Habitat for Fred

Where Bisons, TKEs and Habitaters connect

It's All About Fred

We Miss Fred

Colon cancer took our fellow Bucknellian, TKE frater and friend way too early. He meant so much to all of us, and we miss him dearly.

It's impossible to forget someone who gave us all so much to remember.

Why We Do This

Fred loved to build things...and he was good at it. In his honor, we have gathered annually since 2004 to donate our time to Habitat for Humanity at various locations across the US. We laugh, we cry, we remember Fred.

But we are also motivated by a desire to keep our bond of brotherhood together. And now that bond has been extended to our families. We are living proof of the concept of "Fraternity for Life."

It's a Multi-Generational Experience

Since 2004, we have grown from only a few volunteers to 50 or more. Many of our children...and their children...have joined the celebration.

Down...But Not Out

The pandemic may have stopped us from getting to the worksite in 2020, but thanks to Zoom, we still managed to stay in contact. In the picture to the left, there are a few things to note:

We'll all agree that Frater Jay looks pretty good in the hat. You probably didn't know he's wearing it because, due to a shaving malfunction, his head is, well, Mr. Clean-style!
Linda is now dating either Kenny Rodgers...or Santa Claus!
There's a rumor that Frater R. Paul may have had a few drinks in preparation for the call...he appears to be "zooming" on the Zoom!
"Look, up in the sky, it's...Superman!" according to Frater Rich and Fran !
Frater Bill MAY be napping...and his audio is muted!

Reconnecting With Steve Bass

For many of us, the above Zoom call was the first time we had re-connected with Steve...at least since the new millennium. Among other things, Steve is still playing the clarinet.

Here's a taste of a performance recorded in 2018 by the great Kathleen Saadat, a fellow Oregonian of Steve. That's Steve on clarinet at the 2:02 mark on the recording, of a Cole Porter song, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye.

Kathleen isn’t a professional singer. She is a civil rights advocate who worked for the city of Portland. Thomas Lauderdale, the pianist and producer, worked for her when he was fresh out of college. She sang on the side and always wanted to do a jazz album. So Thomas produced one and probably spent more than was made.

Steve recounts, "I had a fun thing happen with this recording. I was in a Starbucks in Vancouver, WA and it was playing on the Starbucks audio channel. Was a very unusual experience as it dawned on me that it was my recording."