A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR "DU MOM" AND HER HUSBAND EARL
Hi! My name is Helen Heen and I am the Housemother at the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. I was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota in 1950 and moved to Grand Forks in 1980. I am married to Earl Heen and we have three children, 2 boys and I girl: Brett (born in 1971), Kris (1975) and Bethany (1982). I have been the "Morn" to the DU's since the fall of 1989 and have enjoyed it very much. I was born in 1950 and was raised on a farm in the Pelican Rapids, MN area. My sons, Brett and Kris and myself moved to Grand Forks in 1980. Earl and I were married in 1981 (but we've known each other since I was 9). Beth was born in 1982.
I'm sure many of you are wondering, ..just how does one become a Fraternity Housemother? Well...here's a quick rundown of my story and a little DU history.
In the fall of 1989, my son Brett came to me with the idea of him becoming a fraternity member. "Over my dead body'.!" was about the sum of my thoughts on that idea! I had never been exposed to any kind of "Greek Life" myself, and the only image of college fraternity life I had in my head was of the "Animal House" image. I assumed all fraternity members were just a bunch of rich snobs and didn't give it a second thought. Brett convinced me to just attend one function with him and some of his friends who were in the house. (Little did I know that he had already pledged the DU fraternity). I went to the homecoming function with them, bound and determined in my own mind, that I wasn't going to like any portion of fraternity life. Boy, was I wrong! I immediately "fit" right in, probably because I have always gotten along well with and understand the male gender having grown up in a family of 6 with my 4 brothers all younger. I also have two sons myself and had 12 nephews before any nieces. Some of my best friends in my lifetime have been males also.
For 13 years my husband and myself owned and operated an archery and fishing retail store. Of course, the majority of our customers were men. Our whole family went to lots of archery tournaments and did a lot of outdoor-type hunting activities with my husband and his friends. We attended the ND State archery Tourney every year for several years. I broke a state record in 1986 by 38 points for tournament shooting that had been held since sometime in the 1960's and I still hold that record (2 points shy of a perfect score in the women's hunting division). Our whole family took home many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies during our years in the business. We closed the store in February 1990 because of too much competition with bigger stores coming to town. During the years we owned the business, I continued to work at several print shops in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. I have been in the printing business since 1969 and was manager of George's Quick Printing on the east side for 16 years. September 1, 20001 quit George's and went on my own in printing and graphic design as "Helen's Creative Graphics Plus". My office is out of our home and I do lots of printing projects for the guys too. Going on my own is the best move I ever have made (besides making the decision to be housemother at DU!!).
Enough about us!! Now. ..why did I decide fraternity life wasn't what I thought? I first learned that Delta Upsilon is unique in that it is the only fraternity on campus with a Housemother. No. ..I do not cook. I attend their functions, their Monday night formal meal and meeting, teach etiquette to the pledge classes, amount numerous other things. Whether the guys are at a dance, an activation ceremony, or a Monday night meeting, I try to be there to provide the discipline that they not only need and want, but that a true mother figure would display. I try to make sure that any of the brothers can feel comfortable to come to me with any of their problems or questions whether it be about a special problem with a girlfriend, a problem with a fellow brother, or just to sit down and talk about life in general, I am there if they need me. This makes the DU's unique by having the opportunity to have a "morn" to talk to away from home. There are times though, when I really have to give them heck for the way the house may look or for "other" things...(just like at home)!!
Several other things that sets the DU's apart from other fraternities on campus are:
• Since their beginning in 1961, they have taken first in grades amongst the other fraternities on campus almost every semester. When I first started they had only lost this title 10 times in 64 semesters.
• Delta Upsilon is the only non-secret fraternity on campus. Only fraternity with a housemother.
• The DU's are very active in intramural, consistently placing in the top 3 amongst other fraternities.
• The DU's are involved in various campus organizations - to name a few: UPC, Telesis, Spectrum, Decca, Students in Free Enterprise, the debate team, the cheer team, IFC Exec Council and many others.
It is so rewarding and wonderful for me, now that I have been at the house for a number of years, seeing these young men as they get started in their careers, get married, have families of their own and so on. So many of them keep in touch with me by phone and e-mail. These young men are all simply wonderful. I certainly think Greek Life and Fraternity life gives these young adults experiences in their lives that will last a lifetime. They make friends they will keep forever. It teaches them also to get along with larger groups and to unite with each other, help with chores at the house, etc. There have been a few young men when they entered the house who had never had to wash a floor or dust or vacuum or had never even done dishes...they do it here and I think that's good. The experiences these young men have in Delta Upsilon will stay with them for a lifetime.
~ Helen H. Heen, Housemother Delta Upsilon Fraternity