University of New Hampshire - Granite Yearbook (Durham, NH)

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Illlls 6 IBPWIITE, fl- ISZI igrwihent Metzel f' Al'.Pf5f DORNE lll3TZlilQ was horn in ISHB at Merrill, Wisconsin. llis ig father was a prominent attorney who gave his son an original heritage of ability and mental energy that carried him far against heavy odds. Early in his school life he showed the splendid stulii he was made of. lie- fore he graduated from the Merrill .l ligh School in 1002 he had been president of his class for four years, two years president of the student body, and two years editor of the school paper, as well as a member of the baseball, track, and football teams the entire four years. The death of his father 'and financial reverses made it necessary for him to earn every cent of the money for his college course, but he did not waver an in- stant in his decision to lay the best possible educational foundation for the place he meant to make for himself in the world. lle worked for a year after leaving High School, and in the fall of 1902 entered the Arts and Science course at the University of Wfisconsin, specializing in political science. At the university he immediately leaped into prominence as winner of the freshman declamatory contest and captain of the freshman crew which won second place against Cornell and other big eastern institutions in the Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Regatta. He kept his place on the crew squad two years, but did not allow it to absorb his efforts, in spite of the beckoning fascination of the blue sweep of the five lakes surrounding Madison. For he was also for two years editor of the college newspaper, The Daily CardinaZ,' manager of the humorous magazine, The S,b1iin.'r,' and associate editor of T110 i'Vf.S'COIl.S'flL Litzwary zllagasine. lle was chosen president of the Junior class, was junior orator, commencement orator, and a member of the winning intercollegiate debating team. Wfith all his scholastic and athletic achievements, he manifested those qual- ities of hearty fellowship which made him the desire of many social organizations. lfle joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity, which is recognized to have probably the highest ideals of any of the Greek letter societies at Wiisconsing and was also elected to Phi Delta Phi, the legal fraternity, the Iron Cross, an honorary society 2 and The Monastics Society. ln 1000 he took his A. B. degree, and in 1003 the Law School gave him his LL.l3. After graduate study at the University of California and also at his .fklnxa Mater, he went to the Oregon Agricultural College as instructor in English and Public Speaking. He immediately proved so useful to the institution that he was advanced to assistant professor and then professor of English, professor of Political Science, and Director of the Extension Division, which he organized and made an instrument of vast usefulness to the college and the state. During the entire nine years of his professorship there he was in close touch with all the student activities, and for several years he was chairman of the Student Affairs Committee. How many football men went onto the gridiron with the glow in their hearts kindled by his rousing speech at the previous night's rally! He knew the boys and their desires, ambitions, and difficulties, especially he knew those who were earning their way through, for he had done the same thing himself and knew all it meant of effort and dete1'mination. Probably no 8

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ehicateh In llltesihent Ralph Burnie Meinl, Eiiiill., EEE. lliho wins the heights wins not by slothiul ease. Or dalliance hy the way with merry mates. He sees at dawn the high and distant star. :Xncl through the heat and lahor of the day liorgets not, hut still urges toward the goal. This man you now greet daily as you pass- Kind, generous in judgment and in deed. XVise with a wisdom not of head alone. lint also of a heart attuned to those Uiho win their way o'er rough and weary roads- lle made his way alone and unafraid. No prop. no guide or guard to take the hrunt, Ile squared his shoulders and held high his head, Nor howed in fear or favor to the wrong. l.ook well. you lads who now deride the grind , You, too. who think that only midnight oil Can gain a man his place of public power, llere see a man well-rounded, balanced true: .X sportsman keen who pulled a lusty oar: He pitched good hall, and ran a winning race. lle loved the held and track and spreading lake. Yet spent hinisell not on these joys alone, llut led in oratory and dehate, XVas chosen both for fellowship and rank. :Xnd still uulorgotten in those halls. Look well, you whom he beckons toward the height. Remember while you gird your armor on, lligh sense of honor helped him win his light, And now he gives to you what he has won! Amee Lmnsm' Wisixu

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lllllq' G BPSFWITE Q' liz! other man on the campus won quite the same place of affectionate admiration in the hearts of the students. He was one of themselves who had gone before and shown them that the things they coveted could be attained. He achieved a somewhat analagous position out through the state when, as the representative of the college, he went out to talk to farmers. orchardists, busi- ness men, and the political forces, showing them what the college could and should do for them, for their boys and girls, and through them for the state and nation. From the beginning he was closely associated with the broader phases of the college administration, and the fact that he had been admitted to the bar both in Wisconsin and in Oregon, made it natural that the president should often place the legislative interests of the institution in his hands. Here his rare combina- tion of solid judgment and pleasant fellowship won sympathetic and attentive hearing for the college bills when they came up for discussion. It would be in- teresting to know just how large a proportion of the votes cast for college appro- priations those nine years were of his persuasion. He knew the value of what the college had to offer, and his faith was of the contagious sort. In his organ- ization and development of the extension service he had the same sort of enthu- siasm for the interests of the state that he had for those of the college. In 1911 he returned to X!VlSCO11Sl11 to marry Estelle H. Heineman, who had been his sweetheart since babyhood. His fourth child was born just before he assumed his duties as President of New Hampshire College in August, 1917. VVhen, in 1918, President Hopkins of Dartmouth College conferred upon President Hetzel the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, he said in part: Bearer to our sister college within the state of the virility and progressive- ness of educational ideals of the middle westg experienced not only in college ad- ministration, but in the practical methods of making learning available to large constituenciesg leader in a held of education whose wise development will make contribution to the nation's welfare well nigh beyond the bounds of imagi- nation, we welcome you to your position of educational leadership -in New Han1pshire.', The first year of his presidency, Mr. Hetzel was put to the crucial test of making an -institution equipped for barely seven hundred students and financed on a war economy basis, take care of more than double that number for the Stu- dent Army Training Corps. There were barracks, mess hall, and additional shop buildings to be erected, something like one hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of additional equipment needed, and an appalling amount of auxiliary ex- penditure absolutely necessary. It took vast courage and herculean effort to sur- mount the obstacles and shoulder the load. Yet President Hetzel did it, and brought the college through with flying colors. Although he has been in New Hampshire only a little over two years, he has already identified himself and the college with the progressive organizations and institutions of the state. And the student body? Their attitude was voiced recently by a freshman, who was over- heard to say, just put it up to the President. He'11 give you a square deal every time! 9