  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. Their spirit permeates our brotherhood, and it always will. 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 always exhibited a can-do fraternal spirit since 1874. And, to be sure, all present and future generations of Omega Mu Fijis will continue to do the same, with fraternal enthusiasm and commitment. As a brotherhood, we always see the path behind us and the way forward with equal clarity, and our future remains bright at 79 College Avenue because we fearlessly move forward, always guided by sound fraternal principles. Perge. Fraternal Portrait Walter Balentine, 1874
 Walter Balentine's childhood home in Waterville, Maine. High School  Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville, Maine Undergraduate years at Maine State College    
  
  
Our Coburn Cadet fraternal brothers: W. A. Allen, J. I. Gurney, R. D. Hunter, above; A. M. Goodale, and E. F. Hitchings, below.
Postgraduate Years in the United States  Wesleyan University, 1874 Walter Balentine attended Wesleyan University after he graduated from Maine State College in 1874. While he was pursing his graduate degree at Wesleyan, he was an assistant chemist in the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. He also spent three months as a professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas, filling in for a professor who was quite ill. He was also a principal of a high school in Fairfield Centre, Connecticut.
Postgraduate Years in Germany: University of Greifswald and University of Halle  Walter Balentine continued his graduate studies in chemistry and physics at the University of Greifswald for one year.  After concluding his studies at the University of Greifswald, Walter Balentine attended the University of Halle to continue his studies in chemistry and physics. During this time, he was the assistant chemist in the Agricultural Experiment Station of the province of Saxony.  United States Department of Agriculture  The United States Department of Agriculture, left, Washington, D.C., 1879. In the distance is the unfinished Washington Monument. Walter Balentine was appointed to the USDA to be an assistant chemist in 1880. It is interesting to envision the Lincoln Memorial behind the Washington Monument, a building which was designed by architect Henry Bacon, the younger brother of our Q.T.V, brother, Francis Bacon, who designed the repository for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, as well as furniture for the White House. Professor at Maine State College   Head of the Department of Agriculture at Maine State College    Two pictures of Walter Balentine's office in Holmes Hall, 1888-1891, with a large framed picture of his senior portrait.   The newly constructed Holmes Hall in 1888. The south and north wings of Holmes Hall would be added in 1889 and 1904, respectively. The second Q.T.V. Chapter House is to the left. Holmes Hall, Coburn Hall, the original Wingate Hall, and the first Phi Gamma Delta house were all designed by Frank E. Kidder, our fraternal brother. Frank E. Kidder    Walter Balentine died of pneumonia in 1894.     Professor Walter Flint, our fraternal brother 
 Professor George H. Hamlin, our fraternal brother.      Professor Whitman H. Jordan, our fraternal brother Balentine Hall Balentine Hall, 1914-196, is named in honor of Elizabeth A. Balentine, the wife of professor Walter Balentine. 
    “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
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 Fiji Island  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 resonate in our memory, still. They glow in our minds-eye, and we do not brush 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. They all create a great collective story filled with genuine fraternal sentiment, and 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. It is 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 structurally important in creating the wonderful fraternal life that we lived in the Castle. They were, and they continue to be the be-all and end-all of our long chain of sustained fraternal good at the University of Maine. Although there have been many different iterations on our fraternal traditions and activities, all the variant expressions, for the most past, created the basis for the sustained human grace and strength of our fraternal life, all the while knowing that fraternities fare less well when they do not have sustaining traditions. That is painful truth. 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 they 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. 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 and; second, what Thomas Jefferson said about lifelong friends: “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.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) “Friends we have, if we have merited them. Those of our earliest years stand nearest in our affections. Our college friends are the dearest.” (Thomas Jefferson) The Fiji Island Party was an Omega Mu fraternal rite-of-spring celebration, a gift if you will, for generations of Omega Mu brothers, and I suspect that every Omega Mu brother has a Fiji Island memory. It was a signature fraternal event each year, and it is certainly an essential memory, still, with all of us, rich and vital. Starting in the early the 1940’s, one tradition, the Fiji Island Party, was borne out of a simple desire for unbridled revelry, and for over forty years it continued. Initially, the location for the party was in the Castle, but by the 1960’s Fiji Island occurred on the lush, sweeping, boulder-strewn beauty of an actual island off of Stonington. In a primitive existentialist sense, it was a blast from Friday to Sunday with something happening throughout the island. It was a special weekend that we were all grateful for. There was a great deal of wanderlust, loose, casual and free-form, in the intimate environment of the island. Brothers walked everywhere, camped everywhere, and simply enjoyed being together on the island. There was always a relaxed energy that was simply fun. It was a well-spent weekend, and it was certainly worth the boat ride to get there and back. It was a spirited, happy, memorable time. Or, as I see it, an adventurous holiday grace of a special sort in our brotherhood. In any case, it was always captivating, and it never disappointed. The memories of Fiji Island, like the memories of Pig Dinner, mud bowl, dinner traditions, formals, front lawn and Phoenix Lounge activities, and many others, collectively frame a good portrait of our fraternal brotherhood. We sustained these traditions, and, in so doing, we grew stronger and more unified as a brotherhood. That is the simple truth, historically clear and to the point, and we remain unified. The pictures below chronicle the fraternal mood and emotion of our Fiji Island weekend, and as you do so, recall what Bonhoeffer said about home and what Jefferson said about friends. Surely they are accurate statements about our architecturally beautiful fraternal home at the University of Maine, the Castle, and the congenial, life-long fraternal friendships that were shaped by our well-intentioned, well-functioning fraternal traditions. The seamless gift of both has created an enduring brotherhood that has a unique fraternal character all its own, and we cherish both gifts. That is our Omega Mu way. We remain proud of our distinctive history, but we do not rest on our laurels. We press on and continue into our 147th year with enduring Omega Mu persistence and historic sensibility, always looking forward with a determined, restless enthusiasm. That is the heart and soul substance of our fraternal charisma since 1874, an enduring fidelity. Perge. ....."and once they are engraved upon the memory, woe to him who would endeavor to erase them." Goethe 1940's   1950's          1960's     1962 Fiji Island Party 1970's  Four Omega Mu Brothers on Fiji Island: L-R (males) Pat Ladd (in back, white shirt), Bob Mennealy (holding a cup), Paul Wood (bandana), and Bill Soloby (sunglasses)          1980's                                      “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
  Omega Mu Voices Mike Concannon, 1990
Mike Concannon Omega Mu, 1990 How I took the long way round in becoming a brother: I think I’ve got the timeline mostly right here. My time at the Castle ran from 1986-1990. Myself, Jon Smith and Phil Jackson were all randomly thrown together all in the Oxford Hall dorms, at the Hilltop complex, in the spring of 1986. Gary Bresnehan and Don Leonard were in the mix too, but I cannot remember if they were in our building or one of the others in the quad. Pretty sure Phil was/is a Maine native, Gary was from Pittsfield, MA, Jon from Taunton, MA, and me from Ft. Myers FL but originally from Manchester, NH.
The usual freshman hijinks commenced, as you would expect. I still remember the impromptu softball games across the street in the open fields, now the Maine Foster Center. I believe this is when John picked up the Pilgrim moniker. Ask him about the shoes with the big buckles. To be fair, this is also the time that I wandered into the wrong bathroom at the dining hall. From what I recall, Jon was the ringleader in steering us towards the Castle. Makes sense as he is a legacy and all that. We promptly started on the rush/pledge/brother journey, but I hung back a little bit. I was, admittedly, a bit out of my element at the time, and also had a little bit of a challenge in committing. Not that that’s been a life-long theme or anything! I hung out on the periphery of the goings on at the house for the remainder of the ’86 year.  Jonathan B. Smith, 1990; David L. Smith, 1961; Jeffrey L. Smith, 1984 I didn’t rush and pledge until the spring of ’87, as I recall. And, even then, I wound up dropping out partway through. I cannot quite remember completely why, but I do recall things being a bit ‘chippy’ at the house between some of the brothers, as well as some ‘challenges’ in the relationship between the chapter, National and the university. Regardless, I managed to get my act together and rushed-pledged in the fall of ’87 and getting initiated on 12/4/87, if the date on the back of my pin is accurate.  Omega Mu Life, 1988-1990         My strange journey with the US Navy:
Unlike some of the guys of my era who had a game plan from day one like Jon ‘Woody’ Akoury, Jeff ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson and Joe Leporati, I did not have a single thought in my head about military service. I only bring this up as it is known I have served, but the details that made it back to the house are hazy and third hand. In fact, it wasn’t until well after graduation and Gulf War 1 that I went down that road. My maternal grandfather served in the Navy during WWII, and my Dad served in the Navy, pre-Vietnam. Dad was all gung-ho for me to do military service right out of high school; my mom, not so much. Personality wise, I kind of wound up somewhere in between the hard-core disciplinarian and George Carlin’s Hippy Dippy Weatherman.
 Interestingly enough, both my grandfather and my dad started telling me ‘sea stories’ as I got older. That, along with the realization that if I was going to do military service, I had better do it before I got too old, is what prompted me to finally get off my ass and enlist, but I did it my way. I enlisted in a Navy program called Sea-Air-Mariner (SAM for short.) I went through full basic training at NTC Great Lakes in January of 1994. Boy, that was stupid timing on my part, then on to SSC San Diego for A school, and then to Tampa to do the 1 weekend a month/2 weeks a year as a Reservist. I wound up doing that for just over 20 years and retired in March of 2014 as a Navy Chief. Pretty uneventful except for the 1 year mobilization in 2013. But even that was pretty tame in the grand scheme of things.  
 Random memories from 4 years at the Castle Oh boy, plenty of random bits floating around. Wednesday night 10-2’s: One of which included Jeff Labbee making his infamous appearance as ‘Q-tip.’ A costume made of fishnet worn as a poncho and secured with a belt around the neck. For some strange reason that completely cleared the foyer of the young women who were on their way in. Fiji Island ’87: I think I had just dropped as a pledge and was somehow able to go anyway. Me, Pilgrim and Phil walked completely around the island. Reggie, the boat captain, looking at us like we were a bunch of deranged idiots as he hauled us out to the island. But our cash was good, so he did not care too much. Cathy ‘Max Factor’ bringing a curling iron along and not understanding that there was no place for her to use it. Me just bringing a sleeping bag to crash in; great plan until it snowed. Someone took pity on me and let me crash in their tent.    Christmas parties: Joe Leporati as Santa one year. I have pictures of Wally and Chachi as evil elves somewhere but can’t find them right now.
 Takeaways: Despite all the hijinks and the regret that I only lived in the house for 1 year, the 4 years I spent at the Castle is how i was forged in to the person I am today. There was a bit of a black cloud over the chapter the entire time I was there - some of it self inflicted, some of it part of the overall times. At times there was a lot more work involved in keeping the chapter afloat than there was in having a good time. (Some of which I’m still just finding out about today.) Regardless, we all buckled down and kept things together and still found ways to have fun. I came out the back-side with a pretty good work ethic along with the ability to still find the humor in dark situations. Lessons which have served me well over the years. To steal a line from Jon’s video - ’the constant potential of what you’re going to become.’ I’ve only made it back twice since graduating, but in both cases it was great to see exactly that potential in the brotherhood. There are some things you have to go through and experience when you’re young - it’s part of the journey. With that, it’s been great to see the legacy of the house continue.  “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 Truthfully, there is no fraternal brotherhood quite like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We are proud of our history, and we are proud of the impressive number of fraternal brothers who played on many University of Maine athletic teams. With conviction and commitment, our Omega Mu athlete brothers brought a great deal of joy and satisfaction to the university community, creating many wonderful memories since the first baseball team was established at Maine State College in the 1870's. The worked together for the success of each Maine team, and the overall civic good of the University of Maine. The sheer number of Omega Mu athlete brothers is an unqualified triumph for the University of Maine. They each gave their best efforts on each team, and what they achieved perfectly compliments what we fraternally believe: drive and determination. It is a heady athletic legacy. Accordingly, their accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are proud. 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. 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. Thoreau said it best: “What a difference, whether in all your walks, you meet only strangers, or in one house is one who knows you, and whom you know. To have a brother…How rare these things are.” How true that is, and we remain that way to this day. Omega Mu Athlete George P. Dulac, 1970
Omega Mu Years    1968 mud bowl. Back Row: Spook, Andrew Flaherty, Dave Smith, John Rhodes, Jimmy Dunn, Glenn Smith, Paul Dulac?, John Dolan, George Wiest, Jim Chaplin. Front Row: Ernie Niles, ?, Bob Duetsch, Robert Van Dyke, Tyler Libby, George Thomas, Jack McBrayne Omega Mu Housemothers, 1966-1970
Ruth C. Hammond, Alma Pratt, Clara Hammond   University of Maine Football         When the Freshman Football Recruits arrived on campus in August of 1966, I think I was not alone in being unable to see beyond the 3 weeks of grueling preseason looming ahead. What we didn’t know at the time was that the seed of a new brotherhood had been sown and was being nurtured with every passing day. Forty young men ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old descended on UMO’s campus that August determined to play Freshman Football for the University. We came from all over New England, New York, New Jersey and some most recently from Vietnam. This class was eerily similar to the UMO Freshman class of 1945-46. In each case 18 year old kids found themselves coming together with war veterans to form a freshman class. Jimmy Fitzgerald, ex-paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne played on the defensive side of the ball that late summer. Famous for saying “God, this is fun” in the midst of the rest of us throwing up after doing wind-sprints. At the time none of us thought that maybe jumping into the jungle while being shot at by North Vietnamese Regulars might be a little more daunting than our rigorous practices. Johnny Rhodes (71), Staff Sargent, USMC had returned from tours as a Jar Head leader in the jungles of Vietnam in 1967, only months before landing on the UMO campus. He wanted to play football for the Bears. The veterans of this era were all about 24 years old on average and had seen much more of life than the rest of us strapping on shoulder pads at the same time. I remember all of this like it was yesterday but it was 56 years ago. On a warm late August afternoon in “66”, Freshman Football players gathered at the Student Union relaxing in shorts and flip flops. We were looking at the recent female arrivals on campus. It was nice to see the fairer sex after weeks of tackling guys in the dirt. The conversation that afternoon centered not on girls, but on fraternity rushing. The fraternity brothers from various houses were already starting to recruit freshman football players. The “Jock Houses” on campus at the time were Phi Mu, Kappa Sig, Phi Eta and Sigma Chi. Phi Gamma Delta, as a recruiting house was conspicuously absent. Many of us were not particularly interested in the houses most active in asking us to consider pledging. Almost simultaneously a few of us asked each other this question, “why don’t we pick a Fraternity and all pledge it so we can stay together over the next four years?” Many laughed at the notion but some of us didn’t. We were seriously considering the idea that we could further our relationship with one another off the field as well as on it. “Why not?’ Just because it hadn’t been done before….?” FIJI was not in the running initially because Grant Watkins was the only FIGI brother playing football. Everyone liked Grant a lot but other houses had 12 to 15 football player brothers all of whom were working on us at once. The Freshman Football Team for the next month or two continued to discuss the notion as we visited all the “Greek Getaways”. We partied and attended the social events. The process of elimination was almost unconscious; certainly not deliberate but eventually crept to the surface: “Let’s give FIJI a try!” At the end of the day, “wet behind the ears” 18 year olds like me partnered up with other Freshman Football Players. We arrived at the “Castle” fully prepared to take it over, sort of? We engaged in ____ Week activities, many conducted by my future brother-in-law, Tyler Libby, (Uncle Ty Ty’s Tasty Treats) and in spite of all this brotherly love we continued to laugh our way through it. Johnnie Rhodes seemed to chuckle his way through spitting the fire out in 67. I remember my 1966-67 UMO Freshman football team FIJI Pledge Class very well. We began as brothers on the gridiron and then continued as FIJI brothers. Today we sometimes see each other in April at Pig dinner and reminisce on these times; they are some of my fondest of memories. You may recognize some of these very grand brothers: the late Johnnie Rhodes(honorary 66 pledge class member), John Collins, Mike O’Leary, Tony Flaherty, Johnny Kimball, Paul Pooler and myself. Perge’ Paul Dulac: FIJI Pledge Class of 66-67 Captain of the University of Maine football team, 1969 UMO 1966-1970  
John Rhodes and Grant Watkins
John Collins and Mike O'Leary
John Kimball and Paul Pooler
Tony Flaherty, Paul Dulac and Tony Flaherty  Freshman Team Fiji Brothers: John Collins, Paul Pooler, Paul Dulac, Anthony Flaherty, John Kimball.  Varsity Team, 1967 Fiji Brothers: Paul Dulac, #55; John Collins, #41; Mike O'Leary, #89; John Kimball, #68, Grant Watkins, #23; Paul Pooler, #54   Varsity Team, 1968 Fiji Brothers: Grant Watkins, Paul Dulac, Mike O'Leary, Dick Paganucci, Richard Rhodes, John Collins, Paul Pooler, John Kimball, Chris Eaton.   Varsity Team, 1969 Fiji Brothers: Paul Pooler, Captain Paul Dulac, John Collins, John Rhodes, Chris Eaton, Dick Paganucci, Pat Ladd, Paul Roy, Jim Hayes, John Kimball, Dick Rhodes, Ed O'Bara, John Zinno.        All Fiji Football Team  Paul Dulac and John Collins  “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 |
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