​Our Omega Mu veteran-brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy we can all be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. 

It is something to ponder, isn’t it, a cloud of witnesses. This QTV-Omega Mu brotherhood has a large cloud of witnesses since 1874, and one of them is Joseph Sebastian Boulos. Joe moved beyond the predictable and the safe to confront the evil and violence stalking the world. He left the familiar and comfortable of his fraternal life in this house with his brothers; and, most importantly, the abiding love of his family to pursue something bigger with courage of conviction because he held fast to the good. That is greatness. Joe’s military career during World War II was distinguished in navigating the tracer and flak-filled sky between England and France and Germany as a navigator in a B-24 Liberator with courage, hope, and persistent resolve. He risked it all, but as

Friedrich Schiller so clearly stated, “To save all, you must risk all.” That is a sobering truth. Joe knew that, and without any fear and trembling he chose the risk of trusting in the winning gamble for the power of good to prevail over evil. He stood tall; he stood firmly in doing his part in making darkness yield before light. He was an exemplary witness, to my way of thinking, of the costly grace of service to humanity and our nation for the good to prevail. 

Joe was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters for bravery

Fraternally,

Chip Chapman, ’82
​
Perge!

“Chain, Chain, Chain” 
​

Chip Chapman
Omege Mu, 1982

Historically,
It is worth
Pondering,

Is it not,
The long
Interesting

Chain of 
Omega
Mu 

Nicknames, our
Deep-rooted
Folkloric

Fiji tradition,
The human
Bread of

Our brotherhood
That dates
Back to

Our Q.T.V 
Foundating
In 1874,

And has
Has remained
A linking

Fraternal strength,
Nickname-
To-nickname,

One-by-
One, in
Linked

Historic
Form, like
Verse, in

Helping creating
A wonderful
Fraternal

Pulse of
Fraternal cheer
And good

Humor within
Our Omega
Mu

Brotherhood
And life-
Long

Friendships,
And, when
It is all

Said and done,
That,
Over the long-

Haul of 
Life, means
More than

Anything. 
But, 
Thankfully,

We do
Not have
Low-

Brow, common
Pedestrian
Names that

Are empty, 
Irreverent and
Sordid like

Weasel, Mothball
Pinto, Stork,
D-Day, Flounder.

And, god bless
Belushi’s hilarious 
Soul,

A Bluto, an
Exemplary fraternity
Man who

Famously shouted,
With evangelical
Fraternal

Fervor, his 
Rhodes Scholar
Historical intellect

On full
Delta House
Display:

“Was it
Over when
The Germans

Bombed Pearl
Harbor? Hell
No!”

Likewise,
Hell no, our
Omega Mu 

Nicknames have
Always been
Refreshing and

Ennobling with
William F.
Buckley gravitas:

Rich and
High-minded
With urbane

Wit, class,
Style, and
Civilizing

Good taste and
High intellectual 
Import,

And were
Arrived at
Through An

Inscrutably
Sober, 
Clear-eyed

Divination
Process from
Antiquity,

Grounded in
Deep spiritual
And

Philosophical
Matters; not
A trivial process,

Mind you, but
A sacred
Rite full of

Mystery and
Magic, 
Nobility and

Purpose that
Takes calm,
Scrutinizing

Care, time,
And patience,
Literally

Soul-
Searching, 
In order to

Discern
The refined
Fraternal 

Essence of
Each 
Omega Mu

Brother in
The face-to-
Face life within

The architectural
Charm of 
The Castle, 

And these
Names endure
Link-to-fraternal

Link, generation-
To-generation-
Due to

Their rich,
​Rhythmic, 
Resonating

Good taste,
And soulful
Profundity

That we
Cherish and
Reverence in

Our seam
Lessly-linked
Omega

Because of
There
Distinctive

Sense of
Status, 
Taste, 

Wit and
Charm
That we

Pride our
Selves on
As

Omega Mu
Fiji
​Brothes

Shitball, Sluggo, The Missing Link,
The Spook, Dusty, Swampy Pond, 
The S.P, Humpy, Dippy, 

T. Pictum Pursch, Natty Bumpo, Jordan the Lion,
Allie, Judge, Lengthy,
Lamb, Sin, Pater 

Gloomy, Puss, Froggie, 
Wizard, Bopper, BVD, 
Chappy, Clyde Crash-cup, 

Gangster, Hazey, Marks-a-lot,
McCerebral, Pecadora, Pizza, 
Sola, Solu, Swampy, 

Hog, Leo, Dewey, 
Farrar, Hazbro, Gandhi, 
Mongo, Shetland, Spike, 

Shoes, Sweetie, Scud, 
Big Daddy, Skillsaw, Bug, 
Jughead, Cranium, Granddad, 

Popeye, Razor, Ant-Man. 
Philthy, Shab, Homer, 
Whoa, B.F., Scooter, 

Bean Hole, Swany, Fella,
Toad, Mad Dog, Stick,
Buckwheat, Garland, Bart,

Stroutie, BoBo, Snake, 
Weasel, Shack, Bunny, 
Tuner, Palu, Jag, T, 

Rip, Jock, Dr. Cook, 
Huddy, Wafer, Grace, 
Baldy, Infant, Hoot,

Jingles, Giggles, Scout,
Morrgy, Shorty, Hoss,
Prep, Count, Sasquatch,

Snap, Harpo, Beaver,
Stevo, Smitty, No Hair,
Grape Nut, Drool, Buster,

Sleep, Toots, General,
Stiff, Sphinx, Spanky,
Hashi Mura, Puffy, Love,

Ding-Dong, Brick, Yap,
Bitter, Slicker, Soup,
Cubby, Mama Colucci, Munchie,

Squire, Father, Capt.,
Ikey, Prunes, Fang,
Flea, Lumpy, Stork,

Bosco, Thug, Pat Me Groin,
Root, Dogger, Yorkie,
Red Wolf,  Sister, Scrapper,

Sut, Cat, Rat,
Zin, Zip, Zinc, 
And Mao,

Never to
Be forgotten,
Secure in the

Rich tapestry
Of our historic 
Omega Mu memory

“Because you can
Have something that
Lasts throughout your life.” (Jerry Garcia)

And that is the
Heartfelt human of
“Perfection and grace” (Steely Dan)

Of our linked
Fraternal
Brotherhood, 

One generation
After another,
Eternal as

Law in being
Spiritually
Linked with

Our historic 
Past and the
Present link
 
Of our
147 year 
Fraternal year,

An unbroken 
Brotherhood
Chain of

Fraternal well-
Being of good,
Decent,

Perseverant and
Determined
Men linked

By one noble,
Enduring,
Historically

Resonating
Name, the 
Best name,

Always,
Unapologetically
And proudly,

In heart 
And
Head,

Omega Mu 
Fijis,
The best

Fraternal
Expression of
Brotherhood

At the
University of
Maine since

1874.
Perge

​“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
​(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, '82
​Perge

​​“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)

​​“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)

We all have our personal memories of the traditions that we enjoyed while we lived together in the Castle. First and foremost, they have stayed in our memory, astonishingly. They rise effortlessly and cause us to smile and chuckle with gratitude each time we think about them. They glow in our minds-eye, and we do not hurry to rush them away, much less suppress them, for each memory is a journey home, a return passage; even better, a homing instinct to a particular place, event, brother, or a group of brothers when you were undergraduate living in the Castle. All the memories cover the emotional spectrum of our years living in the Castle. Take a moment and recall your memories about our Christmas parties, Fiji Island, Pig Dinner, Mud Bowl, The Fiji 24 Hour Relay Marathon, our formals. Not difficult to do, is it? They give you a sparkle in the eye and an easy smile, I know. Its safe to say that we loved all of them. With each tradition and event, something wonderful happened. These events were the distinctive, fundamental core of our Omega Mu culture. They helped define priorities, daily, weekly, and monthly. Because of the them, we lived with assurance and stability, generatively so. We were deeply tied to these traditions and activities, our uniting chain of events. And, in retrospect, we all believed, appropriately so, that all of our daily and seasonal traditions were all structurally important in creating the wonderful fraternal life that we lived in the Castle through all the years that we lived in the Castle. They were, and they continue to be the be-all and end-all of our historically long chain of sustained fraternal good at the University of Maine since 1874. ​

Although there have been many different iterations on our fraternal traditions and activities, all the variant expressions, for the most past, have created the basis for a wonderful fraternal life, all the while knowing that fraternities fare less well when they do not have good, sustaining traditions. Our traditions were, and they remain, our sustaining hope because they exist for the common good. The tradition, activities, and duties set the daily, weekly, and seasonal tone of our fraternal life together, in every measured way. Thematically, the traditions, activities, and responsibilities were different. Some were very mundane because the were concerned with daily practical matters, whereas as some were more suspenseful, mysterious and fun like the RAM and Fiji Island, and some were magisterial and dignifying like Pig Dinner and escorting the housemother into dinner. However, all of them made things work within the house and preserved the cooperative and enjoyable world of our Omega Mu life. We enjoyed all of them, and we did not discuss whether they were their relevant, old-fashioned, or out-dated. On the contrary, and I think we would all agree, they were all sensible, reasonable and enjoyable. In retrospect, all of them are the underpinning of our historic success, and they remain relevant now. They established, collectively so, a balanced and cooperative fraternal life for everyone that was satisfying. And, perhaps, it is not far-reaching to say that they shaped us a little for the better. I believe they did. They certainly did not hurt. Simply put, our Omega Mu memories resonate powerfully with all of us, still, because these events and traditions link generations of Omega Mu Fijis. ​

Clear and distinct Omega Mu memories still cause us to smile and be proud that we are Omega Mu Fijis. We are, as you all know, an exemplary brotherhood. What’s more, that is a certain historic fact and truth since 1874. Upon that fact there is no debate. We remain proud of this fact through life, and we have no problem telling others, with fraternal, evangelical pride, that we lived in a beautiful fraternity home with a great group of men during college, and we continue to champion the fraternal life. Furthermore, I am equally sure that we are all thankful for whatever coincidence brought all of us to the front door of the Castle, our historic fraternal home. Thank God we did not turn back!

​We are, rightly so, a brotherhood family. That being said, I believe all Omega Mu Fijis will smile with understanding, in the truest way possible, what Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated about home in Letters and Papers from Prison:

​“Most people have forgotten nowadays what house can mean, though some of us have come to realize it as never before. It is a kingdom of its own in the midst of the world, a stronghold amid life’s storms and stresses, a refuge, even a sanctuary.”

Frank was the captain of the Maine golf team

Frank W. Danforth, Jr. was a vivid, memorable brother in our Omega Mu brotherhood, and it was a great honor and pleasure for Joel Gardiner and I to speak with him, at his home in Bath, several months before he died in 2016. He expressed his life-long love for our Omega Mu brotherhood with a bit of a misty twinkle in his eye, great humor, and abundant pride and joy. You could feel his fierce loyalty to Omega Mu. To be sure, he was a fiercely loyal, respectable and upstanding Omega Mu brother throughout his life. He always put his heart into everything he did for our brotherhood throughout his life. That is resilience, perseverance, and determination. Combine those three self-evident traits with Frank’s innate Maine pride, Maine stubbornness and grit, and Maine self-reliance, and that is what makes Frank W. Danforth, Jr such an extraordinary Omega Mu brother, a memorable, endearing link, soulfully strong, in our proud Omega Mu history.
 
Frank had a long and fascinating life-journey that spanned 93 years. The “Habits of the Heart”, to use Robert Bellah’s fitting term, left an important, enduring, and positive legacy for Omega Mu, the University of Maine, our country, his family, his countless friends, and the city of Bath, Maine, because he was a genuine no-nonsense type guy who believed in commitment to hard-work, traditions, cooperation, and discipline throughout his life. Quite simply, he lived faithfully and did all things for the common good of the whole. He was a blessing for a lifetime with all of his commitments. Therein lies the source of what makes Frank so vividly memorable. That was the consistent inner-linkage throughout his life, and that unifying linkage, that sincere and responsible sense of connectedness, made him successful, personally, professionally, athletically, civically, and fraternally. He lived fully, and he exhibited a gratitude for a life lived in all its different expressions, and his life and legacy is assured in all areas because he was committed and faithful, instinctively so.
 
When Joel and I arrived at Frank’s home in Bath, Frank, standing in the doorway, heartily greeted us, smiling joyfully. He was genuinely pleased that we had come to see him and speak with him. He led us into the kitchen, graciously offered us coffee and pastries, sat down and with a look of excitement he was ready to share his reflections and memories, and he did so with obvious affection, in an easy-going manner, interspersed with a great deal of laughter. 

Frank speaking with us in his home in Bath, Sept., 2016

It was not a gossip-column memory piece. Joel and I asked some questions but, generally speaking, Frank simply took over and became a wonderful storyteller and gave a beautiful, unique account about Omega Mu house-life in the 1940’, and he did so in a down-to-earth, emotionally honest manner. Frank pulled us right in and we were in the Castle in the 1940’s, feeling the connectedness of positive, grounding traditions lived faithfully. Listening to Frank was interesting and informative, refreshing and relevant. 

​Frank shared stories about the grace and good charm of having a housemother living within the Castle. Although not directly stated, Frank’s facial gestures and tone conveyed his firm belief that the presence of the housemother in the Castle gave the Omega Mu brotherhood a stabilizing dignity to the civic, fraternal life at many necessary points. 

Mrs. Hewitt, Mrs. Houston, Mrs. Walker

Housemother eating in the dining hall

​Additionally, Frank spoke positively about the traditions of the Omega Mu brotherhood in the 1940’s. One of the traditions was the fining of brothers for drinking too much, taking women, even girlfriends, to the second floor, and for talking too loudly in the RAM. Frank assured us that the brothers who were caught committing any of these indiscretions did pay the fine. Imagine that. Second, he spoke joyfully of one the keystone traditions of living in the Castle: sleeping in the RAM. 

​These traditions, according to Frank, had true fraternal value. It is no wonder, then, that when traditions are dismissed, forgotten, or intentionally dropped, the civic good of fraternal life looses its value, and that has proven to be true, unfortunately, during several periods in our history. A close reading of our fraternal history speaks for itself. It definitively shows that our brotherhood is at its best when we live with collective, civic purpose for the good, always, as undergraduate and graduate brothers. Frank’s multi-faceted narrative reflection on our Omega Mu fraternal life spoke volumes about the absolute necessity to live thoughtfully, faithfully, and courageously for the greater dignity of the whole of the Omega Mu brotherhood. Frank W. Danforth, Jr. was the perfect example of what fraternal faith in action looks like throughout life. Broadly speaking, we are blessed that we have had countless brothers like Frank through our history, and that is the real-life human truth that makes our brotherhood so special. We continue to know what fraternal integrity means, still. 
 
It was warm and homey to be sitting at Frank’s kitchen table as he gracefully wove many other anecdotal stories about Maine basketball games, World War II, the making and breaking of Fiji paddles, the Phi Gam Golf Classic, regularly attending Pig Dinner, Tom Tear, the chef for the Omega Mu brotherhood for over 30 years; and several others.

However, one of Frank’s stories really stood out. One morning, as he was standing next to the open window in the upstairs bathroom, a B-26 Bomber flying out of Dow in Bangor, piloted by two Phi Gamma Delta brothers (non-Omega Mu), who had played cards with Frank in the house the night before, flew over the Castle, dipped the planes wing to say hello to the Omega Mu brothers, and then proceeded over the campus, and it blew out or cracked many windows in Balentine Hall as it flew over. 

From multi viewpoints, Frank embodied good judgement and an easy yet hard-working grace throughout his life. There was an easy-going dignity about him, and his human spirit was always genuine, easy, kind, warm, and accessible to anyone. There was an honest immediacy about him.
Fraternally, he relished, understood, and celebrated the inter-linked connectedness of our brotherhood for his entire life. He made himself invaluable to this brotherhood, attended countless Pig Dinners, relishing the face-to-face time with brothers of every generation; played in the Phi Gamma Delta Golf Classic for many years, and contributed in so many other ways.
 
So many things, so many accomplishments, and when Frank died in 2016, we all lost a great fraternal friend and inspiration, and our Omega Mu brotherhood is better because of his example. We will always hold Frank W. Danforth in the highest esteem because he enhanced the vision and lived ideals of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity life in all the positive and right ways. We will miss his fraternal camaraderie, his fraternal loyalty, and his fraternal joy, and his fraternal love. He truly bled Omega Mu Fiji purple. Perge! 

​“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
​(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)

Fraternally,

Chip Chapman, ’82

Perge!

Map of the Rhine River Valley after World War I ended in 1918.

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. ​

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. ​

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. ​

​“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)