Alumni and Friends Stories

Michigan Tech alumnus Ronald Johnston Pearce [1929–2020] had a lifelong connection to the Soo Locks and the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, beginning as a child and encompassing a 35-year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Now, the USACE is honoring his legacy, expertise, and impact on the region with the deployment of the R.J. Pearce—a 76-foot tugboat with a 28-foot beam—that will be commissioned in Sault Ste. Marie this fall. Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (commonly known as "the Soo"), Pearce’s admiration for the St. Marys River ran deep. As a 13-year-old boy, Pearce remembered returning across the frozen river from neighboring Soo, Canada, when he heard the newsboys shouting that the United States entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor.