-From the pages of the 1960 Reveille Annual-


Ex Libris

From books.  A great part of the world's wisdom comes from books--books of international scope to books of purely local interest.  And a type of local book is the community history.

In many respects, the Reveille over the past 50 years has served as a history of Newark Senior High School. Before 1911, there had been some publications efforts such as Hetuck, but in 1911, a seed fell on fertile ground; the Reveille took root and has flourished since.

The initial issue was dated March 1, 1911.  Three issues were published that year.  The idea of an "annual" evolved rather rapidly; however, for by June, 1914, there was issued a Commencement number that included pictures of members of the graduating class.  During the years from 1911 to 1917, there were six issues published each year.  Each issue contained departments consisting of such items as stories, essays, and poems by students; editorials, letters from readers, jokes, and advertisements.  There was some news, but a large proportion of it was in the realm of  athletics.  (In this respect, NHS has made no change over the years.)

The school year 1916-1917 however, marked a departure from the routine established in 1911.  Instead of issuing six magazines, the staff published 16 issues of a bi-weekly newspaper, which followed somewhat the format of the current Reveille Review.  It was printed commercially.  The year ended, nevertheless, with the traditional annual.  Whereas the final issue of the first year of publication contained 52 pages, by 1917 the annual had gone to 64 pages.

Again in 1918, the Reveille published a newspaper.  Because of the world war, however, the annual was called Taps.  It has been said that no annual had been planned for that year because of the world conflict, but that four students who were on the staff of Taps -- James K. Miller, Editor; G. Charnock Wilson, Business Manager; Donald C. Power, Art Manager; and Paul S. Schonberg, Advertising Manager, believed there should be such a publication and issued one of their own volition.   Taps contained 80 pages.  In September of 1918, the newspaper was discontinued because of the war.  After the armistice of November 1918, the publication returned to the six-issue magazine.  By 1920, the Reveille annual had reached 100 pages and had acquired a more durable cover.  

The 1926 annual marked a step forward in planning the yearbook.  It introduced a central art theme, a new style of binding, and a new kind of insert page.   The production, along with these several magazine issues, was made up in a newly organized journalism class whose members received 1/2 credit per year for their efforts.  In addition to the six issues, the staff published a full page of high school news in each of the local papers, the American Tribune and the Newark Advocate.  

During the school year 1926-1927, the Reveille News was introduced.  The paper was run off on a multigraph machine, which had been presented to the school in 1926.  In 1928, the Reveille staff published a bi-weekly news sheet for magazines, and the annual.

The 1929 annual enlarged its page size from the old 6-3/4 x 10-1/2 to 7-3/4 x 10-1/2, a size that has continued to date.   By 1930,  journalism was established as a full credit subject.  The staff issued four magazines, 29 numbers of the news sheet, and the annual.  However, the year 1930-1931 saw the dropping of the magazine.  During the school year 1935-1936, the gradual change-over from multigraph to mimeograph was made in publishing the news sheet so that by the fall of 1936, the school newspaper was entirely mimeographed.

The 1937 annual was unusual in that it was published on paper of a dark buff color or sepia.  Interestingly, the price of the annual was $1.00, a price that had been maintained for some years.  

The 1938 and 1939 yearbook graduated to a semi-hard cover, but it was not until 1940 that the Reveille blossomed into a volume with a hardcasing.

In 1951, the annual graduated to the padded cover, but otherwise the book remained much the same as it had in the past ten years.  And then at the beginning of the school year 1952-1953, the Reveille News ceased publication.  News of the school was supplied daily to the Newark Advocate.  From this point on, no credit has been given for journalism.  

In the fall of 1953, a newspaper was again published under the name of the Reveille Review.  It remained a mimeographed magazine issued once a month until the autumn of 1956 when it once again became a printed newspaper issued once a month.  During the year 1958-1959, an attempt was made to issue twice a month, a policy that was followed the latter part of the school year; but in 1959-1960, because of the lack of facilities and time, the paper again has been issued monthly.  

Meanwhile, the annual for 1959 had returned to the hardcover, primarily because of the cost of the padded cover.  For the past several years, it had grown into a book of 240 pages at the price of $3.50.  And so we arrive at the point where the reader has this issue in his hands -- the Reveille that marks the golden anniversary of the publication.  

Over the years, the annual has remained more conservative than many yearbooks by not sacrificing copy to a surfeit of pictures.  Because of its peculiar function as a history to which many people in the community and in the school system turn for information, advisors and staffs have felt that the book should not be glamourized to the point of uselessness to the detriment of future reference.

Although the chief architects of the yearbook have been the editorial staff, not a small part of its success over these past 50 years goes to the business staffs, patron staffs, and advertisers.  Without the hard work of business staffs and the loyal support of advertisers, the Reveille would have ceased publication years ago.

What of the future?  At this writing, the staff of the 1960 book hope that in 2010 another group will be able to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Reveille annual and that it will continue to be a repository of information to enrich the life of students and alumni who peruse its pages in order to stimulate their memories and an aid to future historians of Newark Senior High School and the City of Newark.