UMass Amherst - Origin & History
Alumni Association of Phi Sigma Delta UMASS
Our Alumni organization was formed at our 1987 reunion held at the Sheraton Tara in Framingham, MA. The reunion came about as a result of the death of Brother Jack Harder. Jack had died in 1986 and we only became aware of it a year later. As a Brotherhood we had no organization, no call list or any way of informing Brothers of any related news. In the mid 1970's the Chapter had closed at UMass so there was no single unifying focus. In 1987 there was no internet, no Google search engine, no easy way to contact the Brotherhood, so Brothers Bob Singer and Stan Kittredge hit the phones and tracked down as many Brothers as possible. They vowed that no Brother should ever die and leave a family in need and our association not knowing about it in a timely manner. Over thirty attended the 1987 reunion and we organized what has become our Alumni Association.
By 2001 a scholarship fund had been established and the first of our annual awards were presented. We have continued to provide scholarships every year since 2001.
In the years following, we have had numerous reunions and continued our outreach effort and have now determined that approximately 300 Brothers were part of our Alpha Mu Chapter since it's beginning in 1957. By of the end of 2012, we have managed to locate 217 with only about 50 unaccounted for. Unfortunately, 60 of our Brothers are now known to have passed on.
Our original plans were to hold a one day reunion each year and every 4 or 5 years hold a weekend reunion for the benefit of those who live further away. In the last few years we've had such a wonderful time we've held weekend reunions every year. We've been to UMass campus several times, Oct. 2010 we rented the Old Chapter house, we traveled to Las Vegas in 2009 and in 2011 we returned to Cape Cod for the second time. In 2012 the reunion was delayed to Jan 2013 to enjoy the Orlando weather. Check out the Photos-Reunions albums.
In 2009 we learned of the double suicide of a brother and his wife. While details are few, we understand that severe medical and financial problems were behind this act. As a result of this terrible tragedy, to ensure any Brother requiring aid would have a place to turn to for assistance or guidance, we have now established two programs. The first, Brothers Helping Brothers - Assistance program has a dedicated web page that provides a method for all of our Brothers to share their knowledge or experiences on various topics. This resource allows a Brother in need to make a connection with a Brother wiling to help, or with a Brother who just wants to share information on any subject. The second program called the Brothers Alternate Relief Fund, was established to provide emergency financial assistance and to provide help through the tough time, so our Assistance effort can help achieve a long term solution.
The loyalty and bonds of Brotherhood are alive and well within our organization and we look forward to many more years of Brotherhood through this wonderful Alumni Association.
If others have early Phi Sigma Delta history facts they can share, we would be pleased to add them to this, Our History webpage. Perhaps some brothers who helped start our brotherhood on campus, could provide a few new tidbits on our history. Contact Stan K. or any officer of the Alumni Association or our web team, so we can all benefit from any historic information not listed herein.
Rev. 03/01/13
No history of our Chapter would be complete without mentioning the establishment of our Alumni Association. At our first major reunion in 1987 we gathered in my (Stan's) hotel room on a Sunday morning, elected officers and set out on a new path. The following officers have served as President.—Stan
Bob Malavich
Vinny Grandonico
Bill Spierdowis
Kevin O’Reilly
Bill Troupe
Mike Parker
Ralph Goldfarb
REFLECTIONS FROM ASSPCIATION PRESIDENTS
Bob Malavich- died 8/8/23
Vinny Grandonico-, circa 1999-20002 (2003?)
When Stan asked me to summarize some of the accomplishments achieved during my years as Association President, I had to rely on notes and documents from my cellar. Not as difficult as asking me what I had for lunch yesterday, but nonetheless, a challenge! As I look back, I think the most significant achievement was the creation of the first PSD Website. It certainly was not as anywhere near what we have today, due to the efforts of Brother Lloyd Bristol, but it launched a broader, more effective means for all of us to stay connected and extend our reach to Brothers all over the country. It helped bring more of us together, encouraged some to attend their first Reunion, and provided an additional means to re-connect and share each other's lives. Our initial website provider was "zMinuteman" and they said we were the first Umass fraternity to establish a website. They used ours as a model to establish a site for the UMass Class of 1954. Another accomplishment that comes to mind was the creation of the PSD Scholarship Fund. Though the scholarships we provided were monetarily small, they were another means of extending the bond of Brotherhood.
Two Reunions come to mind: 8/4/01 at Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown, MA (owned by Brother Tim Kurty '76) (little did we know what would occur just a few weeks later); and 8/3/02 at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. Fun, well-attended and always included a Brother attending for the first time! Several gatherings for UMass sporting events in Amherst included many Brothers. No matter the sport, win or lose, lots of fun together cheering on our Minutemen and Minutewomen!
And we cannot forget the cookouts and softball/football games vs the ZBT undergrads. Our (beer-aided) bulk was an asset in football; not so in softball.......
In conclusion, I was happy to serve my short time as Association President, but we all know the true "Master Frater" is Stan Kittredge. Thankfully, Stan has been the glue that has held us together all these years.
Bill Spierdowis-Under Bill’s leadership our mission statement was developed. Bill says anything lasting 50+ years is a testimate to our Brotherhood
Kevin O’Reilly- Kevin is currently undergoing treatment so I did not push him for comments but under his leadership our scholarship program was started. Kevin’s generous gift got us off with a great start. To date 87 scholarships have been awarded.
Bill Troupe- One thing that stands out is that just before I pledged in 63 one of the brothers, Dick Dimmick, in response to a pledge raid, pulled out his shotgun, which was loaded with a shell filled with salt. Apparently it was rock salt and a pledge was injured and it made it into the local papers. It all went away when they decided it was a fraternity prank. Another thing I remember about pledge rage was when me and John Campbell and Bill English called one and we all ended up in the middle of N. Pleasant St. Having a shaving cream fight when the cops pulled up. They sent us home with a boot in the ass. That particular raid we pulled off was a suicide raid, knowing that we’d get caught. The TV room was full of guys watching TV and we burst in from the kitchen spraying shaving cream, and then throwing an enormous container of chocolate powder all over the room . All the brothers were coated in brown cocoa. That must’ve been hilarious for the cops to see.
Another fond memory was when we had five or 6 yards of sand dumped into the basement for our beach party. it was easy getting it in, but then the pledges had to spend many many hours hauling it out and dumping it in the back parking lot. For years there were sand grit all over the floor and the first floor no matter how much we swept it up. I recall we made a lifeguard chair that was sitting in the middle of the Dancefloor.
Another great memory comes along when our phi Sig interfraternity football team beat Kappa Sig.
I have lots of fun memories of our fraternity softball team going from no wins my freshman year to 80% wins in my junior and senior years. We also won the fraternity championship in bowling. I believe the team consisted of Fortier , Foisy, Witkin, And Mike Parker. Please forgive some of the spelling mistakes on these names as I am using my dictation mode to send this long email.
I recall attending a pledge formal in 1966 were a whole bunch of us stayed overnight Larry Hirsch’s mothers girls camp out near
Pittsfield. It was in April, and it was quite chilly and there were no heaters in the rooms. Thankfully we had our girlfriends to cuddle with and keep us warm.
When us guys in the class of 67 graduated, we all stayed on for senior week and lived in the house. Even some of the guys who were not living at the house normally stayed there with us. Dave Fisher, who happened to be the steward, made sure there was plenty of money left over for senior week and we ate like kings, ribeye, steaks, and lobsters with the rule of the day. Most of us had our girlfriend stay with us for the entire period. There were picnics and cookouts at some of the local state parks put on by the class . Pete Seeger came to entertain, and there was a big banquet at some hotel in West Springfield.
I finally remember a bunch of us renting a big U-Haul truck and going out to a town called New Braintree. John Ryback
Who lived near there noticed that there was an old barn that had fallen over, and he asked the owner if we could come out and take Board that was lying all over the place. The farmer was glad to get rid of it. We must’ve taken 500 board of board and brought it back to the house and panel some of the rooms with it. We also hosted a couple of wagon, wheels, and other antiques.
Speaking of scrounging around, I remember Bob Jackson went into some of the new tower Recreation rooms down in Southwest and appropriated a nice new KLH stereo for the house. He called his activities, the midnight stereo caper.
A group of us used to study down at Morrill in the evenings, and I discovered that there was an office there that was unlocked. There was a phone on the desk, and we quickly determined it was a watts line. We proceeded to make hundreds of long-distance calls over that year from that line.
Several guys in the house were musicians, and I would pair up with Titleman, Rybeck, Dave, Goldberg, and play for Saturday night parties when we didn’t have the money to hire a band. Even Gerry cream would come in and play his trumpet, giving a great rendition of when the Saints go marching in.
One of my fondest memories was the success. The house had from 1964 to 1967 in tripling our membership with a lot of really sharp guys, and having such success on the athletic fields. I know I personally was very proud to walk around with my Phi Sig jacket on.
I guess one of the things I enjoyed the most was just the simple feeling of warm friendship and brotherhood by being in the house. None of us had a pot to pee in. We still managed to make it a wonderful experience with hard work and love.
These are just a few of the things that pop into my mind right off the bat. I’m sure there are many many more. Thanks for doing this and I will look forward to seeing when it’s all compiled. Bill.
Mike Parker- As President, I enjoyed connecting with the brothers, many of whom were folks that I really didn’t know. It was fun instituting the “tontine” and getting the brothers to sign the bottle. I know John is the baby and thinks he will be the last man standing. I hope he is. On the other hand, only the good die young and some of us have been pretty awful. Mike was also instrumental in organizing the first ZOOM calls.
Ralph Goldfarb- Current Association President- I know many of you would like to join us for our reunion at UMass in September, but often circumstances interfere. However, I know that if you are not there in person, you will be with us in spirit.
I leave you with these words of wisdom that I learned from the Bison, who are very clearly much like our Phi Sigma Delta Brothers.
1. Stand your ground
2. Have a tough hide
3 Cherish wide open spaces
4. Have a strong spirit
5. Roam free and wild
6. Let the Buffalo chips fall where they may
