, was getting out of the Marines that summer and planned to enroll at UM, so our arrangements changed. 

​John graduated from HS in 1964, enrolled Springfield College but left soon after and joined the marines in late 64, early 65. He left the highlands of South Vietnam in July, 1968 as a  Marine Staff Sgt. John was a wonderful guy, the real deal. 

He could not play ball that year due to admin issues. When he arrived in Orono, he slept on the floor because he was not used to a bed. John’s stories were classic and hysterical. He always used humor in his stories of his days in Vietnam.
 
As a result, Dusty and I roomed together during preseason and road games as John frothed at the mouth to play. John and I became fast friends as he did with everyone he met.
 
Dusty left school after our sophomore year, so John and I roomed together during preseason football and road games for two years. We had a blast together. Coaches stopped checking us for curfew during preseason - they knew we were not in the room.
 
As Tony indicated, the first day of preseason everyone had to meet physical requirements, including the dreaded 6 min mile. JR smoked more than I but he was incredible. He did the mile in record time. Unfortunately, I had to show for the 5:30 AM runs until completed.
 
John became a starter at linebacker where he was a key player for the two years he played. He barely weighed 185 lbs, but he was tough as nails. After school, John went to law school and later became mayor of Westfield, MA.
 
Sadly, Dusty died in 1984 and preceded his beloved big brother as John died a few years ago due to exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam. John touched a lot of people and was loved by all. He was was an incredible guy.
 
Perge!

​James D. McLean, Jr.
Omega Mu, 1972
 
At John Rhodes memorial services the stories did not stop. He was remembered as an accomplished practical joker, which was guaranteed to keep the entire town in stitches. When I went through the tollbooth, I asked the toll taker how to get to the cemetery. She asked whose service I was attending. When I said John Rhodes, she talked about John for five minutes; not giving a hoot that there was a long line of cars piled up behind mine. John, from his teaching, mayoral and DA days was a much-loved legend in Westfield. She was furious at the current mayor that he had not ordered the flags in Westfield to be flown at half-mast in honor of John. John emailed Tom Richardson and I many times in the final years of his life. He never talked about his illness, which, according to the people I met at the funeral, was devastating. In his last e-mail to me, he spoke about how he, Tom and I should plan a cross-country drive to California as a sort of last hurrah adventure.

​He is buried in the same plot as Dusty in the Catholic cemetery in Westfield. I really miss John. We were, indeed, very fortunate to have the great gift of knowing both he and Dusty.

​John was scouting in Cambodia one night and a NVA sentry stood on his hand for several hours guarding the NVA camp John was observing, and fortunately, John remained undiscovered. He was also sent to the Southern Philippines as part of an elite team to quell Muslim/communist insurgents prior to a state visit by LBJ. He said the fighting conditions there were even more dangerous and difficult in Viet Nam and Cambodia. After graduation John returned to his native Westfield, Ma. to teach. He quickly was elected mayor of Westfield, and as one of the US' youngest mayors, was named Outstanding Young Man in America for cleaning the mob out of Westfield. He later earned a law degree and served as DA in Westfield and Springfield. John was a legend in Westfield and in Veterans circles in New England. He passed away due to the after effects of Agent Orange exposure, and is buried next to his biological brother and Black Bear teammate, as well as our FIJI brother Richard "Dusty" Rhodes, '71, who passed away to cancer in the late 1970’s.

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge!

•Air Corp Ferry Command during World War II
•Received air medal and Oak Leaf Cluster for leading flights of P-38's over the South Pacific
•He broke time records in ferrying Flying Fortresses to England
•Awarded second Oak Leaf Cluster for flying "The Hump" into China
•He was killed on a mission over China on August 20th, 1944, on the return run after bombing the Imperial Iron and Steel Works at Yawata, Japan.