A Blast From the Past: How does Sayreville’s first senior yearbook compare to it’s latest publication?

In 1942, Sayreville’s first senior class published a yearbook for the then “Sayreville High School” students.  Over eighty years later, how has the yearbook changed and evolved?

Sayreville War Memorial High School was not always the school that students attended following their Junior High years. Originally, Sayreville High School was built on Dane Street, at what is now known as Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. With only 25 faculty members, this school was significantly smaller than today, and held fewer extracurricular activities for its students.

In 1942, Sayreville’s yearbook consisted of only 70 pages, while in 2019, there were 256. One of the major differences is the personal aspect of the newest yearbooks. There are several pages that consist of photos of students from various events, such as prom, Powderpuff, pep rallies, and more.

Although similar social events still took place, they were only mentioned through writing in the original yearbook. Prom and the Soph Hop were referenced, along with a poem about every student’s future in the graduating class!

Unlike the more recent yearbooks, there were only individual photos of the senior students. Underclassmen had their names listed rather than their photos, but there was a group picture for each class. This made room for each senior’s nickname and extracurricular activities to be listed.

Student Council, Echo Lites, Cheerleading, and more were available to students. Some activities are no longer available, such as Dancing Club, while others have been renamed. “Curtain Call” is now the Theater Society, and “Junior Commercial Club” is similar to today’s DECA and FBLA.

Although over 80 years have passed since Sayreville’s first yearbook was published, it’s clear that as it evolved, it has kept many of the same elements that make it so memorable for students.