Omega Mu Voice: David L. Smith, 1961

Omega Mu Voice
David L. Smith,
1961

David L. Smith, 1961
"Sunday dinner at 74 College Avenue in 1960 followed a "well established" order of business. The dinner gong which hung on the dining room wall to the left of the door, was sounded by a white-coated waiter at exactly twelve noon. He then closed the door. At the sound, brothers in coat and tie from all over the house raced to the living room. They formed two lines with a lane from the dining room to the house mother's room at the left of the fireplace. The boys, then, with a lot of pissing and moaning, chose the "hero " to escort Ma Tate down the lane and be her companion for dinner. No doubt she could hear the goings on about the selection process but she never let on. She always came out with a smile and a hearty " Good Morning Fijis". She was a kindly, chubby old girl who put up with a lot of crap from the guys, but she made it clear that she was happier living with us than her daughter in Orono.

1. Ma Tate

Housemothers at
​Sunday Dinner

Clara Hammond, our Omega Mu housemother in the late sixties, it shows the decorum and grace of the
​seating the housemother for
​Sunday dinner.

Mrs. Butts, our Omega Mu housemother,
​at Sunday dinner in the 1950's.

As Ma and her host moved down the line with nods and comments back and forth the dining room doors were pushed open. Ma was seated at her place at one end of the center table. The brothers took their places standing at their chairs and benches. And yes, we had places! Changing from one’s usual seat or table was certain to generate looks and smart aleck remarks. With Ma seated, the standing Fijis would break into a loud and enthusiastic singing of the Doxology.

"With Ma seated, the standing Fijis would break into a loud and enthusiastic singing of the Doxology."

The meal was plated in the kitchen and the waiters served the tables: center first, east windows second and the "Pig Table" at the west windows last. One of the standard Sunday dinners featured roast pork followed by apple crisp topped with whipped cream; really good eating. 

Our cook was a tough old bird with many years of experience cooking for loggers in the Maine woods. He fed us well and kept us happy on a strict budget. We told prospective members that we ate better than any other house on campus, and we believed it to be true. Sunday dinner ended with much coffee and lots of talk around the tables.

"Sunday dinner ended with much coffee and lots of talk around the tables."

Following dinner, depending on the season, we played football or softball on the front lawn or watched sports on the only T.V. in the house, Ma’s 12 inch set. We loved our home team, the N.Y. Football Giants. You can only imagine what her small sitting room looked and smelled like with a couple dozen or more of us jammed in for an hour of two cheering, groaning and farting. What fun! We were Fijis with boundless energy and spirit living the good life.

"Following dinner, depending on the season, we played football or softball on the front lawn or watched sports on the only T.V. in the house, Ma’s 12 inch set."

"What fun! We were Fijis with boundless energy and spirit living the good life."

“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