The Two Towers: Main

Hill and in the City which had been designed by his architect father. Born in Worcester, and with a heritage dating back to the settlement of Leicester, the new president had attended Tech as an apprentice in 1892 before going on to the Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Two achievements were always mentioned in connection with Admiral Earle's war-time record--the construction of the Northern Barrage, in which one hundred thousand mines constituted an impassable barrier for submarines, and the installation of naval railway batteries in France. Even these he modestly disclaimed with the remark, "The men did those things. I didn't."

He came back to Worcester Tech in the role of president-elect at the time of graduation in 1925. President Hollis, who announced his retirement in 1923, officiated at the Commencement exercises and wished his old Navy friend "a good voyage."

The speeches were well sprinkled with Navy phrases. With Ralph Earle it was always a course on which the school was embarking, a prosperous cruise, or the weathering of a gale. Invariably the Alumni Association was an anchor, the teachers a fleet, the students his shipmates. During the depression the Institute sailed close to the wind; in uncertain times it was both afloat and ashore. When new floors were laid in the corridors of Boynton Hall, naturally they were the brown and white tiles of battleship linoleum.

The formal inauguration of President Earle took place in October, 1925, with the most impressive ceremonies ever organized for such an occasion at Tech; informally it occurred at the alumni dinner the previous June. It had been a day of strong sentiment. There to give his historical reminiscence was the aging, stately Charles G. Washburn, as distinguished on the Hill for his long career in Congress and in industry as for his devotion to his Alma Mater. Dr. Hollis, who had retired primarily to write a history of engineering, was presented with a generous fund for books and travel. A. Atwater Kent, of whom the school was so proud, extended his good wishes. Then the tall George Haynes, who had been the interim acting-president, unwound his great height and in his own pontifical way presented the faculty to President-elect Earle. "They have hearts as well as hands," he said, "and I believe both are in working order."

In Admiral Earle's response he outlined in general terms what he wanted for the school in intellectual growth, then he made specific mention of a swimming pool and a dormitory, both only remotely connected with scholastic achievements.

Nevertheless, this was what Tech needed most at the moment-- a humanizing influence. By stiff and stern measures the school had become known as one of the most excellent engineering schools in the country. It was also known as a very hard one. Surely, Ralph Earle contended, it should also be a pleasant one.