George P. Hitchings, 1937

From multiple angles, our Q.T.V. 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 compelling. What they accomplished in their respective pursuits at the university constitutes a wonderful achievement in our fraternal history. Their efforts were good and laudable in every way. They embodied the key qualities of good leadership enshrined in our Phi Gamma Delta mission statement. Their efforts represented the very best of our core values of persistence and determination. It is a wonderful achievement that so many Omega Mu brothers gave of their respective gifts for the civic good at the University of Maine for the past 149 years. It was a rich yield for the common good of the university in athletics, music, theater, journalism, broadcasting, and many other groups and organizations. All of these brothers, through their various commitments, improved and brightened up the quality of life of the university community. They served as good university leaders and citizens because of their effort and character, and their contributions in creating something good in the university community cannot be overstated. "Good" does not, in reality, do justice in acknowledging the depth of their positive contributions to the University of Maine community. One could say that is was their devotion to duty in working hard to allow their particular gifts and abilities to shine. What they each accomplished was meaningful, productive, and rewarding in so many ways. Therefore, it is with considerable fraternal affection and respect that we remember each of them for their involvement on various teams, clubs, student leadership organizations, musical groups, and the Maine Masque theater. We hold each of them in the highest esteem, and we are grateful for each of them. They were each faithful and generous with their gifts, and they are testament to our fraternal spirit of genuine integrity, industry, dedication, creativity, and commitment in adding to our long-standing history of positive civic engagement at the University of Maine. 

The noble ideals of our linked fraternal brotherhood started in 1848 and 1874, and our fraternal wheels have not stopped turning in continuing to create a generationally great brotherhood, and there will not be a breakdown in our enthusiasm and dedication to continue to build upon our unique fraternal legacy at the University of Maine for many decades come. It is exciting and rewarding to know that we will continue to have a great fraternal future because we have an undisputed claim to durable greatness in being the oldest fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine. Again, again, and again, we have always gotten on with the job of continuing to be the standard of fraternal excellence. There are many reasons for our fraternal longevity, but the primary one is the character and integrity of the men who became Q.T.V.-Omega Mu brothers, up to the present young men who recently pledged. Generations of Q.T.V. and Omega Mu Fiji brothers who have worked tirelessly for us to arrive at this historic moment of our 150th anniversary. And so, the passage of our 149  fraternal years into our 150th fraternal year will never stop us from honoring and respecting the rich legacy of the fraternal past as we look fraternally forward to the rich promise of our growing history at the University of Maine! Our fraternal path of excellence will continue for another 150 years. It is in this spirit of our honoring our past and believing in our future that we reaffirm, honor, celebrate, and give thanks to our to our Q.T.V. brothers and their noble ideal of brotherhood: "enjoyment, sociability, and the best interest of its members through life." This formative ideal tie to our Q.T.V. past and our future is absolute, and it is not insignificant fraternal palaver. It is real. It is the enduring principle for our fraternal longevity, and it will continue to be embodied by our brotherhood in all the years that lie ahead. Put simply, our Q.T.V.-Phi Gamma Delta fraternal life matters, and it is a life-long human grace to be brother in such a great brotherhood. 

And as we enter our 150th fraternal year as the oldest, most historically distinguished fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine, we humbly acknowledge that we are the beneficiaries of God's sustaining grace, as well as the hard work human work and sustaining human grace of generations of Q.T.V. - Phi Gamma Delta brothers. We would not be here without their collective human work. Concrete results matter in life, and we continue to be here because of all of our brothers who have shaped and guided our brotherhood during our first 150 years. Because of the work of generations of brothers, in word and deed, we remain a fraternal brotherhood of historic power, durability, resilience, and significance at the University of Maine. This brotherhood will continue to be an open-hearted gift, a human grace, to generations of young men for another 150 years. In other words, with an equal balance of fraternal heart, mind, and body, they will continue to incarnate the truth of the following snippet of wisdom by Henry David Thoreau: "action from principle, the perception and performance of the right." Most importantly, we continue to thrive with the recent pledging of some wonderful young men. They are a good match, and they will accomplish a great deal because they will take fraternal pride in achievement, value thoughtfulness towards their Omega Mu brothers, and maintain a collaborative work ethic to keep the house in good order. After all, fraternal poise and discipline have carried us this far in our history. Therefore, our deep-rooted fraternal heritage is only going to deepen because of the present undergraduates, and they will continue to prove that the good of our Omega Mu fraternal life still matters. 

Again and again, from our Q.T.V. fraternal founding through today, persistence and determination has defined our fraternal character and our enduring history at the University of Maine. They are our basic values, the enshrining heart of Phi Gamma Delta, and the present undergraduate brothers will continue to embody these values and add to to our history with their robust fraternal enthusiasm. These traits create the true meaning of our fraternal life, and our fraternal future rests on our generationally shared commitment to these two words in order for our trailblazing fraternal history to continue to endure and evolve into our third century at the University of Maine. To repeat, persistence and determination is the heart of our 150 years of fraternal success at Maine. 

We remain the premier fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine, and that is something to celebrate. I share all this by way of saying that I hope that many of you will consider returning to our historically distinguished fraternal home, the Castle, this coming April to re-connect with many brothers during Pig Dinner. It will be wonderful, even a grace, to have as many brothers attend as possible because we will be celebrating our combined 150th Q.T.V-Phi Gamma Delta history at Maine, and our 125th Phi Gamma Delta history with considerable Omega Mu enthusiasm. Our fraternal history is distinguished, and it is worth being celebrated. There will be no shortage of pleasure at Pig Dinner this year in seeing the house full with generations of Omega Mu Fijis. It will be generationally moving, perhaps a unique historic grace, with a great deal of nostalgic reminiscing in the charm of the Castle. The Castle is a special place, and its many rooms, the Phoenix Lounge, and the front lawn internalizes the memories of every brother from 1925 to the present. As the great scientist and author Lewis Thomas beautifully stated: "We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go..." Perge.​

Omega Mu Portrait
George P. Hitchings,
1937

Omega Mu Years

This picture is from 1936 0r 1937, and it is
Homecoming or Pig Dinner.

"The Phi Gam's crashed through with a hilariously different party last Friday evening."

"Music was provided by Larry Miller's Bears."

1935
Snow Sculpture

1936
Snow Sculpture

"Phi Gamma Delta, with a most excellently executed tableau of a set of three figures on a raised dais, was adjudged as the winner. A purple background sprinkled with stars was flanked on one side by a woman figure skater; on the other, by a dancing couple. A giant star with a beautiful figure of a girl in the
​front of it was placed in the center."

First Place in the Senior Comprehensive
​Economics Exam

Howard Stagg is an Omega Mu brother.

Howard J. Stagg

George P. Hitchings:
Valedictorian

George P. Hitchings graduated summa cum laude, with a degree in economics and sociology.

"George Hitchings has been chosen to give the
​valedictory address."

Rhodes Scholar Candidate

"Hitchings, a grandson of former Professor Edson F. Hitchings, '75, State Entomologist for six years and Professor of Horticulture at eh University, is an outstanding member of the graduating class. Last fall he was one of three students selected from Maine to represent the University as a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship." 

Q.T.V.-Omega Mu Brother
Edson F. Hitchings, 1875

"It one of thirty scholarships given to outstanding students in colleges throughout the country......Hitchings plans to work in either the Federal Reserve system or with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

American University 

After graduating from University of Maine, George P. Hitchings attended American University to start graduate studies.

After finishing his graduate studies at American University, George P. Hitchings started his career with the Federal Reserve Board as an economic assistant, and after several years he was was hired as an economist for the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, and he stayed in this position for eight years.

World War II

When the United States entered World War II, George P. Hitchings left the Federal Reserve Bank and joined
​the Army Air Corps.

After World War II ended, George P. Hitchings was hired by the Ford Motor Company to be the chief economic analyst for the company, and he stayed in this position until 1960.

"How can LWV help to stop inflation? This question will be answered by George P. Hitchings, manager of the economic analysis department of the Ford Motor Company."

Addressing the United States
House of Representatives

Addressing the United States Senate

Vice President for Economic Research of American Airlines

"The August 21 issue of U.S. News & World Report rounds up the views of such recognized professionals in the economic field as George P. Hitchings of American Airlines, Martin Gainsbrugh of the National industrial Conference Board, and Raymond Saulnier, former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, among others. Mr. Hitchings asserts that increased taxes will dampen recovery which is being encouraged by
​the end of inventory liquidation."

Vice President and Director of MacKay Shields

MacKay Shields is one of the nation's oldest consulting firms in management economics.

Ford Alumni Meet

"Mr. Eggert gave his crystal-ball view of the economy, as did George Hitchings, of the MacKay Shield Finance Corporation."

University of Maine
Alumni Career Award,
​1980

Maine Business School

The George P. Hitchings Memorial Scholarship is one the scholarships that is offered in the Maine Business School.

Pig Dinner Speaker,
1981

​“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