Collection of digital yearbooks goes back to area's early days
A high school yearbook is much more than a collection of dated hairstyles and former crushes.
They're "a great source of historical material," says Longview historian Jerry Kelly, who has compiled computer CDs of senior photos from the yearbooks of Kelso, R.A. Long and Castle Rock high schools from each school's first year through 2010.
For example, Longview high school classes "started at St. Helens Inn," he said. "They also held classes at the Y, which was then the Longview Community House. The first graduating class at R.A. Long was in 1929, but the sophomores and juniors were still at Kessler. That's what you find out by going through here."
His compilations include every senior photo plus the covers, staffs, some photos of school buildings and sports, and occasional advertisements.
