DOUG’S Q-C COLLECTIBLES: Rare yearbook from 1908 is Volume 1!
Hi Doug: I have the 1908 yearbook for Parsons College. The cover has a capital “H” and the word “Peira” inscribed on the front. Inside, the title page says, “Edited by the class of 1909,” with a quote at the bottom of the page: “Get the Thing Done and Let the Crowd Howl.” It has over 100 pages of faculty, students and organizations. Any info on its rarity and value would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dean
Dear Dean: Were you a student at Parsons College at that time? If so, you might know my great-great-grandfather, who was also on campus. He’ll be 122 this year and is retired now.
Seriously, what a wonderful old book. The most important attribute that stands out to me is that this is the very first and historic Volume 1. If you actually take the time to read it, you’ll be fascinated by how much has changed and what it was like to be one of the fortunate few to attend college 100 years ago.
It was put together by the Junior Class of 1909 and therefore is what we call a “Junior Annual.” Normally, the junior class would have taken credit for the book by calling it the 1909 issue, even though it covers the events of the 1907-1908 school year. This is almost always a source of confusion for people. I suppose the junior classes often tackled the school yearbook assignment back then because the seniors were just too busy in their final year of school, and perhaps it served as a going-away tribute to the senior class. I’m just not sure of the genesis of that, but it was nonetheless a common practice.
The name given to the yearbook, Peira, is Greek, meaning to test, i.e., attempt and experience. Perhaps the original staff felt they were presenting their best attempt for approval of the student body, a valiant first effort, a test of their hard work and effort.
Parsons College was founded in 1875 in Fairfield, Iowa, and was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. For most of its existence, it was a small and unremarkable school of higher learnin’ until a man by the name of Millard G. Roberts moseyed into town. As its new president, he had some not-so-typical ideas of how to run a college and set out to put those ideas to work.
In what was soon to be labeled the “Parsons Plan,” his initiatives grew a 400-student college that few had ever heard of in 1955 into a 5,000-student-plus, nationally recognized institution by 1967. His methods of curriculum revision had the academic world abuzz. Some of the successful and ambitious steps included aggressive student recruitment, four-month-long trimesters, employment of highly acclaimed instructors and published authors, and top salary compensation. In fact, at one time in the 1960s, Parsons was second only to Harvard in terms of what it paid instructors! It also provided desirable perks such as country club membership and low-interest home mortgage loans. In return for the generous compensation, the instructors actually were required to teach class and keep extended office hours, ensuring their availability to all students. What a concept!
Unfortunately, because Parsons recruited marginal students who might have failed elsewhere, the college acquired the epithet “Flunk Out U,” and it was claimed to be a haven for men desiring to dodge the draft during the Vietnam War. On June 3, 1966, Life magazine published an article that was critical of the college and its philosophy. And, as if things couldn’t get worse, the following year, the school lost its accreditation, which was the impetus for a mass exodus of students that led to its ultimate demise in 1973.
The school was then sold to followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the doors were opened in 1974 to what is now known as the Maharishi University of Management. Despite the fact that many of the campus buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, they were sadly bulldozed over to build new facilities, which adhere to the Maharishi Sthapatya Veda principles of architecture.
The value of school yearbooks as collectibles is principally based around the senior students found pictured individually in a given book. College and university books in particular are less collectible than high school books, especially smaller colleges such as Parsons, which not only has a smaller alumni base but also has closed forever.
Also, I am unaware of any nationally famous or interesting students who graduated from Parsons in 1908. Hubert Howard graduated in 1909 and matriculated to Harvard to study law, but lawyers and doctors are not normally given celebrity status, nor do they generate interest among collectors. The overwhelming positive trait of your yearbook lies in the fact that it is Volume 1 and contains so much information and vintage photography of the campus, students and teachers. I’m sure that anyone who holds Parsons College near and dear will be excited to obtain one. Unfortunately, 1908 is not particularly old for a yearbook, and this one remains fairly obtainable. An interested buyer should have no problem paying you $100 for such an insightful read.
Contact Doug Smith with your collectibles questions by e-mailing him at DougsQCCollecting@hotmail.com or sending a note to the Quad-City Times, Attn.: features editor, P.O. Box 3828, Davenport, IA, 52808. Please send a photograph, if available, either by e-mail or letter.