Defending America [First Leaf Title for a High School Yearbook with Original Photographs Mounted In].; Education

North Powder, Oregon: North Powder High School, 1942. Good. 10½” x 8”. Two-hole punched leaves, plastic brad-bound within thin orange folder. Pp. [48]. Good: front cover and first page(s) lacking; rear cover detached but present; offsetting and edge wear to first present page with a small patch worn away; several photographs loose or detached but present in original locations; a bit spotted throughout.

This is a rare yearbook for a small high school in Oregon, issued during World War II and featuring two dozen original photographs tipped in.

Internal evidence proved that this book covered the 1942 graduates of North Powder High (truncated) School, located in the small town in Oregon of the same name. The first present page, graced with a rendition of the Seal of the United States, with the eagle perched atop a “V” for Victory, shared that it was dedicated to “the young men of our community now serving with the armed forces.” Another page listed the 26 “boys in service who have graduated from N.P.H.S.”

The volume contains fairly standard yearbook fare, made special with the inclusion of 24 original photographs. Images revealed the “Board of Education which has so ably directed our school system” as well as the student-led “Executive Board,” composed of six young women and three young men. The faculty photo displayed six female teachers, a male principal and janitor, and there were individual head shots for the 15 graduating seniors, along with listings of their clubs and activities. Group shots of the underclassmen showed the eightstudent junior class (seven of whom were girls) and six freshmen, each with their one teacher, as well as the sophomore class, “the largest class in high-school, having an enrollment of 22.” Other images revealed the nine young women who played volleyball, basketball and baseball (though “they were defeated every time . . . the girls proved their valour”) and the school's orchestra: “It was the largest orchestra in many years. Musical numbers were presented at plays and Parent Teachers Association meeting[s] throughout the year.”

An unrecorded, charming wartime annual for a small Oregon school. Not found in OCLC. (Inventory #: 5204)