Let’s call him our “Michigan Delta Chi Fraternity Iron Horse.” That’s a phrase that implies endurance and longevity. You’ll learn why that is appropriate, in so many ways, as you read history of the most significant Michigan Delta Chi since its origin in 1892.

An Ann Arbor area native, John Levinson (BBA ’73/MBA ’75) joined Delta Chi in the fall of his freshman year in 1969 and has been dedicated to the Fraternity ever since.

He actually moved into the house in November of 1969. The university had overbooked and did not have enough rooms for freshmen to live in the dorms, so they were looking to get people to live elsewhere. John moved in as a first semester freshman. He’ll tell you that a major selling point for joining Delta Chi was that the fraternity had recently hired a former Army cook named John Henry Russell. Our Iron Horse (longevity and endurance exhibit 1) lived in the Chapter house for 5 and a half years, until receiving his master’s in 1975.  This bonded him forever to the fraternity. 

From the beginning, John assumed leadership roles. He was recording secretary in the spring and fall of 1970 and a member at large in the spring of 1973. The fraternity was not doing particularly well in rush in those days, so they elected him as chairman of the rush committee, a position he held for five years.

As a sophomore, junior, and senior the Chapter succeeded under his leadership role for Rush; maintaining the house around 22 members. But in his first year pursuing his MBA, the active members were unable to gain any pledges during the fall and winter rush. Responding to an urgent request in February 1974 to lead a 2^nd rush campaign, John applied a lesson he had already learned in his business studies… how to cut a deal. He would manage a late Rush if he could continue to live in the Chapter house for his final year AND keep his single room. In February, his efforts resulted in 7 pledges in 7 days. His brother, David ‘75, was not happy since he was in line as a senior to get the popular room that John lived in (referred to as “Bear’s Room” in John’s honor). David… we thank you for that sacrifice so many years ago!

John was also elected chairman of the athletic committee for each of those 5 years, trying to get participation for different sports and games. As a freshman he went out for the University’s lacrosse team, even though he’d never played the game as it was not a sport played in Michigan high schools at the time. He played on the second mid-field in the first game in his freshman season.  He was sandwiched between one guy from Yale who was in business school and another from Harvard who was in law school – guess who did all the dirty work on that line. He played and lettered for 4 years total, missing sophomore year because of an injury but then playing during his first year in business school. Playing lacrosse became important later, as we shall see. 

He was asked to join the Delta Chi board in the spring of 1976 because no one on the board knew about insurance requirements and they thought his business school experience would be helpful.  Fortunately, he had taken insurance classes at the Business School.

While attending board meetings, John was impressed with how board president Duncan Kretovich ’66, ran each meeting. Duncan was a Michigan Delta Chi alum who had become a faculty member at the University. Duncan was extremely organized and focused, demonstrating a high level of professionalism as he got the business of the fraternity done. John decided that he liked Duncan’s style and has emulated it since. John became vice-president on the board in the early 1980s and represented Delta Chi at the newly formed Alumni Fraternity Council which the University of Michigan was emphasizing. He served as president of the board from 1992 to 1997, when he resigned to take over as treasurer of the fraternity, a position that more closely matched his interests and talents. He still maintains that role today (endurance and longevity)!

The position of treasurer of any organization is often undervalued, with the attention mostly focused on the president. Treasurer may actually be the most important position. It is the treasurer, often behind the scenes, who keeps the fraternity operating. As the Delta Chi board treasurer, John writes the checks and deals with finding the various vendors coming into the house. He does everything having to do with the finances including preparing and submitting the tax returns and dealing with the banks to secure and pay off our loans. In practice and effect, he also serves as the fraternity’s landlord –keeping track of renting the rooms, managing incoming payments and student accounts, managing various issues that came up including repairs in the house, and even fielding issues related to parties and complaints/police reports. Basically, John handles any issue arising in the house. 

The Death and Rebirth of Michigan Delta Chi

The membership numbers of Michigan Delta Chi severely decreased in the early 2000s. At one point, the national fraternity warned the chapter that if they couldn’t maintain at least 10 active members, they would pull the charter. This happened in 2003. John stepped in once again. Rather than dissolving the fraternity and selling the building, he decided to keep it going by renting the rooms out to other university students, helping to pay the bills and maintain the house.  

Historically, the national fraternity does not attempt to recolonize chapters that cease to exist on campus for at least 5 years. Thankfully, another alumnus, Jeff Schoenherr ’91, stepped up to assist in getting the chapter reestablished. Jeff had many contacts at the National and leveraged those to move the concept forward. Due to Jeff’s effort and based largely on John’s foresight in keeping the house, the national returned to help re-start the chapter in 2006. A group of students, led by Armando Ledesma ’06, re-established the house.

One of the issues that resulted in the decline of members, was the state of the old chapter house at 1705 Hill St.

Originally built as a single-family residence in 1906, maintaining a house filled with up to 24 fraternity members each year became a struggle. In the 1980s and 1990s the cost of repairs increased significantly: The communal shower had to be refurbished at least 3 times; the roof had to be replaced twice; changes in the fire codes called for the installation of additional walls (necessitating room reconfigurations) and fire doors; screens on all the windows had to be replaced; and significant problems with the foundation were discovered. Ann Arbor, which has very pro-resident renter’s codes, inspected the house every 1-2 years but the results were increasingly uncertain. In fact, the passing grades the house did receive were due in no small part to the fact that John had known the building inspector for over 10 years and the inspector was willing to work with John and the Board on mitigation issues to maintain occupancy.

Eventually, it was John who picked up the mantra made famous by Cal State Fullerton Delta Chi alumnus Kevin Costner ’78, in his 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” — “If you build it, he (they) will come.” If you build a new Michigan Delta Chi Fraternity at 1705 Hill St, members will come.

His thought dove-tailed with three other Michigan Delta Chis – David Falconer ‘62, Frank Morrey ‘64, and Howard Gandelot ‘64 had been talking off and on for years about building a new chapter house. But it was only when they put their heads together with John that they decided to begin to raise the money necessary to build the new Delta Chi. Shortly after, Keith Hellems ‘62 was added to complete the team.

At this point in the story, another one of John’s acquaintances came into the picture. Allan Lutes was a Delta Tau Delta who in the early 1980’s started to bring fraternities together into an alumni interfraternity council for the university. Al, with the encouragement of John, went on to develop the Alpha company, which managed fraternity properties in the Ann Arbor area and subsequently in multiple states across the country.  That friendship with Allan proved extremely helpful in the building of the new house and is key to the current and future management of the house. 

The Delta Chi alums decided to build the fraternity house so that it would have a striking resemblance to the old house in the hopes that this would help bring the nostalgia factor out and increase alumni donations to the project. Once again, John – along with Howard Gandelot – was on the ground floor, developing the actual architectural drawings that were being developed by Alpha. The proposed house was the only completely new fraternity house constructed on the Ann Arbor campus since well before the 1960’s.  

During all phases of the subsequent demolition and construction, John was there on almost a daily basis to ensure that things were going as smoothly as planned and that the contractors were meeting their obligations.

When costs were initially estimated, the building processes in Ann Arbor were quite slow and area contractors were hungry for work.  When the bids finally went out, the responses were all well beyond our contingency of 5% factor for a $2.3M plan. By the time the project was completed, the final numbers (not including mortgage costs) had ballooned to approximately $3.5M or $1.2M over the budget and the financing commitment the group had from the Bank of Ann Arbor.

Given the focus of this article, it is no surprise, then, that it was John Levinson who stepped up to the plate again. The financing story continues to prove that timing is everything.  Long story short – going back to the bank for an increase that was close to DOUBLE over their commitment took more than a little “finesse.” It took A LOT OF FINESSE by John, who was the person negotiating the loans.  Some good luck also played a part.

When things were getting very dicey with the bank, because of the costs and needs increase, John realized that what we had to sell was a still a very good equity to value ratio (our skin in the game was going to be roughly 33%). The other thing to sell was the design concept, and the fact that rents were continuing to escalate for dorms and apartments in Ann Arbor and on campus. The final move in John’s chess game was to get the Loan Officer out to visit the building site (we were in the framing of the 3rd floor at the time) with Allan Lutes and John. This “sales pitch” worked to clinch the loan for two reasons – first, we had a very good commercial concept and design and second – the bank and the Loan Officer were very familiar with and deeply respected Lutes and Alpha Management. The bank had done many successful projects with Allan and Alpha. They felt very comfortable with him being the general contractor and future manager for the property.

 Finally, the timing/luck part…

When it came to final decision time, John went to the Bank of Ann Arbor headquarters in downtown Ann Arbor to meet with the Loan Officer and his boss – the final decision-maker (the mysterious Boss/Decision-maker who you never get to meet or see in the auto dealership or similar setting). Before the meeting, the Boss/Decision-maker asked the Loan Officer to find out if John had played Lacrosse for Michigan in the early 1970s. John asked the Loan Officer how he knew that and why that was important.  It turns out that the decision-maker was the second-string goalie for the Lacrosse team that John had played on for four years at Michigan. His memory of John convinced him that if John was also involved in the current and future management of the project then the bank would increase the loan commitment for the full amount that we needed to finish the house. 

John had not talked with or seen Charley Krone (the Boss/Decision-maker and former goalie), since his last Michigan Lacrosse game in 1974. John also found out that they had investigated his business career at RheTech (including that he was local living in Commerce Township, Michigan) and determined that John was a person that they were most comfortable with as the Alumni boots-on-the-ground lead for the project. John had to promise to stay on the Delta Chi Board for the length of the loan (5 years) as a condition for the deal to proceed.

Both the Loan Officer and Charley Krone have now retired and the loan with Bank of Ann Arbor has since been renewed for another seven years. As fate would have it, they were replaced by John’s old JP Morgan Chase Loan Manager for the RheTech business, so it looks like John will have to stay around until the current loan expires in another five years and the loan again renewed!

With the new fraternity house finished, it became clear that the Chapter dynamics had drastically changed. Instead of 20-30 total active members as in the old days (with many upper-class Members living in the House), the fraternity membership soared to over 100 – with only 34 Sophomores’ living in the House each year – “If you build it, they will come” – indeed!

This was why John had built up the relationship with Alpha Management – they would replace him for the very much increased workload of – signing contracts to live in the house, providing maintenance and monitoring the expenses of the house on a day and weekly basis.  This could no longer be done by a volunteer Alumnus like John had done for so many years.

In the old days – with a much smaller house – it was much easier to build and maintain the Bonds that make Delta Chi so unique. It was also much easier for John and “BB” Al Knaus ’66 to build and maintain relationships with the active leadership and the members. Since the house has expanded, it has become much more difficult and the opportunities for engagement are occurring less and less.  In addition, finding volunteers to share the work was not successful.   John has realized that getting someone to take his place is going to be an extremely difficult problem for Delta Chi alumni to solve.  Therefore, in his own quiet, behind-the-scenes- manner, he’s started to put a succession plan in play. One major step – Alpha Management reduces the workload he has personally sustained. The vast majority of the day-to-day management of the Chapter House have been delegated to Alpha, who now has a long and successful relationship with the Fraternity.

It is time to pass the torch and not let the flame go out.  As Blake Corum stated – Business finished!!

The “Iron Horse”

John is not the first person to earn the title of “Iron Horse.”

In the 1920s and into the 1930s, professional baseball player and first-baseman for the New York Yankees (1923-1939), Lou Gehrig, earned that title for his prowess as a hitter and his durability. He played in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that lasted for 56 years. His streak came to an end in 1939 when he voluntarily took himself out of the line-up due to a then-undiagnosed ailment, subsequently confirmed to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a neuromuscular illness that results in the progressive loss of muscle control. The disease is now known colloquially as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Like his nickname namesake, John was diagnosed with ALS about 1.5 years ago after several years of prodromal symptoms.  Despite the disease, John continues to be CEO at RheTech and is also working hard to maintain his streak of 55+ years in service to Michigan Delta Chi.

At the same time, he is fighting to maintain another long streak that gives credence to the Iron Horse moniker. As previously covered in the eDelt, John is famous in Michigan football circles for having the record for attending 587 straight University of Michigan football games – home, away, and bowl – a record that began January 1, 1976.

On the professional front, John’s longevity habit continued when he was hired as the Chief Financial Officer of RheTech Corporation 37 years ago. He has served as the company’s president for the last 17 years, with the provision that he would be taking no Saturday meeting during Michigan football season.   

Iron Horse indeed.

John has been a consistent leader in Delta Chi fraternity since he joined in 1969. His durability, dedication, sense of responsibility, and organizational abilities have been simply outstanding and have certainly proven him to be the most important person to join the Brotherhood of the University of Michigan Delta Chi Fraternity since its founding in 1892. Not a single other member even comes close to what he’s done over the years for us, much of it behind the scenes.

Let’s raise our glasses to toast this great Michigan Delta Chi, our MVP and Iron Horse, John Levinson!

Article written by H. Keith Hellems, Jr. MD, ’62 and Joe Gradisher ‘79

From Jack Rosenberg (President)

New Faces at Delta Chi: Welcoming the Latest Pledge Class

As Delta Chi at the University of Michigan kicks off another exciting year, we are thrilled to introduce our newest pledge class. Under my leadership as president, this year’s group of 32 promising young men is already making waves and settling into the house with enthusiasm and camaraderie. Their arrival marks a new chapter filled with potential, and we couldn’t be more excited about the fresh energy and perspectives they bring.

A Diverse and Dynamic Group

This year’s pledge class hails from a variety of locations, showcasing a rich blend of backgrounds and experiences. We proudly welcome 12 brothers from New York City, 4 from Westchester, 3 from Long Island, and 5 from New Jersey. In addition, we have 2 members from Boston, 1 from Atlanta, 2 from Florida, and 3 from Chicago. What’s intriguing is that several of the pledges from New York City and Chicago were already acquainted before arriving at Michigan. Their pre-existing connections, whether through family friends or mutual acquaintances, have already helped forge strong bonds among the new members. This shared familiarity is enhancing their transition into Delta Chi, as many of them also had prior interactions with upperclassmen, adding another layer of comfort and continuity.

The Heart of Delta Chi: Brotherhood and Fit

When asked about their decision to join Delta Chi, our new members consistently highlighted the sense of brotherhood as the deciding factor. They were drawn to the supportive and deep-rooted relationships they observed among our current brothers. The sense of unity and the welcoming environment at Delta Chi stood out as a significant attraction. Our fraternity is renowned for fostering an atmosphere where social, emotional, and academic support are seamlessly integrated into daily life. It’s this genuine connection and the thriving community within our house that made Delta Chi an ideal fit for these new members.

The Delta Chi Experience

Living in our chapter house is an experience that stands out on campus. Our residence, regarded as the most well-maintained and vibrant on campus, accommodates up to 34 men. The house is thoughtfully designed with singles, doubles, and triples to ensure privacy while fostering a sense of community. Even in triples, each member enjoys their own personal space alongside a shared common area, balancing individual needs with communal living. Our well-equipped kitchen, a focal point of our house, is managed by our beloved chef and friend, Roger. Known for his exceptional culinary skills and friendly demeanor, Roger’s meals are more than just food—they’re a central part of our communal life, bringing everyone together around the table.

Our reputation for hosting some of the most memorable parties and tailgates on campus is well-earned. The energy and creativity that go into these events are unparalleled. Our new pledge class member, Coby Teich, an exceptionally talented Art major, plays a significant role in enhancing our vibrant atmosphere. Coby’s artwork and creative input bring a unique flair to our themed parties and tailgates, making each event distinctly memorable. Another key figure in our pledge class is Zack Matzkin, our Vice President, who has been instrumental in upgrading our setup downstairs. Zack’s skills in woodworking have improved our DJ booth and stage, contributing to the overall enhancement of our event spaces.

Academic and Extracurricular Engagement

Our pledge class is not only diverse in geographical background but also in academic interests and extracurricular involvement. This year’s group includes 10 Economics majors, 6 Business majors, 3 Computer Science majors, 5 Political Science majors, 5 Undecided, and 3 Sports Management majors. This range of academic pursuits reflects the diverse interests and talents of our new members. Beyond their academic commitments, our pledges are actively engaged in various student organizations and activities. They are involved in investing and business clubs, sports management, and writing groups, demonstrating the drive and dedication that Delta Chi values. Their enthusiasm for their respective fields and extracurricular engagements underscores the commitment to excellence that defines our fraternity.

In summary, the new pledge class at Delta Chi represents a vibrant, dynamic group ready to make significant contributions to our community. Their diverse backgrounds, academic ambitions, and enthusiasm for both our house and the broader university experience promise a bright and exciting future for Delta Chi at the University of Michigan. As we embark on this new chapter, we look forward to the continued success and growth of our fraternity and its newest members, confident that they will bring fresh energy and perspectives to our storied tradition.

On the 1969 Michiganensian:  In this month’s eDelt we feature the Michigan Delta Chi class of 1969 and 1985

Doug Shelton ’70 noted that in 1969 Washtenaw County elected a far-right sheriff in response to all the demonstrating on campus.  Delta Chi thought it might be great fun to have a picture taken with the sheriff at the county jail. 

John Hasse ’68 gave us more detail as follows: “That picture was taken at the Washtenaw County Jail.  

Starting in 1967, the Michiganensian editors had decided to make the Yearbook photos more interesting.  Instead of us all standing in rows and smiling at the camera, all the Sororities and Fraternities were encouraged to use remote sites for our photos and to ‘improvise.’  So, we somehow got permission to take our photo at the Jail and Sheriff Harvey posed with us.  One has to remember this is the time when police were ‘pigs.’  Harvey even got out the Thompson Machine Gun that Keith Little is holding to spice up the photo.

The next year, we all drove out to the Air National Guard base at Wayne County Airport and posed on the wing of Frank Morrey’s ’64 fighter jet.  But the that was last year for improvised photos.”

John Levinson ’73 sent this comment to us: “Excellent work – did not know about the Sheriff Harvey picture.  Funny story, in late August of 1969, there were some very severe riots on campus prior to the semester.  While watching news coverage of the pummeling of the hippie rioters by Sheriff Harvey and his troops, my mother proclaimed that I was not going to be allowed to go to U of M that semester, it was too dangerous. Well, she had not discussed it with my dad, who promptly bellowed he is too going and Dad one that battle.  If I had not started the fall 1969 semester and rushed Delta Chi (Doug Shelton ’70 was a key person along with Steve Civiletto that got me to pledge Delta Chi rather than another fraternity – John Russell also had a lot to do with joining – THE FOOD), who knows how different things might have been at Delta Chi.”

Dave Siglin ’64 commented:  “My wife Linda, our baby daughter Anya (in her pram), and I were strolling down South U that evening. The street was full of high school kids being fairly rowdy. Sheriff Harvey and his deputies pulled onto South U from Washtenaw with several vehicles led by what appeared to be some kind of assault truck and stopped. He was standing on some kind of platform in the back of the truck(?) with a bullhorn, ordering the crowd to disperse – which they had no intention of doing. At that point, he signaled his men to charge and they did. We wheeled our baby carriage into Millers Ice Cream shop and stayed there until the action moved away from us and we could get home. Along with a minister from the First Presbyterian Church, we set up a first aid station next to our music club, The Ark, for injured parties on both sides. The sheriff’s department had its temporary base of operations just south of the church in the driveway/parking lot between the church and our club. I’d guess we treated more than 30 people during the mess, some officers but mostly high school kids.

If I had to say what started it, I’d say it was Sheriff Harvey by yelling orders with his bullhorn and driving into the crowd. There were lots of kids out there and, yes, they were partially blocking traffic, but they weren’t looting or being aggressive. 

They needed to be dispersed, but more peaceful methods could have been tried first.”

Send us your Delta Chi Memorabilia

We need Brothers to look through their “stuff” and dig out pictures from their years at Delta Chi. A picture is worth a thousand words. We want to remind the Brothers of their college years, particularly those where Delta Chi was involved. Pictures of serenades, parties, 21^st birthday celebrations, homecoming and Michigras floats, meetings, sporting events, brothers goofing off, pledge formals, holiday parties, alumni reunions, etc. Remembering the past is part of the fun of living—nostalgia is good for you. 

As part of the alumni organization, we are trying to ensure that the past brothers and traditions will be remembered. The present plan is to:

   1.  Gather as many of the old group composites that we can find and use those that brothers will donate. If they do not want to lose them for their own use, we will digitize the composite and send the original back to you immediately. We want to cover every year from 1892 to the present. These will be placed throughout the new fraternity house as a reminder of the long tradition that the 2^nd chapter of the national Delta Chi has maintained over all these years.

   2.  If you have any paddles that you are willing to part with, we want them.

   3.  If you have any sheepskins from the past, we want them.

   4.  If you have photos from the past, we want them—if you want them for your own collection, we will digitize your copies and send them back to you.

   5.  And most importantly, if you have any old stories that might be of interest to members in YOUR time frame, let us know. We are looking for short and long article material for future eDelts (email news) and Delts (paper news). 

Material should be sent to:

Frank Morrey ‘64 Delta Chi
211 Washburn Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80904
[email protected]  
cell: 719-684-6380 or house phone: 719-535-9616  

OR to:

Dr. H. Keith Hellems ‘62 Delta Chi
9805 Woodleigh Lane
Fairfax, VA 22032
[email protected]
cell: 540-878-6661 or house phone: 571-653-2357

Article by H. Keith Hellems, M.D. ‘62

During the fund-raising campaign I started to gather pages from Michiganensian publications that had the name of Delta Chi in them.  I started in 1897 and went to 2008.  Delta Chi went off campus during the depression in 1933 and came back on campus in 1949.  We plan to publish these over the next months, usually 2 or 3 years at a time for your interest.  Below is a brief history of the Michiganensian excerpted from Wikipedia.

“The Michiganensian, also known as the Ensian, is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan.  Its first issue was published in April 1896. The yearbook is editorially and financially independent of the University of Michigan’s administration and other student groups. It is published yearly in late spring by a staff of several dozen students. The book is the second oldest publication on campus, and it contains articles and original photography related to campus life, student activism, university athletics, and current events.

In its earliest form, the Michiganensian served as an illustrated directory, providing information on organizations, fraternities, and athletics. As the publication evolved in the early 1900s, more space was dedicated to writing and photographs, but the publication still focused largely on fraternities and athletics. Now, in its current form, the Michiganensian is composed of photography and stories about campus life, student activism, current events, and athletics.  The 125th issue also split with precedent by including limited fraternity and sorority coverage, amid student criticism of secret societies on campus and a nationwide ‘Abolish Greek Life’ movement.” 

In this month’s eDelt, we feature the Michigan Delta Chi class of 1969 and 1985

Doug Shelton noted that in 1969, Washtenaw County elected a far-right sheriff in response to all the demonstrating on campus.  Delta Chi thought it might be great fun to have a picture taken with the sheriff at the county jail. 

John Hasse gave us more detail as follows: “That picture was taken at the Washtenaw County Jail.  

Starting in 1967, the Michiganensian editors had decided to make the yearbook photos more interesting.  Instead of us all standing in rows and smiling at the camera, all the Sororities and Fraternities were encouraged to use remote sites for our photos and to ‘improvise.’  So, we somehow got permission to take our photo at the jail and Sheriff Harvey posed with us.  One has to remember this is the time when police were ‘pigs.’  Harvey even got out the Thompson Machine Gun that Keith Little is holding to spice up the photo.

The next year, we all drove out to the Air National Guard base at Wayne County Airport and posed on the wing of Frank Morrey’s fighter jet.  But the that was last year for improvised photos.

In 1967 and again in 1968, the Sigma Alpha Mu’s submitted photos in which one of their members was exposing himself.  Incredibly, the editors didn’t notice the obscenity and published the pictures in the Ensian!  Well, that was the end of all Sorority and Fraternity photos in the yearbook.  Thanks for that, Sammies.”

This is a follow-up to the brief story in this eDelt about Dave Siglin ’64 entitled, Dave Siglin and The Ark.  During his management of the Ark, which has been a music fixture in Ann Arbor since the mid-1960’s, Dave recorded many of the musicians and established a collection that he donated to the University of Michigan Bentley Library. Below is an article written about David for your perusal.

For decades, The Ark has been one of the most important acoustic music venues in the United States. Beginning modestly in 1965 as a church-supported community center with folk music at its core and becoming a separate entity in 1983, The Ark is now an essential stop on the touring schedules of musicians and performers who loosely form the heart and soul of the Americana music movement. Unbeknownst to all but the musicians themselves, the longtime manager/director David Siglin carefully recorded from the central sound mixing board a great many of the performances at The Ark between 1969 and 1996, creating an extraordinary record (ca. 3,000 hours) of the Americana music scene as it transformed itself from an offshoot of the folk revival to a popular and vital testament to the power of a distinctively American musical heritage. Mr. Siglin has donated his amazing collection of tapes, programs, schedules, photographs and associated archival materials to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan.

The Siglin Music Preservation Fund, along with the University of Michigan, seeks funding to preserve and make available in digital form this sound recordings collection. Some 1,500 hours of live performances made over a dozen years between 1969 and 1980 exist on 364 very fragile ¼ inch reel-to-reel tapes and the remaining 1,500 hours are on cassette tapes. In preparation for this preservation and access project, we have completed an inventory of the tapes, matching them with programs and schedules from the period. We have completed a preliminary preservation survey of the collection and successfully tested the feasibility of retrieving the monaural analog signals from the tapes and converting them to digital files according to current preservation standards. We have also laid the groundwork within the University of Michigan to preserve the digital files, expose the recordings to performers and fans who can add value through community cataloging, and deal creatively with the somewhat daunting intellectual property issues that surround the broad dissemination of the digital files to communities of scholars, students and fans of Americana Music.

The project is an exciting and timely opportunity to join the best preservation and access technologies with social network strategies to tap the knowledge and memories of performers (and fans) in the contexts in which they were created and enjoyed. We have very strong support for the design and goals of this project from prominent performers at The Ark, from the Ann Arbor community, and from the University of Michigan. The products and documentation emerging from this project are intended to form a management model for collections of recorded sound from the second half of the 20th century, where extraordinary intellectual control challenges exist, and the danger of losing invaluable pieces of our past – to physical decay or to the natural passing of generations – is extremely high.

The artists represented in The Ark Collection show the range of Americana music. The most common musical forms presented at The Ark I were eclectic folk song revivalists such as Michael Cooney and Pete Seeger; musical troubadours such as Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie; string band music such as the Highwoods Stringband and the New Lost City Ramblers; folklorists like Joe Hickerson; British Isles folk acts such as Steeleye Span and the Fairport Convention; artists from the wellspring of regional music such as Bessie Jones & the Georgia Sea Island Singers; and singer-songwriters like John Prine and Nanci Griffith.

This music is, by its very nature, intimate. The circuit for Americana music thrives in hundreds of smaller festivals; small venues such as town halls and coffeehouses; and even house concerts. The setting of the original Ark on Hill Street proved a perfect combination of such venues, and the music grew in size and variety with each of the two moves to larger venues. With a vibrancy that has been but sporadically recorded elsewhere (the Lomax recordings come to mind), this collection is a rare peek into the growth and culture of Americana musicians and their audiences.

The Siglin Music Preservation Fund, as of this writing, has raised $96,000 of the $125,000 necessary for the project, and has had the entire collection restored and digitized. The next steps will be to identify the shows, the dates, the performers, and the set lists of each show, and then to contact the performers or their representatives, notifying them and, if possible, securing their permission to stream the shows online in accordance with what copyright laws allow.

If anyone is interested in knowing more about this project, you can contact Dave at [email protected].

Dave Siglin joined the Michigan Delta Chi fraternity in the spring of 1961. Initially a music education major, he realized after 2-1/2 years that playing the violin and later clarinet were not his forte.  He switched his major to English in his junior year and then psychology in his fourth year. None of these majors were to his liking so he finally settled on becoming a theater major, graduating after only seven years in 1967. Meanwhile, he married Linda in January of 1966.   

In the meantime, in 1965, four Ann Arbor churches envisioned a gathering place for students, a coffee house like many that were springing up on campuses all over the country. The focus of the churches was not to preach or proselytize, but to listen to the concerns of students and to provide a warm, safe, peaceful place to come together free from drugs, alcohol, and the storms of academic life and personal stress. It was meant to provide a creative outlet for talent in music, poetry and artwork. By December 1965, it had received its present name: The Ark, and was on the first floor of a large 3-story house at 1421 Hill St.

The early programs included presentations by and dialogue with faculty and other local folks. The political climate of the 1960s provided the opportunity for many political as well as ethical and theological discussions. Gradually, The Ark became a space for students to hang out and talk informally. Folk music soon became a part of the offerings.

In the fall of 1968, while going to school and teaching guitar at Herb David Guitar Studio, Siglin was hired to be the new manager of The Ark. He figured he would do the job for about five years – tops, and so he, his wife Linda, and their one-year-old daughter Anya moved into the club.

He retired from The Ark in 2008 after 40 years, having made it one of the most well-known and respected music venues in the country. That The Ark has survived since the 1960s is a miracle in itself, due in no small part to the vision, dedication, and energy of the Siglins.

The financial support from the four churches dried up in the early 1970s and The Ark had to learn to support itself with monies from admission fees and donations. In a last-ditch effort to raise money to keep The Ark afloat, Siglin initiated a major fundraiser in 1976, the now yearly Ann Arbor Folk Festival. In the early 1980s, The Ark was reorganized as a stand-alone 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and, in 1984, it moved to 637-1/2 S Main, above the original South Main market, increasing its audience capacity from 150 to 275.

In 1985 it got a non-profit club liquor license and learned the difficult tightrope walk of how to serve alcohol yet still maintain itself as a listening room.

 It 1996 it moved once again, this time to its current location at 316 S. Main Street financed by a successful fundraising campaign that raised over 2 million dollars. The present Ark seats over 400 and presents more than 320 shows a year featuring folk, blues, bluegrass, country, jazz, pop, world music, comedy and storytelling from all over the world.  

Dave retired from booking and running The Ark in 2008 after 40 years and almost 10,000 shows. His job was then divided into two different positions – an Executive Director – Marianne James, and a Program Director – Dave’s daughter Anya, who now books all the talent.

The Michigan Chapter of Delta Chi will be hosting this year’s annual reunion during the Michigan Homecoming weekend, on September 13-14, 2024. Michigan will be facing the Red Wolves of Arkansas State University in the Big House, kick-off is at 12 noon.

Friday Night: Alumni, actives and their guests are invited to join us for a pizza party at the new chapter house from 6 PM to 10 PM or later. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided. (Donations are gladly accepted to help defray the cost. Please make your RSVP using the link below). This event will be an informal gathering, a chance to meet the current actives and reconnect with your classmates. These get-togethers have proven popular and well attended in years past.

Saturday Festivities: Coffee and donuts will be provided at the chapter house at 10 AM for those who want to hike or drive to the Big House and watch the Wolverines battle the Red Wolves. Other alumni, actives and guests are encouraged to enjoy the game on large-screen TVs in the chapter house. Following the game, please return to the chapter house for happy hour (BYOB) to plan your evening’s activities which may include joining brothers from your era for dinner in Ann Arbor at a local restaurant, for example, Metzger’s or the rejuvenated Pretzel Bell. 

Football Tickets: At the present time, the U of M ticket office might have single seat tickets available. Tickets will be available on the secondary market.

We look forward to having our fellow brothers and their guests visit the chapter house. The chapter’s alumni association continues to improve the new chapter house for the actives, as well as make it a place for its alums to come back to. We are also creating a Wall of History and Heritage. It’s a collection of composites that will allow you to “see yourself” in YOUR new house whenever you come back to Ann Arbor. More later on this project.

Homecoming is exactly that at Delta Chi—it is a chance to return to 1705 Hill Street and engage again with fellow brothers. Hope to see you there!

Please contact John Stinson at [email protected] to make reservations for the pizza party and more details.

In the Bond,

The Delta Chi Alumni Association

Article by H. Keith Hellems, M.D. ‘62

During the fund-raising campaign I started to gather pages from Michiganensian publications that had the name of Delta Chi in them.  I started in 1897 and went to 2008.  Delta Chi went off campus during the depression in 1933 and came back on campus in 1949.  We plan to publish these over the next months, usually 2 or 3 years at a time for your interest.  Below is a brief history of the Michiganensian excerpted from Wikipedia.

“The Michiganensian, also known as the Ensian, is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan.  Its first issue was published in April 1896. The yearbook is editorially and financially independent of the University of Michigan’s administration and other student groups. It is published yearly in late spring by a staff of several dozen students. The book is the second oldest publication on campus and it contains articles and original photography related to campus life, student activism, university athletics, and current events.

In its earliest form, the Michiganensian served as an illustrated directory, providing information on organizations, fraternities, and athletics. As the publication evolved in the early 1900s, more space was dedicated to writing and photographs, but the publication still focused largely on fraternities and athletics. Now, in its current form, the Michiganensian is composed of photography and stories about campus life, student activism, current events, and athletics.  The 125th issue also split with precedent by including limited fraternity and sorority coverage, amid student criticism of secret societies on campus and a nationwide ‘Abolish Greek Life’ movement.” 

In this month’s eDelt, we feature the Michigan Delta Chi class of 1961 and 1979

1961 shows the award-winning tank made for the Mardigras parade.  We won our 2^nd consecutive first place award.

Article by H. Keith Hellems, M.D.’62   [email protected]

A previous eDelt highlighted a list of awards given over the years.  Today, we give you a complete list of the Brothers who received the Annual Awards for Pledge of the Year, Dork of the Year, Luminary of the Year, Wedge of the Year, Best Joke of the Year, Athlete of the Year, Guiding Light of the Year, P.W. Award of the Year, and Donald Morris Lackey PAM Award (Piss & Moan) Award of the Year.  I collated these during the fundraising years.  Additions, corrections, etc. let me know.

DATE	PLEDGE OF THE YEAR	DORK OF THE YEAR	LUMINARY OF THE YEAR	WEDGE OF THE YEAR	JOKE OF THE YEAR	ATHLETE OF THE YEAR	GUIDING LIGHT OF THE YEAR	P. W. AWARD	Donald Morris Leckey P&M AWARD (piss & moan)
5/22/1955	William L. Pugh
1956	Harry F. Donald
5/21/1956	John b. Angood		??  Art  Angood			Fred Jackson
5/20/1957	Duncan Hudson		John Jenkins			Paul Menard
5/19/1958	Barry Wood		Henry F. Donald			Norman F. Krecke
4/27/1959	Agris Aunins		John Angood			R. Michael McGuire
5/16/1960	Greg Kaiser	Howard Wiarda	John Bostater	Keith Hellems	Barry Wood	Lane Kendig
5/22/1961	Robert Todd	Keith Hellems	Bill Simmonds	Keith Hellems	Barry Wood	Lane Kendig
5/21/1962	Roger L. Premo	David Siglin	Robert E. Cole	Keith Hellems	Lane Kendig	Lane Kendig
5/13/1963	Mark Voight	Charles B. McGuire	Howard Travis	Howard Gandelot	Robert Sielski	Robert R. Scharp	James G. Aldinger
4/27/1964	Carl Rohrbach	Howard Gandelot	Howard Gandelot	John D. Ambrose	Ed Worth	Al Knaus	John Mahr
4/5/1965	Michael J. Ganas	George Payne	Elliott Lum	John D. Ambrose	Barry McGuire	David O. Gerisch	Carl Rohrbach	Established 4/11/66
4/11/1966	Nike Novak	Dale Bjorklund	Alan Knaus	Lymon R. Flook, III	Mike Maas	John M. Brown	Lymon R. Flook	Philip T. Holt	Established 10/3/66
4/3/1967	Michael J. Simon	Ken Field	John Brown	Lymon R. Flook, III	John Brown	Carl Rohrbach	Charles Esler	Philip T. Holt
4/1/1968	Paul Fassbender	Stanley Dobry	Charles Esler	Lymon R. Flook, III	Stan Dobry	John Hasse	Bruce Martin	Paul Allen Waryas	John Eggertsen
6/11/1969	Steven E. Civiletto	Bruce Martin	Steve Peebles	Craig Heyl	Alex Kalymon	Dave Pawlik	John Mardinly	Stan Dobry	Alec Pridgeon
4/13/1970	George Stalk	Ken Brier	Jerry Newport	John Levinson		Alex Kalymon	Joe Matt	Alec Pridgeon	Don Leckey
4/12/1971	Don Vacarri	Ken Brier	Creig Heyl	John Levinson	John Mardinly	Joe Mat, George Esler, Dick Crane, Craig Heyl, Tom Murdock, John Levinson	Craig Heyl	Ken Brier	Ken Brier
4/17/1972	James L. Jenkins	George Stalk	George P. Esler	John Levinson	Donald L. Vaccari	Richard Crane & Donald Vaccari	George Stalk	George Stalk	John T. Levinson
4/23/1973	Mark E. DeLange	Bob Pliska	George Stalk	Robert Pliska	Donald L. Vaccari	Dave Levinson	John Levinson	Donald M. Leckey	John Russell (cook) – to be held by Jay Jenkins
4/15/1974	Michael Sieracki	Buck Crouthamel	Gabriel Machynia	Buck Crouthamel	Buck Crouthamel		Peter Armstrong	Robert Vonderhaar	Robert Vonderhaar
4/22/1975	Norm Anshuetz		John Stinson	Greg Candy	Mark Bertrand			Mark Bertrand	Robert Vonderhaar
4/11/1977		Ron Scafe		Lane Bertrand			Jeff Elias	Steve Hinderer	Bruce Koebele
4/17/1978	Dan Springer	Brian Barrie	Ernie Lueder	Steve Hook	Brian’s Mustache		Mark Nehmer		Jeff Elias
4/16/1979	Ken Baisch	Steve Hook	Dave Nehmer	Nelson Orozco	Bill James	*****Joe Matt, George Esler, Dick Crane, Creig Heyl, Tom Murdock, John Levinson	Brian Durham		Brian Durham
4/21/1980	Scott Walls	Nelson Orozco	Mark Nehmer	Nelson Orozco & Stuart Popp	Bobbi (our cook)		Greg Roda		Paul Hess & Stuart Popp
Missing minutes from Jan. to Sept 1981
3/29/1982		Mark S. Dunning					Scott Walls
3/28/1983		Fred Harper	David Mazzotta				Tim Kelly
4/22/1985	William McGarry	John Heathfield	Mark Messura	George Holton			John Kerrigan
4/5/1993			Jason Ritchie
9/26/1994			Don Ensing
3/10/1997			Peter Hammer
4/18/2005			Matthew S. Williams			Matt Flynn
4/18/2006						Daniel L. Oele

Article by H. Keith Hellems, M.D. ‘62

During the fund-raising campaign I started to gather pages from Michiganensian publications that had the name of Delta Chi in them. I started in 1897 and went to 2008. Delta Chi went off campus during the depression in 1933 and came back on campus in 1949. We plan to publish these over the next months, usually 2 or 3 years at a time for your interest. Below is a brief history of the Michiganensian excerpted from Wikipedia:

“The Michiganensian, also known as the Ensian, is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan. Its first issue was published in April 1896, The yearbook is editorially and financially independent of the University of Michigan’s administration and other student groups. It is published yearly in late spring by a staff of several dozen students. The book is the second oldest publication on campus, and it contains articles and original photography related to campus life, student activism, university athletics, and current events.

In its earliest form, the Michiganensian served as an illustrated directory, providing information on organizations, fraternities, and athletics. As the publication evolved in the early 1900s, more space was dedicated to writing and photographs, but the publication still focused largely on fraternities and athletics. Now, in its current form, the Michiganensian is composed of photography and stories about campus life, student activism, current events, and athletics. The 125th issue also split with precedent by including limited fraternity and sorority coverage, amid student criticism of secret societies on campus and a nationwide ‘Abolish Greek Life’ movement.”

In this month’s eDelt, we feature the Michigan Delta Chi class of 1960 and 2007.

1960 showed the very fancy float that was made for the Michigras. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, floats made by fraternities and sororities were very popular. 2007 just illustrates the traveling done to have formal events in past years, all the way to Detroit. Notice that in 1960 we got two pages, while in 2007 we got only a part of a page.

In the July 13, 2023 eDelt, we featured an article on Bob Sielski ’64 Michigan Delta Chi who had recently completed his goal of running the 26-mile marathons in all 50 states. (My New Experiences as a Runner – Delta Chi (deltachimichigan.com)

He completed his 50^th state marathon in Hawaii in December 2022.   You would think he would finally stop and claim victory, BUT he just seems to keep pushing along like the Energizer Bunny.  

Why do the co-editors of the eDelt keep talking about him?  Possibly because Frank Morrey is ’81 and Keith Hellems is ’83.   They marvel at his continued ability to do such a Herculean feat.   We think everyone should know about this, and since we’re the editors, we control the dialogue (we would like to have other Brothers to control the dialogue, too, so let us know if you would help us out).    Bob posts on Facebook.   The best part of these posts are the photos and his comments about how he did and what place he came in.  These are included in this short update.   Since Hawaii, he did his 74^th marathon in Melbourne, FL on Feb. 13, 2023, followed by the London Marathon in April 2023, and the Space Coast marathon in Cocoa, FL on Nov. 26, 2023.  Being a good neighbor, he has run multiple 5K races in fund raising events.   How about the half-marathon on the Great Wall of China in October where he also gave a presentation at the International Workshop on Ocean Space Utilization in Wuxi, China?  The half-marathon in the Antarctic Ice Marathon on the Union Glacier was held on December 13.  See his comments below.  His running has been sprinkled with the Pineappleman Triathlon in Melbourne Beach June 4, 2023, where he ran a 5K, swam half a mile and rode a bicycle 12 miles. 

A few of his comments and pictures are included below for your perusal. 

I finished the London Marathon yesterday, Sunday, April 24, 2023. A somewhat disappointing time of 7 hours 18 minutes because I gave out at about mile 20 and walked the rest of the way. However, I was #48,224 of 48,598 overall, #28,274 of 28, 389 men, and #11 of 12 for men over 80. (Some of those geezers can really run!) Here are a few photos (official photos have not been posted yet).

---

I finished the Pineappleman Triathlon today, June 4, 2023, in Melbourne Beach. Times were:

¼ mile swim: 21:22

12- mile bike: 59:35

5K run: 45:15

Total with transitions: 2:09:38

Not spectacular, but good enough to give me First Place (by default) in the Male 80-85 age group, and #200 of 201 finishing.

My time for the 5K was only two minutes slower than when I last ran a 5K without the swim and bike beforehand, so that isn’t so bad.

The only awards that are given for age group winners are a pineapple, with a small tag that says 1st place, which you can’t see in the picture.

---

I finished the Space Coast marathon today in Cocoa, Florida. With a time of 7 hours, 48 minutes, I finished #857/858 overall, #535/535 Males, and #2/2 Males 80+.

I can’t complain about coming in next-to-last; around mile 22 there were about 10 runners behind me, most of whom I had passed as they slowed down more than I did. However, all except for one dropped out of the race and got a ride to the finish. I am not a quitter!

The conditions didn’t feel bad, temperatures in the mid-70’s, but I noticed that most of the intermediate runners, finishing at 4 to 5 hours, were walking (not run-walking) for the last 4 or so miles. That is unusual, because most of those will run the entire distance. Partially because I had an upset digestive tract, I didn’t take in enough water, and lost 7 pounds in the event.

---

I ran the Great Wall of China Marathon (Nov 2023) today near Beijing. It was much more challenging than I expected so I only finished a half-marathon because of time limit.   (He also gave a presentation at the International Workshop on Ocean Space Utilization in Wuxi, China)

---

ANTARCTIC ICE MARATHON –I am just finishing up an adventure of a lifetime! On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, I ran (Walked, limped) a half-marathon in the Antarctic Ice Marathon. It was conducted on the Union Glacier in Antarctica. We were flown to camp on Tuesday in a B757 airliner, which landed on the packed snow runway, which is a layer of snow several feet thick on top of the glacier, which is several thousands of feet thick. We slept overnight in double-walled tents, which were kept fairly warm in the freezing temperatures by the 24 hours of continuous sunlight. On Tuesday we did a short two-mile practice run on the course. It was the packed snow that had been leveled by dragging a heavy sled on top of it. There were photo ops then, including individual runs in a spot where the snow had been softened up to a consistency similar to running on soft sand. Unfortunately, I overdid it on that practice run and re-injured my right hip. That really slowed me down so that I was only able to finish a half-marathon on Wednesday, taking more than four hours, but barely walking at the finish. Although I didn’t reach my goal, it was great fun with some great people; other runners.

---

If you want the real flavor, go to his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/robert.sielski.7.  If you want to view some newspaper articles about him go to:  

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2023/01/29/50-marathons-in-50-states-80-year-old-florida-man-racks-up-races-from-melbourne-beach-home/69757297007/?utm_source=floridatoday-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=PBRE-1028FT-E-NLETTER65&fbclid=IwAR0fnKmeCPRbGkCySOf18l1qUzSN2Yps_q_lX2ANPEp7t547g_EP_kJyyeY

onseodSrtpag1a3c 39t9:c MA336hcchha4lmf019aa80754Mcf 892r f6 

Health First Marathoners Seher Swenson and Robert Sielski Finish ‘States’, Hightail It to London – Space Coast Daily

Article by Keith Hellems, M.D. ’62       [email protected]

During his years at the Michigan Delta Chi house, Scott Hillen’97 wrote a rather extensive history of our Michigan fraternity.  Today we excerpt various portions as part of our Blast from the Past series.

CHAPTER AWARDS

Awards were an important part of chapter meetings from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. Awards were given weekly after chapter announcements, and there was often a figurine or other sort of trophy which the winner received. After 1989, such awards were given at monthly brotherhood dinners. At the end of the year there were also awards given out. The tradition of year-end awards extends back to the 1950’s. The most awards were awarded during the 1970’s. It is unclear why many of these awards ceased to be given (there are no chapter meeting record forms from January 1981 to January 1983). Today awards are decided by either a vote of the chapter or the executive board. Here are some of the awards which were given on a weekly, semesterly, or yearly basis for more than three consecutive years.  

(Editor’s note: by the late 1990’s it appears that awards were not part of the fraternity activity).   

1) Chapter Luminary Award: A yearly award first awarded at the end of the 1954-55, school year, it recognizes the brother (usually a graduating senior) who has made the most positive impact on Delta Chi as well as other chapter organizations.

2) Pledge of the Year: First awarded in 1955, it awards the achievements of the “superpledge” of the year.

3) Athlete of the Year: First awarded in 1955, it recognizes the accomplishments of the best performance in IM sports.

4) Dork Award: First awarded in January 1960, a weekly and yearly award recognizing a particularly brutal social faux pas.

5) Guiding Light Award: First awarded in May 1960, a weekly award described as being awarded to “the person who leads the chapter not to bigger and better things, but to smaller and poorer things. This is symbolized by a burnt out 1000-watt light bulb”. Along with the dork award, it was awarded at nearly every chapter meeting.

6) Wedge Award: A yearly award first awarded at the end of the 1959-60 school year, “this is an honorary award given to the biggest tool of the year”

7) Joke of the Year: First awarded at the end of the 1959-60 school year, it recognizes the best joke told at the end of a chapter meeting.

8) PW Award: A yearly or weekly award first awarded in 1966. It recognizes the brother on the tightest leash from their girlfriend.

9) Donald M. Leckey P&M Award: Awarded from 1967-80, it recognizes the brother who whines or complains the most.

10) Scholar of the Year: First awarded in 1973, it awards the brother who had the highest GPA during the year.

11) Exhibitionist of the Year Award: Awarded from 1973-early 80’s, self-explanatory award.

12) Grub Award: Awarded from 1973-early 80’s.

13) J Award: Awarded from 1973-early 80’s (possibly new initiate who has made the greatest contribution to Delta Chi).

14) John Henry Russell Award: Awarded during the 1980’s, it is named after Delta Chi’s cook from 1969-78 and recognizes service to Delta Chi.

15) Frank J. Morrey Outstanding Alumnus Award: First awarded in 1973, it recognizes the outstanding contribution of an alumus of the chapter.

16) Good Guy Award: First awarded in 1983, this weekly award recognizes a positive thing a brother has done in the past week.?

17) Outstanding Elected Position: A semester-long award given since the early 1990’s, it recognizes the elected officer who has done the best job.

18) Outstanding Appointed Position: A semester-long award given to the committee head or other appointed position who has done the best job.

 

We recently interviewed Capt. Thomas French ’57 about his time in Delta Chi, and how it impacted the rest of his life. Tom shared stories from his time in the house and provided us with detailed updates about his and his family’s very full lives. Read on to hear what Tom had to say, in his own words.

For more articles about Tom, click here, and here.

“Russell Jack, my first college roommate persuaded me to join the fraternity rush.  When rush was concluded, both of us were asked and agreed to join Delta Chi.  I credit many of the brothers for giving me the confidence to make something of my life.  I would likely not have committed to doing any international work were it not for the urging of brothers like the late Tom Michalski, who was engaged in city planning, but who spent many decades working in Saudi Arabia and eventually a member of the Cambridge faculty in Cambridge, England.

My favorite pastime at the fraternity house was playing bridge in the cardroom after dinner.  I enjoyed our unvarnished discussions about our respective areas of study, the professors, some good and some not so good, and how each of us decided which subjects for a major and why.

This funny story is coming out for the first time.  I was charged with preparing the hors d’ oeuvres for a dance we had at the fraternity house in my junior year.  I was looking for something unique, like whale meat, as an ingredient.  A brand of dog food was principally made up of whale meat.  I served it up on triangular crackers so I could identify it.  I received many compliments about that choice.

I would like to continue the tradition of exchanging sheep skins naming the winner and loser of football games with other Delta Chi chapters in the Big Ten.  

The competition [between fraternities] was not athletic, but a musical competition with other fraternities.  As I recall it, we received second place.”

Life after Michigan

“I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1961. I applied for and received a commission as a First Lieutenant in the US Airforce, working as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, first at Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia.  After one year and six months, I was transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany.  I met my future wife, Cecie, who was a translator and interpreter working directly for the base commander.  We got married in Switzerland.

We have two children, Danielle and Tom. Both attended local schools.  Danielle graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a BA in Anthropology.  Tom graduated in philosophy and economics from the University of Wisconsin.  He also spent his junior year abroad at the London School of Economics.

Danielle’s career began as a property manager for an organization that provided property managers for shopping centers throughout Canada.  She became the supervisor of all of the property managers throughout Ontario when she was offered the position of Director of Investor Relations for a German-Canadian real estate investment firm.  Shortly thereafter, her position was transformed into a Vice Presidency. She married the company’s President, and she has one stepdaughter and four daughters. 

Danielle made another major change in her life and became an entrepreneur. Some years before 2008, she and her husband bought a farm in rural Ontario about 80 miles northeast of Toronto.  She decided to make the farm into a destination wedding venue.  She had a small business on the side preparing and selling condiments.  She also had a food column in a Canadian magazine called Harrowsmith.  The wedding venue business turned out very well for her.  She sold it for nine times the asking price and has retired in a townhouse on the local lake in Peterborough, Ontario.

Her stepdaughter and all four of her daughters seem to be having very successful lives. Her stepdaughter, Devon, graduated second in her Harvard Law School on in Class.  After spending four years at a major London (England) law firm, she decided to go into investment banking. 

Her daughter Carlyle has degrees in Sustainable Management and Geographic Information Systems.  She is currently the General Manager for a company that offers a ‘wilderness experience’ to the extremely wealthy on its county-sized tracts of land in Ontario.  Carlyle will be entering a PhD program in Structured Geology this fall.

Her daughter Grace is working for the Royal Bank of Canada to determine how the concepts implicit in artificial intelligence can be applied to the banking industry.  She also has a business which designs women’s undergarments.   

Her daughter Olivia was recruited to a position on the Canadian Women’s Olympic team when she was 16 years old.  She played in the recent Tokyo Olympic Games.  At age 22, she was selected to be the team captain.  Recently at age 23, she was selected for the Rugby 7s ‘dream team,’ which means that she is considered the best player in the world at her position.

Danielle’s daughter Aubrey Rose just graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario with a degree in Global Development.  Aubrey Rose recently won a $40,000 fellowship grant to develop programs to integrate minority and other less privileged students into college programs.  She is also a jewelry designer and has a website in her name. Her plan is to receive a graduate degree in Genomics for Environmental Management. Ultimately, she plans on becoming a Canadian Foreign Ministry Officer. 

Our son, Tom, attended Vermont Law School and graduated in 1993. Tom is now a senior partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, a 500-partner law firm based in New York City.  He manages the 12 lawyers in the Structured Finance Practice Group.  He lives in the Brooklyn Heights section of Brooklyn and manages all the firm’s computer activities.

Our daughter in-law, Jenny, graduated from Bank Street College with a master’s degree, taught reading both in public and private schools, has her own practice, and is presently studying for an advanced degree.

Tom and his wife live in Brooklyn, NY where their two children attended Packer Collegiate, a private grade school and high school. Our granddaughter, Claire, attends Barnard College and is spending a year at Oxford University studying political science and the history of philosophy. Our grandson, Joseph, finished his freshman year at Bowdoin College. He is a member of his college squash team, and coaches at public schools in Brooklyn.”

Professional History

“After I was discharged from the Air Force in December 1965, I entered the private practice of law in Brattleboro, Vermont.  Osmer C. Fitts, an attorney who practiced in Brattleboro, Vermont, two years before, had been Chairman of the House of Delegates, which is the second ranked person at the ABA. 

I opened my own law practice after about 1.5 years later.  I started to develop a law practice which included business development, partnership and corporate formations, family law including divorces, probate law product liability, and negligence cases.  I tried many ski liability cases which are unique to this part of the country. My niche was never criminal law. My general practice expanded to include local office for most European companies. I was given credit by the State Department for opening China to international trade.  My client was the catalyst for the first electronic scoreboards installation in China.

It was unexpected that my practice took a turn into a new field.

I was invited by the State Department to participate in the attempts to reform the legal and economic systems in Russia during the Gorbachev and Yeltsin regimes.  Congress had passed The Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Act, called the FREEDOM Act, directing Congress to find ways to institute democratic governments and to introduce the concepts inherent in a free market economy.  One of the first steps in implementing the Freedom Act was to organize a conference of lawyers and economists from throughout both countries to be held at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow in September 1991. The majority of the delegates from both countries were academics, government employees, judges and practicing lawyers.  There were only a few small general practitioners like me.

My initial role was to be the facilitator at a seminar in Constitutional Law sponsored by the US State Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This conference took place in Moscow and was entitled ‘Law and Economic Relations at the Kremlin Palace’ in September of 1990. It featured constitutional scholars and economists from major universities, appellate judges, and lawyers from both countries.

The influence of this conference created a desire among the participants to gather information and work positively for the achievement of the goals outlined at that time.

A group of us decided to form a corporation, known as San Francisco World Trade Associates, Inc, (SFWTA) including a not-for-profit subsidiary corporation, called International Humanitarian Services (IHS). This not-for-profit corporation provided food and medicine to many areas of Russia, Kazakhstan, and to the Russian Far East.  

At the age of 80, I decided to retire from my law practice.  I then transferred my law license to pro bono emeritus status. After I learned that veterans have very often do not have legal representation when filing their disability claim, and were inadequately compensated for such claims, I applied for approved attorney status to practice before the VA.”

Article by H. Keith Hellems, M.D. ‘62

During the fundraising campaign, I started to gather pages from Michiganensian publications that had the name of Delta Chi in them. I started in 1897 and went to 2008.  Delta Chi went off campus during the depression in 1933 and came back on campus in 1949. We plan to publish these over the next months, usually 2 or 3 years at a time for your interest. Below is a brief history of the Michiganensian excerpted from Wikipedia:

The Michiganensian, also known as the Ensian, is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan. Its first issue was published in April 1896. The yearbook is editorially and financially independent of the University of Michigan’s administration and other student groups. It is published yearly in late spring by a staff of several dozen students. The book is the second oldest publication on campus, and it contains articles and original photography related to campus life, student activism, university athletics, and current events.

In its earliest form, the Michiganensian served as an illustrated directory, providing information on organizations, fraternities, and athletics. As the publication evolved in the early 1900s, more space was dedicated to writing and photographs, but the publication still focused largely on fraternities and athletics. Now, in its current form, the Michiganensian is composed of photography and stories about campus life, student activism, current events, and athletics. The 125th issue also split with precedent by including limited fraternity and sorority coverage, amid student criticism of secret societies on campus and a nationwide ‘Abolish Greek Life’ movement. 

In this month’s eDelt, we feature the Michigan Delta Chi class of 1982 and 2006.

I included the 2006 page for Delta Chi to show that we were just getting back onto campus with a colony, still a little disorganized, but with the Michiganensian progressing to giving fraternities and sororities less and less space in their publication over the years, and here only listing its name and a picture of the house.

Above: John Levinson and Kathy Levinson in 2018 before a game. Image courtesy of John Levinson.

Recently, Deborah Holdship of Michigan Today published an article that featured our very own John Levinson ’73. To read the article on Michigan Today, CLICK HERE. Otherwise, keep reading below!

Article by Deborah Holdship, Michigan Today

“Self-help gurus love to remind us ‘it’s the journey, not the destination’ that brings true joy in life. The journey is where we overcome obstacles, acquire wisdom, and become the heroes of our own stories. The destination, the gurus say, is merely a mirage designed to keep us moving. It doesn’t even exist.

Usually, it takes a life-changing moment to generate such an epiphany, and it’s the rare individual who lives it daily. But spend some time with John Levinson, BBA ’73/MBA ’75, and one will encounter this principle personified. Levinson has attended 587 consecutive U-M football games since 1976. His outrageous streak may have begun as a whimsical numbers game, but early on, he discovered his quest was about so much more than setting any record.

‘I do it because I like it,’ says Levinson, a self-described workaholic and plastics executive who grew up in Birmingham, Mich. ‘It’s good to put your heart into whatever you’re doing. You’ll have a better outcome, a better experience.’

He’s taken that attitude on countless planes, trains, RVs, and buses to every Big-10 stadium and bowl-game venue. He has endured his share of blizzards, downpours, gridlock, and crazy fans.

‘It’s all about the adventure, and some adventures are more complicated than others,’ he says.

Going deep

Ironically, as he reflects on game number 587, a national championship for his beloved Wolverines, Levinson embarks on the most complicated adventure of his life. Recently diagnosed with ALS, the indomitable sports fan – the one who refuses to watch games on TV, the one who declines to sit in a posh suite – can feel his destination is nigh.

‘It’s my goal to keep going until I can’t,’ he says, noting that the 2024 Ohio State game at Columbus would be his No. 599. ‘I’m not going to give up before I can’t do it, but I won’t know until I get there. I don’t know what limitations I will have, and I need to be cognizant of my support group.’

That group includes his wife of 46 years and fellow alum/super fan Kathy (Kennedy) Levinson, BS’ 75/MBA ’77. He relies on Kathy, his Delta Chi brothers, and the staff at Michigan Stadium to help navigate parking, golf carts, elevators, walking sticks, leg braces, walkers, and, one day, possibly, a wheelchair.

‘Maybe it’s extreme, but it’s allowing me to deal with this stupid disease and my diagnosis,’ Levinson says. ‘Next year, I could be strapped to a bed. If you don’t have a goal, if you don’t have something to strive for, you will just fall off. It’s a blessing to know what you want and to go for it. I’ve had a very charmed life.’

They call it the streak

Levinson traces his love for college football to his first Ann Arbor tailgate on Keech Street. (He can still remember his grandmother’s sandwiches.) Levinson was just 7 at the time, tagging along with his super-fan grandfather, a 1917 alum who held the season tickets Levinson now has. The travel bug hit at age 14 when his grandfather brought him on an alumni excursion to Chicago. And the numbers game began when he decided to emulate Birmingham business owner Hugh Rader Jr., a former director of the Alumni Association and leader of the transportation committee. Rader is memorialized on the Wolverines’ “best lineman” award. In 1980, he ended a streak of 350 consecutive games when he opted to take a trip to Hawaii instead of the Ohio State game in Columbus.

At that point, Levinson was riding his own attendance record and decided: ‘I’m going to beat that guy.’ The last game he missed (other than the COVID lockdown) was the Wolverines’ loss in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1976, against an Oklahoma defense featuring the Selmon triplets.

But even when he surpassed Rader’s total — Levinson’s 400th game was a brutal loss to Purdue — he could not break the streak. The benefits, he claims, have all been worth it.

‘It’s not for everybody,’ he says. ‘You have to go into it with an open mind.’

Levinson has learned countless lessons along his epic journey. Here are just a few:

WINNING IS GOOD ‘I enjoy being associated with the winner,’ Levinson says of the Michigan fandom. ‘This is an amazing team that should be rewarded for their efforts. Not too many people get to say they are a national champion.’

SHARE WHAT YOU LOVE Levinson was the first-born son and first grandchild on both sides of his family. ‘I got a lot of positive reinforcement, and I could deal with adults better than most teenagers. I watched and admired smart, successful, good people like my grandfather and [Rader]. They exposed me to things and gave me opportunities. It’s important to find something you’re interested in. If you don’t have passion, you’re not going to win.’

TAKE JOY WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT … even as Jim Harbaugh leaves Michigan for the NFL. ‘When you read the blogs, you get the idea that Michigan fans are never happy. Well, if you’re not happy now, jump off the bandwagon because this is not for you. You’re not going to win a national championship every year. If you’re going to bet your life on that, it’s not a very good bet.’

NOTHING COMPARES TO OSU IN 1969 Levinson says, ‘That was the best game. Best game. It has never changed, and I doubt it ever will.’ He sat in the OSU end zone in 1968 to witness the Buckeyes’ blowout victory of 50-14 and knew that Michigan was a huge underdog the following year. ‘As the game got closer, the mood on campus changed and I was telling everybody, ‘We’re gonna win this game.’ I started the ‘Goodbye, Woody’ cheer in the student section. That was the game when I decided, ‘I’m gonna make sure I do this as a hobby.”

PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS Levinson played college lacrosse but was never the star. It was all about the team, the team, the team. ‘I did the garbage work and the grad students from Harvard and Yale did all the scoring.’ In 2016, while securing funds to rebuild the Delta Chi fraternity house, he discovered his loan officer was the lacrosse team’s second-string goalie and Michigan grad, Charlie Crone, whom he hadn’t seen in 40 years. Levinson got the loan. ‘I’m living proof of the Michigan connection.’

MARRY WELL ‘Soon after we got married in 1977, one of our first joint purchases was heavy-duty raingear from the Army Surplus store. As a young, married couple, we agreed we should invest early.’

NEGOTIATE YOUR TERMS When he was hired 37 years ago as CFO at the industrial plastics firm RheTech in Whitmore Lake, Levinson made it clear he would be taking no Saturday meetings during the college football season. He’s now in his 17th year as president.

THE END OF THE RAINBOW IS REAL As an MBA grad with an eye on the auto industry, Levinson initially worked for multinational companies with the goal of taking their best practices to grow a small firm. Today, RheTech competes against companies 10 times its size. ‘All I cared about was, ‘Can I take a group that is down here and bring them up with me?’ And we did.’

HE IS A PURIST ‘I am much more about the game experience than the social aspect of it. I don’t want to be interrupted. I don’t want to be in a suite having to talk to this customer or that bigwig. I love being outside. I always said I would be six-feet-under before I sat in a suite, but this mobility issue may get me to where I can’t live up to what I promised. I love the stadium atmosphere, and I’m lucky that the staff at Michigan Stadium looks out for me. They are by far the best. Leaders and best!’

TV IS HIGHLY OVERRATED Levinson prefers to visualize the whole field, the whole game, the whole experience. ‘It’s not just about some streak. It’s an intricate chess match with lots of pieces, and if you’re watching TV, all you see is one camera angle at a time: Where is the quarterback? Where is the ball?’ COVID was his worst nightmare, forcing him to endure the small-screen experience and put an asterisk on his extraordinary attendance record.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO CULTURE ‘To me, Jim Harbaugh is a much greater coach now than when he came to Michigan. And it’s not because he won a national championship, but because he fixed a culture that wasn’t working,’ Levinson says. ‘He was able to self-correct and get the culture right. Most of us don’t do a really good job of that. But if you’re not going to adapt in life, you’re probably not going to have a very good life.’

ALS DOESN’T COME WITH A TIMELINE ‘I was gifted with will, desire, whatever you want to call it, more than most people. I think maybe the reason that I was chosen to suffer with this particular case is because I need to set a good example for others in similar circumstances. I decided, as a leader, that I’m going to do the best I can possibly do and not fold my tent.'”

By Joe Gradisher ‘79

December 2023

Every Michigan Delta Chi Brother who walks in the door of 1705 Hill Street is unique. Every one of us comes from our own unique background. We have our own interests, our own dreams, our own view of life, and our own way of thinking. Yet, we are all Brothers. This is the strength of our Fraternity and our Bond.

One year ago, in January of 2023, we lost one of our Michigan Delta Chi Brothers, Gerald “Jerry” David Newport, former President of the Chapter (Spring 1968) and a 1970 graduate, who was arguably the most unique of all of us.

Jerry was born on August 19, 1948, and raised in Islip, New York by parents who were teachers. According to his Wikipedia profile, “By age 7, he began showing signs of advanced mathematical ability, which continued to develop during school.”

Jerry was a savant, with the ability to perform difficult mathematical calculations in his head. A savant is a person who has an exceptional aptitude in a particular field, such as music or mathematics, despite having significant impairment in other areas of intellectual or social functioning.

Much later in life, Jerry learned that he had Asperger’s Syndrome, a distinctive form of autism.

Asperger’s Syndrome is a developmental disorder. Young people with Asperger’s Syndrome have a difficult time relating to others socially and their behavior and thinking patterns can be rigid and repetitive.

Asperger’s Syndrome is also a condition on the autism spectrum, with generally higher functioning. People with this condition may be socially awkward and have an all-absorbing interest in specific topics. Communication training and behavioral therapy can help people with the syndrome learn to socialize more successfully.

Approximately one in 10 persons with autism has some savant skills. In the case of intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, as well as brain injuries, savant skills occur at a rate of less than 1%. Thus, not all savants are autistic, and not all people with autism are savants.

Savant syndrome is a rare, but extraordinary, condition in which persons with serious mental disabilities, including autism, have some ‘island of genius’ which stands in marked, incongruous contrast to overall handicap.

In a 1996 interview for the Program “60 Minutes” by correspondent Lesley Stall, Jerry stated that he always knew there was something wrong with him, but as he was growing up, he didn’t know what it was.

As he told Stahl, “The one thing I’ve never had is natural grace. I guess that’s the part of me that I’ve always felt was missing, that everybody around me seemed to have, was this natural sense of when to talk and how,” says Jerry. “What to say and how to say it and do all those other unspoken things.”

Jerry and Delta Chi

Joining a fraternity in the fall of 1966 was a big step for Jerry. In high school, he didn’t have much of a social life, so the opportunity to date and party was a big step for him! College was a very happy period in his life, and he reflected fondly on “keggers that kept him from completing a mid-term exam” and “football games that swept him away by opposing teams.” 

His Delta Chi pledge class was the biggest one to date at that point with eight pledges. Throughout his life, he enjoyed staying in touch with brothers… especially Alec Pridgeon ‘72, Ken Brier ‘72, Frank Morrey ’64 and Mike Novak ’69 (Mike was his Big Brother).

Alec remembers, “Jerry was always agreeable day to day with a great sense of humor and had no enemies in the house. For that reason, he was well-liked and effective as President.”

Alec added, “I was Jerry’s roommate in the room called Grand Central for a semester. As he was studying a math book, I recall him telling me that he could not remember what he had just read on the previous page. It obviously worried him that he could not explain it. It all became clear to him later on when he was formally diagnosed with Asperger’s.”

Frank added these memories:

“Jerry was in the graduating class of 1970 and initially pledged in 1966. He was immediately accepted as a brother and lived in the house, fitting in nicely with the other brothers. The fraternity was very open-minded and accepted individuals with other backgrounds at the time. As we learned later, this unconditional acceptance as (just) another fraternity member meant a lot to him.

What attracted me at first to Jerry was that he had the physique of an endurance athlete, and he ran cross-country track in high school. Being a runner myself I urged him to try out for the Michigan team. I later challenged him to start training so we could run a marathon together, but it never happened.

I visited the house frequently during this time period to advise and counsel the brothers with an occasional card game and drink. It soon became apparent that Jerry had some fascinating and very extraordinary talents. We’d go for a beer at one of the local establishments—Schwaben’s, The Liberty, or The Del Rio. Invariably someone would ask him to multiply a three-digit number by another three-digit number. After one or two heartbeats, he would give an answer. At first no one would believe him, but it soon became apparent that he was never wrong. We did not have calculators then, so it would take me forever to check it by the old method!

Not surprisingly, after too much of this Jerry did not want the attention. He voiced concern that he did not want to be a ‘Freak Show’ — he just wanted to fit in and be liked.

He wanted to be ‘normal’ so much that he realized that humor and telling jokes was a good way to make friends and be well-liked. His jokes were often inappropriate, sexist, and sometimes downright crude. To be well-liked he attended a costume party with a cardboard whale around him as his costume. This whale theme became part of his persona and resulted in the name of his book, ‘Mozart and the Whale’ which was later made into a movie.

Jerry was very dedicated to Delta Chi at Michigan; the house and the actives always supported him.”

Frank also fondly recalls an incident from after their time together at Delta Chi.

Frank said, “On one occasion I happened to mention that I started my job with Western Pacific on Monday, March 5, 1995. He told me I was wrong! March 5, 1995 was on a Sunday that year. He was right of course.”

Frank also noted that Jerry and his life-long partner Mary did not like California license plates because they have letters and that takes the fun out of it. With a seven-digit number they could play games “factoring” the number.

“I asked him where he got this ability. He said there are people out there who think they know numbers, but they don’t really ‘understand’ numbers.”

Alec recalled, “Following the 2010 reunion, a few of us, including Frank Morrey and Steve Civiletto ‘72, were having lunch in the airport. Jerry asked one of us to pull out a dollar bill and another to open the calculator on a cell phone. Now every bill has an eight-digit serial number. He asked the one holding the phone to get ready to punch in the numbers. After that, he asked the guy holding the bill to read off the number in two groups of four so he could multiply them in his head. He came up with the answer almost as quickly as the calculator. He exhibited similar prowess in a bilingual interview on Kontakto Live TV in Curacao.”

Alumni John Levinson ‘73 recalls that when Jerry was the Fraternity President in 1968, he made a decision that had a huge impact on Delta Chi at Michigan for many years to come.

After representing the House at an Interfraternity Council Meeting, Jerry came home with a name for a possible hire for the open position of Cook. That name was John Henry Russell. Though he never met “JR” in advance of the hire, he made the immediate decision to hire him to prevent any other fraternity from hiring him. JR had been employed as the cook at a fraternity at Michigan State.

JR was the Delta Chi cook from 1968 on through the mid-80s (with a couple year break late in his tenure) and was a tremendous influence on those of us who had the pleasure of knowing him. And he was a fantastic cook!

Levinson also noted that JR was a major factor in his decision to pledge Delta Chi in the Fall of 1969!

Looking back on his days at Delta Chi in a later profile for the eDelt, Jerry stated, “I appreciate Delta Chi now as a lifetime experience — showing loyalty and love from college that is still there. You might not even see it as an undergrad.  When I think about my Delta Chi experience, it makes me even gladder today than I felt back then.”

After Graduation – A Life-Changing Discovery

Jerry had earned a B.A. in Mathematics at Michigan, but after graduation, his life took a different turn.

“I didn’t have any sense of direction,” he says. “I was so socially disoriented… So, I spent most of the next 15 years driving a taxi.”

Again, talking to 60 Minutes and Lesley Stahl in 2004, Jerry said he spent the next 20 years drifting from job to job. He was a taxi driver, a messenger, a clerk, busboy and deliveryman. He failed at work, and he failed at relationships. He even had trouble, and still does, making eye contact.

“I was just Jerry,” he says. “I was just odd, eccentric… just almost normal.”

As Stahl noted, “He got so depressed that he tried to kill himself twice. Without friends, he developed a deep bond with animals. He let his pet cockatiels fly loose in his apartment. And then, just when he felt he would never find his way, (in 1988) he went to the movies. He saw ‘Rain Man,’ which starred Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt, an autistic man who spent his whole life in an institution.”

As 60 Minutes reported, “Babbitt had some unusual skills, which Jerry discovered he had, too. When a man in the movie (a doctor examining the character) asked Babbitt how much 4,343 times 1,234 was, Jerry knew the answer.”

“The answer was 5,359,262,” says Jerry. “I said it before he [Babbitt] said it. People in front of me in the theater just looked around. And then, I realized, ‘Uh-oh.'”

As Jerry watched Hoffman play Babbitt, he said, “That’s me.”

“I related to the character a lot,” Jerry said. “At the same time, I’d never been institutionalized. I figured that I must be somewhere between normal and a Raymond Babbitt kind of guy.”

So, Jerry set out to learn everything he could about autism and found his way to the department of psychiatry at UCLA. There, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which most experts say is a distinctive form of autism.

And as 60 Minutes further reported, Jerry’s life changed considerably.

“Once Jerry knew what he had, he went looking for others like him. He organized a support group of grownups with autism, and they met on a regular basis.”

When Jerry Met Mary

As 60 Minutes reported:

“Mary Meinel is a savant, considered a genius in some ways. Yet as a child, she was labeled difficult, even retarded. One teacher even thought she might be deaf. But Mary was hearing sounds that other humans couldn’t hear. She cried if the piano was out of tune. She played musical instruments with virtually no lessons. She writes music but goes about it like no one you’ve ever heard of.

She can write music from the last page and do it backwards. She says it’s because the music is already written in her brain. In fact, when she was with Stahl, she was writing four parts for a string quartet.

Mary was also an actress, appearing in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek Generations playing Bolian background characters. She also appeared on Babylon 5 as a Centauri female.

Like Jerry, Mary has Asperger’s Syndrome. After years of turmoil, including a nervous breakdown and thoughts of suicide, she found her way to Jerry’s support group.

“And then I found out that he had cockatiels, and he kept them loose in his house,” says Mary. “And I’m going, ‘Hey, me, too.'”

These two lost souls had found each other, and seven months after they met, Jerry asked Mary to marry him. They couldn’t believe their good fortune. They lived in an average house in an average neighborhood. And they’re just an average couple – almost, but not quite.

At one point, the Newport household included one rabbit, three iguanas, and 11 birds.

Life as a married couple did have its ups and downs, and while every new marriage takes adjustment, theirs took more than most.

“Jerry will walk in the door, and I’ll go, ‘Hi, honey. How are you?’ Hug. He goes, ‘No! [Don’t touch me],’ says Mary. “It’s like being electrocuted.”

“The kinds of touches that intimidate me are the ones that are a complete surprise,” says Jerry. “But it’s when you want to have sex, and that’s what both of us want to do, that’s a different story, a good story.”

They both say they have saved each other.

“She’s the kite and I’m the anchor. I didn’t know how to hope, and all she could do was hope,” says Jerry. “It’s incredible. I mean, it’s a miracle. I wake up and I feel like I’ve won the lottery, and I didn’t even buy a ticket.”

But their relationship has taken some twists and turns, as Stahl discovered when she visited Jerry and Mary Newport eight years later.

Their divorce in June 1999 came as a shock for everyone who knew them.

“For me, it was a very, very low point in my life,” says Jerry. “Because I really felt like I’d lost the greatest and perhaps the only opportunity I would ever have to have a relationship with somebody who was really a soul mate.”

Mary moved back to her hometown of Tucson. But a year later, after being lonely for her soul mate, she decided to take a big step.

“I made a phone call. I said, ‘Please, come back. I miss you,'” says Mary.

Jerry missed her, too. Eleven months later, on Valentine’s Day 2002, they remarried and held their reception at the local dog track, where a race was named in honor of the occasion.

For Jerry and Mary, life was good once again. Jerry and Mary lived in the Arizona desert, where they doted on their exotic menagerie of pets. Mary no longer wrote music, but she was happy at home, tending to her flock.

A New Career and A Movie

In the years after meeting and marrying, Jerry and Mary were catapulted into the limelight.

In addition to appearing on 60 Minutes (twice), they became authors, advocates, and public speakers.

At one point, they became known as “superstars in the world of autism,” shining examples of two people who refused to give up in the face of their mutual challenges.

In 2001, Jerry wrote and published, Your life is not a label: a guide to living fully with autism and Asperger’s syndrome for parents, professionals, and you!

And together Jerry and Mary wrote self-help books for people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, including Autism/Aspergers & Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond, which was released on July 1, 2002.

In 2005, their special love story became the basis for a movie.

Mozart and the Whale (released as Crazy in Love in some parts of Europe) is a romantic comedy-drama film directed by Petter Næss and starring Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell. The film is loosely based on the lives of Jerry and Mary Newport.

The movie captured the social discomfort that people like Jerry always feel. But at that stage in his real life, Jerry said he came to terms with who he was.

“In my opinion, ‘Mozart and the Whale’ is the best movie yet on autism or Asperger’s,” Jerry said. “It covers far more issues than other movies and treats the people as adults, trying to have lives. It is a good and very important movie for anyone who feels too different to find love.”

(Author’s note: Look closely in the movie: during one scene in the apartment of the character based on Jerry, the camera zooms in on the character’s college degree hanging on the wall… you’ll notice that it is a degree from the University of Michigan!)

In 2007, they wrote of their own version of the story, releasing Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger’s Love Story.

The Final Years

In June 2010 at the age of 62, Jerry competed in the Mental Calculation World Cup in Magdeburg, Germany. He won four of ten events, including a second and a third and the World Cup Trophy for “Most Versatile Calculator.”

Sadly, according to a posting by his brother, Jim, “Jerry suffered a stroke and entered an assisted care facility in Tucson several years before his passing. Shortly after his stroke, Mary passed away and Jerry continued to deteriorate. He passed peacefully on January 24, 2023 at age 74.”

Savant. Author. Advocate. Lecturer. Public Speaker. Husband. Stepfather. Son. Brother. Delta Chi Fraternity Brother.

Jerry Newport’s life was indeed truly unique.

Despite his sometimes-troubled life and eventual diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, Jerry did find some contentment in life… realizing his condition, finding love with Mary, enjoying college life at Michigan, and finding the joys of brotherhood at Delta Chi.

Perhaps this best sums up his view of his own life: “Rather than being obsessed with trying to be in step with the world, I’ve come to accept the fact that in certain ways I never will be. And I just don’t hate myself for it,” said Jerry. “I think that once I started learning how to love myself as I truly am, it made it easier for other people to love me the same way.”

Article by H. Keith Hellems, M.D. ‘62

During the fundraising campaign, I started to gather pages from Michiganensian publications that had the name of Delta Chi in them. I started in 1897 and went to 2008.  Delta Chi went off campus during the depression in 1933 and came back on campus in 1949. We plan to publish these over the next months, usually 2 or 3 years at a time for your interest. Below is a brief history of the Michiganensian excerpted from Wikipedia:

The Michiganensian, also known as the Ensian, is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan. Its first issue was published in April 1896. The yearbook is editorially and financially independent of the University of Michigan’s administration and other student groups. It is published yearly in late spring by a staff of several dozen students. The book is the second oldest publication on campus, and it contains articles and original photography related to campus life, student activism, university athletics, and current events.

In its earliest form, the Michiganensian served as an illustrated directory, providing information on organizations, fraternities, and athletics. As the publication evolved in the early 1900s, more space was dedicated to writing and photographs, but the publication still focused largely on fraternities and athletics. Now, in its current form, the Michiganensian is composed of photography and stories about campus life, student activism, current events, and athletics. The 125th issue also split with precedent by including limited fraternity and sorority coverage, amid student criticism of secret societies on campus and a nationwide ‘Abolish Greek Life’ movement. 

In this month’s eDelt, we feature the Michigan Delta Chi class of 1980 and 1996.

The page from 1980 highlights that the U. of Michigan Delta Chi chapter held the first international convention in 1894 and was looking forward to hosting the 3^rd international convention in 1981. The page from 1996 highlights the many activities that members are involved in across the campus. 

Calling all alumni!

The alumni board loves providing you with a wide variety of articles from the past and present of Delta Chi and Michigan, but we need your help to continue doing so. We are looking for volunteers to help us on two fronts related to content: article editing and picture submission.

While we have published many articles over the years, we need help from those of you who might be good with words and can help us spice up our stories. We hope our articles have been informative, but now we are hoping that volunteers can help us imbue our stories with more dramatic and glorious wording on an as-needed basis.

In addition, we are looking for volunteers who are willing to send us pictures from their time frame or help us solicit them from others in their time frame. We want our content to represent as many brothers across as many decades as possible, and for that we need your help. Brothers with pictures they would like to send in can send them to Keith Hellems, and he will digitize them and return them.

We thank you in advance for your help. Our alumni are at the heart of everything we do, and with your help we can continue to keep our legacy strong.

Please contact Keith Hellems at [email protected] to indicate interest in volunteering, or for more information.

Submitted by Keith Hellems, ’62

During the fundraising campaign I had the pleasure of talking to Henry Winchester ’51 on multiple occasions.  He entered the fraternity during the early days when they had just come back on campus in 1948.  While talking to him and later when he did his DX biography, he mentioned the delivery of a live lamb to the Michigan DX from the Ohio State DX to pay a wager the two chapters had made on the 1950 football game.  In the 1950’s thru the 1970’s, it was not uncommon to wager a “sheep skin” on the outcome of a football game.  This particular game became one of the more famous in the history of the rivalry. 

From Wikipedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan%E2%80%93Ohio_State_football_rivalry) is this short excerpt:

One of the more famous games in the rivalry is the 1950 contest, colloquially known as the Snow Bowl. Eighth-ranked Ohio State, coached by Wes Fesler, was scheduled to host the game on November 25 in Columbus amidst one of the worst blizzards on Ohio record. The Buckeyes, who led the Big Ten, were granted the option to cancel the game against Michigan, which would have, by default, given the Buckeyes the Big Ten title outright. Ohio State refused, and the game was set to be played. Amid howling snow and wind, in a famous example of a “field position” game, the teams exchanged 45 punts, often on first down in hopes that the other team would fumble the ball near or into their own end zone. Ohio State’s Vic Janowicz, who would claim the Heisman Trophy that year, punted 21 times for 685 yards and also kicked a field goal in the first quarter for the Buckeyes’ only points. Michigan capitalized on two blocked punts, booting one out of the back of the end zone for a safety and recovering another one in the end zone for a touchdown just before halftime. Despite failing to gain a single first down or complete a single forward pass, Michigan gained a 9–3 victory, securing the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth. Heavy criticism of Fesler’s play calling led to his resignation and the hiring of Woody Hayes as his successor.

For more detail, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Bowl_(1950). 

Henry sent a copy of the newspaper article about the sheep delivery published in the Ann Arbor paper December 10, 1950.  It is included below for your perusal. 

Henry was a great alumnus, serving as a continued supporter of the chapter.  During the new house campaign, he donated $8,500 over 4 years.  

If anyone has additional information on this article or topics of interest let me know.   We would like to publish items of interest to our Michigan Delta Chi brothers. 

Contact Keith Hellems ’62 OR Frank Morrey at:

Keith Hellems
3928 Rust Hill Place
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-273-1577
[email protected]

Frank Morrey
719-6874-6380
[email protected]