Class Photographs Collection

4 oversized boxes, 12 linear feet

Annual group portraits of graduating classes. Many years have graduating classes in February and June. There are a small number of group portraits of Model School classes, as well.

The photographs are arranged chronologically.

This collection is open for research.

The items in this collection may be used by patrons who abide by the Archives and Special Collections Use Policy of the R. Barbara Gitenstein Library at TCNJ.

Photographs in this collection have been digitized for viewing on this site.

Copyright restrictions apply. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the College Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Archives and Special Collections, R. Barbara Gitenstein Library, The College of New Jersey, PO Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718, email: Ask a Librarian via the library’s website https://library.tcnj.edu

• English

Room 410, Archives and Special Collections, Gitenstein Library, TCNJ.

Organizational history:
The College of New Jersey’s academic tradition reaches back to 1855 when it was established by the state legislature as the New Jersey State Normal School. It was the first state-established teacher training school in the state and the ninth in the nation. Governor Rodman Price promoted the idea of a training institute for New Jersey’s teachers and mobilized support among influential state leaders.
Located on Clinton Avenue in Trenton from 1855 until the early 1930s, the Normal School flourished in the latter 1800s, expanding both its academic offerings and physical facilities. In 1925, the first four-year baccalaureate degree program was established. This change marked the beginning of TCNJ’s transition from a normal school to a teachers’ college and was accompanied by a change in physical surroundings. In 1928, a beautiful 210-acre tract of land in Ewing Township, then known as Hillwood Lakes, was purchased as a new site for the College.
The Class of 1911 formed a yearbook club in January 1911, and their inaugural issue of The Seal was published in time to hand out to students at the June 1911 Commencement ceremony. The foreword stated the mission “This, the year of nineteen hundred and eleven, marks the debut of The Seal. Its originators hope for its perpetuation through the loyalty of their successors. May it prove, indeed, a seal by the memories which it preserves, binding not only the members of this class, but of each succeeding one into fonder relationships.”
The Seal continued annually, growing in content and size until the 2010s when the popularity of the yearbook declined due in part to the rise in social media, the cost of the book (nearly $100), and the increased student population. 2017 was its last year of publication. An article published in The Signal on February 7, 2018, annouced: “...due to low demand and lack of incoming leadership, the College’s Yearbook Club, The Seal, is no longer an active organization on campus.”
Information about graduating seniors since 2017 might be found in graduation programs in the TCNJ005 Commencement Collection, or The Signal newspaper.
Several of the yearbooks formerly belonged to, and might have been heavily inscribed to, the following:
John S. Neary (1863-1935) was appointed to the New Jersey State Normal School in 1898 as “steward,” later business manager, where he worked for over 32 years retiring in 1930. He also founded the Camera Club (also known as the Normal Photographic Arts Club) for students in 1919. Some of his photographs appear in The Signal.
Anna T. Burr (1900-2007) graduated from New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton in 1920, and went on to receive bachelor's and master’s degrees from Rutgers University. She was a teacher and principal at Bordentown Public Schools for over 40 years.
Levora “Lee” Rodda Easterbrook (1903-1995) graduated from New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton in 1923. She taught grammar school in her hometown of Butler for four years until she married Neil Easterbook, principal, and later superintendent of Butler Schools in 1927.
Michael A. Travers (1902-1970) received a law degree from New York University, then obtained Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate of Education degrees from Rutgers University. In 1928, he became the first Dean of Men at New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton. He also taught Business Education (as well as served as chairman of that department) for 40 years, retiring in 1968. In addition, he served as Hopewell Township Municipal Judge and taught courses at Rutgers and Temple Universities.
Vivian M. Rolandelli (1911-2003) graduated from New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton in 1930, and was a teacher for 47 years at Elementary School No. 1 in West New York, New Jersey.
Conrad J. Johnson (1912-2009) entered New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton in 1931 as a music major, but changed to industrial arts, graduating in 1936. His first teaching position was in Toms River where he taught until the early 1940s. In 1942, he joined the faculty at his alma mater where he was an instructor in the Industrial Arts Department for 40 years at Trenton State College until his retirement in 1982.
Victor Galassi (1917-2004) attended New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton from 1935-1938 where he was the Varsity Sports Manager and participated in other school activities. He attended Rutgers in 1939, then entered the military. After WWII, he joined the New Jersey State Police where he retired with the rank of major.
Kenneth H. Weber (1919-2009) graduated from New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton in 1941. His first teaching position was in Phillipsburg. He later served in the Army Air Force during WWII. He taught Industrial Arts at Bernards High School in Bernardsville for many years.
Jessie R. Turk (1920-2009) graduated from Montclair State Teachers College in 1942, then obtained a master's degree from Oberlin College and doctorate from Columbia. She was a Professor of Geography at Trenton State from 1947 to 1982. An oral history interview with her in 1991 is available to view at https://www.njvid.net/show.php?pid=njcore:17492

DACS, AAT, LCSH

Deb Schiff, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, 2024