  Truthfully, there is no fraternal brotherhood quite like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We are proud of our history, and we are proud of the impressive number of fraternal brothers who played on many University of Maine athletic teams. With conviction and commitment, our Omega Mu athlete brothers brought a great deal of joy and satisfaction to the university community, creating many wonderful memories since the first baseball team was established at Maine State College in the 1870's. The worked together for the success of each Maine team, and the overall civic good of the University of Maine. The sheer number of Omega Mu athlete brothers is an unqualified triumph for the University of Maine. They each gave their best efforts on each team, and what they achieved perfectly compliments what we fraternally believe: drive and determination. It is a heady athletic legacy. Accordingly, their accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are proud. Therefore, in the linked soul and spirit of our long fraternal history, we gratefully remember and celebrate our QTV and Omega Mu brothers who participated on many varsity athletic teams at the University of Maine. Their sacrifice of time was worth the effort for them and the student body at the University of Maine who watched them play. They created many warm memories since the early 1870’s. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are all very proud. Thoreau said it best: “What a difference, whether in all your walks, you meet only strangers, or in one house is one who knows you, and whom you know. To have a brother…How rare these things are.” How true that is, and we remain that way to this day. That is a proud fraternal legacy. Omega Mu Athlete Arthur Cowan, 1897     
  
  Q. T. V. Reunion        Omega Mu Brother, Professor Horace M. Estabrooke  "The banquet passed off pleasantly and at its close the toast-master of the evening, Prof. H. M. Estabrooke, rose and called for the toasts." University of Maine Athlete         Omega Mu Brothers on this baseball team: Gerardus Andries De Haseth, Charles A. Frost, Arthur S. Cowan, Augustus D. Hayes    Omega Mu Brothers on this baseball team: Gerardus Andries De Haseth, Charles A. Frost, Warner E. Welch, Arthur S. Cowan, and Manager Isaac G. Calderwood    Omega Mu Brothers on this baseball team: Gerard de Haseth, Isaac Calderwood, manager; Warner E. Welch, Arthur S. Cowan, and Charles A. Frost   Omega Mu Brothers on this baseball team: Gerardus Andries De Haseth, Charles A. Frost, Arthur S. Cowan, and Manager Isaac G. Calderwood
   “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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Truthfully, there is no fraternal brotherhood quite like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We are proud of our history, and we are proud of the impressive number of fraternal brothers who played on many University of Maine athletic teams. With conviction and commitment, our Omega Mu athlete brothers brought a great deal of joy and satisfaction to the university community, creating many wonderful memories since the first baseball team was established at Maine State College in the 1870's. The worked together for the success of each Maine team, and the overall civic good of the University of Maine. The sheer number of Omega Mu athlete brothers is an unqualified triumph for the University of Maine. They each gave their best efforts on each team, and what they achieved perfectly compliments what we fraternally believe: drive and determination. It is a heady athletic legacy. Accordingly, their accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are proud. Therefore, in the linked soul and spirit of our long fraternal history, we gratefully remember and celebrate our QTV and Omega Mu brothers who participated on many varsity athletic teams at the University of Maine. Their sacrifice of time was worth the effort for them and the student body at the University of Maine who watched them play. They created many warm memories since the early 1870’s. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are all very proud. Thoreau said it best: “What a difference, whether in all your walks, you meet only strangers, or in one house is one who knows you, and whom you know. To have a brother…How rare these things are.” How true that is, and we remain that way to this day. That is a proud fraternal legacy. Omega Mu Athlete John M. Wathen, 1952  Omega Mu Years     Mrs. Butts, Omega Mu Housemother     "Jack Wathen, Historian"         1950 Snow Sculpture   "We was Robbed!!!" 1952 Snow Sculpture        University of Maine Athlete       Omega Mu Brothers John Wathen, Floyd Milbank   "Sophomore Flashes" Omega Mu Brothers: John Bowler and John Wathen   John Bowler  Omega Mu Brothers J. Wathen, Captain, Floyd Milbank, Maine Captains  Maine Captains John M. Wathen, Varsity Track  “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 Stephen G. Perry, 1983  Pledging as a second semester freshman, I remember Steve Dunwoody, Billy McLean, Ken Bartlett and Tim Ames actively recruiting Hicksy and I. They would all make regular visits to Gannett Hall to sell us on Phi Gam. Tom and I went to a few other fraternity rush parties, but we both knew our decision came down to either Phi Gam or Sig Ep. I think what drove us to Phi Gam was the quality of individuals we met – we felt very comfortable being there plus the house was a big seller. I believe our Pledge Class – 21 – was the biggest that Omega Mu ever had and probably still is. We basically out-numbered the brothers who were active in the chapter.  Steve Dunwoody  Billy McLean  Ken Bartlett  Tim Ames  Tom Hicks  Things I remember about pledging – how tight our pledge class was – we all got along pretty well. Carrying around that pledge pole, early morning runs which resulted in stopping at Girl’s dorms (particularly Balentine) to sing, carrying girl’s books to class, pillow fight that pitted pledges against brothers – we basically kicked the shit out of the brothers but Dunwoody was a beast – his will to keep things going kept the brothers in the fight much longer than they should have been. Dunwoody ended up being my big brother – we always had a good relationship – even to this day, it is tragic what happened to him but always admire that he shows up for Pig Dinner. I am grateful for the number of brothers we had, and that our pledge class really started the renaissance of Omega Mu in the early 80’s. The quality of pledges we recruited really propelled us to great things.  Steve Dunwoody is wearing the rugby shirt.  A Few Brothers of the 1979 Omega Mu Pledge Class  JT Living at the House – I remember hanging in the living room waiting for dinner to be served. Everybody re-capping their day and telling war stories. Having ‘JT’ as cook really enhanced our experience at Omega Mu – I think everyone agrees with that. The man was a character – fun to talk to plus he was an excellent cook. Faculty Dinners that we had once a semester were a hit with the professors – JT always put on a show that was memorable. JT always had one of the dinners in the fall feature lobsters – one of those dinners actually led into meeting Pam. It was Friday night party early in the fall semester and I headed down to the basement to see a typical dance party going on with Pi Phi. As I stood there, I looked to my right and there was standing Pledge Pam. I did not look great but I said what the hell and asked her to dance. The rest is history – walked her home that night and asked her out on a date for Saturday night – we went on a double date with Billy McLean/Annie Couture – saw Caddie Shack. Couple of other memories about JT – spectacular dinners he put on at Christmas and at our formals, and that he came to my wedding.         Going back to dinner time – remember the pitchers of ice cold milk and the hot loaves of bread served at every meal – my god! I remember Billy complaining when the milk budget was slashed – that boy can drink milk. Milk Machine always acted as the house information center – many things related to Homer were pinned to that Milk Machine. House Jobs – everyone hated getting Pots and Pans for the week – that was an awful job – JT always used many dishes which did not help. I remember Razor Ray getting caught cleaning his underwear in the dishwasher – he has never lived that down.  Sleeping in the Ram – probably some of the best nights of sleep I have ever had – alcohol may have contributed but just the plain cold made me sleep well. The Mental Ward – Bart, Buddy, Rocky, Billy, Tom, myself, and Chappy. We had some crazy ass conversations led by Bart and Buddy; they were incredible. I remember snow coming in that open window, trying to get out of bed on a cold winter morning to get to class – ugh! I never understood why the Ram fell out of favor as far as brothers sleeping there – so good to hear that repairs have been made and that the Ram is again becoming a place where the brotherhood sleeps. Who will ever forget Homer setting himself on fire with his electric blanket or Phil finding a pigs head in his bed.     Ken Bartlett, Tom Hicks, Buddy Cote, Matt Smyth Parties at Omega Mu – 11-2 will always have fond memories – that was our signature party every week, but it did not help with my 8am classes on Thursday. Everyone on campus knew about that party and wanted to get in. Formals and Christmas Party were always great. Halloween Party was always great – I remember dressing up as Frankensteins bride for first Halloween party in house – October of 1979. We had a Pearl Harbor party one year, and Hicksy and I dressed up as destroyer; so much fun. There was the infamous Popeye story about putting a meatball in his ear after too many old fashions. Lots of laughs with Ellen and Francis, at the Oronoka, on trivia night. We were never lacking for social committee money due to excellent leadership form of Fuller, Joyce, and Brinch. They ran it like a business. I remember Saturday morning wake up breakfasts with sororities – particularly Chi Omega and Tri-Delt.      Miscellaneous - we had some good leadership that drove us to success – from Buddy to Hicksy to Joel as president – their cabinets were strong and propelled us to do good things. We always did well on campus – House of the year a couple of times. We were active in campus activities: IFC, Student Senate, Senior Skulls, etc. We did well in intramural football, softball, basketball. Remember the Fiji Hockey team – fun to watch.
Pig Dinners – I believe we had Sean Walsh as guest speaker one year – he was fantastic. It was amazing to see how much Piggy grew while we were there. One year we had it outside of the house at Hilltop – thinking was we needed more room but that was a one year experiment – everyone hated it. Of course, our ritual now is to stay at UMI, go to pre-piggy lunch, and then Pats after Piggy. Dysarts the next morning. We all know the drill; it is tradition.    Fiji Marathon – I had the privilege of being the chairman of that event for its inaugural debut – Jodi Arie was my co-chairman. We put in a lot of work for that event but it was all worth it. I re- member doing a news conference with a local tv outlet to promote the event – great experience. I don’t even know how many years Fiji Marathon lasted? I believe I ran in it a couple of times. I will always remember returning to school in the fall – would always come up to campus probably a week earlier than when classes started – totally enjoyed that time of year – seeing everyone again and catching up – parties at the house to get the semester rolling.          Steve Perry and Buck Banks  Omega Mu Brother "Dick Upham (Omega Mu Brother, '56) of Waterville, state Crusade Chairman for the Maine Division of the American Cancer Society, presents a plaque of appreciation to the members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity."  Dick Upham, Omega Mu, '56  L-R: Chris Skillman, Steve Perry, Joel Gardiner, American Cancer Society representative, Tom Hicks, Jodie Arie, and Tom Ladd. One thing we did a couple of times was for a bunch of us to meet up at Hicksy’s house in Sebago for a night before heading to Orono. Wiffleball, lake, grilling – great combination. Thinking of some of the roommates I had at the House: Chip Chapman and I and Hicksy roomed together one semester. We borrowed each other’s clothes. I roomed with Hicksy and Dad Caldwell when I initially moved into House. Another semester I roomed with Buddy and Scooter. Remember Bart living in cat piss room. Lived in the house three years – enjoyed every minute of it. Homecoming to me never really took off – maybe because tailgating at the football games was always ok. I look at now how the South tailgates and realize how weak our tailgates were - we had fun but never really established much of a tradition there. We had events at the house but they were ok – nothing memorable.
Chip Chapman and Matt Caldwell Fiji Island – my undergrads that I advise at South Carolina are always blown away that we actually had our Islander on an island. Most of the time you hear that Fiji Island takes place at the House or off campus somewhere – we were unique. My first Fiji Island was a pledge in the spring of 1979 – we worked our asses gathering firewood, setting up tents, etc. Weather was not great but we still had a great time. Who will ever forget going to the island in Reggie’s lobster boat – Reggie was a character. I remember taking Pam a couple of times to Fiji Island – she still remembers going.  Caravan of vehicles ready to hit the road for Stonington to board the Palmer Day for Fiji Island.      Tom Hicks, Jeff Brinch, Jim Rizzitello, and Steve Perry on the island.  In Front: Carrie Dunbar and Joel Gardiner; Steve and Pam, behind. Getting tattoos at Buddy’s Tattoo parlor in Newport, R.I.. Chappy, we will never forget putting the wrong fuel in your Volkswagen in Swampscott, MA then finding a garage to siphon the fuel out – classic. I think there were about 25 of us who got the ankle tattoo that night. Walking into Buddy’s, I remember seeing a biker type dude getting an eagle tattooed on his chest; he was holding on to that chair for dear life and I am thinking what am I getting myself into. As it turned out, the ankle tattoo was nothing and displays our pride in the fraternity we all love so much to this day. Another memory I have is the relationship we developed with Fiji Chapter at University of Rhode Island. We developed a relationship with Fiji URI Chapter – good bunch of guys – I believe Bob Marshall was a URI Fiji. We ended up taking a couple of road trips there plus they came and visited us at Orono.        "Eternal Reminder"  “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge Truthfully, there is no fraternal brotherhood quite like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We are proud of our history, and we are proud of the impressive number of fraternal brothers who played on many University of Maine athletic teams. With conviction and commitment, our Omega Mu athlete brothers brought a great deal of joy and satisfaction to the university community, creating many wonderful memories since the first baseball team was established at Maine State College in the 1870's. The worked together for the success of each Maine team, and the overall civic good of the University of Maine. The sheer number of Omega Mu athlete brothers is an unqualified triumph for the University of Maine. They each gave their best efforts on each team, and what they achieved perfectly compliments what we fraternally believe: drive and determination. It is a heady athletic legacy. Accordingly, their accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are proud. Therefore, in the linked soul and spirit of our long fraternal history, we gratefully remember and celebrate our QTV and Omega Mu brothers who participated on many varsity athletic teams at the University of Maine. Their sacrifice of time was worth the effort for them and the student body at the University of Maine who watched them play. They created many warm memories since the early 1870’s. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are all very proud. Thoreau said it best: “What a difference, whether in all your walks, you meet only strangers, or in one house is one who knows you, and whom you know. To have a brother…How rare these things are.” How true that is, and we remain that way to this day. That is a proud fraternal legacy. Omega Mu Athlete Joseph F. Gould, 1882  Q. T. V. Years    Joseph F. Gould is probably in this 1880 photo of the Q. T. V. Brothers in front of the house.  Q. T. V. Reunion     "Welcome Address, J. F. Gould"       Two Q. T. V. Brothers on the 1881 Baseball Team: Joseph F. Gould and Alfred J. Keith  Alfred J. Keith Reunions   Omega Mu Brothers in this picture: Walter Flint, Charles C. Garland, J. F. Gould, W. H. Hatch, Alfred J. Keith. J. H. Patten  Walter Flint  Charles C. Garland  John W. Hatch  Alfred J. Keith  James H. Patten  “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 Jay L. Clement, 1982  It is said that an army marches on its stomach. For the fraternity it was not much different. There were great cooks, there were poor cooks; there were good Stewards, there were bad Stewards; and there were times of plenty and exceptionally lean times too. FIJI’s kitchen was not just about providing sustenance, it has its own rich history of events and stories. Double duty. With a house of 40 brothers and one washing machine, one had to be creative. Refrain from washing your Ram sheets (ever), bring your laundry home for mom, convince your girlfriend to do it in one of the dorms, or in Brother Audie’s case use the dishwasher to handle a small load of underwear. I wonder how that next load of dishware tasted? Brother Audie
   Sugar Ray. And speaking of Brother Audie, do you recall his sweet tooth that gave rise to the alternate nickname ‘Sugar Ray’? Razor was found in possession of an entire tray of chocolate mousses that he absconded from the kitchen. Another time it was an entire baking sheet of chocolate chip cookies.   The Steward. A kitchen steward, also sometimes called a “kitchen porter,” is a person who works in a commercial or industrial kitchen as a sort of support person.” At FIJI, the steward was responsible for assisting the cook when necessary, tracking kitchen and food expenses, and on weekends when the cook wasn’t around, for meal planning and prep. Saturday breakfasts were a source of pride for me with eggs to order, oatmeal (gruel), home-fries, and occasionally pancakes and waffles. Not so much the time I and fellow steward, Brother Gebauer, mistakenly used shredded frozen potatoes in a giant batch of lasagna instead of frozen shredded mozzarella. Or the how about the never ending turkey dinners that Steward Brother Kenealy made us endure? 
Mark E. Gebauer and John F. R. Kenealy Other duties as assigned. And speaking of duties, what about Pots & Pans duty? This had to be one of the worst jobs in the house. There was a whole strategy to when you served this sentence. After taco night – good; after rib night – bad. Invariably there was no hot water and soap was rarely enough to cut through a night’s worth, let alone maybe decades worth of grease and grime on some of those pots and pans. Did we even have soap? And equally certain, there was always a brother that would blow this duty off and hose whoever followed with a mountain of stuff to clean and a partially filled sink of slimy water from a grease clogged sink drain. And it had to get done, remember JT refusing to cook and leaving because the pots were not done?     JT 
  “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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