MSU's Super Sleuth
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click image to zoomKnown affectionately by students as “Uncle Ralphie,” Turner taught at Michigan State University for 32 years before his retirement in 1979. As a longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes, Turner was a member of the Baker Street Irregulars as well as the East Lansing chapter known as the Greek Interpreter Scion. Due to his known fondness for the fictional detective, students often drew comparisons between the two and felt he emulated Sherlock in more ways than his just his profession. He was described as follows:
“Turner is a familiar figure on campus, looking rather like a local representative of Scotland Yard as he pads between buildings, wearing in season a British trench coat and carrying, when needed, a wood-handled black umbrella. The deerstalker hat is missing; on his white thatch of hair is a cap of regimental tan. With hands usually behind his back and smoking one of his chain of cigars, he often appears to be looking for clues.”
Source: Murray, Fran. "After 32 Years, MSU’s Super Sleuth ‘Uncle Ralphie,’ Retires." MSU Department of Information Services. 18 June 1980. Print.
