I enjoyed your article on lost monuments [spring issue, “A Tour Through History”]. The one that most intrigues me was the burned-at-the-stake monument [by Coleman Hall]. I was born and raised in Gloucester, Mass., Roger Babson’s hometown, and that monument has an identical twin there. It’s located on the property of the Trinity Congregational Church.—Joe Senos ’00
I remember an explanation that the bird structure [by Park Manor South] is actually a hand facing up. Notice that each of the fingers and thumb is the proper relative dimensions.—Jeff Mulligan ’82, MBA’85
Your article brought to mind another forgotten marker. In 1974, I was a senior contemplating life after Babson. I had taken a career aptitude test that indicated I was suited for a job as a Navy chaplain. My lifelong fascination with things nautical and my evangelical Christian persuasion had doubtlessly influenced the test results. Although I had been involved in the Babson Christian Fellowship, I had not the slightest interest in going into full-time ministry. I needed a proverbial “sign from heaven.”
One day I came across a plaque in an obscure corner of the old Newton Library [now Tomasso Hall]. The plaque commemorated that Babson had been the site of the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School during World War II. I had never heard of the Navy Supply Corps before, but I learned that Supply Corps officers were the Navy’s professional business managers. I was intrigued by the prospect of combining my Babson education with my childhood dream of serving in the Navy. After talking with a recruiter, I applied and was accepted into the Naval Officer Candidate School and Navy Supply Corps programs. A week after graduating, I began an exciting and satisfying career.—Matthew Bank ’75