Delta Phi & Friends

Time for another reUnion?

2012-01-28T06:45:00.000-05:00

This spring marks the class of '77's 35th reunion. Anyone up for a party? If so, let's get the planning started. Dates are May 17 - 20.

More Photos from ReUnion 2009

2009-07-02T04:17:00.005-05:00

More photos from 2009 ReUnion

2009-06-06T16:16:00.005-05:00

Delta Phi 2009 ReUnion (more)

2009-06-04T07:53:00.007-05:00

An exceptional annual reUnion this year. Great attendance trumped the poor (starting) weather.

2009 ReUnion Proves the Largest Yet for Delta Phi's at Union

2009-06-01T04:37:00.006-05:00

The weather did not comply, but the brothers of Delta Phi at Union enjoyed the atmosphere just the same. Led by a strong showing from the class of '74, Delta Phi's from all over the globe converged on Schenectady for its best ReUnion showing yet. Here are the first photos with MANY more to come over the next few days (and weeks).

2009 ReUnion Approaching Fast

2009-04-19T05:59:00.004-05:00

The 3rd annual ReUnion of the 30th anniversary of the class of 1977 is approaching fast. Mark your calendars for May 29-31st. For anyone interested, we usually start out with the golf outing on Friday morning and then follow it with the Lobster dinner Friday evening and usually hang out in Saratoga for Saturday.

Let me know if you are planning on attending.

In the bonds,
Les

Visiting with Julie & Mark Bodenstab

2008-12-18T06:10:00.002-05:00

I had the pleasure of visiting with the Bodenstabs down in West Chester, PA earlier this fall. And then again a month later, Bod and I got together in Annapolis for dinner on a business jaunt he had to the area. Its a wonder that old fraternity friendships never fade. Many more of these to come!

ReUnion 2008 Was a Time to Remember

2008-06-22T05:30:00.009-05:00

Dave Weinstein and Bill Glavin enjoy their best "drive" of the day. And the Bodenstab brothers prepare for another beautiful day on the links.

Smile!

ReUnion 2008 - more photos

2008-06-08T04:24:00.005-05:00

Ellen Messite '78 (she used to date Bob Henkel) & Mark Bodestab '77
Laniewsk, Kanner & Stegs ('78s)
Dr. Larry Fein '78. Who said he didn't golf?
The Bodenstab Brothers (Alex '73 and Mark '77)

Photos Pouring In

2008-06-02T18:03:00.006-05:00

Not as fast as I would prefer.... but here are several just received.

ReUnion Redeaux

2008-06-02T07:20:00.003-05:00

Yet another great time at Union. All kicked off with an informal barbeque on Thursday night at Delta Phi's new (temporary) Alpha House (North) a/k/a The Trachtman Saratoga House, and then this golfing event Friday morning. More photos to come. [If you want to contribute your photos, please send them to me and I'll post.]

Charlie G and Family

2008-05-28T18:08:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of running into Charlie Gugliotta this past weekend at a Union admissions event. I quickly had my daughter grab her camera phone to shoot this photo of Charlie and his wife and daughter. Charlie lives in Freeport, Longisland! It was great to see him. He still is larger than life.

Parker Antin '77 FINALLY Weds

2008-04-10T18:50:00.002-05:00

Photos are starting to trickle in from the Parker Antin wedding earlier this month in Tucson. Parker finally has a better half - Clare Zhang - who by the way is much younger and much better looking than Parker. The celebration was a blast. Brother Robert Moyer (shown here) officiated at the ceremony. Apparently you can get ordained over the internet in Arizona. Tom Howell and Linc Walworth (also shown) were the best men. Great time. And Felix reports we all were well behaved!!!

Class of 1978 to Celebrate

2008-04-10T06:24:00.002-05:00

The Delta Phi class of 1978 will celebrate its 30th reUnion beginning on May 30th. Plan to join them to help them celebrate. Members of the Class of 1977 will be there in force. Confirmed attendees from the Class of '77 include: Jim Felix, Mark Bodenstab, Bill Glavin, and Les Trachtman. Also confirmed from the class of 1978 are: The Right Reverend Robert Moyer, Tom Howell, Jeff Laniewski, Jed Kanner, and I am sure a host of others whom we have not yet heard from. We will kick off the celebration with a round of golf on Friday and then continue from there. Let us know if you plan to attend.

Class of '80

2008-02-03T06:46:00.000-05:00

This note came in from Chuck Hart...

Les, just stumbled over your website deltaphi2007.blogspot.com, greats pics and memories. Thanks for creating it. I noticed a couple of pics from the class of 80. Not sure if you were concerned about expanding this site to other classes but I have included some pics from the class of 80 if you want to add any of them to your site. The composite is not the greatest quality but it good enough to read the names.

Sorry - I wasn't able to upload the composite for some reason!

Funnelating Rises Again!

2007-06-18T17:47:00.000-05:00

No, that was not a mirage. Students of the class of 2007 saw something that hasn't been seen on the Union campus since the '70's. Substituting fresh fruit for water balloons, these projectiles were seen orbiting the campus several weeks ago. Rumour has it that the new "pledges" were up to the task of supplying the fruit!

New Pledge Class?

2007-06-16T05:21:00.000-05:00

Will the Alpha Chapter at Delta Phi rise again? It will if five freshman at Union have their way. The attended the dedication of the chapter house memorial ceremony along with the President of the national. So we will have to stay tuned to Fall 2007 to see if we in fact do pledge a new class.

More Delta Phi & Friends

2007-06-11T17:19:00.001-05:00

Dennis (Delta Phi '75) and Jodi ('77) DeMuth.

Jim Felix ('77) and Linc Walworth ('77) and Idol ('??).

Jed Kanner ('78), Jeff Laniewski ('78), Phil Stegemann ('78).

Photos From The Delta Phi House Memorial Celebration

2007-06-05T17:09:00.000-05:00

These are the first photos in from the celebration.

Delta Phi'ers golfing on Friday morning in the Annual Union College golf outing.

Below that one of our favorite 30 year old poses in front of Tin & Lint in Saratoga. These are the class of '77 together again 30 years later.

Several members of the class of '77 with the memorial - freshly installed.

Delta Phi House Memorial Dedicated

2007-06-03T05:52:00.001-05:00

On Friday evening, the Delta Phi Memorial was dedicated and unveiled. Over 100 people participated in the ceremony (and even more attended the reception that followed). While the occasion was somewhat bittersweet, the brothers of Delta Phi Fraternity at Union now at least have a place to once again call their own.

Over the next few days and weeks, we'll post photos from the celebration. If you have photos that you'd like to contribute, please send them to trachtmanl@aol.com.

Just a Week Away!

2007-05-25T05:33:00.001-05:00

The weather has changed (its going to be 90 in Schenectady today!), the flowers have bloomed and its almost time for reUnion. Only one week to go before the big event. Friday, June 1st! If you haven't made plans, it's not too late. Come join 85+ of your "old" friends who have already signed up to attend the Delta Phi and Friends celebration. You don't want to miss it!

If you build it, they will come

2007-05-18T03:55:00.001-05:00

There is a grand history to the chapter house. In these documents uncovered by John Seebold, you can find out more about how the house came to be back in 1912.

The Memorial Takes Shape

2007-05-10T16:02:00.000-05:00

I visited campus this morning and found that the memorial is already taking shape. The celebration is coming up quickly - the evening of June 1st. Here are some photos of the site and how it is situated that surely will bring back some memories. I look forward to seeing you at the celebration!

ITB,
Les

Photos from Teddy Dunn

2007-04-13T15:13:00.000-05:00

Here are a series of pictures just received this morning from Teddy. I've only posted some of the 50 or so photos he sent. More to see at the ReUnion!!

Photo From Jeff Laniewski circa 1978

2007-04-10T05:15:00.000-05:00

Spring 1974 House Photo

2007-04-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

This photo was provided by Dennnis DeMuth. It was probably taken in the Spring of 1974. Wow! This one is great.

Keep those Photos Coming

2007-03-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

I purchased a slide and film scanner to get some of the old photos into proper digital form. This thing is great with slides, negatives, or photos. So keep sending them to me via email trachtmanl@aol.com or snail mail 7 Tucker Meadow Road, Woodbridge, CT 06525. Either way, I'd like to put together a powerpoint collage for the reunion celebration.

These photos were taken in May/June 1977 before and at graduation.
Here are a taste of the first ones that I scanned today.

Felix Fotos

2007-03-30T04:58:00.000-05:00

Check out these handsome photos sent by Jim Felix. This is the pledge class of 1977 at graduation and then several of us a "few" years later.

Photos from Matt Schambers '86

2007-03-19T16:32:00.002-05:00

A picture of the house in 1986 - notice the upstairs broken window pane - typical of always having something broken at the house!

Picture of Frank at his annual dinner. Frank was a great contributor to the house - fixing electrical, water heaters, etc. And always at the DPhi parties chasing the young girls. A great part of DPhi history in the 70's & 80's.

The boys at Franks dinner - around 1984

1985 - Picture of a Navy guy (John Foster, '86) giving a Marine (John Carl, '85) a shave in the third floor bathroom

Photos from the 70's

2007-03-16T16:57:00.000-05:00

Here are several photos (all poor quality - being upgraded shortly) from several years between 1974 - 1977. Enjoy!

Pearl

2007-03-10T13:25:00.000-05:00

Everyone who lived, ate or visited Delta Phi from somewhere around 1950 thru the 90's knew Pearl. I sifted through a bunch of old dusty boxes and found these pictures of Pearl (for now these are just digital photos of slides - better digital reproductions to come). I thought we might find a time during our reUnion to remember Pearl and all that she meant to several generations of D Piers.

These photos were from 1976 or so.

Photos From Casey Kurz '94

2007-03-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Casey Kurz for the photos. The first one on the top left is the house and its occupants 1989. Note Pearl in the center having received flowers from the brothers. We all miss her, although she is half the size I recall her being in the 70's. Below that is a 70's style party in 1993. On the very bottom is a typical D Phi pose in the Barroom circa 1992. And on the right is Ty Velde surveying the scene during Bogart intermission.

Enjoy!

My Last Visit to the House

2007-02-25T05:44:00.000-05:00

In May 1998 I happened upon the boarded up chapter house during a quick stop over on the way to Cooperstown with my son Robbie (pictured below). A bittersweet scene for me - my son's first introduction to the house, and the house teetering on its last legs.

The location was still majestic. The bones of the house, as dignified as ever. But its fate was clear, looking at the boards blocking our entry from the front door.

I'm not sure what you knew about the tearing down of the house, but even though I might have been made aware of it, it never registered with me... until that visit.

Last week I was on campus and tried to take a photo of the location of soon-to-be-erected memorial. There was too much snow there to do it justice. But I believe the tree just to the left front of the entry way still stands and the memorial will be just to its left.

Les

Delta Phi Chapter House Print

2007-02-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the great responses to the email and letter. It certainly seems like we are going to have a great event with wonderful participation from the brotherhood and friends. Be sure that anyone you know who might be interested in aware of our celebration. We've had a few returned letters and email and we want to be sure that everyone is able to attend.

This is a photo of the Chapter House print that we described in the letter. Anyone with any other photos, please feel free to send them my way and I'll be sure to publish them on this site.

In the bonds,
Les

Email from Neil Brickley

2007-02-14T09:54:00.000-05:00

I received the following email from Neil Brickley that I copied below (with his permission). All of us that had the good fortune to know Mark certainly do miss him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: NBrickley@aol.com [mailto:NBrickley@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 3:17 PM
To: TrachtmanL@aol.com
Subject: Re: Delta Phi ReUnion Planning & Memorial

Hi Les:

Thank you for heading this up. I will send a check in in the memory of Mark Brickley. He had a great love of Delta Phi and all of the great friendships he had with his fraternity brothers there. It was good to see the 1973 composite to remember all of Mark's good friends (brothers).

Regards,
Neil Brickley

1973 Composite

2007-02-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

I just received this "suitable for framing" version of the 1973 Delta Phi Composite picture from Lenny Gelman who was President of D Phi during my pledge year. Thanks Lenny and we look forward to seeing you at ReUnion.

Funding, photos, and more

2007-01-27T07:38:00.000-05:00

I met this past week with the Ridgely Harrison who is heading up College Relations for our reUnion. Everything is falling into place. Shortly, you will be receiving a letter from us asking for your participation in funding the memorial to the Delta Phi house. In return, anyone who donates $100 or more will receive a great looking vintage print of the house suitable for framing. Of course, any donation (made payable to Union College with specific directions to attribute it to the memorial) would be welcome. We need to raise at least $5,000 to construct the memorial.

I'd also like to start accumulating photos that we can digitize and use for a presentation at the event. If you have a photo that you can digitize and send to me (or we can digitize and return to you) let me know. I have several of my own, including a photo that I have to dig out somewhere of my son (at age 5) standing in front of the boarded up Chapter House (sigh!). I've also posted a few to this page and will post more as they come in.

You can reach me at trachtmanl@aol.com. Start those cards and letters coming!

In the bonds,
Les

You are invited!

2007-01-07T06:47:00.000-05:00

You are invited to join with the brothers of the Delta Phi Fraternity - Alpha Chapter, to celebrate our reUnion this spring and to take part in a dedication of a memorial to the chapter house that no longer stands on the Union College campus. Many brothers, their families, and friends of Delta Phi will be gathering and celebrating this event with us this spring. Don't miss out.

Please leave a comment when you visit this site with your name, and your year of graduation, and let us know if you will be attending this spring. We look forward to seeing you.

In the bonds,
Les Trachtman '77