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Annual yearbook of The New Jersey State Normal School. The name of New Jersey State Normal School (Trenton, N.J.) was changed in 1929 to State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton; in 1937 to New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton; in 1958 to Trenton State College; in 1996 to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).

This yearbook belonged to Edna Buck Van Sickle Budd was born in 1890 to Walter N. Van Sickle and Theresa Buck in Unionville, New York. Shortly after, the family moved to Wantage, New Jersey. She attended the New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton where she was president of the class of 1911, a member of Gamma Sigma literary society, and a member of the short-lived social club the “Sacred Nine.” She taught 6th grade in Chatham, New Jersey Schools for three years before marrying Merritt L. Budd (1887-1952) in 1914. After her children were born, she was active in their school’s Parent Teacher Association and a wide array of religious, civic, and history organizations. She also remained active in the Trenton State College, Gamma Sigma Nu alumni group. She died in 1982

The Clara Wolverton Papers contain materials from her early education beginning in 1892, through Normal School, and her earliest teaching years ending in 1903. It comprises personal items such as her grades book, greeting cards, and notes of affection from her students, as well as professional items such as her teaching contracts and letters of recommendation, and also printed commencement programs and tickets and clippings. There are only a few items after this time period, and they document her involvement in the Red Cross and Botanical Society of Pennsylvania.

There are no materials related to teaching at Trenton Public Schools or attending University of Pennsylvania.

Her collection also initially contained six books, four of which were cataloged and added to the Historical Textbooks and General Collections of Gitenstein Library, and two were deaccessioned due to duplication.

1911 Class Day program belonging to Edna Van Sickle (Budd). The class day for that year took place on June 20, 1011. The program includes listings of class officers, the "Suffragette Office of 'The Seal,'" Class Day Committee members, Class Yell, Class Song, and the names of the June 1911 graduating class.

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.

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.

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.

This photograph shows the members of the Gamma Sigma literary society during the time period of c. 1908-1911.

This photograph shows the members of the Gamma Sigma literary society during the time period of c. 1908-1911.

This photo album contains images of the activities of the Gamma Sigma sorority at the New Jersey State Normal School, some notations were made later by members of Gamma Sigma Nu.

This photo album created by Louise Woodruff Bush documents the activities of the Gamma Sigma sorority at the New Jersey State Normal School from 1906-1909.