Showing 220 results

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.

History of the establishment of the normal school in Trenton, the development of the Model School, student government, literary societies, and alumni associations, school publications, and scholarships and financial aid; the prospects of a new location.

In this brief letter, State Normal School Principal Washington Hasbrouck thanks the Thencanic Society for electing him an honorary member. As the Thencanic was founded in 1882, Hasbrouck must have been one of the first honorary members. Transcription included.

A long report by William Bamford that features many of the characteristics of the Thencanic's meetings: rowdy behavior from the members, tongue-in-cheek remarks, and discussion of the Society's debating practices. In this particular report, Bamford proposes a scoring system to ensure impartial judging ahead of the Society's debate on women's suffrage. Transcription included.

Content warning: Some of the published music in this collection was used in minstrel shows and some song lyrics may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups, sexist or misogynistic language, and xenophobic attitudes and opinions.

The collection contains autobiographical information including a curriculum vitae-like document composed after Bray’s retirement. She also jotted down notes for a “Typical day at retirement home” that might have been for an article in the home’s newsletter or other publication.

Her teaching and grading materials include handwritten music for portions of three Richard Wagner works: “Das Rheingold,” “Walkure,” and “Siegfried,” that may have been used for her 1933-1934 class: “German Music of the Romantic Period.” Grading materials include a “Colonial Class Register" notebook from 1947-1948 containing students’ names and grades for the following classes: Chorus, Elementary Appreciation Methods, Supervision of Music, Child Voice, High School Appreciation Methods, and Student Teaching. Also included are handwritten evaluations for the following students, mostly of the class of 1951: Albert Bazzel, Glenn Welshon, Vilma Kosco, and Doris Allen. Bray retired in 1948, which indicates that these students may have been among her last at Trenton State College.

The correspondence contains a variety of material. She received compliments for school performances she directed, as well as congratulations on her retirement. Many letters are from former students who also included updates on their lives or anecdotes about their time in Bray’s classes. There are several letters from Helen Layton Lowrey who worked in the college’s business office and who did Bray’s taxes during several years of her retirement. These letters include news about other former faculty members including Doris Perry and Lulu Haskell. There also are a few letters that Bray wrote to Trenton State College Presidents Edwin Martin and Clayton Brower that include biographical information and details about the development of the Music Department. Finally, there are letters from Effie G. Kuhn, the Head of the Speech Department from 1919-1952, and K. Elizabeth “Betty” Ingalls, an instructor of Music from 1940-1948.

There are two items of ephemera: a pamphlet from the Supervisors School of Music in Westfield, New Jersey, from 1918, and a program for the dedication of Bray Hall in 1964. Publications include a set (with multiple copies) of Bray’s Phono-Song Course, Books 1 - 4, from 1920, and a small number of issues of “Oak Leaves” newsletter from Bray’s retirement home.

The majority of the materials are related to Haskell’s education from primary through graduate school, with additional items from her early career and retirement. The Correspondence Series contains her first teaching recommendation letter in 1915, a teaching appointment notice, and a few personal letters ending in 1954. The Grade Cards and Transcripts Series span her eighth grade year in 1909 through a master’s degree program in 1938. The Ephemera Series comprises dinner and event programs she attended in her early career from 1923-1939. The Clippings Series (1937-1955) cover a variety of topics, as well as coverage of the 1955 Trenton State College centennial. The Prints Series includes four etchings or reproductions of St. Petersburg Florida churches inscribed: “for Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Wilhelm” by Will Kay Hagerman (Kent Hagerman). The Certificates and Diplomas Series span from her primary school years in 1904 through 1946. They include, among other items, her Normal School diploma and bachelor’s degree, as well as membership certificates to honorary sororities, Red Cross volunteer service, and her marriage certificate to Josiah Haskell.

This booklet from the 1881 Normal School commencement at Taylor Opera House includes lists of graduating students (both the February and June classes), including their home towns. It also contains the list of commencement exercises. No transcription.

This invitation from the 1894 Normal School commencement is also a booklet with brief information on the course of events. The first page includes an etching of Friedrich Fröbel, a German educator credited with coining the word "kindergarten" and spreading that word to English; his face perhaps made up part of the Normal School's logo at the time. No transcription.

This booklet from the 1903 Model School commencement includes lists of graduating students, their home towns, and their area of study. It also contains the list of commencement exercises. Of some note is the mention of an essay given by honor student Charlotta Miller on the Black poet and author Paul Lawrence Dunbar, which has unfortunately not survived. The student roster also includes several surnames that appear in other classes from around this period, namely Britton, De Cou, and Bosworth; these students may be siblings of those sharing their name. Some students from the Class of 1904 also appear. No transcription.