Written by: C. P. La Vo, Sun Staff Writer

Thirty seven years ago Mo Allen wasn’t exactly searching for a home but he found one anyway.

The years since then have been filled with the kind of memories he could never hope to live again. And a larger "family" no man could lay claim to.

You see, this son of a Lake City minister has endeared himself to all his "brothers". Former U. S. Sen. George Smathers, for instance. And U.S. Rep. Don Fuqua. And state Rep. Bill Andrews, local citizens such as Nebby Anderson, Wade Hampton, Milton Brownlee and L. K. Cannon. There are hundreds, even thousands.

Morris Allen, until this year "all-around handyman" at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house on the University of Florida campus, marked his "semi-retirement" from the fraternity Saturday by becoming a full-fledged brother and member of SAE.

To Mo, "the happiest moment of my life".

Just mention "old Man River" to him. Or the war years. Or the score 75-0. Throw in Black and White Day and a name, Mrs. Joree. You’ll have your hands full with the recollections of a man inspired by a warmth which is cherished by the brothers who know him.

How old he is he isn’t saying, but Mo was born to a family of eleven in the tiny Florida hamlet of Houston, near Live Oak. He watched his mother pass away at an early age, and he left home while still a boy.

Mo ended up here in Gainesville, staying with one of his older sisters. "My sister had more room than my family had for all us kids, so I came here."

A few odd jobs came Mo’s way before he go wind of the "houseboy" position a the old SAE house on 13^th and University. He took the offer and it wasn’t long before the fraternity took to him.

"There was a new brother in the fraternity way back in 1930 by the name of Carol Cutter, " Mo reminisces.

I guess he thought "Mo" was short for Morris and so he called me by that name. One night I was helping serve the meals when Carol yelled out, "Hey Mo, get me a glass of tea, would you!" Well, the other brothers heard it and it’s stuck ever since."

It wasn’t long after this experience that a phone call came in for a Morris Allen. The brother that answered didn’t know any Morris Allen. So he asked Mo, "Hey Mo, do you know a Morris Allen?" Mo laughs to this day about that incident.

Mo is one of the Florida Gators’ biggest fans and remembers when the fraternity used to rent buses during the war years (World War II) in order to go to the Georgia-Florida football game in Jacksonville. Each year Mo would be right there with the rest of the brothers at the kickoff.

This past summer the fraternity gave him $500 to go to Washington to attend bartending school, something he had long wanted to do. As he puts it "I’m now a professional mixologist".

Does he drink? "No, never have, never will, but it’s something (mixing drinks) I’ll be able to do even when I’m 90.

While in Washington, Mo was given the "red carpet treatment" by Rep. Don Fuqua and his administrative assistant, Herb Wadsworth, both SAEs. Mo was treated to a tour of the Capitol Bilding and lunch at the House of Congress, meeting many of the dignitaries in government in the process. Looking back on this period, he terms it the "most wonderful time of my life".

Saturday, the SAEs took the final step in their tribute to Morris Allen: including him in the fraternity as a fellow brother. He was pledged at the fraternity and became a brother at a formal induction of new members.

He’ll suddenly remember something "real funny" that happened once over at the "house": there’ll be that intense squeal of laughter as his hand comes down to slap the arm of the chair as he relates the details of that experience.

The sense one gets is that of a man who has lived a wholesome life.

An he will tell you. "If you live with a clean heart, there’ll be nothing to dirty you up.

To the SAEs, Mo Allen is as clean as they come. 

The article below was reprinted in the Gainesville Sun on Sunday, April 26, 1981.

Don Meiklejohn wrote it in his column in the Washington Post, prior to the reception held at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, April 29, 1981 to honor Mo Allen upon his retirement as the "Doorman of the U.S. House of Representatives". The reception was hosted by by U. S. Representative Don Fuqua, Democrat of Altha and Gainesville, and the University of Florida SAE Fraternity.

WASHINGTON - Morris "Mo" Allen went to work at the University of Florida cafeteria when he was 10 years old and now, at 67, he is retiring for the second time with pomp and ceremony.

Allen is an institution among members of the University of Florida Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, where he worked from 1935 to 1970. At his last retirement party, Allen was made a full-fledged member of the fraternity. The "brothers", as he calls them, will honor him again Wednesday, April 29, when he retires as a "Doorman of the U. S. House of Representatives".

U. S. Rep. Don Fuqua, D- Altha and Gainesville, and the University of Florida SAE fraternity are honoring Allen at a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building. Invitations have gone out to all Florida SAEs and congressional friends of Allen. Among those who have promised to be at the reception is Richard Generally, national president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Allen, whose infectious smile and unfailing good humor resulted in him winning the "Doorman of the Year Award" in 1976, works in the "Speaker’s Gallery" , where friends of Speaker Tip O'Neill are seated to watch the proceedings.

"We don’t deal with minor leagues – just major leagues", he jokes.

Born in Lake City, Allen moved to Gainesville when he was 10 years old, where he lived with a sister and her husband, Mr. And Mrs. John Holmes, both of whom are deceased. He has two other sisters, Mrs. Ella Fields of Ocala and Mrs. Beatrice Moon of Palatka. His daughter, Lula Elizabeth Allen, teaches school in Gainesville.

He went to work in the UF cafeteria when he was 10 because he needed the money. "I was a big old boy. I looked 16 or 18 years old. And around that food, it made me grow faster", Allen said.

From there, Allen went to work at the university infirmary, when a premed student got him a job at the SAE house. He still remembers that premed student's name: Dr. Harry Taylor of Jacksonville. "They called him ‘Champ,’" Allen said. In the fashion of the time, everybody had a nickname.

Herb Wadsworth, now Congressman Fuqua’s administrative assistant, was "Buster" because he looked like the "Buster Brown" shoe advertisement. Wadsworth has been one of Allen’s biggest boosters over the years, arranging for the job as doorman in the House, a highly sought position.

"He’s one of the best friends I have in this world", Allen says of Wadsworth.

The SAE house has been a political breeding ground for future Florida politicians, but Allen is reluctant to name any special ones for fear he might offend somebody. But among the SAEs who went on to higher things in Florida politics were former U. S. Sen. George Smathers and State Comptroller Bill Gunter.

At his first retirement party in 1970, Carl Langford, then mayor of Orlando, sent Allen a key to the city.

Could he remember the nicknames of Gunter, Langford and Smathers? No, he said. Then he diplomatically added, "By the time they came along things were more serious."

What about former head football coach Doug Dickey, also an SAE? No more than just a good man…just a good man. That covers it all. Yes sir, that covers everything", Allen said with a big smile.

Based on years of watching young men grow up, what quality does Allen say wears best in life?

"The first thing, you go to start out with a clear conscience and be friendly to people. And the people will be friendly with you. That’s how I feel about it. That’s the best quality you can acquire in life. That way you can bring a little happiness to people. If you bring a little happiness to people, they will bring happiness to you."