Chuck Esler ’68
Lessons My Brothers Taught Me…
“May you live in interesting times.” For those of us who lived through the mid and late 1960’s the purported ancient Chinese curse could not have been more appropriate. When I came to Michigan in the fall of 1964 Lyndon Johnson was running for President against Barry Goldwater and running TV ads showing an atomic bomb being set off, Vietnam was a minor skirmish, far away and Detroit was the nation’s 5th largest city. During the next four years Vietnam exploded and became top of mind for everybody, Johnson chose not to run for reelection, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was assassinated and riots engulfed Detroit starting the city on its slide from number 5 to number 19 where it stands today.
In Memoriam – Barry Wood, ’61
Remembering Brother Barry Wood, ’61 Michigan Delta Chi
Barry Wood was a prominent member of the Michigan Delta Chi fraternity in the later 1950’s and early 1960’s. He was always a character in good humor, a leader, and just a good sport. I lost track of him over the years, but renewed our friendship when taking part in the fundraising for the new fraternity house. We visited him several times over the past 5 years and came to appreciate his humor even more. In March we visited his wife, Barbara, in Cocoa Beach, FL, where they had retired. I was commenting on the fact that there was no really good obituary that was available on line or using Google on Barry. She then told me that Barry had told Barbara while he was alive that he had indeed prepared an obituary that he wanted read at his funeral. He had written it in 1992 and filed it away, only making a minor update when he married Barbara in May 2000. Barbara asked the priest if it could read at the funeral and he agreed. The following was read by a friend of his from Mt. Dora, FL…
Ken Field, ’68
Brother Ken Field ’68 – 02.20.19
I grew up in the small town of Wellsville in Western New York, graduating from High School in 1963. I wanted to attend a large university and was excited to be accepted at Michigan. Dorm living served its purpose the first year but wasn’t for me. Fall rush in 1963 introduced me to fraternity life and it was very appealing. After visiting Delta Chi and meeting and liking the brothers during spring rush of 1964, I accepted an invitation to pledge. The smaller scale of the house together with the social aspects meshed well with my background and needs.
In Memoriam
Thomas J. Michalski January 28, 1933 – July 23, 2018
Tom Michalski came to the University of Michigan from Waukesha, Wisconsin to study architecture and city planning. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1956 and earned a Masters in City Planning in 1959.
Tom became a Delta Chi in 1952. Tom was proud of his Delta Chi affiliation and worked tirelessly to build its image as he felt it should be. While active he served as the steward overseeing the kitchen, chef, menus and dining room. Tom could always be counted on to encourage Delta Chi to strive to be a noted presence on campus.
Save the Date!
2019 Annual Spring Golf Outing
The Alumni Association of Michigan Chapter of Delta Chi will be hosting this year’s Spring Golf Outing on Saturday, June 1, 2019. Tee times will start between 10 and 11 AM at one of Ann Arbor’s fine golf courses. This year we are welcoming wives and significant others to join us for golf and dinner. That afternoon we’ll dine at the rejuvenated Pretzel Bell on Main Street. Non-golfing brothers and wives are invited to join us for drinks and dinner. Golfers of all abilities are welcome. Last year we played a “scramble” format, which gave all participants a chance to contribute to the success of their team.
Upcoming Events
2019 Alumni Reunion and Homecoming Event
The Michigan Chapter of Delta Chi will be hosting this year’s annual reunion on the Michigan Homecoming weekend, October 4-6, 2019. Michigan will be playing the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Big House.
Alumni Fun with a Purpose
Support Future Alumni Activities and Help Our Undergraduate Brothers
The Michigan Chapter’s alumni association has introduced an annual Alumni Loyalty Program to fund its day-to-day operations and finance alumni activities. Donations to this program will enable the association to communicate with the chapter’s alumni, host alumni activities, enhance the new fraternity house, and support the active chapter. Although not especially expensive, these efforts do require regular funding. The goal of the Alumni Loyalty Program is to provide such funding on a year-to-year basis. Loyalty Program donations differ from the one-time pledges used to build the new fraternity house.
The program’s first year goal is $25,000. This year’s money will be used to restore composites and memorabilia, provide storage lockers in the new chapter house, support the alumni website, prepare and distribute Delts and eDelts (alumni communications), host annual reunions and finance selected events for the active chapter.
Send a check payable to The Delta Chi Alumni Foundation to:
Delta Chi Alumni Foundation
University of Michigan
c/o John Levinson
8770 Oak Beach Drive
Commerce Township, MI 48382
Gary Brasseur ’59: Let Me Start With A Story….
I’ll start with a story. Maybe not too funny at the time, but like a lot of stories it gets better as time passes. The situation really didn’t turn out all that well for us as pledges (Gordie Cox ‘59, George Robertson ‘59, Jim Pearley 60, Dan French ‘59, Bill Gorton ‘60 and me). As I recall, at that time it was expected that pledges do something outlandish. We did not want to disappoint….
Dog Days
A Two Hour, 15 minute saga of what to do with the DX dog. On November 20, 1961, the DX dog was sick again. So what did the Brothers of the Michigan Chapter ultimately decide to do? Click the photo to find out!
2017 Annual Alumni Reunion And MSU Weekend
Pizza Party, Friday October 6th, Honor Roll Dedication and MSU game, Saturday 7th, and Golf at U of M Course, Sunday 8th
Last year’s alumni reunion was by far the largest and arguably the most memorable event ever hosted by the Michigan Chapter of Delta Chi. We’d like to invite everyone back on the weekend of October 6–8, 2017, to make this year’s reunion even better!
