Blog Archives

Francis H. Bacon, 1876

5/31/2025

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. We have achieved solid accomplishments in a broad range of academic disciplines, in athletics, in the arts, in journalism, and in many other co-curricular activities at the University of Maine since our fraternal beginning. And it seems obvious, of course, based off or 150 year history at Maine, that the present generation of Omega Mu undergraduates, as well as all future generations of Omega Mu Fijis, will continue to do the same, with 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.

Omega Mu Portrait
Francis H. Bacon,
1876

"As this was the first the first fraternity chapter house built in the state, it surely must have been a building to be proud of."

Q.T.V. Years

"The Q. T. V. Hall, erected in 1876 by the labor of the members of the fraternity, stood where
Coburn Hall is
now."

"The first meeting place if fraternities on the Maine campus was in this building....students helped build this hall (funds and labor). First secret society in college."

"The entire expense of its erection was borne by the members and this demanded from them considerable self-sacrifice and loyalty. As this was the first fraternity chapter built in the State, it surely must have been a building
to be proud of."

Q.T.V Brothers

Oliver Crosby, 1876

Horace Estabrooke, 1876

Charles Oak, 1876

Oliver Crosby was Francis Bacon's best friend at the University of Maine, and they kept up a regular correspondence through life.

Edward M. Blanding was Francis Bacon's roommate at Maine.

Edward M. Blanding

"Oliver Crosby's most intimate friend while at college was Francis Henry Bacon and I have taken the liberty to forward a copy of your letter to him in distant Turkey.....His letters have invariably been very interesting and some of them were accompanied with pictures of himself and the picturesque Dardanelles."

White Hall

"Mr. Bacon was my roommate first in Brick Hall and later in White Hall."

"F. H. Bacon, ---Trombone"

Sergeant Francis H. Bacon

Archeologist

After Francis finished college at M.I.T. , he worked for an architectural firm in Boston, but in 1881 he was asked to join the Harvard archeological team that was going to Assos, Turkey to do extensive excavation work. Assos is just south of Troy, and I am sure a historic time-capsule of thoughts may have gone through Francis’s head as he considered the offer: Patroclus, Achilles, Cassandra, Darius, Xerxes, as well as Luke the Evangelist and Paul the Apostle (Both Luke and Paul visited Assos). Francis gave notice to the architectural firm and joined the Harvard team as the key architectural site draftsman, as well as being second in command. His effectiveness as a leader was unquestioned, and he did a beautiful, comprehensive job as a draftsman. His finished drawings of the Assos site are eye-catching, beautiful, calm, and systematically precise. They are interesting to look at because of their precision and clarity, and they whet the appetite to read about the archeological importance of the site in human history. This experience of working at the Assos archeological site, from 1881-1883, was unique, rich, and profound in meaning for Francis, and he worked for over thirty years to compile and then publish the account of the archeological work done by the Harvard team in 1923, a year before the ceremony dedicating Francis’s marble repository shrine to preserve and protect the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Furthermore, to broaden this great pulse of the historic, Francis’s younger brother, Henry Bacon, designed the Lincoln Memorial. The Bacon brothers have a single, enduring, incalculable legacy in our nation’s history, and one of them is our fraternal brother, Francis H. Bacon, 1876, a fitting fraternal testimony to what we believe as Omega Mu Fijis. In sum, Francis would not be denied in anything he set out to achieve as an archeologist, architect, and designer of furniture. He did everything with consummate skill and attentiveness, creative interest and integrity, and he remains, across all Omega Mu generations, as a fraternal inspiration and a challenge to always remain undaunted, perseverant, and determined. And again, as we all know, that has been our history at the University of Maine, a proud historic truth that continues today with our collective single-mindedness. Perge.

Bacon's work at Assos, in fact, stretched over a lifetime; at his personal expense he undertook the completion of the full five volumes of the Investigations at Assos after Clarke had abandoned the project under the pressure of family life. Not until 1927 did Bacon finish the task of publication, or as he said, "kiss it Goodbye.”

Francis H. Bacon's
Archeological Drawings
In The Dardanelles

"INVESTIGATIONS AT
ASSOS
DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BUILDINGS AND OBJECTS DISCOVERED DURING THE EXCAVATIONS OF
1881 - 1882 - 1883.
Edited With Explanatory Notes By Francis H. Bacon."

Pictures Of Francis H. Bacon's At Various Excavation Sites

Francis H. Bacon Relaxing

Francis Bacon found letters written by Heinrich Schliemann, above, the German archeologist, who did extensive archeological work around Ithaca, the
Peloponnesus and Troy.

Francis H.Bacon
American
Furniture Designer

Francis worked as the principle designer for the Herter Brothers and the A. H. Davenport Company, two furniture companies, before he started the Francis H. Bacon Company, Designers and Manufactures. He exhibited a great of talent with all of his designs, and he emphasized and then translated the ideals of hand-crafted furniture into factory-made furniture. With a great deal of reflective study and thought, many sketches and refined drawings, he introduced many new elements to Colonial Renaissance style in furniture. He helped decorate the Glessner home in Chicago, William H. Vanderbilt’s home on 5th Avenue, New York City; the Warder Mansion in Washington, DC; the Converse Memorial Library in Malden, Massachusetts, and the White House. Because of the unique quality and style of furniture creations, many of Francis’s chairs and tables have been put on display in the MET and the Smithsonian Museums.

Francis H. Bacon’s Furniture Sketches

"Designed By
Francis H. Bacon"

"With furniture designed by Francis H. Bacon."

Glessner Home

"Mrs Glessner's piano designed by Francis H. Bacon."

"Theodore Thomas, founding conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, traveled to the Steinway factory and tried out the instrument, giving it his approval before delivery for decoration to A. H. Davenport and Company's chief designer, Francis Bacon."

Vanderbilt Home In
New York

Warder Mansion

Converse Memorial Library

The White House
Furniture

Architect of the Shrine for the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence
of the United States

Francis H. Bacon designed the marble repository shrine to preserve and safeguard the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as well as being open and accessible to the general public. When the repository shrine was dedicated in 1924, President and Mrs Calvin Coolidge were in attendance.

"Before long, the "sort of 'shrine" was being designed by Francis H. Bacon, whose brother Henry was the architect of the Lincoln Memorial."

"In February 1924 President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge dedicated the newly completed shrine in the Library of Congress that contained the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."

President Calvin Coolidge,
Our Phi Gamma Delta Brother
From Amherst College

On a wonderful side-note, Francis’ younger brother, Henry Bacon, was the
architect of the
Lincoln Memorial.

Our Omega Mu Brother,
Francis H. Bacon

“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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Stephen L. Hopping, 1971

5/30/2025

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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. In addition, we are equally proud of our brothers participated achieved national and international recognition in sports

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. Their positive impact on the University of Maine community cannot be overstated. 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. Our scorecard is deep, and we appreciate, and we are proud of, all of our Omega Mu athlete brothers.

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
Stephen L. Hopping,
1971

Omega Mu Years

Omega Mu Housemother,
Clara Hammond

Bob Deutsch, Bob Vam Dyke, John Collins, Chris eaton, Fred Galella

Dick York and Rod Macklin

Chris Tremblay on Tom Richardson's shoulders.

Paul Dulac and John Collins

Chris Eaton, right

Jim McLean, right, talking with some friends.

Jim McLean talking with a friend.

Rod Macklin, right.

L-R: Leigh Morrill, John Collins, Doyle Vatour, John Kimball, and behind is Dusty Rhodes

Fiji Island

Behind, looking to his left, is Pat Ladd; center, with cup in hand, is Bob Mennaly; looking to his right, towel wrapped around his head, Paul Wood; looking down and wearing sunglasses is Mike Soloby.

1971
Snow Sculpture

Working on the left portion of the sculpture:
Wearing a brown jacket, Mike O'Leary
To his right wearing a white and blue Maine jacket, Jim McLean
To the right of Jim McLean is Tom Richardson

Standing in the middle:
Red sweater, Chris Eaton
Sammy Cosgrove or Galella
Wearing a hat, Greg Papasodora
Jimmy Dunn
John Duffy
Tony Flaherty
#36Bob Dandolfi
Back turned, Dave Smith
Far right, Glenn Smith

On the wall:
Check jacket, Tyler Libby
Fred Galella
Jin Chaplin
Red sweater, Chris Eaton
Wearing hat, Bill Pond
Red Wolfe
Jim Hayes

Around the car:
Holding the hose, Eric Sjostrom
In front of Eric, bending down, left hand on the car, Ernie Niles
On the far right, next to the drivers side of the car and looking at the wall, Bob Mennealy

L-R:
Green jacket, Pat Ladd
Yellow jacket, George Thomas
White jacket, John Collins

Back of the car:
Looking toward the camera, standing at the rear of the car, Mike O'Leary

Carving on the all:
Green sweater, John Halloran
Red sweater, Chris Eaton
Wearing Maine jacket, Jim McLean

Clara Hammond and the pledge brother who designed the
snow sculpture

Clara Hammond

University Of Maine Athlete

Steve Hopping played for the University of Maine baseball team for four years, but there was only one team picture in all those years.

"Brother Steve Hopping at first base has been the squad's clean-up hitter for two seasons and is back to spark
the offensive punch."

Our Omega Mu Brother,
Jim Chaplin

"The Maine club is led by Fiji captain Jim Chaplin. The lanky right hander has been the Bear's pitching ace for the past two seasons."

"When all the statistics were in the Bears' 18-5 record made the '70 season the
best since 1885."

Ipswich High School
Athletic Hall Of Fame

Steve Hopping, Football, Hockey, Baseball

Stephen L. Hopping

“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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Benjamin Weston, 1900

5/27/2025

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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, and because of that we are an exceptional brotherhood because we remain committed and hardworking to assure that our Omega Mu brotherhood will continue to be the jewel at the University of Maine. Perge.

Omega Mu Portrait
Benjamin Weston,
1900

Q. T. V. - Omega Mu Years

1899
The Year Q. T. V. Became
The Omega Mu Chapter Of
Phi Gamma Delta

Our
Phi Gamma Delta Brother
General Lew Wallace

Union General Lew Wallace's fearless energy and erudite military leadership during the Battle of the Monocacy slowed Confederate General Jubal Early's advance on Washington for one critical day, and this allowed General Grant just enough time to bring more Union troops from Petersburg to reinforce the 23,000 Union troops that were protecting the capital. Thus, the capital of the United States was saved from possibly being taken by the Confederacy because of General Wallace's determined leadership during a critical 24 hour period in Frederick, Maryland, 1864. In point of fact, the one-day that took on July 6th, on the various farms and fields around the Monocacy River, may have been the most important battle of the Civil War, maybe, and we can thank a DePauw University Fiji brother for that: Brigadier General Lew Wallace. Perge.

The blog writer has walked the grounds of this Civil War battle, which took place on the outskirts of Frederick, Maryland, many times with his two dogs!

"Fraternally Yours,
Lew Wallace, 1895"

"Gen Lew Wallace,
National President of the
Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity"

"New Fraternity Installed
at the U. of M.
Former Q. T. V. Society Granted
a Charter in October.
Initiation and Installation Ceremonies
Recently Held at the Chapter House"

The recently built chapter house of
Omega Mu where the installation service was held.

Recently built Phi Gamma Delta house, middle. The building that is first on the right is the last Q. T. V. Chapter Hall that was extensively renovated to become a residential dorm for women, Mount Vernon House. In the middle distance, approximately near the small white building is the site where our present
Castle would be built in 1924-1925.

#25 is the Mount Vernon House,
#26 is the site of our first
Phi Gamma Delta Castle.

Inside the house around 1905-1907, above and below.

First Omega Mu
Phi Gamma Delta Brothers

Benjamin F. Weston, November 24, 1899

Card Party

"Phi Gamma Delta fraternity entertained their friends with whist and dancing at
their chapter house."

"Second Lieutenant...Benjamin Thomas Weston"

Coburn Corp of Cadets,
1898

Phi Kappa Phi

Phi Kappa Phi
"It is an honorary society to which the twelve seniors having the best record in scholarship"

B. Weston

First Omega Mu Fiji
Banquet

"Toastmaster, H. M. Estabrooke, 1876"

First Group Of Q. T. V. Brothers To Be
Initiated Into The Omega Mu Chapter Of
Phi Gamma Delta

"Toastmaster, J. F. Gould"

"Valedictory....Benjamin F. Weston"

"The oration by Mr. McDonald (Omega Mu Fiji Brother) and the valedictory by Mr. Weston were both of a very high order and exceedingly well rendered."

"Mr Weston's was
especially impressive."

Graduates Receiving Special Recognition At
Graduation

"Benjamin Thomas Weston, Madison, Mathematics"

“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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Stanley T. S. Fuger, Jr., 1938

5/25/2025

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From multiple angles, our QTV and Omega Mu brothers have enriched the civic life at the University of Maine, and we are fortunate to have had many hardworking, talented brothers throughout our history. The balance between our athletic involvement, intellectual pursuits, and campus involvement is outstanding. In each area of involvement, our brothers brought energy and enthusiasm, and one particular area where our brothers brought particular depth and color was in many wide-ranging Maine Masque theater productions. With fraternal strength, Omega Mu brothers became mainstays on the theater boards when Maine Masque was established in 1906-1907. What a long-lasting accomplishment for all of us to be proud as Omega Mu brothers.

Over the years, our Omega Mu brothers have been involved in many Maine Masque productions, including Charles L. Pfeiffer, Malcolm E. Fassett, Harry Lovely, Nathan F. True, Fernando T. Norcross, Theodore W. Haskell, Charles E. Stickney, Robert Irvine, William Demant, Evans B. Norcross, J. Richard Buck, Willam Keith, Harry P. Carle, Howard L. Farwell, Jacob M. Horne, Jr.; Bryant M. Patten, Sumner Waite, Norman D. Carlisle, Paul F. Slocum, Clifford H. George, Ernest F. Andrews, Robert S. Hussey, Elwood D. Bryant, Howard J. Stagg, III; Stanley S. T. Fuger, John T. Clark, John W. Ballou, George R. Berger, Robert D. Parks, Arthur B. Conner, Louis H. Thibodeau, Henry S. Simms, among many, many others! Praise for them is merited. Exhibiting diligence and discipline, these Omega Mu brothers, through many decades, brought a joyful vibrancy and communal vitality to the University of Maine community. What a superb gift to give the community, rich, alive, and inspiring. Significantly, many of our Omega Mu brothers were a driving force in many of the plays because of the impactful, leading roles that they often played, luring and capturing the imagination of the audience as they moved and glided, with apparent ease and poise, on the theater boards. By all reports in the Maine Campus and the Bangor Daily, their performances were quit affecting. The quality and depth of their disciplined art form joyfully enriched the lives of countless numbers of people.

Our Omega Mu Maine Masque theater brothers, just like our athlete brothers, are an enriching testament to what it means to be a fraternity brother in Omega Mu, and we are proud of their dedication, creativity, and commitment in adding such an important historic angle in our fraternal history at the University of Maine. They exemplify the good of what it means to be a positive part of the university community, and in doing so showing the good of fraternal culture. Attending a play is a special, spirited experience, and we are proud of the legacy of these brothers for their unbending commitment to the beautiful creative art and discipline of Maine Masque theater productions. These Maine Masque theater brothers make us proud, and their legacy in Maine Masque history continues to shine. They, too, like our Omega Mu athlete brothers, continue to enrich and strengthen our perseverant and determined fraternal identity, 151 years strong.

Omega Mu Portrait
Stanley T. S. Fuger, Jr.,
1938

Omega Mu Years

Omega Mu Housemother,
Mrs. Bradley

Watie Akins' Orchestra

Crimson Rambler

1937 Christmas Party For Children

"More than 30 of Orono's small sons and daughters were guests last night at the second annual Christmas party given by the 45 members of Omega Mu Phi Gamma Delta at the fraternity house, University of Maine."

Phi Gamma Delta Honors Dean Hart

Our Q. T. V. - Omega Mu Brother,
1885

"PROF. HART'S RESIDENCE, U. Of M.,ORONO, MAINE"

1936
Snow Sculpture

"Phi Gamma Delta, with a most remarkably executed tableau of a set of three figures on a raised dais, was adjudged the winner. A purple background sprinkled with stars...the entire scene was excellently sculptured, showing a great deal of work, thought, and skill on the part of the sculptures."

Omega Mu Brothers Performing In The Play:
Stanley Fuger and John Clark

Omega Mu Brothers Performing In The Play:
Norman Carlisle, Elwood Bryant, and
Albert Fuger.

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge

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Castle Centennial, 2025

5/16/2025

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To begin, then, "Man, said Ralph Waldo Emerson, is but a bundle of his ancestors." As the oldest fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine, now 151 years strong, we have a beautiful fraternal narrative connecting our past to our present to our future, and we affirm the absolute truth of Emerson's assertion. Our historic journey has endured because we make no humble apologies for our deeply rooted historic sense of place at Maine. It is a rich legacy that we remain proud of in 2025. Go on campus and look around, our fraternal footprints are all over the University of Maine campus with many buildings associated with our Q. T. V. and Omega Mu brothers, architecturally or in name. In truth, we have made epoch making success in our fraternal history, individually and collectively, because we continue to embrace and celebrate the cohering truth of our Q. T. V. predecessors: “Enjoyment, sociability, and the best interests of its members through life.” Through all the challenges and difficulties, twists and turns, in our combined fraternal history, we continue to be affected and inspired by this guiding fraternal ethos. It is the gift that has shaped our brotherhood for 151 years because it is ingrained in our fraternal DNA, generation-through-generation. Quite simply, it affirms the truth of brotherhood for undergraduates and graduate brothers as to why fraternal brotherhood matters through life! It will continue to be a clarion call for young men to walk through the Castle's portal to become one with our proud fraternal number that will continue to flourish because we continue to believe that our Omega Mu fraternal life has a great deal to offer to young men at the University of Maine. We were the fraternal pioneers at Maine in 1874, and we remain the fraternal pioneers at Maine now because of our fraternal moxie. Inextricably tied together, our history and all of our brothers prove our moxie, and that Omega Mu will continue to offer a positive fraternal experience for young men. Quite simply, we are not a small band of brothers. We are brotherly rich and growing richer, proving that we remain the defining portrait of brotherhood at the University of Maine. Generationally, after all these years at Maine, with undiminished fraternal devotion, we keep our eyes on our future, with persevering fraternal pride, as a united brotherhood at 79 College Avenue.

In the end, our fraternal story is an enduring story because of the fraternal enthusiasm and spirit of all of our Q. T. V. and Omega Mu Fijis brothers. Our centennial celebration for our beloved Castle will be on April 11th, 2025, and it will be truly special if many brothers walk through the front door and live up to the spirit of our Q. T. V. founders. We have a great deal to celebrate, so please come. We are the remarkable brotherhood at the University of Maine, and that is not indulging in hyperbole, and it is human grace that continues to bless, sustain, and unite all generations of brothers since our fraternal founding in 1874.

Toward the Castle we will ride.

Now, 151 years on, what started off as an ambitious dream of our Q. T. V. brothers in 1874, continues with the unbroken loyalty, commitment, and devotion of many of our graduate brothers, as well as the present undergraduate brothers living in the Castle, who continue to lead with positive effort and character. It is the grace of these two fraternal attributes that will lead us well into the foreseeable future, with legions of Omega Mu brothers thriving and enjoying the positive good of fraternal life in the architectural beauty of the Castle. Frankly, sometimes we are given gifts from heaven now and again, and one them was living together in our beloved Castle. Living in the Castle created a snug, comfortable, and enjoyable college life for all of us, and we all know this to be true. It was a seminal time in our lives, and that is a solemn fact. That has been the narrative quality for all of our brothers since the first group of our brothers walked into our brand new fraternal home on the weekend of May 15th-17th, 1925, just a little over year and a month after our first Phi Gamma Delta Castle was destroyed by fire during a blizzard on April 2nd, 1924. Our Omega Mu brothers ended their fraternal diaspora and walked into our beautiful fraternal home at 79 College Avenue.

Our Last Q. T. V. Chapter Hall and our
first Phi Gamma Delta house.

Our last Q. T. V. Chapter Hall, first on the right, after it was remodeled to become a women's dorm, Mount Vernon Hall. The second building on the right is our recently built first Phi Gamma Delta Castle, which would later become the site of Lambda Chi Alpha.

The land to the right of the small white building, in the middle distance next to the road, is the land that Hosea Buck, 1893, owned and later donate to our Omega Mu brotherhood, after a fire destroyed our first Phi Gamma Delta home on April 2nd, 1924, in order for our present Castle to built. Furthermore, Hosea Buck arranged the loans for our present Castle to be built.

It is honest to say that our present Castle may not have been built if it had not been for the fraternal care, wisdom, and no-nonsense devotion of Hosea B. Buck, our exceedingly thoughtful, generous Q. T. V. - Omega Mu Brother And Benefactor.

Best side-by-side picture of our first Phi Gamma Delta Castle, left, which our brothers lived in from 1899-1924, and our last Q. T. V. Chapter Hall, right, after it was remodeled and renamed Mount Vernon Hall, right.

Best pictures of our last Q. T. V. Chapter Hall before it was remodeled to become a women's dorm named
Mount Vernon Hall.

The First Phi Gamma Delta
Castle

In 1897, the Society felt that it was ready to build. Mr. F. E. Kidder, '78, one of the members of the Society (Q. T. V.), and, at the time, an eminent architect of Denver, Colorado, drew the plans and they were accepted. The building contract was awarded to Walter Flint, '78, another member of the
Society (Q. T. V.)

The first Phi Gamma Delta house was designed by Frank E. Kidder, our Q. T. V. brother, 1878, and another Q. T. V. brother, Walter Flint, 1878, was awarded the contract to build our first Phi Gamma Delta house. A third Q. T. V. brother, Perley F. Walker, 1896, helped in overseeing the construction of our first Fiji home. The entire cost to build the house was $10,000, and the cost was borne by our Q. T. V. brothers.

"It was the idea of Mr. Kidder, when he drew the plans, to make the house as comfortable and home-like as possible and in this he succeeded. The first floor is given up to a music room, parlor, dining room, kitchen, matron's rooms and one study room. On the second floor are eight large study rooms, an office, toilet and bathroom and the chef's room. The sleeping quarters are on the third floor and here there are also eight rooms. The chapter hall and small attic take up the half story above."

Frank E. Kidder as a student at Maine State College

Surveying Class At Maine
Our Brothers: Frank E. Kidder, third student in from the right; Charles A. Morse, third student in from the left.

Frank E. Kidder

Walter Flint

Perley F. Walker

First Phi Gamma Delta House Is Destroyed By Fire On April
2nd, 1924

"It was the oldest fraternity house at the University of Maine."

"Building Erected in 1898l
Was one of the Finest on the Campus"

"Fanned by the Maine blizzard that was raging at the time, the flames spread quickly throughout the old wooden structure, which proved a veritable tinder box."

"The Fijis set about, in the teeth of the fierce snowstorm, to rescue what they could. Pictures, the piano, eggs, dinner coats, were snatched from the tongue of the flames until at last the Fijis were compelled to retire. They then joined the forces of the Orono fire department and assisted in keeping seven streams of water playing on the house for four hours in the face of falling walls and leaping flames."

"The Fijis who went through the blaze and who are being praised for their heroic efforts are Brothers William Murray, Joseph Murray, Edgar Coffin, Henry Eaton, John Glenn, Donald Mitchell, Clarence Hart, and Donald Powell and
Pledge Russ Dyer."

"The Fiji flag flew at the masthead.....the colors came through unscathed."

"Construction will be started at once."

"The Maine chapter of Phi Gamma Delta is one of the oldest fraternities at the University and its members include many alumni who have contributed much to the progress of the institution. The new building is to be owned
by the property building association of the fraternity, which is composed of
alumni members."

May 15th-17th, 1925

"The celebration was initiated with a banquet held at the chapter, presided over by Frank Fellows of Bangor."
(The blog on Frank Fellows is August, 2020)

Our Grammy Award winning producer brother
Andrew M. Wiswell
(The blog on Andrew Wiswell is May, 2023)

"Wiswell won a Grammy in 1968 as a producer for the original cast album of the
musical "Hair"

"There was open house, at which time, all were invited to call and become acquainted. A great many availed themselves of this opportunity, and found the new house ideal."

"All in all the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity has a house which can hardly be surpassed in
New England."

In proportion and appearance, our fraternal home remains the most beautiful fraternal home at the University of Maine. In truth, it is architecturally peerless, even timeless, at Maine. Inside and out, it radiates elegant Tudor-inspired simplicity, and since that glorious three day celebration, the Castle has been the gracious home for generations of Omega Mu Fiji brothers who have loved coming back to the Castle and walked through the front doors and felt immediately at home. Here we are always welcome, and here we are always one within our historic fraternal home, and we always will be. That is the abiding human grace that has defined our brotherhood since our beginning, and it always will! That is the essence, the fraternal core, of our Q. T. V. - Phi Gamma Delta brotherhood, and that is who we will continue to be for many generations to come because our spirit of fraternal loyalty is unmatched when it comes to our perseverance, grit, and tenacity to keep our brotherhood going strong. These normative qualities have seen us through our sustained good periods, as well as getting us through our discouraging, even disheartening, historical periods when good, stabilizing, healthy, grounding traditions were discarded in favor of highly destructive individual nihilism during several periods in our history. Thankfully, corrective action was taken by many graduate brothers to save our brotherhood from being lost, and we would be hard-pressed not to say that don't we owe each of these graduate brothers a great deal of thanks for their collective salvific work and collective fraternal grace on behalf of our Omega Mu brotherhood! These brothers are too humble to blow their own horn, as it is fraternally uncivilized to brag, but we do thank each of them, and we owe them unconditional fraternal appreciation and gratitude! It is a strong legacy of good leadership that continues to this day.

Like scripture's account of Abraham's long journey, our combined fraternal brotherhood, with the same type courage, willingness to toil and work, that Abraham exhibited, has made our fraternal pilgrimage at the University of Maine a successful one for 151 years! Whereas many fraternities implode every year at Maine, as well around the country, Omega Mu continues to stand strong as ever. We continue to listen to the different, stabilizing, and sustaining drum-beat to be persistent and determined to do the right things in order for our brotherhood to continue, and that is abundantly evident with the continued support of all of our graduate and undergraduate brothers working together. With both working on concert, we will avoid fraternal self-destruction. Thus, we will continue to have a bright fraternal future at the University of Maine. To play with the Apostle Paul's assertion in Hebrews: we will, with our collective fraternal endurance, continue to run our enduring fraternal course before us.

We are the historic leader of all fraternal brotherhoods at the University of Maine, and may we continue to strive for fraternal preeminence. May we continue to embody a standard of fraternal excellence in order for our brotherhood to continue to be at the University of Maine 151 years from now. With lifelong loyalty and devotion, we can make this happen because our positive fraternal experience does burrow deep inside and endures for life, and future generations of Omega Mu brothers will embrace the responsibility and opportunity to embrace the good of our Omega Mu fraternal life, full of meaning and fulfillment.

As we all know, people and places shape us and create memories that last a lifetime, and any attempt at a historic portrait of our cherished fraternal home will encompass the many different memories and stories of our brothers who walked through the front door of the Castle, from the spring of 1925 to the spring of 2025, and fully embraced the gift, grace, and life-long joy of fraternal brotherhood as an Omega Mu Phi Gamma Delta Fiji brother!

Omega Mu Brothers,
spring, 1926

Benjamin Gould, Our Brother.
The First Person To Receive A Diploma
At The University of Maine

Our Brothers On The University Of Maine Faculty, 1894

The years that we all lived in the Castle evokes many different memories and stories for all of us, and these memories and stories bind us together. That is certainly the case for generations of Omega Mu brothers who lived in all the rooms in the house, slept in the RAM, sat together in the living room, and shared many meals in the dining hall. So, yes, come home to the Castle on the weekend of April 11th as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Castle. One thing is sure: we have a great deal to celebrate this coming Pig Dinner, and nothing would be more pleasurable than to see the Castle filled with generations of Omega Mu brothers, a great fraternal harmony, filling each room in the Castle with cordial fraternal feelings in getting re-connected, getting misty-eyed in telling old stories, laughing, and raising a glass or two, and in doing so exhibiting the continuing truth, merit, and good of fraternal brotherhood. Upon this, there is no disagreement.

George Hamlin, 1873,
OUR BROTHER WHO OVERSAW THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CASTLE EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

Our Omega Mu Brother, David M. Rand, '58,
University of Maine Dean,
Made the statement below about our
Omega Mu Brotherhood

"The chain stands for unity, loyalty, and dedication of selfless brotherhood. Each link stands for the contribution he, as an individual, made to his brothers...This unity and individuality make Fiji what is - whether the house cooperates on a muscular dystrophy drive or just a good time at the Fiji Island Party...It teaches guys that different types can live and work together, and that's a pretty important thing to learn."

So, yes, nothing would be more pleasurable than to see many Omega Mu brothers return to the Castle for Pig Dinner on April 11th. Our Pig Dinner celebration is, in many ways, our fraternal Thanksgiving, and during this Pig Dinner we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Castle, the only fraternal home at the University of Maine that has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Think about that, brothers. Sometimes we are given gifts in life, and one of them, certainly, is being a brother in the Omega Mu chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. All of this is worthy of reflection, and we continue to hold steady and true at 79 College Avenue since 1925.

Going, Going, Going To
Pig Dinner

Frank Danforth

Our brotherhood has many reasons to be proud. To begin with,
we persist, and our fraternal story at Maine is distinct because we persevere, generation-to-generation, and we will continue to do so for years to come. Whereas many fraternities at Maine continue to fall, we remain strong and continue to rise because we share a common interest to see that our fraternal story continues for another 151 years within the Castle. Second, as we get older, certain things grow more sharply into focus like seeing dear fraternal friends as the years continue to disappear. You start looking back and remember the many stories and events that happened in and around the house. As always, you smile when you recall a particular event, or tradition, or brother, and you realize how important and formative they were during your college years. These fraternal memories and friendships are deeply held, and when we are gathered together in the Castle, we always realize how fortunate we are to have such life-long friends and treasured memories.

It's official, brothers: we all share a common interest to assure that our brotherhood continues at the University of Maine in order for our historically distinct Q.T.V.-Omega Mu Phi Gamma Delta blessing to continue for generations of young men into the future. We also share a wise, common, no nonsense interest to sustain our ethic of responsibility to keep the Castle in architectural good order. Just like Frank Danforth's fraternal loyalty and legendary athletic story, our fraternal story is a beautiful, enduring story that will continue to bind men together for life because we continue to care well-after our undergraduate years!

A century ago, our brothers celebrated for three day to commemorate our new fraternal home, and I hope that I have stirred your fraternal loyalty to come home to the Castle, our peerless fraternal home, on the weekend of April 11th. Truly, it will be a commemorative weekend for all of us if you do attend. It is the human grace of many generations of brothers together that makes Pig Dinner so special. We all find comfort, solace, and joy when we are with fraternal friends. And so it's with eagerness and anticipation that we wait to see you in the Castle for Pig Dinner when we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our beloved fraternal home. See a few old fraternal friends, make some new friends, and renew your fraternal spirit. Please come back because it promises to be a one-time-only celebratory event in our rich history. There will be more than a few bits of laughter and good cheer with other brothers if you do attend. Remember the line from that old gospel hymn: "What a fellowship, what a joy divine." We look forward to seeing you at the front door of the Castle, your fraternal home. So this, above all, brothers, is what is important: your presence at Pig Dinner. It is our Thanks-giving Pig Dinner tradition.

"Through the gates of this Castle have passed some of the finest men the University of Maine has produced."

Now, as the 100th anniversary celebration of our Castle is only a little over two months away, I look forward to seeing generations of Omega Mu brothers making the pleasurable trip home to our historically glorious and architecturally charming Castle on April 12th, 2025. Despite the passage of time, it is still your fraternal home, and coming home is always a good thing. This Pig Dinner we celebrate two things: first, 151 years of fraternal strength, resilience, and camaraderie since 1874; second, 100 years of brothers living in the positive living grace of the Castle with each other. Although is overly simplified to state it this way, one way or another, regardless of our personal temperaments, we all benefitted by living with each other in the Castle. There were many wonderful, absorbing days of joy for each of us, distinct and different, that we joyfully remember, and many of them were in various rooms in the Castle. I hope a fair April wind will bring many Omega Mu brothers back to our landmark fraternal home for Pig Dinner reunion. Whether you have been 20 years gone, 30 years gone, or 50 years gone, or even more, your presence will be a blessing to our proud number, as well as a sanctifying blessing to the house where 100 years of great fraternal memories were made! We have the deepest fraternal roots at Maine, and we have the most historic fraternal home at Maine. We do, indeed. Hence, it will be a happy homecoming, a memorable gathering, for ever brother who does return, and I promise you that the undergraduate brothers will graciously welcome you home because they are equally proud to be a link, a durable new link, in our original and ongoing fraternal story at the University of Maine. Our fraternal future is secure and bright because of these young men! They exhibit the same unwavering fraternal commitment and character that started with our first generation of brothers who sat in front of our first fraternal home, a home that they paid for and built on their own. For our proud, enduring history, we are grateful, and yet our enduring history calls us into our future when many young men will continue to build on our fraternal traditions and enjoy the life-long good of fraternal brotherhood well into the future. The human good is essential to who we have been for a century and a half, and it underpins everything that we continue to aspire to be in our continuing history. That desire and work for the shaping good to prevail in our fraternal life, as well as for the University of Maine community, is the well documented. It is that type of tangible, active human grace that continues to nurture and sustain our brotherhood, even through our awful and profane periods, since 1874. It is evidence of the fraternal truth that we continue to celebrate and value in our Phi Gamma Delta history: persistence! As President Coolidge, our Phi Gamma Delta brother, asserted: "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence." For me, I believe we that all know that this conviction continues to be true in our history. Persistence is everything.

Francis H. Bacon, our fraternal brother, designed the marble repository for the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in the Library of Congress, and he was most likely in attendance when President and Mrs. Coolidge
dedicated it in 1924. Indeed, our
fraternal history is
historically
important!

Francis H. Bacon, 1976

Our Brothers sitting in front of house in 1876

Our Brothers sitting in front of house in 1880.

Graduation week during the early 1890's.
Our Q. T. V. home, center; Holmes Hall on the right. The site of our second Q. T. V. Hall is now one of the hotel buildings on the
University of Maine campus.

We are the legacy of the fraternal dream and hard work of our first Q. T. V. brothers, and we are responsible for our fraternal future at the University of Maine. Hence, we all know that our history is never past, never old, and never slighted, ever. On the contrary, we will continue to responsibly build upon our proud 151 year fraternal legacy for endless decades ahead because we continue to have the same enduring human spark and unbound enthusiasm that our Q. T. V. brothers had in 1874 when we became the first fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine. Their legacy of fraternal power and passion has continued to this day with the wonderful undergraduates who live in the Castle now, committed to responsibly sustaining our brotherhood on the long road ahead. With a few bad exceptions in our generationally united history, we have always moved positively forward in our pragmatic thinking and our pragmatic actions for the good of our brotherhood and our five fraternal homes that we have lived in at the University of Maine. That human quality has always been our keystone strength: a united fraternal single-mindedness since our Q. T. V. brotherhood was chartered in 1874. And in that, we continue to historically succeed because we remain collectively hard-working and positive-minded about our fraternal future because of the present undergraduate brothers and the outstanding leadership of the graduate brothers, both whom love and appreciate the positive impact of fraternal life within the history-rich walls of the Castle.

Foremost thought, on April 12th, 2025, we will gather in the Castle as a united brotherhood and historically recall the sense of awe and joy that the brothers must have felt when they walked through the front door a 100 years ago. Therefore, this Pig Dinner promises to be a generational reunion of gratitude for our architecturally historic Castle, and for all the brothers who have lived in the Castle over the last 100 years. With our collective fraternal persistence and care, our fraternal legacy will continue to grow with the same fraternal values and vision with which we stated in 1874. In the end, that is the most important thing in our 151 year fraternal history at the University of Maine. Fraternal history has been short-lived for many fraternities at Maine, sadly so; however, we can be proud that our impact at the university has not been transitory! We have immeasurably enriched the history of the University of Maine for 151 years, and may we continue to add to our rich historic tapestry for another 151 years.

Summing it up, we look back to past in gratitude and to our future with the same hope, persistence, and perseverance with which we fraternally commenced with in 1874. Guided by these principles, we will continue to flourish and not crash and burn like so many fraternities at Maine. We persevere as the oldest fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine, and the great truth is that nothing can hold our generationally united brotherhood back when we collaborate, communicate, and creatively think and problem solve in order for the positive good of our Omega Mu fraternal life to continue for another 100 years in the Castle. Indeed, it is not a mystery as to why we continue to be the oldest fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine. The generative generational spirit of our Omega Mu brotherhood is succinctly summed by Mike Soloby's comment:
"Through the gates of this Castle have passed some of the finest men the University of Maine has produced." That is the reality of 0ur 150 year history at the University of Maine, and, you know, that is only going to continue for many generations to come because our history is a durable chronicle of undergraduate and graduate brothers who remain deeply, and proudly, engaged for the good our brotherhood to continue because we are fraternally unique at the University of Maine, and for that reason we are always proud. We are the best fraternal example of what can be achieved with generational commitment, accountability, humility, determination, resilience, grit, and pride. If we continue to be driven by these human qualities, we will continue to achieve fraternal success and build upon our history that has lasted for 150 years. Thankfully, these characteristics continue with the Omega Mu brothers living in the Castle now, as we are now in our 151st fraternal year at the University of Maine. With our united fraternal spirit of generational commitment and integrity, we will continue to build on something that will last.

Since 1874, we have built a proud fraternal history at Maine that cannot be ignored, and may our deep-rooted resilient history continue to move us positively forward. After all, fraternal brotherhood is a positive lasting gift through all of life, and it's worth it to make sure that we continue to provide that gift at 79 College Avenue, and our enduring history continues to inspires us to do so! That is our legacy of committed fraternal stewardship from one Omega Mu generation to the next. We never give up, and we never will. No questions asked. We remain a trailblazing fraternal testament to the good of fraternal life.

And so, as we have gone through many changes and transformations in our 150 history at the University ofMaine, we remain fraternally sure and self-sufficient that we will continue for another 150 years as the original premier brotherhood because we continue to move forward, generationally united, an inseparable fraternal force of undergraduate and graduate brothers working together in order to continue down the path that was started in 1874. That is positive fraternal kinship. Hence, it is absolutely fitting to conclude with the inspiring statement statement by Dag Hammarskjold, former Secretary General of the United Nations:
"For all that has been - thanks.
For all that shall be - yes."

"For all that has been - thanks
For all that shall be - yes."

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge

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Francis H. Bacon, 1876

Omega Mu PortraitFrancis H. Bacon, ​1876

Stephen L. Hopping, 1971

Benjamin Weston, 1900

Stanley T. S. Fuger, Jr., 1938

Castle Centennial, 2025

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Francis H. Bacon,
1876