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Omega Mu Veteran Brother, Joseph S. Boulos, 1941

1/31/2021

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​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. 
Whether it was at San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila,  Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always be grateful for the military service of every Omega Mu veteran from the Spanish-American War to the present. Thank you.

Our Omega Mu 
​
Veteran Brother,
Joseph S. Boulos, 1941

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded  by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off ever hindrance and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
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. 
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Omega Mu Years
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Joe is wearing the Sinatra style hat
Military Years
  • Navigator of a B-24 Flying Fortress with the 704th Squadron of the 446th Bombardment Group during World War II
  • Based in Flixton, England
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Left picture: Joe is on the right; right picture: Joe is the third one in from the right
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Targets included U-boat installations at Kiel, the port at Bremen, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen, ball bearing works at Berlin, aero-engine plants at Rostock, aircraft factories at Munich, the marshalling yard at Coblenz, the motor works at Ulm, and the oil refineries at Hamburg and Magdeburg. 
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Flight crew of the “Plastered Bastard”
Bombing Runs
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446th on a bombing run to Gotha, Germany
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U-boats destroyed in Kiel, Germany
Crash of the "Dragon Lady"
  • Joe was killed during a planned afternoon bombing run when the “Dragon Lady” crashed on take-off, killing everyone on board, on April 27th, 1944.
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  • Joe was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters for bravery
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Honoring the 446th Bomb Group
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St. Mary’s Church Honoring the 446th Bomb Group
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Joseph Sebastian Boulos Library
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“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)
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Fraternally,

Chip Chapman, ’82
​
Perge!
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Omega Mu Voices: Chain

1/31/2021

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“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)
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“Chain, chain, chain” 
​
Chip Chapman
Omege Mu, 1982


Historically,
It is w
orth
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 t
hat

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 s
houted,
With evangelical
Fraternal

Fervor, his 
Rhodes Scholar
Historical intellect

On full
Delta House
Display:

“Was i
t
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, c
lass,
Style, and

Civilizing

Good t
aste and
High intellectual 
Import,

And w
ere
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 l
ife 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 seamlessly
Linked

Omega Mu 

​
Brotherhood,
And, quite

Naturally,

Amusing
And
Bemusing,

They spark
Fraternal
Joy and pride:

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, 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, Froggie, 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 o
ur
147 year 
Fraternal year,

An unbroken 
Brotherhood
Chain of

Fraternal well-
Being o
f 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
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, '82
​Perge
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Omega Mu Athlete Portrait, Thomas W. Golden, 1955

1/29/2021

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“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)
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There is no fraternal brotherhood like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We have been a proud fraternal team, in the truest sense of the word, since 1874. Quite simply, we are proud of the beauty of the Castle and our unparalleled fraternal history at the university, and we continue to succeed because we have resilient spirit and aim to succeed in all areas: socially, academically, social service, and athletically. Athletically, we have had many fraternal brothers who were bona fide athletes on many Maine teams since the very beginning of the university’s athletic history, when the teams were called the Mamelouks, not the Black Bears. That is a long-rooted athletic legacy at the University of Maine.
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Their sacrifice of time was worth the effort for them and the student body at the University of Maine who watched them play. They created many warm memories since the early 1870’s. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are all proud.
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​So, we must remember these QTV and Omega Mu brothers with fraternal amplitude because these brothers, with sound unflinching desire and instinct, are part of our proud athletic at the University of Maine. Their considerable accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect, and they show us something fundamental about character and life. Therefore, we gratefully remember and celebrate our QTV and Omega Mu brothers who participated on many varsity athletic teams at the University of Maine. Our fraternal athletic scorecard is historically long and deep: QTV and Omega Mu Fiji athletes.
Omega Mu Athlete,
Thomas W. Golden,

1955

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Football
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Tom is 67 on the back row.
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Sophomore year
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Junior Year
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Senior year
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Tom, the right guard, is third from the left.
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Tom Golden, 66
All Yankee Conference First Team
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All Fiji Football Team
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All American
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Golf
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Captain of the golf team his senior year.
University of Maine Athletic Hall of Fame
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Maine Sports Hall of Fame

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"Furthering through perseverance"
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82

Perge

0 Comments

Spanish-American War Veterans

1/28/2021

0 Comments

 
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Whether it was at San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Sulu Archipelago, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Khe Sanh, Rumaila,  Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always be grateful for the military service of every Omega Mu veteran from the Spanish-American War to the present. Thank you.
Omega Mu
Veteran Brothers:
Spanish-American War

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​​Mark L. Hersey fought in the Spanish-American War, and he saw action in Santiago, Cuba.

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Charles C. Scott was a sergeant in the First Maine Regiment, U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish-American War. A plaque in Coburn Hall honors him and three other University of Maine men who died during the war.
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Edmund Clark served in the United States Signal Corps during the Spanish-American War.
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​Charles S. Bartlett served in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War.

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George Hutchinson was a sergeant in 10th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment during the Spanish-American War.
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.
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“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)
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
​Perge

0 Comments

Omega Mu Christmas Party

1/28/2021

0 Comments

 
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"A place that goes on whether you are there or not, that you come back to and find waiting with a welcome.”
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. ​
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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. ​
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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.”
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It is fitting to recall the fraternal feel of all the sights, sounds, smell, laughter, and joy of our annual Christmas party in our stately Castle. We can see Brother Santa, fraternally and spiritually intoxicated, delivering well-sauced remarks to all the brothers gathered in the dinning room, all of them smiling and merry. The groans, smiles, sights, and laughter of the evening were timeless. Indeed, in sight and sound, it was always a wonderful evening, and we still contemplate how Santa made it through the evening. It was high performance art, spirited in all the right, indulgent ways. To be fair, we were all, in one way or another, uplifted by the fraternal warmth and humor the entire evening. It was vintage Omega Mu Fiji. There certainly was no malaise, only a deeply felts sense of brotherly well-being, cheerfulness, and fraternal contentment in being together in the Castle. In fraternal mood and emotion, the pictures show The Merry Heart, to use a Robertson Davies book title, of our Omega Mu brotherhood, and that is what matters the most. 

We all hail from 79 College Avenue, home of the oldest and best fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine, and that is the best Omega Mu memory. It is who we proudly are, without qualification. But, again, we all know that. Merry Christmas, Omega Mu Brothers. Let your Christmas memories rise and surface, and enjoy the resonating sound and color of the following Christmas Party homage pictures. They are everlasting. Perge. 
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“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)
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"A place that goes on whether you are there or not, that you come back to and find waiting with a welcome.”
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82

​Perge

0 Comments

Omega Mu Veteran Brother, Ricky M. Bean

1/27/2021

0 Comments

 
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"Furthering through perseverance"
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.
​

Whether it was at San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of enduring freedom and liberty. They are the reason for the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit, values we deeply believe in, within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always be eternally grateful for the military service of every Omega Mu veteran from the Spanish-American War to the present. Thank you.
Omega Mu
Veteran Brother,
Ricky M. Bean, 1982
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Omega Mu Years
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Military Career
  • “An Air Force B-1 bomber plunged into a training range in Colorado today in the first crash of a production model of the nation's newest long-range strategic bomber. Three crew members survived and three were killed, the Air Force said.”
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New York Times article about the crash
  • The 96th Bombardment Wing B-1 bomber left Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Tex., and went down in southern Colorado near the town of La Junta in southern Colorado. 
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96th Bombardment Wing patch.
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  • “The three who were killed were Maj. James T. Acklin, 37, of Champaign, Ill., an instructor pilot, First Lieut. Ricky M. Bean, 27, of Rangeley, Me., a student pilot, and Maj, Wayne D. Whitlock, 39, of Johnson City, Tenn., an instructor in defensive systems.” (New York Time Obituary)
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Rangeley, Maine
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“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)
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
​Perge

0 Comments

Omega Mu Portrait: Frank W. Danforth, Jr.

1/26/2021

0 Comments

 
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“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)
​There is no fraternal brotherhood like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We have been a proud fraternal team in the truest sense of the word since 1874. Quite simply, we are proud of the beauty of the Castle and our unparalleled fraternal history at the university, and we continue to succeed because we have resilient spirit and aim to succeed in all areas: socially, academically, social service, and athletically.
 
Athletically, we have had many fraternal brothers who were bona fide athletes on many Maine teams since the very beginning of the university’s athletic history, when the teams were called the Mamelouks and not the Black Bears. That is a heady athletic legacy. 
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​Success in anything is grounded in the grace of individual and team discipline, and our Omega Mu brothers have athletes have exemplified a high level of unswerving workmanship and zeal for success throughout our fraternal history. Their sacrifice of time was worth the effort for them and the student body at the University of Maine who watched them play. They created many warm memories since the early 1870’s. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are all very proud. 
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​So we must remember these QTV and Omega Mu brothers with fraternal amplitude because these brothers, with sound unflinching desire and instinct, are part of the heritage of athletic excellence at the University of Maine. With consummate skill and attentiveness, they understood that being on an athletic team, like our fraternal life in The Castle, was a communal responsibility in acting in concert with their teammates to achieve success. Their considerable accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect, and they show us something fundamental about character and life. Therefore, in the linked soul and spirit of our long fraternal history, we gratefully remember and celebrate our QTV and Omega Mu brothers who participated on many varsity athletic teams at the University of Maine. Our fraternal athletic scorecard is historically long and deep. Our proud cheer: Omega Mu Fiji athletes.

Omega Mu Portrait:
Frank W. Danforth, Jr., 1946

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High School
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Bath High School
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Higgins Classical Institute
Fraternity Brother
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World War II Veteran
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University of Maine Athlete
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Baseball
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Basketball
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Wearers of the M
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Football
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Golf
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Frank was the captain of the Maine golf team
Phi Gam Golf Classic
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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. 
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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. 
Some Images From the 1940’s
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​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. 
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Mrs. Hewitt, Mrs. Houston, Mrs. Walker
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Housemother eating in the dining hall
​Additionally, Frank spoke affirmative clarity about a juridical tradition of the Omega Mu brotherhood in the 1940’s, a tradition that continued until the early 1960’s: 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 fined for their libidinal indiscretions, insobriety, and for disturbing the peace of the RAM, paid their fines. Imagine that. Second, he spoke joyfully of one the keystone traditions of living in the Castle: sleeping in the RAM. 
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​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.
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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. 
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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! 
“Furthering through perseverance”
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Fraternally,

Chip Chapman, ’82

Perge!
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Fraternal Portrait: Frederick D. Potter, 1879

1/25/2021

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"Furthering through perseverance"
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.
​ Fraternal Portrait:
 Frederick D. Potter,
1879


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  • Frederick D. Potter was an electrical engineer for the Edison Lighting Company, and he was a close friend and associate of Thomas A. Edison. 
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  • Frederick W. Potter was responsible for installing light and power units in companies, factories, theaters, and hotels around the world. ​He drew up the plans to electrify the Tokyo Imperial Palace, home of the Japanese Emperor.
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  • He was the vice president and chief engineer of the Combustion Controls Company, and designed many different types of machines, and he secured a patent on an optical pyrometer for reading boiler temperatures.
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  • In 1918 Frederick W. Potter helped found the Edison Pioneers, an organization of those who had worked with Thomas A. Edison.
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 Edison Pioneers pictures, below
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“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)
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
​Perge

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Omega Mu Veteran: John N. Merrill

1/24/2021

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"Furthering through perseverance"
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.

Whether it was at San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Sulu Archipelago, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Khe Sanh, Rumaila,  Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always be grateful for the military service of every Omega Mu veteran from the Spanish-American War to the present. Thank you.

Omega Mu
Veteran Brother,

John N. Merrill, 1905

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1904 group photo with John N. Merrill
​Military Career
  • John N. Merrill fought in the Moro Rebellion (1899-1913) during the Philippine-American War in the Sulu Archipelago, and during the war he was injured in the knee by a bolo knife during a fight with a Moro chief whom he shot. Later, John met Captain John Pershing, who would become General “Black Jack” Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, 1917-1918. ​
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Captain John Pershing in Sulu
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Morro warrior with a bolo knife
  • After fighting in the Moro Rebellion for five years, John Merrill served for six years in Persia as the military instructor to the Pasha’s calvary and troops. 
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  • After his service to the pasha in Persia (Became Iran in 1935), John N. Merrill served in France during World War I. He was in command of a company of African-American soldiers during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. ​During the offensive, John was gassed
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"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning"
(A small portion  of Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen)


  • John N. Merrill was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his exceptional leadership in leading his men during constant German machine gun fire during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. 
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  • After the Armistice, Major John N. Merrill was stationed on the Rhine River Valley to act as a civil governor for several small towns. 
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Map of the Rhine River Valley after World War I ended in 1918.
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“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)
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
​Perge

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Omega Mu Voices

1/23/2021

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“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 had in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)
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Omega Mu Voices
​Michael F. “Bunny” Burns,
​1979

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Timothy A. Ames
Omega Mu, 1980

Bunny Tales

​I was honored when the Burns family asked me to say a few words about our friend Mike. We all have so many wonderful memories of our time with Mike. Hopefully, my tribute, which I am going to call “Bunny Tales and Beyond” will stir some memories in all of you. I met Mike at UMO in 1978. I was a new pledge and he was a brother at our fraternity. We instantly became friends and he would become my big brother. Back then he was known as “Bunny”, and the nickname fit him well. He was always jumping around; he could not sit still. I can picture him running up the fraternity house stairs five at a time. Then he would tumble back down the length of the same staircase after a staged fight with Eric Knudsen.

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1977-1978 group photo. 
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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
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A short while after college, as fate would have it, Bunny landed in Waterville, which was just a short distance from where I was living. The only difference now was we had to start calling him Mike. He did not think the female population would be impressed by the name “Bunny”. This from a guy who collected empty Antonio pizza boxes and had no furniture. For quite some time, he could not invite anybody over for dinner because he did not have a table and chairs.

Living in Waterville, it did not take long for Mike to start gathering a whole new group of friends. His endless energy and quick wit made for many good times. Mike always made sure that everybody was included and Mike always made us laugh, whether it was showing off the unlimited potential of those legs, goofing on himself with almost anything as a prop, blowing up marshmallows in the microwave, or entertaining us with his vast knowledge of almost useless trivia. He made us laugh. Most of us here probably laughed out hardest with Mike. That mischievous little gleam in his eye is something I will never forget.
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The other night, Ralph said that Mike was his best friend. There was a time in my my life life when Mike was my best friend, and I know that there are quite a few of you out there who could say the same thing: Peter Bergh, Charlie Foote, Jim Mayo, John Campbell, Denise, Claire, Bill Mayo, and his brother Paul. This list could go on and on. Mike knew what it took to be a good friend and that friendship is what I will remember most. 
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When you go to the gathering after the service today, look at the pictures, listen to a story, jog your memory, tell your favorite Mike Story, and laugh again because “Bunny” would want you to.

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Peter Bergh and Charlie Foote
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Mike Burns and Tim Ames
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Eric R. Knudsen
Omega Mu, 1979

​More Bunny Tales

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. ​
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​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. ​
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Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
​Perge

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