My story is not so much about my own interview, but about the person with whom I interviewed.
He marched into the high school and asked to be directed to "the headmaster's office."
Walter Birge was an imposing figure with a mustache and a Boston Brahmin accent. He interviewed me at his office at a company called Ranco Controls, on the west side of Columbus. I have no idea how he found his way from Boston to Columbus, but there he was.
I had been “discovered”, perhaps because of my PSAT scores, perhaps because I had been an attendee at Buckeye Boys State, and was invited to a summer picnic at the home of a Harvard alum on the northeast side of Columbus. There, I was surrounded by an impressive group of alums and then-current undergrads, who pressured me to apply to Harvard. I explained to them that my goal was to go to MIT and get a degree in chemical engineering. One of them, Alex (Pete) Hart, told me that if I were accepted at Harvard, I could still go to MIT, but tell people there that I had been accepted at Harvard.
Pete had likewise been discovered nine years earlier. He graduated from Lancaster High School, about twenty miles up Route 33 from my hometown of Logan, Ohio. The aforementioned Walter Birge, dismayed at the record of the Harvard football team, had determined that what Harvard needed was some big corn-fed Ohio boys with some football abilities. He heard about Pete, and traveled from Columbus down to Lancaster to draft him. The story is that he marched into the high school and asked to be directed to “the headmaster’s office”. I am reasonably certain that no one at the school had any idea what a “headmaster” was. But Walter convinced Pete to apply, and he became a member of the class of 1962. Pete went on to play for the Patriots for a few years, and eventually became the president of MasterCard. I saw him about thirty years later, and he still remembered me.
The Harvard Club of Central Ohio in those days had a winter “smoker” at the Columbus Club, an old club on the east side of downtown that would only allow women to enter through a side door. (I assume that that has now changed.) But Walter was famous for showing movies of the Harvard Crew competing in the Head of the Charles at the winter smoker, boring nearly everyone in the audience.
I did apply to Harvard, as well as MIT and what was then called Case Institute of Technology, in Cleveland. I was accepted early at Case, and early in the spring at MIT, and was fully prepared to head to Kendall Square in the fall. One day, however, the principal of my high school called me to the office to take a phone call from my dad, who opened a fat envelope from Harvard and told me that I had been accepted there. It took me about two seconds to make the decision that I would become a Harvard student, despite the fact that I could not major in chemical engineering there. I did major in chemistry, though, and to this day I am grateful that Pete Hart and Walter Birge reached out and touched me. Harvard opened a lot of doors for me, but it also opened my mind.
Jeff Gerken
Jeff, fascinating story, especially about Walter Birge’s motivation in recruiting corn-fed boys to the football team! Who would know … Harvard would have exposed you to a greater variety of subjects than the curriculum at MIT and Case, so I am glad you made a good choice.
Very interesting story about how you got to Harvard, Jeff. My mother went to The Ohio State a very long time ago (I have family all over OH), but none went to Harvard (some went to Yale). But I love that Walter Birge was looking for corn-fed boys for the football team. Good to learn that Harvard opened your eyes and offered opportunities to you.
Great story, Jeff. Loved learning about Walter Birge and his concern for the Harvard football team. Even better was learning that Pete Hart told you to apply to Harvard because then if you were accepted you could still go to MIT but tell people you got into Harvard. By the way, did you play any football when you got to Harvard? I probably should know this, but I don’t.
Unlike Pete, I got into Harvard largely because of my test scores and academic record in a rural southern Ohio high school. I weighed about 125 pounds when I graduated from high school, and stood about 5’5″ tall, so I was not a likely prospect for the football team. Although I grew up on a farm, and milked three cows by hand every morning and evening, I was not one of those “corn-fed” boys that Walter was looking for.
Great story Jeff, here’s to corn-fed Ohio boys, whether or not they play Harvard football!
Looking forward to more of your memories!
Very engaging narrative, Jeff. The details such as the side entrance for women and the showing of the “Head of the Charles” film clips helped to situate the story in its historical and social context and bring it to life. I hope to bump into you more on Retrospect.
I’m told that this was my fifth submission, although I don’t remember what I wrote in the others. I’ll have to go back and read them.
Jeff, it says above that this is your sixth! I’m not that good at reading visual cues, but this one is very straightforward. I think if either of us clicks on your name, we will be able to see the titles and “excerpts” and featured images of the others.
You were lucky to have so many terrific options for your education. Our son was similarly agonizing about where to go for college, but in the end, very few say no to Harvard.