On February 7, 2015, Σ 688 George Fomin ’56 wrote to us about two photos of Mother’s Days at Sigma in 1953 and ’54, but we didn’t get around to posting them until now.

From Brother Fomin:

For the brothers of Sigma, Mother’s Day had a special sense of reverence and feeling that it was a rare occasion on which we could show our appreciation for our mothers.

The Sunday morning began with brothers dressing in their very best suits, attending church services and returning for a light lunch before noon. Then, some in the house and a few groups outside the house on the balmy spring Sundays, we waited for our mothers to arrive.

And, this is when we had an unexpected laugh one Mother’s Day. Major who was usually loafing around could sense the anticipation in the air, and he began romping around a few of us on the Hill Street sidewalk. He was romping in some muddy spots along the sidewalk and we wanted him to keep away from us, so we nuged him away. Well, that was play for Major and, unbelievably, in a couple of quick jumps he stood up on his hind legs and put his big muddy paws on the suit lapels of a two brothers. We remembered and laughed about that for many Mother’s Days.

Soon, our mothers began arriving, some arriving with our fathers, and the wonderful gathering began in the house. We pinned Mother’s Day corsages and enjoyed cake, coffee and tea throughout the house, which recalls another laugh.

We were proudly showing our mothers how clean and orderly our second floor study rooms were, and that brought us to something we weren’t sure about: the famous full-size poster of Marilyn Monroe in her birthday suit that we had on the ceiling of our room. We didn’t know if our faces would be turning red, but when our mothers laughed with great spirits we appreciated and loved our mothers even more.

Then it was time for all of us—mothers, fathers, family brothers and sisters—to gather on the front lawn for the highlight, the iconic Mother’s Day photographs that have kept those rare days in our memories all our lives.