  “A place that goes on whether your there or not, that you come back to and find waiting with welcome. “ Several weeks ago, I was in The Castle with another graduate brother and several undergraduate brothers doing some final clean up work in preparation for the interior restoration work to be in The Castle. We all started in the cramped, dust-laden library, and we worked hard for two days. It felt great to be doing this work and thinking, seeing, feeling through the long historical lens of our fraternal history since 1924-1925 when The Castle was built. I thought of all the generational voices and sounds and images within these memorable walls. It was a good time to reflect upon the years I lived in The Castle and to nostalgically think about each and every generation of brothers who had lived in the hallowed walls of our house. And by-and-by I thought about the grass-roots level of support that the Q.T.V brothers played in bringing our home into being, and how we all continue to go on together 120 years later, a continuous fraternal gift that will certainly continue for generations of future Omega Mu Fijis, providing them with the same blessings and lessons of fraternal life that do last through all of life. It was nice to think about all of that as we embark upon the restorative architectural rebirth of The Castle, our singular architectural gem of a fraternal home, and the only fraternal home on the National Historic Record at the University of Maine. It going to look great because the architectural spirit of the Castle is being restored; it will be restored to its original glory.    As I worked that day, a phrase that Professor John Stealy, my favorite seminary professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, often used in class came to my mind as I helped dust, sweep, and clean our home with tiring vigor: "Blessings and Lessons." These words are not elusive words for any of our Q.T.V. - Omega Mu Fiji brothers; they are self-evidently true. They are a beautiful lived sermon as to what it is has all been about since 1874 and 1899. We all know the blessings and lessons of fraternal life.  After we removed all pictures and trophies, discarded all the accumulated trash, I started working on the many books and magazines. Needless to say, I got bogged down in the lovely, self-absorbing joy of my existence: books. I was sounding the depth of our fraternal history with each book pulled from the shelves. By this time, everyone else was working somewhere else in the house, so it was just me and the growing dust in the light cracking open old or new books. It does not matter; it is my natural, compulsive, curious nature. It is my ritual. Then again, I have a pretty strong monastic impulse in me, and this was my scriptorium on this day. It was a good time to remember who we are as a brotherhood with each book pulled from the shelf. Within five minutes, I pulled out two University of Maine Prisms, and the name that was written at the front of each them was Joseph S. Boulos. It was spooky; my heart-beat skipped more than a little, and my eyes went wide in astonishment, and I smiled deeply in finding them. They were the only yearbooks that were signed, and they had been on the library shelf for seventy-eight years. The long lens of fraternal and American history became very close as I started thinking about him and the service he gave to our country during World War II, and how our lives were affected for the good by what he and other Omega Mu brothers victoriously did during the World War II. Looking at his yearbooks and his signature, I though of the distinctive, courageous grace it took to serve for the good of all. As I was coming down from the shock of finding his yearbooks, I started thinking about the drawing that Frederick M. Cogswell, Jr. drew for a house function in 1938 and how thoughtfully drawn it was, and how fitting it was for the time.  Joseph S. Bolous  Frederick M. Cogswell, Jr.  He would also serve our nation with grit and determination as a top-turrets gunner on a B-17 bomber. They all knew the risks of military service, and they all ignored them, and eleven of our brothers were killed. It is said, all gave some; some gave all, but their fraternal chain with all of us will never be broken. They were, truly, “A light in the darkness.” Joseph S. Bolous left his yearbooks in The Castle library in order to serve our country. His yearbooks represented the deep sounding depths of American History, our fraternal history, and the memory of Joseph and the other brothers will remain imperishable in our historic memory because their collective energy, their common will, was used for the good of everyone. The good light of their lives’ lives on to this day, just as the embedded architectural good of our historic house is now being restored. It is important to recognize that the restoration of the Castle is being made possible due to the generous donation of many Omega Mu brothers, all of whom want to see our landmark historic home preserved and restored to its original glory, as closely as possible. This work is merely another validation of what we have done throughout our history with a united generational effort. They believe that the Castle is worth every dime to be architecturally rehabilitated. In closing, Omega Mu remains directed toward all that is good because we have a historically rich fraternal spirit that remains relevant and necessary for young men. We celebrate our historically pioneering fraternal story and spirit at the University of Maine. We celebrate the key years in our history: 1874, 1899, 1924, and now. We celebrate our bold visionary embrace of our fraternal future. We celebrate our history, our fraternal values, the aesthetic excellence and dignity of The Castle and, yes, the continued 120 year fraternal existence of our Omega Mu brotherhood. I am glad I was in the library that day; my heart swelled with pride. It was a good time to remember, smile, and be thankful in the heart-beat of our historic house as we begin to make it shine again. It is fitting to conclude with Browning: "How good is man's life. The mere living, how fit to employ all the heart, and the soul, and the senses enjoy." Perge.  The New Castle 1925-1926  “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
8 Comments
“A place that goes on whether your there or not, that you come back to and find waiting with welcome. “ The historic preservation of the Castle continues with unbound, hardworking enthusiasm and continual success, inch by inch, room by room, on the main floor. The work goes on. It is painstaking work, but the eminence of The Castle will shine through very soon, providing all future Omega Mu Fijis an enriching fraternal home and brotherhood in which to flourish and enjoy life while at the University of Maine. A rich, bountiful new chapter in our fraternal history is really starting, and it bodes well for our all-important trajectory vision of our fraternal life to come in the next 120 years. Our brotherhood and The Castle will not tail off into non-existence. As I was finishing my culling, cleaning, and sorting work in the house library a month ago, one of the last books that pulled out was filled with forty-five portrait photos of our Q.T.V. brothers starting in 1871-1872. Once again, I shook my head in amazement at finding them and then thinking that the book had been in every one of our fraternal homes! It is a great pictorial archive. I read name upon name: Balentine, Kidder, Flint, Bartlett, Keith, Mullen, Ladd, Crosby, Estabrooke, and all the rest. I looked at each portrait photo and thought about the ideas, idealism, and coordinated effort that they exhibited with each new thorny endeavor in our early fraternal years. With tremendous cooperation, work ethic, fraternal agility, patience, and perseverance they always succeeded, and every endeavor was substantially challenging. For their faithful commitment, we are most thankful. In breadth and depth, equanimity and fraternal cheer, they established our fraternal character that we are now collectively demonstrating in our committed restoration of the most historically distinguished fraternal home at the University of Maine with meticulous care. This work is a true testament, a continuing testament, as to who we continue to be as a generationally united brotherhood. The restorative work, the architectural craftsmanship, is progressing well, and the finished work, in historic breadth and value, will be identical to when the house was finished in 1925. We are happy to see that this restorative work is being done on the Castle, and in doing so we are honoring generations of brother who joyfully lived in the Castle since 1925. The Castle, designed by Crowell and Lancaster, will once again look great and function well for generations of Omega Mu Fijis to come. 
The restoration work has been somewhat of an archeological process when dried fruit was discovered underneath the floorboards.            The steel beam in the basement.    It is a privilege, honor, and responsibility to be part of our historic fraternal bloodline, and there’s no denying it. We are moving forward with 120 years of fraternal pride in restoring our beloved Castle. It is intensely personal, and that is the ongoing pulse of our historic tradition of our generational loyalty as we start a new fraternal chapter with historic sensibility, strength and vitality. We know it. Our previous generations of brothers more than delivered on maintaining our fraternal promise that started in 1874 and 1899. Although it is a play-off of Sir Isaac Newton, the shoulders of our brothers were broad in our early years with all of the moves they made from house-to-house-to house, and they were even broader after the fire destroyed our first Phi Gamma House in 1924. But in a years time, the land a 79 College Avenue was purchased and the Castle was built. That is fraternal dedication, and we are now the broad shepherding shoulders in providing a beautiful fraternal home for all future generations of Omega Mu Fijis. Our fraternal ideas, ideals, and spirit do not change from generation-to-generation. They remain as sound, determined and visionary as all of our previous generations. I am so pleased to see the architectural rhythm and order of our 93 year old house being restored with care and historic dignity. It’s a rather involved process, as you see by the photos, but the effect on all of us will be spellbinding when it is finished because it will engage all of our senses from the new floors, pictures, lighting, carpets, and furniture. We will savour all of it. We will not be close-mouthed when we see The Castle fully restored and spruced up; I know it. There will be a jubilee spirit from all of us that will create a genuine historic sense of well-being from every generation of Omega Mu Fijis. We will celebrate every beautiful, shinning detail in our preeminent architectural home at the University of Maine. We are all proud to be an Omega Mu Fiji in our ongoing story of fraternal greatness since Balentine, Colesworthy, Estabrooke, Crosby, Kidder, Mullen, Ladd, Hart, Buck, Curtis, Work, Danforth, Coulombe, Golden, Ballou, Thurston, Rand, Dave Smith, McCarron, Stern, McInnis, O’Leary, Collins, Chaplin, Cote, Bartlett, McLean, and so many others in our fraternal bloodstream. From our fraternal founding through today, we remain the premier fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine. It is fitting to conclude with Browning: "How good is man's life. The mere living, how fit to employ all the heart, and the soul, and the senses enjoy." That's all. This is Phi Gamma Delta. Perge. “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 “A place that goes on whether your there or not, that you come back to and find waiting with welcome. “ In many different personal ways, each of us have great memories of the library, living room, and the dining room, and it is nice to report that we continue to press forward with the historic preservation work in these three areas in the Castle. After The current restoration work is going very well on the first floor. Structurally speaking, one of the great challenges in the preservation and restorative process of the Castle was the installation of a steel beam, which, after it was installed, restored the structural integrity of the Castle between the first floor and the basement. It had to be done very well, and the process was superb. The long, slow process of restoration continued with the installation of new wood flooring in the library, living, and dining room. The men doing the work exhibit nothing but professionalism in their attention to detail, craftsmanship, and dedication in getting everything just right. All the work that the men have done, to this point, has been nothing short of a labor of love, and we appreciate all of them. In has been a painstaking process to get everything right from reconstruction work with the new beam and painting the living room, library, and dining room the original colour. Inside and out, the historic preservation work that is going on at the Castle is reconstructing the architectural heart and soul of our historic home, the keystone fraternal home at the University of Maine. It deserves all of this conservation work and preservation care, and it is what we are fraternally obligated to do. The home was a gift to us in 1925, and in doing this much-needed work we are honoring the brothers who bought the land, paid for the house, and oversaw its construction, on a daily basis, from 1924-1925. Everything came fraternally together in 1924-1925; consequently, it is imperative that we do justice to those brothers who gifted us with the most beautiful fraternal home at Maine by restoring the gift of the Castle for all future generations of Omega Mu Fijis by this thoughtful preservation care and work that is now taking place. The Castle is a historic landmark. Perge.                   “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 “A place that goes on whether your there or not, that you come back to and find waiting with welcome. “ Our once diminished fraternal home is now on the verge of an inaugural new beginning, and it is beautiful, even stunning. This restorative work has been long-awaited, but all the elements of the restoration are coming into harmony now, and we must gratefully thank Mark, Jessi, Ron, Vern, James, and Nick with a hearty round of brotherly clicks for their collective labor on our fraternal behalf. Their vigorous commitment to get everything meticulously right is beyond question, and soon the unbroken architectural grace of The Castle will be achieved. We thank each of you again and again for the masterful, transformative work that you have done. You have resurrected our collective treasure: The Castle. It is restored and renewed, and it is our gift to our fraternal future, and there is nothing more important than that historic obligation. That is the honorable, down-to-earth, hands-on, collective nature of our 120 year fraternal lifeline that we are continuing since our beginning. It is an absolute truth to assert: “success has many fathers.” We know that.    
          Brothers’, The Castle is alive and well, and please find your way home to her very soon. You will be touched by the grace and dignity of the library, living room, dining room, the new windows, and all the elegant defining qualities like new Persian rugs and wrought iron wall lights and chandeliers that create defining visual appeal and charm in our fraternal home. Our brotherhood and fraternal home are rich in meaning, and we are blessed abundantly with both. Time moves, and we go into the future with great enthusiasm knowing that both will continue to endure and grow in importance in the lives of generations of young men. Our QTV-Fiji history is a central element to the larger story of the University of Maine. We are proud of our historic deep-rootedness at the university, and we are proud that our Omega Mu spirit continues to grow with confident certainty because we have an undisputed claim to historic greatness. “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 It is something to ponder, isn’t it, a cloud of witnesses. This QTV-Omega Mu brotherhood has a large cloud of witnesses since 1874, and one of them is Joseph Sebastian Boulos. Joe moved beyond the predictable and the safe to confront the evil and violence stalking the world. He left the familiar and comfortable of his fraternal life in this house with his brothers; and, most importantly, the abiding love of his family to pursue something bigger with courage of conviction because he held fast to the good. That is greatness. Joe’s military career during World War II was distinguished in navigating the tracer and flak-filled sky between England and France and Germany as a navigator in a B-24 Liberator with courage, hope, and persistent resolve. He risked it all, but as Schiller so clearly stated, “To save all, you must risk all.” That is a sobering truth. Joe knew that, and without any fear and trembling he chose the risk of trusting in the winning gamble for the power of good to prevail over evil. He stood tall; he stood firmly in doing his part in making darkness yield before light. He was an exemplary witness, to my way of thinking, of the costly grace of service to humanity and our nation for the good to prevail.  Joseph Sebastian Boulos  Pledge group photo with Joe   Omega Mu group photo with Joe  Picture of Joe, hands in his pockets, pipe in his mouth.  Picture of Joe with flight crew   Military portrait of Joseph Boulos I can think of few or more important lessons than taking stock and saying thank you to Joseph Sebastian Boulos as we dedicate the library in his fraternal home, The Castle, to his eternal memory as the Joseph Sebastian Boulos Memorial Library. All libraries, by there very nature, encourage a life of the mind and the heart to deepen and refine passions through extensive reading, study, thought, and reflection.    Brothers in the library in the Fifties and Sixties  The restored living room, Buffalo Bill over the fireplace, and the Joseph Sebastian Boulos Memorial Library Beyond all that, this library will also provide a comfortable place to relax, have fun, flip through old Prisms, and talk and laugh endlessly with fraternal friends who will remain friends for life. And, to be sure, the undergraduate brothers here today will use it well because they have innovative ideas about the future that awaits their energy and sustained commitment of leadership in their respective careers because they have the same audacity to envision a better world like Joe. With same fearless hope that guided Joe, they will do so, and that is good news for all of us.    Joseph Sebastian Boulos Memorial Library  Dottie and Mary Boulos cutting the ribbon during the dedication of the Joseph Sebastian Boulos Memorial Library  The Boulos family in the Joseph Sebastian Boulos Memorial Library We dedicate this library to Joe’s memory for his faith that said leap and then grow wings, to paraphrase Kierkegaard, for genuine goodness. We are thankful that he got his wings. The feeling of this library and the noble character of Joe’s unerring virtues will be an enduring witness to generations and generations of Omega Mu Fijis. It is this extraordinary man, Joseph Sebastian Boulos, that we celebrate and honor with this library.  “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! |
Archives
February 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed