School annuals are
a popular resource in the Local History Room at the Transylvania County
Library.  Annuals offer an opportunity to
reminisce but they can also be valuable historical reference material. 

Photographs of
students and teachers show the popular fashions and hairstyles of the time
period.  There is information and
photographs about sports, athletes, and clubs. 
Local businesses normally have advertisements in the back. 

Brevard High School
published their first annual in 1944. 
During the 1945-46 school year the 12^th grade was added to
the school system.  For that reason there
was not a graduating class in 1946 and Brevard High did not publish a school
annual that year.  The Local History Room
has a completed collection of all Brevard High annuals.

A page from the 1947 Rosman High annual showing the faculty, members of the Senior Class play and members of the Junior Class play.

Rosman High
School’s first annual was published in 1948.  Although in 1947 a
“homemade” annual was created.  As middle
grades were moved to Rosman Middle and High School they were included in the
school annuals as well.  For 8^th
graders this was in the early 1970s, 7^th graders were added in 1977
and 6^th graders in the early 2000s.  The library collection includes 51 annuals for
Rosman High & Middle School.

Brevard had its
first Junior High School in 1960. 
Originally it included 8^th and 9^th grades.  In 1966 9^th grade was transferred
to the High School and 7^th grade added to the Junior High.  Annuals for 1961-1966, 1972 and 1973 are
available.

During the
1974-75 school year they switched to a middle school system for grades 6-8.  Recent donations have added to the Brevard
Middle School annual collection which now includes 23 volumes.

7th grade boys in the 1953 Quebec School annual.

The Quebec School
produced an annual in 1953.   It included individual student pictures and
photographs of activities.  There were
two teachers and 44 students.  This
annual has photographs and handwritten captions.  The student photographs only have first names
beneath them.  Were annuals for Quebec or
Lake Toxaway schools made in other years?

The elementary
schools in Transylvania County have all produced annuals for many years as
well.  The Local History Room collection
includes various editions of these, including two volumes from Brevard
Elementary, eight from Pisgah Forest Elementary and twelve each from Rosman
Elementary and T.C. Henderson Elementary.

If you have copies
of annuals from Transylvania County Schools that you would be willing to donate
to help fill the gaps in our collection please contact Marcy.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell
Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library
hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional
photographs.  For more information,
comments or suggestions contact Marcy at [email protected]
or 828-884-3151 X242.