Babson Boulders: A Living Legacy Etched in Stone
Never Try Never Win. Be on Time. If Work Stops, Values Decay.
Deep in a forest on the outskirts of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in an abandoned area known as Dogtown, these mottos—26 in all—are inscribed in stone. (See map of Babson Boulders.)
The display draws travelers, historians, and first-year Babson students, who use the carvings to pick a motto for their class every year.
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That’s because the mottos on this maze of boulders were created by Babson College founder Roger Babson, who grew up near Dogtown and went on to forge his fortune in the stock market. During the Great Depression, the eccentric, self-made millionaire enlisted unemployed Finnish stonecutters to carve his own favorite personal and business proverbs into rock on his property.
It was an entrepreneurial idea that encapsulated his originality. But, like many entrepreneurial ideas, it was considered audacious at the time. Locals, many of whose families had settled in Gloucester alongside Babson’s ancestors in the 1600s, were aghast. Babson was known as unconventional, but this took the cake.
One longtime resident, Leila Webster Adams, complained to the press about Babson’s unseemly enterprise encroaching upon her property.
“Why, the idea of a man like Roger Babson, so well-known and popular, going about carving such things … whoever heard of such foolish notions?” she huffed.
But it was on-brand for Babson, who was known for unusual but prescient ideas. He forecasted economic disaster in a 1929 speech on Babson’s campus; the market tumbled and sparked the Great Depression later that week, a cascade later known as the Babson Break.
Babson also didn’t mind defying norms. He ran for president on the Prohibition Ticket long after Prohibition was abolished, says his cousin, Trustee Emerita Katherine “Gig” Babson Jr. MBA’77, H’99.
“When I was growing up, he also funded a program once a year that would provide $1 per Bible verse that a kid memorized up to $100,” recalls Gig Babson, now a family historian, genealogist, and author.
“You look at the themes that are illustrated by the mottos on the rocks and get a good sense of what was important to him,” Gig Babson adds. “Initiative was a big deal. Ideals, studying, staying out of debt. They’re all things that I think reflect his personal sense of morality and what he hoped to find in people.”
Motivating Mottos
Today, the boulders signal to Babson students that they’re to begin a singularly unconventional adventure. There is a treasure hunt quality to finding each one that parallels business discovery: Lessons are only learned when you hunt and seek.
Conor O’Brien, Babson’s associate director of student engagement, oversees the first-year boulder experience during undergraduate orientation every August, when the chosen quote is announced to the class and their families at the Len Green Recreation and Athletics Complex.
Incoming students vote on their choice over the summer, before arriving on campus. Over the years, “Never Try Never Win,” is a popular choice, as is “Be True” and “Initiative.”
Some are quirkily antiquated—“Be Clean,” for instance, is something that every first-year student might hope for a roommate—but others, such as “Keep Out of Debt,” still resonate strongly in the business world, O’Brien says.
“Many speak to the industriousness that we see on campus, as students compete with themselves for the best business ideas. They speak to the Babson student mentality,” O’Brien says. “I’d love to see a class take on one of the more unique ones.”
Once voting is complete, students also are given stress balls adorned with their class motto. Miniature versions of the boulder, with the winning saying, are distributed after the winner is announced.
During orientation, upperclassmen also speak to first-year students about the significance of their choice. Peer mentor Tarynea Aggarwal ’27 recently presented to an incoming class about her class’s directive: “Be True.”
“We were 15 years old when COVID hit the world. With the changes that high school already brings, having to see the world shut down and then open back up was a change no teenager should have to go through,” Aggarwal explains. “Yet, despite these challenges, we made our way to Babson, by being true to who we were, and that was what we sought our North Star to be. Throughout my time at Babson, I’ve faced countless personal, professional, and academic challenges. But the best opportunities have come to me when I stayed true to who I am, and who I want to be proud of.”
Living History
The motto process helped to connect Aggarwal to her peers before even starting classes, she says. Aggarwal is pursuing a business analytics and technology entrepreneurship concentration, and she chose Babson to be true to herself and her goals.
“The College’s emphasis on innovation, hands-on learning, and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset really resonated with me,” she says. “Babson is all about giving you real-world experiences, and that’s exactly what I was looking for.”
With the motto, she felt plugged in with like-minded peers.
“By giving us the opportunity to vote on a boulder that will represent our class, they not only promote a sense of belonging and community but also made us feel valued. By voting on a boulder as a class, we were also taught that power lies in numbers, and I truly believe that my class picked well. This process made me realize that learning at Babson started way before any FME class,” Aggarwal says, referencing the College’s signature Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship course for first-year students.
Meanwhile, Gig Babson honored her ancestor’s legacy with Pippi Rocks, a 2023 children’s book about the boulders’ lessons interpreted through the eyes of her mischievous black Labrador retriever, Pippi. Her book, a popular keepsake at local book shops, adds some modern touches, with updated mottos referencing kindness and love.
She acknowledges that her quirky cousin’s endeavor was peculiar at the time. But, like many ambitious ideas, it has aged well.
“I think everybody can learn from those mottos. Isn’t it great that you can go way out in the woods and see that somebody was inspired enough to say: ‘This is the Depression. People are out of work. Let’s get them working, and let’s find a place where we can put these mottos so people can come and visit?’” she says. “I think they’re quite remarkable myself—and, as I grow older, I appreciate them more.”
Flip through a slideshow of the Babson Boulders in Dogtown:
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