​The memories of our everyday life in the Castle retain their freshness and joy when we think about them, and they are worthy of our attention. Some of the things that we have collectively done are downright impressive, from being undefeated in mud bowl games, having many Senior Skulls and Sophomore Owls, a Rhodes Scholar, many successful athletes and many campus leaders. Truly, living in the Castle was a positive world, and it was defined by our positive and productive fraternal attitude. That has been our collective focus, our collective truth, for 147 years. Yet, in truth, success in the artistic realm is something that one does not readily consider when thinking about our rich fraternal life, but we succeeded here as well. We loved snowstorms, and we created some fascinating, even uncommon, sculptural wonders on the front lawn of the Castle.
 
Our collective fraternal beauty and grandeur really shined in winter in the man vs. nature collective work in pooling our fraternal strengths and talent in becoming great snow sculpture artists in changing snow into snow sculptures on the front lawn of our Castle during Winter Carnival. It was a wonderful fraternal ritual; the stuff of our fraternal life for many decades. With Omega Mu pride and joy, accomplishing things together for the good. And, in fact, in subject, form, and scale we were really good snow sculpture artists. Some of them were monumental in size and structure, some showed artistic refinement, some were simple in structure and composition, some were classical, some were mythological, and one two were whimsical, and one was risqué. They are all artistically expressive, with several of them being unforgettable in our history. Yet hey all show our instinctual Omega Mu spirit: heartfelt, sincere, and fun. Or, rather, always Omega Mu determined and perseverant. You can be assured that our collaborative fraternal efforts captured the public-eye and brought them a great deal of enjoyment. It was a wonderful way to celebrate fraternal life, and that is as durable in our memory as all of our other accomplishments: athletic, academic, intramural, social, and civic; one great fraternity since 1874, the original, creative fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine.
 
We have always been about the common good, real and genuine in all matters. And that, not surprisingly, is our Omega Mu way, and we keep moving forward with steady courage, mutual respect, and generational determination through all things, believing that our historic Phi Gamma Delta principles will continue to shape many new generations of Omega Mu men, and that is our proud fraternal history since our Q. T. V. days. We remain unstoppable in our historic unity and our fierce fraternal instinct to remain determined and perseverant in all matters, whether they be snowy or otherwise. So, here is photographic collection of a few of our snow sculptures that testify to the good-hearted delight and determined grace of our historic Omega Mu brotherhood, a coherent and beautiful geometry of our brotherly nature and winter’s nature at 79 College Avenue. Fraternal artistry with snow; it is good to be Omega Mu Fijis.
Perge!

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.​

Pause for a minute and consider the two fraternal plaque near the front door of the Castle. Typically we race through the front door without noticing them, much less giving them any considered thought. They are just there. Strictly speaking, they two go together and speak volumes about who we have been for 147 years, honestly and authentically. They are mutually enriching fraternal testaments, a communion, about our historic fraternal home and our long-linked historic brotherhood. Hence, there is a historic rightness about their placement at the front of the Castle. They announce our unifying identity as a brotherhood. They are, figuratively speaking, like sentries over the Castle. Combined, one could say that they are a witness, a combined historic witness, of our oneness as the most historic fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine. Let’s think about that. The Castle represents the beautiful communal dimension of our greatness, and the other represent the unwavering brotherly dimension of our greatness. Combined, both speak to our unique greatness at Maine. They speak to how special our fraternal home is, and how special our Omega Mu brotherhood is at the University of Maine. One plaque commemorates the architectural importance of our Tudor-inspired Castle, and the second honors an extraordinary fraternal brother, Hosea Buck, a mentor, friend, and unflinching, tireless leader who helped shepherd our brotherhood, as well the University of Maine, in many ways until he died in 1937. These two plaques, along with the commemorative plaques and brotherly memorials inside the Castle, speak to fraternal continuity, fraternal cooperation, fraternal courage, fraternal energy, fraternal dignity, fraternal loyalty, fraternal caring, fraternal generosity, fraternal spirit, fraternal family, fraternal triumphs, fraternal achievements, fraternal vision, and fraternal fortitude at the University of Maine. These qualities, through most of our combined fraternal history, have created a good fraternal portrait. These qualities matter most in the end, and they have been our blood and marrow, heart and mind, since our founding. They have all created our lifelong pride, and we remain steadfast and positive about our future as we approach our 150th and 125th fraternal anniversaries in 2024. We have forged a very distinct fraternal path at the University of Maine, and our fraternal longevity, our fraternal success, did not come by chance. Sustained success is never achieved by chance in anything in life. It is only by individual and collective responsibility and determination that success is sustained, and our fraternal legacy of success will continue at the University of Maine. The future holds beautiful things for Omega Mu, and our history proves it.  Let's think about that! ​

We are all keenly aware of our history at the University of Maine, and we are, rightly so, proud of that history. Upon that fact there is no debate, and I am unequivocally sure that we are all thankful for whatever motivation, coincidence, circumstance, brought all of us to the front door of the Castle to start the pledging-initiatory journey to become Omega Mu brothers. In any case, thank God you went through the front door to become Omega Mu brothers, and in so doing becoming part of the historic lore of our fraternal brotherhood at Maine, steady and true since 1848, 1874, 1899. And as such, we are unique, and that is a wonderful testament to our collective perseverance and determination. Be proud of that, that is all. 

​Happily, we walked through the front door of the Castle. Happily, we all lived together in the Castle. It was a fun, life-enhancing experience, Yet, happily, and with deep gratitude, we continue to return to the Castle to see life-long friends. Our Omega Mu brotherhood and the Castle, a great union through life. A simple truth that started with a simple Q.T.V. catchphrase: “Enjoyment, sociability, and the best interests of the brothers through life.” Our fraternal continuity is strong because of these simple ideals. ​

We all have our personal memories of the traditions that we enjoyed while we lived together in the Castle. First and foremost, they have stayed in our memory, astonishingly. They rise effortlessly and cause us to smile and chuckle with gratitude each time we think about them. They glow in our minds-eye, and we do not hurry to rush them away, much less suppress them, for each memory is a journey home, a return passage; even better, a homing instinct to a particular place, event, brother, or a group of brothers when you were undergraduate living in the Castle. All the memories cover the emotional spectrum of our years living in the Castle. Take a moment and recall your memories about our Christmas parties, Fiji Island, Pig Dinner, Mud Bowl, The Fiji 24 Hour Relay Marathon, our formals. Not difficult to do, is it? They give you a sparkle in the eye and an easy smile, I know. Its safe to say that we loved all of them. With each tradition and event, something wonderful happened. These events were the distinctive, fundamental core of our Omega Mu culture. They helped define priorities, daily, weekly, and monthly. Because of the them, we lived with assurance and stability, generatively so. We were deeply tied to these traditions and activities, our uniting chain of events. And, in retrospect, we all believed, appropriately so, that all of our daily and seasonal traditions were all structurally important in creating the wonderful fraternal life that we lived in the Castle through all the years that we lived in the Castle. They were, and they continue to be the be-all and end-all of our historically long chain of sustained fraternal good at the University of Maine since 1874. 

​Although there have been many different iterations on our fraternal traditions and activities, all the variant expressions, for the most past, have created the basis for a wonderful fraternal life, all the while knowing that fraternities fare less well when they do not have good, sustaining traditions. Our traditions were, and they remain, our sustaining hope because they exist for the common good. The tradition, activities, and duties set the daily, weekly, and seasonal tone of our fraternal life together, in every measured way. Thematically, the traditions, activities, and responsibilities were different. Some were very mundane because the were concerned with daily practical matters, whereas as some were more suspenseful, mysterious and fun like the RAM and Fiji Island, and some were magisterial and dignifying like Pig Dinner and escorting the housemother into dinner. However, all of them made things work within the house and preserved the cooperative and enjoyable world of our Omega Mu life. We enjoyed all of them, and we did not discuss whether they were their relevant, old-fashioned, or out-dated. On the contrary, and I think we would all agree, they were all sensible, reasonable and enjoyable. In retrospect, all of them are the underpinning of our historic success, and they remain relevant now. They established, collectively so, a balanced and cooperative fraternal life for everyone that was satisfying. And, perhaps, it is not far-reaching to say that they shaped us a little for the better. I believe they did. They certainly did not hurt. Simply put, our Omega Mu memories resonate powerfully with all of us, still, because these events and traditions link generations of Omega Mu Fijis. 

​Clear and distinct Omega Mu memories still cause us to smile and be proud that we are Omega Mu Fijis. We are, as you all know, an exemplary brotherhood. What’s more, that is a certain historic fact and truth since 1874. Upon that fact there is no debate. We remain proud of this fact through life, and we have no problem telling others, with fraternal, evangelical pride, that we lived in a beautiful fraternity home with a great group of men during college, and we continue to champion the fraternal life. Furthermore, I am equally sure that we are all thankful for whatever coincidence brought all of us to the front door of the Castle, our historic fraternal home. Thank God we did not turn back!

​We are, rightly so, a brotherhood family. That being said, I believe all Omega Mu Fijis will smile with understanding, in the truest way possible, what Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated about home in Letters and Papers from Prison:

It is fitting to recall the fraternal feel of all the sights, sounds, smell, laughter, and joy of our annual Christmas party in the Castle. We can see Brother Santa delivering well-sauced remarks to all the brothers gathered in the dinning room, all of them smiling and merry. The groans, smiles, sights, and laughter of the evening were timeless. Indeed, in sight and sound, it was always a wonderful evening, and we still contemplate how Santa made it through the evening. It was high performance art, spirited in all the right, indulgent ways. To be fair, we were all, in one way or another, uplifted by the fraternal warmth and humor the entire evening. It was vintage Omega Mu Fiji. There certainly was no malaise, only a deeply felts sense of brotherly well-being, cheerfulness, and fraternal contentment in being together in the Castle. In fraternal mood and emotion, the pictures show The Merry Heart, to use a Robertson Davies book title, of our Omega Mu brotherhood, and that is what matters the most. 

We all hail from 79 College Avenue, home of the oldest and best fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine, and that is the best Omega Mu memory. It is who we proudly are, without qualification. But, again, we all know that. Merry Christmas, Omega Mu Brothers. Let your Christmas memories rise and surface, and enjoy the resonating sound and color of the following Christmas Party homage pictures. They are everlasting. Perge. ​

​1939

​Frederick Cogswell