The
origins of the Gamma Mu Chapter of Delta Tau
Delta began around 1905 and centered on an
agreement made by three members of the 1905
graduation class of Seattle High School.
These three seniors pledged to organize a local
fraternity upon entering the University of
Washington in case all three were not bid by the
same fraternity.
H.H. Barter - Illinois 04' & Robert
Grass - Stanford 07'. |
They were not, and so Delta Delta was
established in January of 1907. Due to
acquaintances with A.J. Craven (an alumnus of
Beta Rho of Delta Tau Delta - Stanford), H.H.
Barter (an alumnus of Beta Upsilon - Illinois
'04), and Robert Grass (a transfer from Beta Rho
'07) the name Delta Delta was decided upon.
The reason for this name as well as the wording
of its constitution provided "that the purpose
of Delta Delta shall be to become absorbed by
Delta Tau Delta." Approaches by several
other prominent national fraternities were not
even considered. Their motto was "Delta
Tau Delta or nothing!" On the house name
plate, stationary, etc., a space was left
between the words Delta and Delta for the
missing TAU.
In 1908, Delta Delta's dream was realized when
their petition was accepted.
In 1916, Mr. R.M. Dyer, father of a member,
started work on the Shelter and the same year
Gamma Mu moved into its new home. The
Shelter was the first house at the University of
Washington to be built as a fraternity house,
and the Delts were the envy of all the Greek
houses.
World War I broke out in 1914 and by 1917 most
of the Delts went into service. During the
period of 1917-1919, Alpha Xi Delta, then a new
sorority on campus, leased the Shelter.
According to legend, they went so far as to
plant geraniums in the urinals.
At the turn of the 1930's, Delta Tau Delta
startled the University Campus by introducing
the first fraternity house mother on the campus.
The Delts ignored the sharp criticism leveled by
the other fraternities concerning the new idea.
All of the other houses, however, soon followed
suit. Ironically, Delta Tau Delta was also
the first fraternity to abandon the post.
As campus attitudes changed, the house mother
became an unnecessary encumbrance. At the
turn of the 1950's, then chapter president Bob
Mucklestone ushered Gamma Mu's last housemother
out the door.
During World War II, the U.S. Navy used the
shelter as barracks for Navy reservists.
However, all of the Delts in the V-12 program
were billeted in it.
The 1950's and 1960's say the house to grow to a
membership of 130 men. In 1963, an annex
was added. It doubled the capacity of the
shelter and made it the largest house on campus
in terms of both capacity and floor space.
During this period, the chapter was universally
acclaimed as the top chapter on campus.
The 1960's also saw the house receive three Hugh
Shields Awards for Chapter Excellence (1964-65,
1966-67, 1967-68.) The Hugh Shields Awards
are awarded for being one of the Top 10 chapters
throughout the United States and Canada.
The turmoil on college campuses in the early
1970's caused Gamma Mu to suffer severely.
Membership dropped from 130 in 1968 to a low of
15 in 1973. It was only through the
diligent efforts of certain devoted actives and
alumni that the chapter stayed alive at all.
Eleven other fraternities on campus folded
during this period. In 1974, the campus
climate was changing and the alumni saw an
opportunity to turn things around. They
recruited a young alumnus, John P. Luidema '72
to lead the recruitment efforts of that summer.
He was extremely successful, pledging 25 men of
a caliber beyond anyone's wildest expectations.
However, during the early to mid 1980's, the
chapter experienced a decline in membership.
"Live-in" membership dropped to 42 in 1986.
Yet, with the enthusiastic "Gamma Mu Renaissance
Campaign" (1987) headed by alumnus George Bray
'66, the chapter was revitalized with the
induction of 29 quality men. During the
same year the Gamma Mu Delt's nationally
recognized Miss Greek Pageant, benefiting the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, was
initiated. Although suffering a financial
loss during its first year, first year chairman
Christopher Chan began a philanthropy, which has
raised nearly one million dollars over its
nearly two decades.
During the next three years, with selective
pledge classes of at least 28 each year, Gammu
Mu again became one of the leaders both
nationally and locally (Delta Tau Delta
International Court of Honor during those three
years) winning Homecoming and placing in every
other Greek event during 1989-93. After
two decades, the Shelter was once again filled
over capacity for the second consecutive year
with over 80 members.
Highlighting the 1991-92 and 1992-93 years were
the presentations of the fourth and fifth Hugh
Shields Awards to the chapter. Gamma Mu
still retains the flag for five Hugh Shields
Awards as a symbol of excellence. The
chapter had come along way and even now is only
a step away from winning its sixth Hugh Shields
for being among the top ten chapters of Delta
Tau Delta.
|
The last decade has seen its share of both
successes and disappointments for Gamma Mu.
After the two Hugh Shields award of the early
1990's, the chapter saw its membership numbers
decline to the around 50 members approximately.
Of the 28 male social fraternities operating
within the UW Interfraternity Council during
this period, the overall chapter membership in
these chapters typically ran about 35-45 men.
With this decline in membership during the late
1990s, the University of Washington Greek System
continuously sought new and effective ways to
recruit quality membership through the use of
Internet and New Media technologies. Increasing
media sensationalism and negative press about
any fraternity-related has factored into this
downturn.
Delta Tau Delta has survived because of its
enthusiastic and relentless membership, both
alumni and undergraduate. These community
building efforts have been spearheaded by the
Gamma Mu Delts' overwhelming success in Greek
philanthropic efforts, such as the Miss Greek
Pageant. The Pageant has raised an
enormous amount of money ($60,000 in 1996,
$64,000 in 1997, $68,000 in 1998, $80,000 in
2000, $70,000 in 2001, $60,000 in 2002, $50,000
in 2003, and $55,000 in 2004) for the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center based in
Seattle. The effort and planning towards the
2005 Miss Greek Pageant and beyond are on track
to match, if not better, all previous years.
The undergraduate members of Gamma Mu take great
pride in and responsibility for the fact that
the money donated to Fred Hutchinson funds the
research of at least two scientists and without
which the work done by these two scientists
would not be possible.
During the summer of 1998 several delegates
ventured to Karnea in Kansas City, Missouri.
Later that same year, Gamma Mu accepted its
first award for Internet/Web Site programming
with the Arch Chapter's August 1998 Website of
the Month. This award was presented during the
1999 Western Pacific Division Conference in
Bellevue, Washington. As the host chapter, Gamma
Mu (led by then Guide Jeremy Wilson and Brother
Patrick Lindblom) performed a flawless Ritual in
front of the Western Pacific delegates. The
1999 Bellevue Division conference saw several
more awards presented to Gamma Mu. One for Best
Financial Management and another Arch Chapter
award for the best chapter website in the
Division.
The dawn of the new millennium also brought
about many further changes at the Gamma Mu
Chapter and on the University of Washington
campus. The conclusion of the 2000 school year
saw the departure of Chapter Advisor Michael P.
Nelson '91 with Jeremy B. Wilson '98 taking on
the duties of the Chapter Advisorship. The
Rainbow Society (Gamma Mu House Corporation)
also saw many changes. Brother's Greg Ashihara,
Kristof Bauer, and Gary Kincaid departed while
new arrivals George T. Babbitt '65, Bryon
Gongaware '98, and David Tarabochia '98 took
their places. With the foundation put in place
by Brother Mike Nelson, under the direction of
Brother Jeremy Wilson, the undergraduate chapter
was re-focused on a few specific issues with the
long-term goal of bringing back the Hugh Shields
to Gamma Mu. New emphasis was placed on the
undergraduate chapter in the areas of
recruitment, alumni communications, campus and
community involvement, and leadership
development.
The 2004 has been a year full of promise. With
a resurgence in alumni support and participation
through the efforts of our undergraduate members
and alumni such as Denny Brawford '63, Charles
Sandell '60, Bryon Gongaware '98, David
Tarabochia '98, Larry Henshaw '61, James N.
Moore '64, George T. Babbitt '65, and numerous
others, Founder's Day was a wonderful success.
Founders Day (May 2005) looks to be another
success. Gamma Mu Chapter also continues to
shine in various other aspects.
With successful recruitment efforts already
underway during the Spring Quarter of 2005 and
the revitalizing process of the 2004 San
Francisco Divisional Conference, the Gamma Mu
Chapter is looking to put into place all the
pieces toward a successful year and a foundation
to build upon for the 2005 Hugh Shields awards.
Delt Alumni, if you have
any suggestions, additions, questions, and or
comments about this page, then please
email
us and let us
know.
|
|
