  Omega Mu Voice David B. Rushton, 1982  I attended the University of Maine to earn a degree in chemical engineering. By wonderful coincidence, my roommate was Steve Swan, with whom I was friends with at Brewer High School. My freshman year was spent adjusting to all the new freedoms that university life provided, but during my sophomore year Steve and I started to rush the fraternity system, and we quickly found out that the Castle was where we wanted to be.
Dave Rushton and Steve Swan.  Brewer High Schools Witches I already knew Buddy Cote and Ken Bartlett, and then we met other brothers that we knew. It became clear that Fiji would be a good fit for us. There was a great fraternal spirit about Fiji, and we pledged in the fall of our sophomore year. Naturally, we went through a wide variety of experiences in the pledging process, and we were better for that experience.
Buddy Cote and Ken Bartlett
But, more broadly, the brotherhood had been making slow, steady and positive strides prior to our pledging. More specifically, Omega Mu was showing improvement in all areas of fraternal life: leadership, house improvements, scholarship and campus involvement. Integrity and respectability, in a broad sense, defined the Omega Mu brotherhood in the late seventies and early eighties. In addition, intramural involvement and charitable activities were front and center with Fiji. Simply stated, our fraternal spirit was flourishing, and it was wonderful being part of it because it was joyous, fun, and constructive. And, most importantly, there was a strong unified sense of fraternal well-being that was authentic.    
JT, Our Omega Mu Brother The Fiji 24 Hour Rely Marathon was the marquee social service event that the Fiji brotherhood hosted, each spring, in the Memorial Gym. Teams would get pledges for running a 24 hour relay run, and all the money would be donated to the Jimmy Fund to aid in cancer research. It was always successful; however, I was not exactly running material, having blown out a knee skiing a few years earlier, but I was a fundraiser, and I helped with the marathon. Still, I am not sure not how the teams managed to run the relay for 24 hours, but it was always a huge success. If memory serves, Steve Perry and Matt Smyth were confident leaders, generous with their time and energy, who did an outstanding job in organizing it, and I believe we raised about $10,000, thereabouts. It was a charitable event that we still talk about with pride.  
Steve Perry and Matt Smith.  Steve Perry and Buck Banks.    There were plenty of bread-and-butter, down-to-earth activities in the brotherhood, and intramural activity was central through the entire academic year. Fiji was fierce and competitive in most of the sporting events. I participated in swimming and the fraternity hockey tournament. Although I do not recall any specifics with the swim meets, I did swim well, and I believe Dennis Mulherin swam in our meets.   Dennis Mulherin When I say I played a “little” hockey, that is likely an overstatement. I had equipment, could skate reasonably well, and handle the puck if need be. The house that we played that night is a bit fuzzy, as was most of the evening. With the game fully underway, I was getting back in the “groove” of playing hockey. I remember picking up the puck deep in our end and skating behind the net to begin starting up ice. Looking down at the puck, beginning to feel a bit like Bobby Orr, I made the turn around the net. In a flash, I looked up and was promptly crosschecked backwards on the ice by some massive “linebacker” size guy. I had forgotten one of the cardinal rules of hockey…..”Skate with your head up.” After attempting to clear the cobwebs from my head, and uttering a few well-chosen comments to the gentleman that had just clobbered me, I was treated to an ambulance ride to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Diagnosis: concussion. I showed up at the house the next day with a bit of a splitting headache, and it made for a rough week.  There was always something going on at the house. Be it a mid-week gathering in the basement with a 100 of our closest friends, Mud Bowl, Fiji Island, or unplanned weekend trips to Boston or Newport, Rhode Island, it was always a blast. It is enjoyable for everyone to have the chance to reminisce about them at Pig Dinner. Our fraternal life is not short-lived. Emphatically, it was a great decision to become an Omega Mu Fiji brother. Mud Bowl  Fiji Island  Pig Dinner          Dave Smith  Chris Skillman and Dave Rushton  Bill McLean, Dave Rushton, Phi Hannan, Bill Shaboski.  Jay Clement and Dave Rushton.  Greg Scott and Dave Rushton.  Dave Rushton and Dana Wells.
  "To be part of all this is to be infinitely rich."    “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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Omega Mu Voice Jonathan B. Smith, 1990
True story, speaking of 1958... I actually used to kind of dread seeing my Old Man at the Castle when I was an undergrad. I always got an ear full about the condition of the house or if there were too many "strangers" in the basement, empties in the trash, etc.
David L. Smith, '61 One random Wednesday night in the fall 1987 during an 11 to 2 party who do I see walking down the stairs to the basement but Dave. I remember this night like it was yesterday. The basement was crowded and loud. He was in suit with a very stern expression. I remember thinking, ”Oh shit, we are busted. This can't be good, a random out the blue pop in by Dave." The whole party seemed to stop and look. Quickly, someone who recognized him offered him a beer and things resumed but still he got lots of looks from everyone, especially the guests.  "Who's that?" Then it was like actually watching the telephone game take place before my eyes as one person whispered to another and then another and so on around the whole basement "That's Pilgrim's Dad." In a matter of seconds, I had gone from standing in the back corner of the basement behind the bar drinking a beer in almost total anonymity to having everyone's eyes on me.  He soon found me. Things were pleasant but still a little tense. I offered him a beer and he pointed out he already had one. "A good Zobie beat you to it."
 Zobies This was not off to a good start but he apologized to dropping in unannounced. He had had a business meeting/dinner with a client in Augusta and thought it was a good idea to swing by Orono when he was finished.   Just in time to show up for an 11 - 2. He made some comment about the size of the crowd in the basement and "Do you know all these people etc?” Then something amazing happened.  1986 - 1987 had three popular movies that featured songs from the late 1950's and early 60's. Dirty Dancing reintroduced “Do You Love Me” by The Contours. The film La Bamba had a great version of the classic Richie Valens tune “La Bamba” by Los Lobos. Ferris Bueller's Day Off included The Beatles classic “Twist and Shout”. All three of those songs were on the playlist at FIJI in the fall of 87. All three were often played in a row and that's what happened. A huge grin came over his face with the intro to Do You Love Me, "You broke my heart cause I couldn't dance..." Everyone began to dance.  He began to laugh really loud. He finished his beer and had another; other guys began to talk with him, seeing that things were not so bleak after all. Jeff Hutchinson came over and talked to him for a bit Dave loved talking to Jeff about the good times he had with his father in the house. He got huge kick out of everyone singing along to Twist and Shout especially the "Ahhhh, ahhhh, AHHHH!" crescendo.
Jeff Hutchinson And that was it, three songs and a couple of beers then he left. He didn't stay a half an hour. I walked him to the front door, and we talked about making plans for breakfast, but he told me "Go to school.” He sternly reminded me and everyone else in the foyer: ”Make sure this place gets cleaned up tomorrow, stay out of trouble.” But all of that was through a big Cheshire Cat grin.
As he was walking out the door, he told me he was "glad to hear that the music in this place had not changed that much in 25 years.” He added, "how nothing really changes here." He also said: "Get back down there and find some cute girl to dance with while the music was still good." And, he said quite assertively, "Are you guys smart enough to play Sinatra at the end of the night when you have found that cute girl."
Good advice. It was a whirlwind visit, but I remember it like it happened yesterday.   Years late, I asked him about that visit, about how it was so unexpected, so short, and if he remembered it. He said something to the effect that hearing that music in that place took him back to his days in school. It was 1961 all over again for him, and it was best leave before it changed back to 1980s again.  
        
A true FIJI story.  “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 Voice Edward O'Bara
Omega Mu Pledge Brothers 
Ed O'Bara and Mike Sullivan  Left to Right: Jim Hayes, Mike Sullivan, Paul Wood, John Zinno, Paul Roy, Buster Marzinzak, Jim Walsh, Bill Pond, Jim McLean, Dennis McKenna, Russ Ross, Pat Ladd, Ed O'Bara, John Halloran, Jim Browne.  Mike Sullivan and Bruce Kubik in Florida, and I believe Bob Doyle is taking the picture. Edward O’Bara Omega Mu After graduating from the University of Maine, Mike started working in the nuclear industry, traveling around the country with Tony Flaherty and a number of other friends. In addition, at this time, Mike was also a Deadhead, following the Grateful Dead in his travels.    Periodically, Mike returned home, and then he started working closer to his home near Cape Cod, and it was here that Mike met his wife, Nancy, who worked in local restaurants while going to school to earn her teaching degree in order to start her career in education.  Mike and Nancy married, and then they had two children, Ray and Meghan. Ray graduated from the Berklee School of Music, and then he played in a band and taught music in public and private schools. Meghan works in the hospitality business and has three children, and this has created a great deal of happiness with the grandchildren thing!  Mike settled down and worked at the Seabrook, N.H. nuclear power plant where he made a very good living, especially during the refueling time periods. He loved the beach where he would set up his big umbrella and have a few beers, good food, and a basic good time meeting and talking to everybody.   They also had a cottage on beautiful Newfound Lake in New Hampshire where they would spend many summer weekends.  The onset of Alzheimers was a slow process in developing until Mike entered the nursing home . He received good care and remained a very happy patient as everybody worked through the Covid situation. Always remember Mike as someone who cared deeply and took good care of his friends and family; a good athlete who always exceeded his talent, and a very generous person.  “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 Voice John R. Kenealy, 1983
Burr’s General Store   Burr’s General Store was on Route 2 in Costigan, Maine. It was a special place for many of us. The building was unassuming on the outside, but was the quintessential country store when viewed from the inside. It was in an ideal location to kick off our many adventures out to fish the Sunkhaze Stream for wild brook trout, or for partridge hunting. 
The first thing we noticed on our initial venture, was the stuffed bear standing on a shelf on the back wall who was wearing a red pork-pie hat. Inside the store, was an amazing array of foods, dry goods, and fishing and hunting equipment.  What drew us however, was the lunch counter, which was in the back, left side of the store. In front of the counter were a number of milk cans for stools, and we always sauntered up and grabbed a stool, while we ordered our sandwiches.
So, I’m not sure where to go from here: should I talk about the amazing sandwiches, or the amazing “Burr’s Babe,” as we called her, who made them for us? Call me a sexist, but I’ll begin with the Burr’s Babe. I’ll just say it: We all wanted to marry her, and why not? She was beautiful. She had long, raven hair, big, brown eyes, and curves that would wake the dead. We all assumed that she was a member of the family-owned business, and she was about the same age of us: late teens-early twenties. She was sweet, kind, and enjoyed our banter. And, she made an amazing sandwich!  A great sandwich starts with great bread. At Burr’s they baked fresh bread every day. Not only that, they sliced the bread into about one inch thick slices. Chicken salad, which was the favorite, by our consensus, was made from chickens that they roasted on site. The sandwiches were loaded, and about three inches thick when all was said and done. Each sandwich was wrapped in plastic wrap, and included a pickle slice. After collecting our sandwiches, we were on our way with a meal that lasted all day, and memories of the love of our young lives, the “Burr’s Babe.” “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 Voice David L. Smith, 1961  David L. Smith, 1961 "Sunday dinner at 74 College Avenue in 1960 followed a "well established" order of business. The dinner gong which hung on the dining room wall to the left of the door, was sounded by a white-coated waiter at exactly twelve noon. He then closed the door. At the sound, brothers in coat and tie from all over the house raced to the living room. They formed two lines with a lane from the dining room to the house mother's room at the left of the fireplace. The boys, then, with a lot of pissing and moaning, chose the "hero " to escort Ma Tate down the lane and be her companion for dinner. No doubt she could hear the goings on about the selection process but she never let on. She always came out with a smile and a hearty " Good Morning Fijis". She was a kindly, chubby old girl who put up with a lot of crap from the guys, but she made it clear that she was happier living with us than her daughter in Orono. 
Housemothers at Sunday Dinner  Clara Hammond, our Omega Mu housemother in the late sixties, it shows the decorum and grace of the seating the housemother for Sunday dinner.  Mrs. Butts, our Omega Mu housemother, at Sunday dinner in the 1950's. As Ma and her host moved down the line with nods and comments back and forth the dining room doors were pushed open. Ma was seated at her place at one end of the center table. The brothers took their places standing at their chairs and benches. And yes, we had places! Changing from one’s usual seat or table was certain to generate looks and smart aleck remarks. With Ma seated, the standing Fijis would break into a loud and enthusiastic singing of the Doxology.  "With Ma seated, the standing Fijis would break into a loud and enthusiastic singing of the Doxology."  The meal was plated in the kitchen and the waiters served the tables: center first, east windows second and the "Pig Table" at the west windows last. One of the standard Sunday dinners featured roast pork followed by apple crisp topped with whipped cream; really good eating.  Our cook was a tough old bird with many years of experience cooking for loggers in the Maine woods. He fed us well and kept us happy on a strict budget. We told prospective members that we ate better than any other house on campus, and we believed it to be true. Sunday dinner ended with much coffee and lots of talk around the tables.  "Sunday dinner ended with much coffee and lots of talk around the tables." Following dinner, depending on the season, we played football or softball on the front lawn or watched sports on the only T.V. in the house, Ma’s 12 inch set. We loved our home team, the N.Y. Football Giants. You can only imagine what her small sitting room looked and smelled like with a couple dozen or more of us jammed in for an hour of two cheering, groaning and farting. What fun! We were Fijis with boundless energy and spirit living the good life.  "Following dinner, depending on the season, we played football or softball on the front lawn or watched sports on the only T.V. in the house, Ma’s 12 inch set."    "What fun! We were Fijis with boundless energy and spirit living the good life."
“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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