How did one school celebrate their 100th volume?

After 99 Volumes, it was the perfect time for celebrating history

Not all that many yearbook staffs get the opportunity to publish Volume 100, but Kansas State adviser Linda Puntney and her staffs have been thinking and talking about it for years. They knew they wanted to chronicle the impact of the Royal Purple yearbook on the campus and its students, but they also knew that they were way more interested in that magic number than most of the 23,000 students on campus.

In the 2009 Royal Purple itself, they did an extended feature titled, “100 Years of Excellence.” In addition to research from the university archivist, they shared covers, an awards history and campus highlights from years gone by. The 16-page, full-color feature included a quick peek at all 99 predecessors as photos of the standing volumes created a base for other content.

But even that didn’t seem like enough coverage of a full century of yearbooking at K State. The RP staffs become very close while they are creating the massive volumes that arrive each April; 2009’s 480 pages would have required untold hours — even without the special project and event planning required for a celebration 100 years in the making.

As the 2009 yearbook was finalled, RP alums from coast to coast received invitations to a reunion weekend capped off by a banquet. Behind the scenes, a corps of their peers had been working on the grand finale. After the dinner, after the coronation of royalty and before the conclusion of the weekend that reconfirmed the importance of a yearbook for former staffers now spanning the nation and working in an array of fields, came one final surprise. What better way to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Purple than a book about the book? A 112-page volume capturing stories of editors through the ages, traditions old and new and other RP details was distributed to those attending.

The book, which included a DVD supplement much like the 12 that have accompanied recent yearbooks, was completed by 10 alums and several current students over the course of a cold and icy weekend in February. They convened in Kedzie Hall for a hard-core weekend of research, fact-checking, page design and yearbook fun.

“It was far more work than we expected,” concluded Puntney. “In retrospect, I can’t think of a greater gift we could have given the university or the program. The history is there forever.”

Accompanied by the 2009 RP (top of page), the commemorative volume, At the Heart of Purple, and material from the weekend celebration capture history.

Discoveries Vol. 14 Issue 2