Our annual Brotherhood Retreat was held this past week at Russel’s Canoe, Livery and Campgrounds in Omer, MI. As well as the current undergrads, Andrew Westrick, Steve Auito, Devont Fraenig and Ted Pregitzer joined the party. It was great to get away from civilization for a weekend and camp and canoe in the outdoors. I’m sure everyone would agree it was a fantastic time. Our next Brotherhood Retreat will be held in the Spring…

This past weekend, several Delt alumni and undergraduates took a short vacation to canoe the Rifle River located within the Rifle River Recreation Area. It is located within the Au Sable State Forest in Ogemaw County covering 4,329 acres. This area was formerly a private hunting and fishing retreat owned by Harry Mulford Jewett, president of the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company. In 1945 the tract, then called Grousehaven, was purchased by the Michigan Department of Conservation from Mrs. Jewett after her husband's death. The Department of Conservation renamed it the Rifle River Area and used it as a field laboratory for fish and game research. In 1963, the Parks Division acquired the area and it is now known as the Rifle River Recreation Area.

“Canoes were developed over the course of thousands of years by the native peoples of North America. The word 'canoe' originiated from the word 'kenu' - meaning dugout. These seagoing boats were used by the Carib Indians of the Caribbean islands, and were made of large tree trunks which were shaped and hollowed, and were strong enough to travel between the islands.
 
North American Indians are responsible for creating the more well-known version of the canoe - a frame of wooden ribs covered with the lightweight bark of birch trees, and sometimes elm or cedar trees. These boats, which have remained virtually unchanged in design for thousands of years, proved to be ideal for travelling the numerous streams, rivers and lakes of North America.”  http://www.canoe.ca/AllAboutCanoes/home.html

So, what do I do if I lose my paddle?? Well, gunnel jumping or pumping is a way to propel a canoe without the use of a paddle. To do this, I have 7 steps outlined below:

- Move towards the stern or rear of the canoe, facing the bow or front.
Place both hands on the gunwales or canoe sides.

- While using your grip on the gunwales for balance, place your feet on top of the stern deck or rear platform of the canoe. The further apart your feet are, the easier it will be to balance.

- At this point, you slowly stand while maintaining your balance.

- Once in the standing position, you can now gunnel jump.

- To gunnel jump, you bend your knees and let your upper body “fall”, you’ll feel the canoe begin to dip in the water, when this happens you straighten your legs and force the canoe deeper into the water.

- Once you can do step 6, repeat. It feels as though you are jumping on water.

Some tips:

- The deeper you force the canoe down, the faster you will go. Gunnel jumping works because of the canoes shape. Canoes have wedged ends. When you force the wedge into the water the easiest way for it to leave the depths is to go away from the tip of the wedge, thus propelling the canoe.

- Depending on your body size, you may not want to stand on the stern deck, as this may capsize the canoe. The larger you are the more forward you will want to stand.

Greek Week was this past week and the Delts took the competition by storm. Here is the list of the competition winners for the week.

Mr/Mrs Greek Spirit
- Pi Kappa Alpha
- Delta Tau Delta
- Alpha Sigma Alpha

Mock Rock
- Delta Tau Delta
- Alpha Sigma Alpha
- Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Relay Race
- Lambda Chi Alpha
- Alpha Sigma Alpha
- Delta Tau Delta

Watermelon Eating Competition
- Phi Delta Theta
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Delta Tau Delta

Engineering Challenge
- Sigma Chi
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Pi Kappa Alpha

Chariot Race
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Delta Tau Delta
- Pi Kappa Alpha

The overall winner of Greek Week is still unknown as the points for the most participation is still being calculated, but the Delts are in a very good position for 1st place this year.

Another of the founding fathers of Delta Tau Delta was John C. Johnson.  Brother Johnson was native or present day West Virginia.  After starting the Fraternity and graduating from Bethany he became a lawyer and politician.  One position of note that Brother Johnson held during his political career was the political advisor to John W. Davis, the democratic presidential nominee during the election in 1924.  One of Brother Johnson’s favorite pastimes was giving tours of Bethany and pointing out the room where the Fraternity was founded.  Brother Johnson was the longest living of the founders, surviving 8 years after the other seven had passed on to the chapter eternal.

John C. Johnson

Delts are the Spring 2009 softball champs!  With a perfect record for the season and only one game that didn’t end in a mercy, the Delts Gold team came through.  The team was anticipating a match against the Pikes for the championship, but due to their unexpected loss, the Delts faced off against Theta Xi.  The game ended in a 15-4 mercy for the good guys and the Delt cheer, “RA RA DELTA...DELTA TAU DELTA…”

This term, all four teams for soccer and softball made it to the championship game (one R-tourney and one A-tourney for each sport).  Delts Purple softball fell to the Pikes in the finals of R-tourney last Thursday.  Monday night, DTD FC and Delts Purple go for the championship in soccer.  DTD FC will take on the Germans and Delts Purple will face off against Beta Theta Pi.  Although Greek Cup is barely out of reach again this year, the Delts won’t be taking it easy on anyone.  Now that we know that every little thing counts; next year it will be ours.

Athlete of the Week: Rob "Big Red" Ladner

Greek Cup Standings: Delts (78) | Pikes (101)

Name: Scott David Snyder

Nickname: GQ

Date of Birth: September 23, 1989

Major: Computer Engineering

Where I Grew Up: Montrose, Michigan

Interests: Video games and the Ladies

Hobbies: Soccer, lacrosse, bowling, and eating

Clubs: Soccer and lacrosse

Sports: Soccer, lacrosse, and bowling.

Why Delts: Felt like being with my friends from home and many people I talked to showed positive interest in me.

Random Fact: Extremely flexible arms and legs

Co-op: Patti Engineering in Auburn Hills, MI

Description: I build and wire controller boxes and high security locker systems as a part of control systems integration

Article written by Scott Snyder..

Flint Michigan is located at Latitude 43˚ 0’ 45” Longitude -83˚ 41’ 14”

If measured from the geographic center of the United States...

- Northernmost Point of the 50 United States is Point Barrow, Alaska.
- Southernmost Point of the 50 United States is Ka Lae, Hawaii.
- Easternmost Point of the 50 United States is West Quoddy Head, Maine.
- Westernmost Point of the 50 United States is Peaked Island, Alaska.

If measured from the Prime Meridian...

- Northernmost Point of the 50 United States is Point Barrow, Alaska.
- Southernmost Point of the 50 United States is Ka Lae, Hawaii.
- Easternmost Point of the 50 United States is Pochnoi Point, Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska.
- Westernmost Point of the 50 United States is Peaked Island, Alaska.

Article written by Nick Ward..

This week is Greek Week and the Delts are ready to fight for the Championship Banner. Taking an admirable second during the “Mr. Greek Spirit” competition and holding their title as the “Mock Rock” winners for the second term in a row, the Delts are pulling a mighty lead in Greek Week points.

Tuesday is leadership day where an obstacle course / relay race will be held, followed by Wednesday’s “Watermelon Eating Contest” and Thursday’s “Build Challenge”. Greek Week will culminate with the “Chariot Races” on Friday where this term’s Greek Week Champions will be determined.

Here's a link to the actual mock rock video.

Article written by James Slemons..

On May 22nd, Delts of Epsilon Iota-B left scenic Flint for a trip down to Hico, West Virginia for the annual Outdoor's Club Whitewater Rafting trip. Accompanying the undergraduates were Mike "Riggles" Rigney, Matthew “Baloo” Bobzien, Greg “Hippie” Semrau, Tim "Blinky" Snyder and Andrew "Mandark" Westrick. Among whitewater rafting in up to Class V rapids, the group went rock-climbing, mountain biking, and swimming in the many beautiful lakes the area had to offer.

A special thanks to Brother Mike Rigney for the pictures.

Article written by Joe Benyi..

This past memorial weekend, about 20 undergrad and alumni Delts went white water rafting on the New River in West Virginia. Despite its name, the river is considered by some geologists to be possibly one of the oldest rivers in the world, between 10 million and 360 million years old. According to local folklore, it is considered to be second in age only to the Nile River and thus the oldest in North America. At the end of the rafting journey was a view of the New River Gorge Bridge. The bridge is 3030 feet long and the arch clears the New River by a distance of 876 feet. It is made of Cor-ten steel and was completed on October 22, 1977 at a cost of $37 million. Many locals say that the completion of the bridge cut the travel time across the gorge from 45 minutes to 45 seconds.

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