It is safe to say that many people and places are many places and people that leave little impression upon us and remain emotionally flat, bereft of feeling and meaning, even forgotten. However, instinctively, by and by, we all return to places that are rich in thought and sentiment, and every time we return it feels good. These places remain fixed in our memory, and we can, of course, name them with ease, and we can clearly state the fond memories and cherished feelings we all have them in equal measure, and they stay with you through life. That is an easy declarative given; seeing the durable reality of certain places and people with life-long clarity. The force of the memory and emotion of these places is uniquely expressive, powerful, and cannot be measured, nor should they be. Thus, time-after-time, when we return to these places they unlock and speak directly to your heart with the same uncanny, innocent emotion. These memories are natural, pleasing to heart, and they are never empty of meaning. They reveal something of the durable greatness of place, and of good friends we associate with it. Somehow they imbue every aspect of your existence in ways that only you know, a treasure obtained, if you will, a treasure that speaks of fraternal respect, kindness, harmony, and joy: happiness. Many of my memories are rooted in three distinct places: Andover Newton Theological School, situated on a little knob of hill, historically called ‘Pulpit Hill,’ in Newton Centre, Massachusetts; second, the historic grounds of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina; third, our richly textured fraternal home, The Castle, beside the Stillwater River. We all love what the brotherhood and The Castle has been, is, and will continue to be for the next 120 years. The particular impact and legacy of the landscape, The Castle, and all the brothers is sacred to me, as sacred as when I walked down College Avenue to visit the first time in the autumn of 1978, and that first visit provoke a second visit. Quite simply, you do not forget our Castle and out historic brotherhood. Annie Proulx’s said it best in the concluding line of The Shipping News: “And sometimes it may be that love sometimes occurs without pain and misery.” I know that we can each state that our years in The Castle created a brotherly network that has crisscrossed, circulated, and sustained us in the years thereafter. That sort of deep emotional brotherly friendship and love is, simply stated, congenial, nurturing, gratifying and humbling. It is safe to say that our memories of Omega Mu will never be elusive memories. With that thought in mind and Pig Dinner only days away with brothers arriving from everywhere, laughter ricocheting in every corner of The Castle, and generational fraternity is everywhere, it is fitting to recall what a rare and exceptional experience it was for all of us to live in The Castle, and how central and permanent those fraternal years were in shaping us. It was an improbable gift that none of us suspected when we first arrived in Orono to start classes, and then the ancestral warmth of Omega My brothers brought each of us to the front door. That is how it continues to happen: brother-to-brother-to-brother through the generations in bringing young men into the charmed historical confines of The Castle and the warm embrace of our brotherhood, and though we are time-bound, those nostalgic memories are timeless. It is an abundant historic treasure for 120 years that defies definition because it is a long, richly textured fraternal family narrative with ever assortment of plots and subplots and denouements. It is a beautiful narrative that has meaning and significance for each of us in different and similar ways. It is safe to say that we are not devoured by regret in becoming Omega Mu Fijis. This brotherhood continues to be on the right course, as we have for over a hundred years, and with collective brotherly intention, power, and purpose we will continue to thrive. And, inversely, The Castle now requires the unquenchable fortitude and commitment of the knotted links of our brotherhood in order to architecturally restore our beloved Castle to its former glory. Architecturally speaking, we are the financial flying buttresses that will achieve this because there is no government program for The Castle, no community service project planned for The Castle, and certainly no other organization is planning to step in to do our work. We will preserve her and make her new again because it is sacred to all of us. The Castle is beloved by all Omega MU brothers of all ages and generations, and it is fitting to say that those feelings for The Castle are fraternally sacred. Sacred love exists in the now, and not merely in the realm of the unknowable, unreachable, and infinite beyond of religion and theology. Empedocles wisely said the following about the nature of God and the sacred: “The nature of God is a circle of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.” Yes, pan-en-theism again. It worth thinking over that this is exactly what has held this brotherhood together for 120 years, and though every brother grows, evolves and changes in various ways after our years in The Castle, that binding love, commitment, and respect for each other, and our brotherhood, remains. It is the solidity of that type of well-rooted love that keeps us coming back to The House for the grace and good cheer of being with each other again. It is that type love that guided our original QTV brothers to take the headstrong risk in starting our brotherhood, and it was that type of sacrificial love when the QTV brothers allowed the chapter house to be used during the Scarlet Fever Epidemics of 1895-1899 to control the epidemic. So, too, it was that type of love that compelled our Omega Mu brothers to take the dangerous, headstrong risk and go into the White House when it was being destroyed by fire in 1924 to recover cherished fraternal items. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, it is that type of love that guided our brothers to purchase the land upon which our present Castle was built, and that stabilizing, visionary love continued when our Omega Mu brothers were present each during the construction of our present Castle. They did not miss a single day in overseeing the constructions of our beautiful home. It is that type of love, that, forever and always, guided Ted Curtis, Frank Danforth, and all the 60’s and 70’s brothers, to continue to come through the front door of The Castle to be here. It is that type of love that drives the joyful, evangelical cheerleading spirit of Jay Clement to get every single brother back for Pig Dinner each year. Moreover, it is that simple, direct vision of fraternal love drives Pilgrim to be a sustaining, guiding rudder of support for the brothers living in the house in order for them to live fraternally well, and to grow in their understanding of fraternal loyalty and fraternal responsibility. Empedocles was right: the sustaining center of love is everywhere in our brotherhood, and there is no limiting circumference to our fraternal love and commitment. Everything we do is guided by our decisive historic spirit of love and commitment to each and The Castle, and we have been victorious so far in accomplishing everything we have every set out do. Our nature is single fraternal heartedness, and that is the root of human grace. It is in the spirit of that historic love, energy, commitment, and clarity of architectural and historical intent that drives this 2019 financial drive for our architectural masterpiece: The Castle. This building, our fraternal home, carried us deeply into friendships and happiness that have been life-long. To have partaken of such a gift that was given to each is a great life reward. That is sacred. Now we know what lies ahead, another 120 years of our storied fraternal existence at the University of Maine. With the legacy of all our ancestral voices supporting us, and the guiding memory of chance and providence that led each of us to the front door of The Castle the first time seeking to become an Omega Mu brother, it is an easy choice to make to support the architectural renewal of The House. This is an instance in our fraternal history when we must imagine what future brothers will say when they walk up the driveway and into the house and see the tangible, flawlessly crafted sustained beauty of The Castle, inside and outside, in beautiful symmetry and sameness, and in turn learn that it was due to ennobling ingredients of our perseverance and determination that made it so. They will then develop life-lasting friendships, a love of fraternal life, and a self-effacing commitment to maintain those friendships and the architectural integrity of The Castle. That intergenerationally creative partnership that has always guided our Omega Mu brotherhood, and it always will guide us in the future. Fraternal love is both the source and goal of everything we do for each other and The Castle. “By our clear-eyed faith and fearless heart” we will succeed. With reverence and service toward the The Castle and each other, we will assure that our fraternal beliefs will continue to cultivate an appreciation for the good things that really matter in life in structure, scope, and ideal without erosion. This, after all, is why it all started. It was a conscious and carefully crafted decision for young men to live together in civic, fraternal decency on the riverscape of the Stillwater River, and our memories of The Castle and our brotherly friendships are, indeed, fruit that lasts a lifetime. That is feel cantus firmus, “The strong song,” of our proud 120 year history, and we will continue to do well in sustaining our linked Omega Mu brotherly circle for another 120 years without any fraternal hesitation or fear, guided by our time-tested, unambiguous fraternal tenacity, perseverance, and persistence. That is the generational consciousness that has always kept us moving forward into the future. We do not speak and act from a distance from our past, the present, and our future; they all matter because we cannot separate them. We play the long game, always have. Omega Mu lives on, and it will continue to live on. In closing, I am thankful for the surprising, life-long fraternal grace that greeted me when I walked through the front door of The Castle in 1978. Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, "82 Perge!
0 Comments
Stories, as we all know, are the life of Omega Mu, and they keep alive our Omega Mu spirit each time we see each other, and there is nothing wrong with feeling nostalgic and then saying to yourself: “Did I really say and do these interesting things while living in the house; did all those events occur in the RAM, and did I really look like that during my years in The Castle?” And the beautiful thing is that these events did occur, and you did look like that. The Castle has graced the ground of 79 College Avenue for generations of Omega Mu brothers, and our binding stories were framed within the distinctive walls of The Castle. The stories are delightful, poignant and filled with warm memories. Your stories provide a clear, significant lens in appreciating our long history; second, they provide a broad generational spectrum of our brotherhood and our shared home. That is the power of authentic storytelling, not shallow prattle. Anyway, to be clear, please send me more of your stories. Each story helps each of us to appreciate and love, in new yet familiar ways, our Omega Mu brotherhood and The Castle. Thank you. Fraternally, Chip Chapman, ‘82 Perge! First Story |
Robie L. Mitchell, 1907•Assistant Attorney General of Montana. •Leading municipal bond attorney in the United States •Senior Partner of Mitchell, Pershing, Shetterly and Mitchell in New York. The well known projects of his were the Golden Gate Bridge and the Mystic River Bridge, as well turnpikes throughout the United States. |
Malcolm E. Fassett, 1910
Sumner Waite, 1911
Frank Fellows, 1912
Omega Mu brothers who served in World War I
William R. Ballou, ’12
Ira M. Bradbury, ‘14
Horace H. Towle, ’14
Anthony Percy Schneider, Jr.
William H. Knowlton, ‘17
John I.B. Sawyer, ’17
Willett C. Barrett, ’18
Everett H. Brasier, ’18
Ernest L. Coolbroth, ’18
Robert B. Dunning, ’18
Earle R. Adams, ’19
George H. Cheney, ’19
Clifford P. Gould, ’19
Willis G. Martin, ’19
Evans B. Norcross, ’19
Earle S. Peckham, ’19
Windsor P. Daggett
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge
QTV
Francis H. Bacon, 1876
|
Chip Chapman, '82
Perge!
Chip Chapman, '82
Perge!

In the midst of this severe chronic depression, an uncertain future, a catchy, upbeat song, “The Maine Stein Song,” was recorded by a former University of Maine student and S.A.E. fraternity brother, Rudy Vallee and his band, The Connecticut Yankees. It was the number one song in the United States for ten weeks for good reason. It pushed back against the growing despair and hopelessness that was only increasing in the United States. Rhythmically and melodically, it gave cause for optimism, if nothing else. It evoked nostalgia of a better time, a time apart, in the United States, in a silly yet meaningful way, during a time that was always anxious and tense. It lifted the veil of despair with its emotional intensity cheeky lyrics, if just a little. This, in part, is one way that music has impacted people through history. The “Maine Stein Song” certainly fulfilled the spirit of Robert Frost’s statement about poetry in when he said it was a “momentary stay against confusion.”
Life could not have been wholly pleasant for our Omega Mu brothers during the Great depression, it would be a delusion to think otherwise. However, the privations they experienced were, certainly, far fewer than most, but they certainly existed. The noisy bustle in The Castle continued, and the brothers did whatever was necessary for The Castle. Like every previous generation of Omega Mu brothers, they knew that there was no on-off button of responsibility; they did not retreat from past successes; they only looked forward to doing it again in everything they did. The events of ’24-’25 were still fresh for them, and they knew that The Castle was a generationally rich gift and inheritance for them and all brothers in the future, and for that they were unabashedly proud to be living in The Castle with its dark woodwork and plush leather chairs and couches in the library and living room. The daily attire was a little more formal with shirt, tie, nice slacks, jacket, blazer, or sweater
“For past and present visions, for future dreams held high…”


Graduate brothers regularly visited the undergraduate brothers in The Castle and provided them with encouraging words for success were Dean Paul Cloke, Dean James N. Hart, Alpheus C. Lyon, Frank Fellows, Raymond Fellows, and Theodore S. Curtis. Ted Curtis played a significant advisory role in the building of Memorial Gym in 1933, and in the following year he became Omega Mu’s Purple Legionnaire, and he coached the ski team. The Mount Vernon House, the last Q.T.V. chapter house, burned down in 1933.

Harry E. Sutton, ’09, was the first University of Maine alumni to receive the Pine Tree Fiji for outstanding service to The University of Maine General Alumni Association. James M. Eaton, ’10, was a prominent leader in the aviation industry, and in the Thirties he made aviation history when he established the Ludington Line that provided airline service between New York to Washington, D.C.

During their spare moments, the brothers listened their combination radio-phonograph and were aware of everything that was occurring in American culture. The musicians that the brothers listened to were remarkable: Count Basie, Artie Shaw, George and Ira Gershwin, Lawrence Welk, Guy Lombardo, Cole Porter, and many others.

The songs that they heard over the radios or on the jukeboxes that were in every bar or pizza joint were “Mood Indigo,” “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Let’s fall in Love,” “Stormy Weather,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “Too Marvelous for Words,” “They Can’t Take that from Me.” They would also have heard the promising voice of a singer by the name of Francis Albert Sinatra in 1939 who was making a name for himself, and who would influence the singing careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Dinah Shore, and Doris Day.
“When a Skinny Singer Crooned to Knock Your Bobby Socks Off”
“The Romans read places like faces, as outward revelations of living inner spirit. Each place had its own Genius.”
In his memoirs Fucida wrote:
“One hour and forty minutes after leaving the carriers I knew that we should be nearing our goal. Small openings in the thick cloud cover afforded occasional glimpses of the ocean. . . . Suddenly a long white line of breaking surf appeared directly beneath my plane. It was the northern shore of Oahu. Veering right toward the west coast of the island, we could see that the sky over Pearl Harbor was clear. Presently the harbor itself became visible across the central Oahu plain, a film of morning mist hovering over it. I peered intently through my binoculars at the ships riding peacefully at anchor. One by one I counted them. Yes, the battleships were there all right, eight of them! But our last lingering hope of finding any carriers present was now gone. Not one was to be seen. It was 0749 when I ordered the attack. [The radioman] immediately began tapping out the pre-arranged code signal: “TO, TO, TO . . .

The next day America’s isolationism ended when President Roosevelt declared war against Japan and Germany, and with fraternal commitment and enthusiasm, many of our brothers would soon be in uniform fighting in the European and Asian theaters of war with fortitude and resolution, proudly so.
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge!
Archives
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
April 2020
August 2019
July 2019
February 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
November 2017