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Read About the Night the Lights Went Out in “The Lighted Lamp”

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campuspublications yearbooks

A tryptic of photos of nurses helping patients. On the right is a nurse leaning over a hospital bed; in the middle is a nurse standing with an adult leaning on a walker; on the right is a nurse handing a baby to a mother in a car.
From the 1977 edition of The Lighted Lamp

A batch of 24 yearbooks from the High Point Museum and the Heritage Research Center at High Point Public Library is now available on our site. Several in the volumes in this batch are yearbooks from High Point Memorial Hospital, now High Point Hospital School of Nursing.

Ironically, one of the events featured in the 1977 edition of The Lighted Lamp is “the night the lights went out.” The good news is that the event refers to the spring prom rather than a night at the hospital, and the power was eventually restored. The description of the event sets the scene well, describing students preparing for the big night:

A group of adults in formalwear dancing in a dark room. In the middle are two people stepping to the left of the photo, and on the front left side are two people holding each other.
From the night the lights went out, The Lighted Lamp (1977)

“They worked really hard while at Butner making hula girls, treasure chests, and other various decorations. Afterwards, they vigorously scrubbed the carpets and the walls that had been splattered with paint. And then they had to lug all of this back to High Point in the back of an El Camino in pouring down rain.”

Sadly, once everyone arrived in their formalwear, there was no electricity, “all because of a dumb old storm.” For an hour and a half, the prom progressed in “romantic candlelight” until the power came back on.

You can see the full batch of yearbooks here, and you can browse our full collection of digital yearbooks by school, location, and year in our North Carolina Yearbooks collection. To see more from High Point Museum, you can visit their partner page here and their website here. To see more from the Heritage Research Center at High Point Public Library, you can visit their partner page here and their website here.

Footballers of the Fifties Feature in Graham High School Yearbooks

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yearbooks

A line of football players in helmets pushing each other playfully while one adult in a white jacket looks at them.
From The Wag, 1955

Even though this year’s football season has come to a close, there’s still more of the sport to be found in our North Carolina Yearbooks collection. Our latest batch of 16 yearbooks from Graham High School, contributed by our new partner, the Graham Historical Museum, gives a glimpse into some of the history of high school football in North Carolina.

This photo, from the 1955 edition of The Wag, is called “Jubilant Conference Champions,” since this team was the Eastern AA champion of 1954 and the runner-up to the state championship.

A list of football scores from 1949.

It seems like the 1954 Red Devils were a bit stronger than the 1949 team, which published its season of scores in the 1950 edition of The Wag. Even though the team was victorious against Siler City, Draper, Mebane, Hartsel, Durham County, and E.M. Holt, they also took some tough losses against Roxboro and Oxford. 1949 was also apparently the year that the team faced off against Trinity in the Hosiery Bowl.

You can follow Graham High School’s football team of old and get a taste of student life in the full batch of Graham High School yearbooks here. You can also explore our full collection of digital North Carolina Yearbooks here. For more information about the Graham Historical Museum, you can visit their partner page and their website.

Get Amped for March Madness With Retro Basketball Photos

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yearbooks

A black-and-white photo of two student basketball players on the men's team jumping in the air and reaching for a basketball.
Basketball player James Pearce (right) in the 1971 edition of The Shield
A black-and-white photo of two basketball players on the women's team jumping in the air. One is about to shoot the ball, and the other has her arms up to block.
Basketball player Bonnie Watson (right) in the 1971 edition of the Shield.

Get out your short shorts and low-top sneakers—it’s basketball season, 1970s-style. We’ve got several more photos of student basketball now that three more yearbooks from Vaiden Whitley High School have been added to our site thanks to the Wendell Historical Society.

Vaiden Whitley, now East Wake High School, is located in Wendell, N.C. in Wake County. These yearbooks show the school back in 1971-1973, also known as some of the most fashionable years for both yearbooks and student basketball uniforms.

While these games may not have been quite as exciting as some of the ones in this year’s NCAA tournament, they do illustrate North Carolinian’s longstanding cultural obsession with the sport. In 1971, the Vaiden Whitley men’s team only came out on top in 8/19 games—not quite as good as the women’s team, which won 7/13. Still, the coaches called it a “profitable season.”

A black-and-white photo of two student basketball players posing with a basketball in high top socks and short shorts.
Co-captains Jimmy Wiggins and Randy Greene (1971)

You can see all three editions of The Shield in this batch here or browse all available editions from Vaiden Whitley High School here. You can also take a look at our full digital collection of high school yearbooks, organized by school, location, and year in our North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

To see more materials from the Wendell Historical Society, you can visit their partner page and their website.

Southwestern Community College Materials Showcase Student Talents

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campuspublications memorabilia photos scrapbooks yearbooks

A black-and-white illustration of a campus building against a mountain range.

A batch of materials from our new partner, Southwestern Community College, is now online. This collection includes photographs of the school when it was known as Southwestern Technical Institute, scrapbooks from campus organizations, blueprints for some of the school’s buildings, yearbooks, and issues of the student literary magazine.

Southwestern Community College is based in Sylva, N.C., in Jackson county. Today, it advertises itself as the only community college with a scientific partnership with NASA. The materials in this batch also show its history of teaching technical skills, especially on this poster showing students modifying a car into a limousine. They also feature some of the academic accomplishments of students in the Phi Theta Kappa organization, a college honor society. The Alpha Eta Nu chapter at Southwestern had the opportunity to travel around the country for conferences, evidenced by the memorabilia in their 1985 scrapbook.

An illustration of a woman with curly hair dabbing.
From “Pen and Ink,” 1991

The artistic and literary talents of past Southwestern students and faculty are also on display in the issues of the school’s literary magazine. One poem, written by Eugenia L. Johnson and apparently published in World Treasury of Great Poems (1980), is called “Me.” It begins: “Me, me, me, / Who am me / I know me.”

Amazingly, it is accompanied by this illustration of a person dabbing, a reminder that the dance move was popular long before Cam Newton (quarterback for the Carolina Panthers) did it in 2015.

You can see all of the photos, scrapbooks, blueprints, and other Southwestern CC memorabilia here, and you can browse all of the yearbooks and literary magazines here. To learn more about Southwestern Community College, you can visit their partner page and their website.

The Record Holder of the Hand Reel Contest & More From the NC Fire Fighters’ Association

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memorabilia yearbooks

Two adults standing in front of a fire truck. The one on the right is wearing a uniform.

Have you ever wondered what fire fighting was like in the 1930s and ’40s? Our latest batch of materials from the Greensboro History Museum offers a look into some of the gatherings of the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association through a set of booklets documenting their annual convention and tournament.

The convention rotated between several North Carolina cities, including Asheville, Winston-Salem, and New Bern, among others. The convention booklets contain lists of officers, transcripts of speeches from the leaders, and memorial pages dedicated to the fire fighters lost in the line of duty. They also include editions of the Association’s constitution and bylaws.

Fire fighters climbing a ladder leaning against a burning building.

The tournament part of the gathering seems to include competitive drills that test fire fighters’ abilities. The last few pages of the most recent booklet (from 1942) list the records of some of the events from previous years, including the Horse Hose Wagon Contest (tied between Kinston and Morehead City in 1916 at 27 and 2/5 seconds), the Hand Reel Contest (won by Kannapolis in 1937 in 16 and 2/5 seconds), grab races and motor contests.

In addition to the convention booklets, this batch also includes some early proceedings of the Association from 1888, which describes the organization of white, volunteer companies. Also included in this set of materials (though unrelated to fire fighting) are three more editions of the Whirligig yearbook from Grimsley High School. You can browse the full batch of materials here. To see more from the Greensboro History Museum, you can visit their partner page and their website. You can also browse our collection of North Carolina High School yearbooks to see all available editions of the Whirligig and browse our Images of North Carolina collection for more photographs of fire fighters in action.

Mill Photos, Yearbooks & Family Video Show Scenes of Life in Chatham County

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moving images photos yearbooks

An adult tending to a large piece of machinery in a fabric mill.

Some photos from the Chatham County Historical Association include scenes of the Odell cotton mill that was formerly on the Haw River in Chatham County. Purchased by J.M. Odell in 1886, the mill was once at the heart of Bynum, N.C., and some of the mill’s satellite structures are still standing. The photos from this batch show the river pouring over a dam, as well as some of the machinery that was used to spin the cotton.

According to our partner, these photographs were taken in the 1950s by Arthur Hill London III, grandson of Arthur Hill London Sr. (1974-1969), who was the secretary and treasurer of the Odell Manufacturing Company at the time.

Several adults in dresses and hats talking to one another as they walk out of a house.
A still from the Siegrist family home movie, c. 1933.

These photos are only part of a batch from our partner, which also includes a set of yearbooks and an early home movie of the Siegrist family on a visit in Pittsboro around 1933. The movie shows some of the centennial celebration of the St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, scenes of a cemetery, and some footage of people gathering at a family member’s home.

One yearbook in this batch is the 1940 edition of The Seniorogue yearbook from Siler City High School. It is the second-oldest edition in our digital collection so far (after the 1939 edition), and it has a surprising amount of information about each student along with their picture, including the names of their parents.

You can see the photographs, The Seniorogue and the home video here, and the rest of the yearbooks can be found here. To see more materials from the Chatham County Historical Association, you can visit their partner page and their website. You can browse all of our North Carolina high school yearbooks by school and date in our North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

Two Savannah High School Eagles Have Landed

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underrepresented yearbooks

Five students sitting together on a couch and looking at the camera. All are dressed in business casual attire.
From the 1963 edition of Savannah High School’s The Eagle. From left to right: Dorothy Isler, Nettie Dixon, Alvin McNeal, Thelma Barnes, and Velma Sherrod.

Two editions of Savannah High School’s The Eagle—1963 and 1969—are now available in our North Carolina Yearbooks collection thanks to our partner, East Carolina University.

A student in a dress and blazer descending some stairs.
Dorothy Isler (The Eagle, 1963)

Savannah High School, located in Grifton N.C. in Lenoir county, was a historically Black high school (and sometimes middle school). Though the original structure is no longer used, the Savannah High School Alumni and Friends Association (SHSAFA) keeps the school’s community alive through a bi-annual celebration.

One of the recent SHSAFA events was a fashion show and dinner, which showcased the styles of several members and their families. Perhaps it was inspired by the “Miss Fashionetta Style Show,” another event documented in the 1963 edition of The Eagle. Dorothy Isler (left) is pictured in the “Senior Hall of Fame” since she was nominated as Savannah’s contestant for the event.

You can see both the 1963 and 1969 editions of The Eagle here, and you can browse our full collection of North Carolina High School Yearbooks by school name, date, and location. To see more materials from East Carolina University, you can visit their partner page and their website.

New Yearbooks from Rowan Public Library are now on Digital NC!

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Front Cover of Yearbook
The 1946 Front Cover of “The Torch” from East Spencer High School.

23 yearbooks from several high schools in Rowan County are now available on Digital NC. Included in the new collections of NC Yearbooks are “Spencerian” and “The Railroaders” from Spencer High, “The Torch” from East Spencer High, and “Crisp ‘N Curls” from Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing. The high school and school of nursing yearbooks cover each high school from the early 1920s to the late 1950s, marking pivotal changes for many students during that time.

Special thank you to our partner Rowan Public Library. To see more yearbooks from Rowan Public Library on Digital NC, visit them here. Be sure to check out our massive collection of High School and College Yearbooks throughout North Carolina!

New Yearbooks from Lincoln County Historical Association

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yearbook Cover

Yearbook Cover of the 1970 “Retrospect” from East Lincoln High School.

Digital NC is happy to announce a new set of yearbooks from our partner, The Lincoln County Historical Association. With its groovy designs, the yearbooks from East Lincoln High’s “Retrospect” showcase the students from 1969 to 1972 and are sure to take you down a trip on memory lane. The new yearbooks join a vast Lincoln County History Association collection that covers several other high schools, including Rock Springs High, Lincolnton High, Newbold High, and North Brook High.

Special thanks again to Lincoln County Historical Association for their partnership. To see more from their collection on Digital NC, visit them here.

Be sure to check out more yearbooks from high schools and colleges across NC by visiting our NC Yearbook Collection!

“Young, Gifted, and Black” – Bennett College 1970 Yearbook is on DigitalNC

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campuspublications underrepresented yearbooks

Yearbook page, "Young, Gifted, and Black," Bennett (1970)Bennett College’s 1970 yearbook, titled “Bennett Belle,” is now available on DigitalNC, thanks to our partnership. Bennett College is a historically Black women’s college in Greensboro, North Carolina. The first page shares Bennett Belle’s theme for 1970: young, gifted, and Black.

The note from the editor, Alice E. Baldwin, informs readers that the 1970 edition “centers around Black awareness” in response to that year’s “upsurge” in campus activism. Baldwin also notes the students’ prolific talents in writing and art.

The yearbook is full of poetry, drawings, and photography. Many poems, like “Where is the End?” by Cynthia Holloway and Gladys Ashe’s “From Black Women,” reflect on the students’ places in the world and in the civil rights movements.

 

Yearbook page, art of women's faces, Bennett (1970)Yearbook page, art of woman in window, Bennett (1970)

To view more yearbooks from North Carolina, visit the North Carolina Yearbooks section of our site. To learn more about Bennett College, visit their website and our collection.

 

 

 

 

 

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This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.

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