Thanks to our partners at the Henderson County Education History Initiative, decades of mid-century yearbooks are now available at DigitalNC! This batch contains almost fifteen issues of The Chief, the historic yearbook of Etowah High School in Henderson County. The yearbooks span from 1938 to 1960, recording student life as America prepared for, entered, and emerged from the second World War. They join thirty yearbooks already digitized in collaboration with Henderson County Education History Initiative, further expanding the area’s archival presence online.

One of the most interesting recurring features within the new yearbooks is the annual feature on the North Carolina Apple King and Queen, the winners of a pageant celebrating North Carolina’s apple orchards. The pageant is split into several age divisions, with a junior, elementary, and senior king and queen announced each year and meticulously recorded within The Chief’s pages. The pageant would culminate in a King Apple Parade, which drew great crowds of spectators.

Interested in Henderson County history? You can find our entire Henderson County collection online at DigitalNC here, or visit our partners at the Henderson County Education History Initiative here.