A Bit About Central High School "Salemite" Yearbooks & Periodicals

It appears that yearly high school yearbooks, focused on the graduating senior class with a preponderance of class and organized activity pictures were not published until the mid to late 1930s.  Before then, "The Salemite", a literary publication by the students and faculty, was published on a regular basis 4 times a year.  The tradition of periodic publication of "The Salemite", a newspaper-like and literary publication seems to have continued on-and-off until the school closed in 1962 (as samples on this website attest).

The Salemite publication shown here is marked "Commencement Number" & Volume 3, No. 4, implying that:

1. the first issue was in the 1926-1927 school year - the same period when the Purdys Central High School was built (see the stone carving on one of the building's cornerstones),
2. there were (usually) 4 issues per year.

The "Editorial - Appreciation" section of this publication states: "During this first year in our new school the Salemite has prospered...." documenting that the school building was first occupied sometime in the school year ending in June, 1929.  The first graduating class was in 1930 as documented in that year's Salemite publication (see Class of 1930 pages).  Why this 1929 publication would be called the "Commencement Number" is subject to speculation.

Commentary by Pier "Peter" Guidi, '62
Website author & editor, Dec. 2012.