Before even stepping foot into the Beta house, I knew that I was going to love Mom Gallon. My brother was a Beta here at OSU and he loved her, so the bar was set high for getting to know her myself. But don't worry, she did his words justice. Mom Gallon made me feel like we had known each other for years.

Mom Gallon has been with Beta for 20 years and you better believe she loves it! She has been through thick and thin with her boys, but she has never looked back. She started as a House Mom here at OSU with Beta, and when the house closed she was offered a position at the Beta house in Lincoln, NE, which she took for four years until the Beta house re-opened. Mom Gallon, as Beta's House Mom, must be meant to be because she has the same birthday as Beta (boys if you can't remember her birthday then I don't even know what to say)!

Within her first year back with OSU Beta, three of her boys had appendicitis and she took being a House Mom to the next level, which she always does. Whenever a boy is sick she makes sure to check on them and take care of them like any real mom would do. I can vouch for her first hand on this because my brother was one of her sick boys. All of his pledge brothers moved him in while he laid down on his bunk with mono. Talk about knowing you are in the right house; it was a total God thing. 

Along with taking care of her boys, she loves getting to be involved in their lives. Mom Gallon cooks pancakes at the beginning of the year for the boys, she goes to every show and intramural game that she can, and she keeps a full stock of candy in her room at all times. "The boys are just like girls, always asking me for chocolate!" she said with a wink. She also sews buttons back onto their clothes and irons their pants sometimes for them. 

Don't worry, Mom Gallon isn't doing everything for them. In fact, she has got these boys so trained and well behaved it's unreal. Every new pledge class meets with her every Monday at the beginning of the year to learn dinner etiquette. So girls, if you are dating a Beta or plan on it in the future, you might want to brush up on your table manners before they take you out so they don't embarrass you. 

One of her Beta boys decided he wanted to meet a pope, and he did! He came back to Tulsa to get ordained and afterwards he visited Beta so that Mom Gallon could give him a photograph of the Beta house to always remember where he came from. What is cool about this is that Mom Gallon also got a gift, and its one her most special gifts she has ever received. The Beta boy, Mike, turned to her and said, "I could never have eaten with the Pope or eaten any fancy dinners (Mom Gallon already in tears) without you teaching us table etiquette and manners while I was here. I thought of you every time I was there meeting with them." His words of thanks meant more to Mom Gallon than she could express. 

Mom Gallon has got some master talent that needs to be known. First, she has made more than 300 quilts. She cranks them out in as little as two days. Second, every year during Christmas, she decorates not one but three different trees in the house. She used to decorate over 40 extravagant trees for people before she became a House Mom. Third, she even flew to Washington one year to decorate the Christmas Tree at the Smithsonian, with 250 handmade ornaments of her own. Mad props to her. Fourth, the boy's favorite tree is the one that gets covered, by Mom Gallon, in candy, snacks and food THREE times a day during finals week. I have already asked to help decorate and maybe sneak a few treats while I'm there so Betas don't hate me!

Every memory Mom Gallon has is special. Some fun memories about the house are:

• When OU used to play OSU for GDD and we would win, one of her boys would go streaking in his boxers and every time he made a lap, he gathered more and more people to join in celebration
• Once a year there is a snowball fight that starts at Beta against Fiji and makes its way, house by house, all the way down to AGR.
• Her family raved about a country artist that needed to come play at OSU and it was Corey White, one of her very own boys
• Since she has been here, seven boys have become pastors and one has become a priest, which reassures her she is helping raise good men

There is no question that Mom Gallon has a full house and schedule with everything that she is involved in. Even sleeping four hours a night, she feels rested and her heart is full for another day doing something she loves.