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This booklet was likely made by representatives of the Class of 1941 for this event, their Junior Prom. It includes a list of class officers and a list of those who arranged the event, as well as spaces for the original owner to write the names of their dancing partners. This person spent the night dancing mostly with one "Don," but also with "Walt and Jeannette," "Les and Helen," "Fred and Christine," and "John and Jean." No transcription.

This "booklet" features a sheet-metal front cover, something that likely would not exist following the attack on Pearl Harbor later in 1941 and the beginning of wartime rationing. Like other documents of this type, it includes names of organizers and participating students, as well as spaces to write the names of dancing partners. This student danced with "Ren," "Mike Grayson," "Ruth Kane," "John Thomas," "Jay and Don Robinson," and "George and Rosa." These names are likely similar to the ones in the booklet from the previous year's Junior Prom. No transcription.

This collection documents the ceremonies and related events of Commencement and/or graduation exercises at The College of New Jersey spanning 1858 to the present day.

The collection includes the following materials:

Commencement invitations - These are formal printed invitations that may include a student’s calling card or handwritten details during the Normal School years, as well as commercially printed invitations used to date, c. 1869-2005 (bulk c. 1869-1920, 1977-2005).

Class Day and/or week programs - These are often beautifully printed and bound with cord and tassels, which likely served as a keepsake for students of the Normal and Model Schools. They list the schedule of activities for a graduating class during a day or over the span of a week. In some cases, they also include the Commencement program (c. 1894-1924).

The Normal and Model Schools classes of 1917 did not have a Class Day, but instead participated in Red Cross activities supporting World War I. The Model School as a K-12 school ended after the class of 1917, when it became “The Training School” offering only the elementary grades. In the 1930s, official Class Day or Week activities were replaced by less formal “Senior Week” activities, which continued off and on over the decades. Search The Signal newspaper for more information https://dr.tcnj.edu/handle/2900/275

Commencement tickets - These are admission tickets to the Normal or Model School Commencement ceremonies, usually at Taylor Opera House, c.1873-1901.

Commencement programs - These are printed programs of the Commencement ceremony, often containing the names of all graduating students. During the Normal School years, some have various embossed and/or multicolor illustrations of the school, insignia, or decorative lettering. Later programs have fewer design elements. The collection is mostly complete after 1891 with the exception of 2000, c. 1883-2023.

Promotion Exercises programs - These were for the Grammar A Class of the Model School, which held a graduation-style ceremony, c. 1909-1917.

Class and school songs - These are separate printed pages of songs to be sung during Commencement and other graduation events, usually containing a unique song for the graduating class and other school anthems and/or alma mater, c. 1899-1901.

Baccalaureate programs - These were printed as separate programs c. 1934-1964, but during the Normal School years, information about the Baccalaureate service was listed in the Class Day/Week or Commencement programs.

Programs for departmental, diploma, or other special graduation ceremonies - These are programs for Commencement events held outside of the main ceremony, often for graduate students or special groups, c. 1967; c. 2016-2023.

Original speeches - There are two handwritten speeches: “I Have Wandered in my Dreams,” is a Commencement speech from 1870 whose author is unknown. The Annual Report for that year lists Mary F. Chadwick and Rosalie A. Collins as presenters of "honorary essays," and Katie L. Wilson was valedictorian. And "The Child's Ability to Reason" was a valedictory essay written by Ira Collins, but read by O. Watson Flavelle, due to Collins’ ill health at June 1899 Commencement.

Graduation or Commencement Bulletins - These are newsletters that contain information and schedule of events around the Commencement ceremony. c. 1969-1999

Graduation Convocation program - During some years, the college held an August graduation combined with the annual Convocation ceremony. These programs document those ceremonies, c. 1960-1967.

Scrapbooks - There are two scrapbooks in this series: The older scrapbook (c. 1873-1921) contains ephemera related to Commencement such as invitations, tickets, and programs for Senior class activities and the Commencement ceremony from the era of the Normal School.

In the 1908-1932 scrapbook, many of the Commencement programs only have the page with the events of the day and do not have the cover and/or a page listing the graduate’s names. Starting in 1918, some of them have the page with graduates’ names, but they were at one time pasted into a notebook that has since been disassembled but the back pages of the brochures may not be accessible and/or readable.

These two photographs, both from the same donor, depict groups of members of the Arguromuthos Sigma ("Argo") sorority in around 1941; only one photo is dated. The first shows the sisters at an outdoor picnic, while the second depicts the sorority in the drawing room of Allen Hall (the center portion of "ABE"). The two photos also include a largely incomplete list of names in each image, provided by the donor. No transcription.

Little context is known about this certificate for stock in the "Trenton State Normal Student and Alumni Camping Association," which was presumably a group formed to arrange camping excursions among the Normal School's past and present students. This share was issued to Margaret Freas, Normal Class of 1925, and is signed by Ruth Cornelison and Don C. Bliss. No transcription.

This booklet was likely made by representatives of the Class of 1940 for this event, their Junior Prom. It includes a list of class officers and a list of those who arranged the event, as well as spaces for the original owner to write the names of their dancing partners (this section in this booklet is blank). No transcription.

This booklet most likely came from the same student as the other dance cards; this student was also a member of the Arguromathos Society and may have donated the photos from the same time period. This dance was billed as a "Star Dust Banquet," and unlike the other dance cards in this collection, it includes a menu/program of events. As with the related items, the booklet includes spaces to write dance partners' names--in this case, the only name recorded is "Robert Deakins." No transcription.

This lantern slide, one of many created by Normal and Model Schools business administrator John S. Neary, Sr., depicts a cohort of Normal School students marching down an unknown street (perhaps State). The caption, typed directly onto the frame surrounding the image, identifies the photographer and the context. This parade likely commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War One.

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 through 1912, as well. Additionally, there are a handful of faculty group portraits.

This is the June 1911 Commencement program for the New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton. It contains the names of the graduates, as well as any presenters, including musical performances. The Commencement Exercises took place at 8 pm on June 21, 1911.