Recovering Yearbooks

[swedeace]

I lost my 6th grade and 7th grade yearbooks over some problems with our family storage back in 1997. I was angry!

It wasn't until today I visited my old middle school and ask them if they had information over re-ordering past yearbooks. I learned they don't do that. I then asked if I can retain information of the publishing company so I can contact them in an attempt to do so. I was referred to the school librarian who then looked through some old yearbooks. He was telling me that some of the yearbooks they kept were stolen or something like that. He couldn't find the yearbooks with the years I attended. He told me they don't probably didn't keep a digital database and just printed out so many and sold them to the middle schools. I was heartbroken. It felt like I really lost my middle school memories. :(

I thanked him for checking, and I walked out of the school just mopping about them. I am still going to try really hard to trace the yearbooks OR weed through the existing yearbook publishing companies. I don't want to give up quite yet. I know I could look through one of my old middle school friend's yearbooks if I wanted to look through them, but I'd still love to have my OWN copies, you know....

I lost ALL those cherished middle school signatures from friends and classmates. I know I will NEVER be able to recover those, but I still want a copy of the yearbooks!

So, has anyone had a similar situation of tracing past yearbooks? How did it go? What are some of the possible yearbook companies out there? I will Google it, but I also wanted to know if anyone else had any other suggestions or helpful hints in this. I mean, there just HAS to be SOME kind of record or something. When there's a will, there's a way, right? Thanks for any advice!! :wave:

[Shine]

It is funny that you should bring this topic up, Mona. Last night I decided to take out my 7th (1988-1989 school year) and 8th (1989-1990) after nearly ten years and look through them. I hated middle school so looking through the books brought back quite a few unpleasent memories. It was funny looking at the hairstyles and clothing though. :lol:

[KristinHerreraFan]

I never ever get yearbooks :p

[Karen64]

It's a long shot, but e-bay always has old school yearbooks, (some I've seen going back to the 1940s) and if you're lucky, you may just find just the ones you're looking for!

[PZelda]

You mentioned looking at your friends' yearbooks...Well, why don't you go look through THEIR yearbook to get the name of the company? That way you would be able to ask about getting a copy of your yearbooks.

I got yearbooks every year when I was in 5th - 12th grades, so I still have them. RIGHT after I graduated from HS (as in three months after), the yearbook teacher at my old HS was getting rid of her inventory and she had this deal where you could buy 3 yearbooks from her for $15, so I brought one more copy of my 9th, 10th and 11th grade yearbooks, because the spine on my originals look like ****.

I would, however, like to be able to obtain yearbooks from when I was in school in the 80's and early 90's, because I don't have any from back then. I would especially love to own a yearbook from when I was in kindergarten and 1st/2nd grades (1991 and 1992).

[Brieannas21]

Well I lost my High School Diploma, I accidentally threw it in the trash. I looked all over for that thing. I never went back to my old HS and asked for a replacement I doubt that they would give me one.

[EmoJoe]

i lost my yearbook from just last year :lol:

[Ireneparalegal]

http://www.ourclassreunion.com/

http://pages.zdnet.com/biswire/YearbookORG/

[swedeace]

It is funny that you should bring this topic up, Mona. Last night I decided to take out my 7th (1988-1989 school year) and 8th (1989-1990) after nearly ten years and look through them. I hated middle school so looking through the books brought back quite a few unpleasent memories. It was funny looking at the hairstyles and clothing though. :lol:
:lol: I know what you mean!!! Just the other day, I ran into one of my best friends from middle school, and we were talking about our hair styles, too! Hahahaha... shocking but hilarious to laugh at!! :eek:

[swedeace]

It's a long shot, but e-bay always has old school yearbooks, (some I've seen going back to the 1940s) and if you're lucky, you may just find just the ones you're looking for!
That's a great idea! I'll have to periodically check on them on Ebay. Thanks!

[swedeace]

You mentioned looking at your friends' yearbooks...Well, why don't you go look through THEIR yearbook to get the name of the company? That way you would be able to ask about getting a copy of your yearbooks.

You're so right. Ack! Why didn't I think of it? I guess I was soooo angry and just upset that I didn't think of checking out the publishing company on my friend's yearbooks. Thanks.

[swedeace]

http://www.ourclassreunion.com/

http://pages.zdnet.com/biswire/YearbookORG/
Thanks for the links!! It takes me to a bunch of confusing pages, but I will take a closer look. I will bookmark them. Thank you!

[Shine]

:lol: I know what you mean!!! Just the other day, I ran into one of my best friends from middle school, and we were talking about our hair styles, too! Hahahaha... shocking but hilarious to laugh at!! :eek:


Did your hair look like this? :lol: :D

[swedeace]

Did your hair look like this? :lol: :D
Oh my gosh! :eek2: :lol:

No, but I do remember I always wanted to have that kind of a hairstyle. It seems that all the other girls were able to perfect it using a curling iron, but I never owned one. For my sixth grade picture, I actually used some of my mom's hair rollers and placed them on my bangs. When I sprayed hairspray after attempting to feather the bangs, the middle split and made my hair look weird! LOL! Since it's been years since I saw that picture, I can't remember exactly, but I do remember it looked awful. Gosh... glad those days are over!!! :crazy:

[Seth]

I never ever get yearbooks :p

And have you had one of your closer friends to die yet? One day, it'll happen. And it'll hurt. And when it does, you'll open your yearbook, there they'll be. And then, the memories will come back, and you'll feel a bit happier again.

First sentence is morbid, but I had to make the point.

[KristinHerreraFan]

And have you had one of your closer friends to die yet? One day, it'll happen. And it'll hurt. And when it does, you'll open your yearbook, there they'll be. And then, the memories will come back, and you'll feel a bit happier again.

First sentence is morbid, but I had to make the point.

I can't afford yearbooks, the price of my school yearbooks are $75, and my parents can't pay that much, the reason they are that price is because they are over 300 pages and its in ALL color. But I was able to affor my middle school and elementary school yearbooks, because those were only $20. But in high school, I'm never able to get yearbooks :(

[PZelda]

I can't afford yearbooks, the price of my school yearbooks are $75, and my parents can't pay that much, the reason they are that price is because they are over 300 pages and its in ALL color. But I was able to affor my middle school and elementary school yearbooks, because those were only $20. But in high school, I'm never able to get yearbooks :(
$75 for a 300-page yearbook in full color? WTF...I feel ripped off now. My senior yearbook (2002-2003) was $65, and that was for a 190-page yearbook that was 3/4 in color. :mad: pissed: :angryfire

So what I'm saying is, $75 for a 300-page full-color yearbook = CHEAP.

Oh, and my middle school yearbooks were $8. But that's because they were under 32 pages (I think) and they were paperbacks. :lol: There were about 700 kids at the 5-8 middle school I attended.

Oh, you could always email/ask the yearbook teacher if s/he has any old yearbooks to get rid of, and they could give you copies for dirt-cheap.

[Mijada]

I still have all my yearbooks from every grade except 5th grade, 1982/83. I would like to get that one but I doubt I would be able to find it anywhere.
Most of my yearbooks from the elementary/middle school years are in tatters. I wish I would have been taken better care of them. I can still read all the signatures though.

[Kazza]

I'm trying to be consistent about getting my dd's their school yearbooks;none of my schools did them. They only cost $15 but are in full color.

[swedeace]

I can't afford yearbooks, the price of my school yearbooks are $75, and my parents can't pay that much, the reason they are that price is because they are over 300 pages and its in ALL color. But I was able to affor my middle school and elementary school yearbooks, because those were only $20. But in high school, I'm never able to get yearbooks :(
Whoa!!! $75 for a yearbook?? They really have gone UP in prices since I was in high school. They were around $30-35, and I remember my parents finding that to be very expensive. The middle school yearbooks were around $12-15. Geez.... That sucks if they are that high. Then again, our economy is only catching up, so it's normal.

[Jonathan]

i lost my yearbook from just last year :lol:
I do that too. I usually try to put my yearbooks in the top of my bedroom closet. I had this bad habit of scribbling in everything, therefore a lot of my yearbooks from early on have gotten out of shape. :lol:

[swedeace]

I have been thinking A LOT about my middle school days ever since I ran into an middle school friend of mine.

It actually got me thinking a whole new perspective of "the old days." I have always put so much emphasis on all the terrible times I have had in school. Me, being such a shy, awkward, ugly, weird-dressed girl, always dreaded middle school. I always didn't think much of those middle school days until the old friend was reminiscing on the "fun times" we had. I didn't even realize there were friends and classmates of mine who enjoyed my presence. It sorta felt special. It was as though my brain blocked those good time memories. Wow...

Even walking into my old middle school yesterday, brought forth some good memories. Seeing the snack bar, the patio, the cafeteria, the library, etc... It was totally different walking through the halls as an adult seeing these 11-14-year-old youngsters in school uniforms and surfing the internet as one of the only things that have changed. It feels weird that I was once roaming those halls in their same ages as a student.

[Shine]

I have been thinking A LOT about my middle school days ever since I ran into an middle school friend of mine.

It actually got me thinking a whole new perspective of "the old days." I have always put so much emphasis on all the terrible times I have had in school. Me, being such a shy, awkward, ugly, weird-dressed girl, always dreaded middle school. I always didn't think much of those middle school days until the old friend was reminiscing on the "fun times" we had. I didn't even realize there were friends and classmates of mine who enjoyed my presence. It sorta felt special. It was as though my brain blocked those good time memories. Wow...

Even walking into my old middle school yesterday, brought forth some good memories. Seeing the snack bar, the patio, the cafeteria, the library, etc... It was totally different walking through the halls as an adult seeing these 11-14-year-old youngsters in school uniforms and surfing the internet as one of the only things that have changed. It feels weird that I was once roaming those halls in their same ages as a student.


Junior high (which for me was 7th and 8th grade) was one of the low points in my life. I try not to think too much of those days. However, if I really went back and examined them I would probably find that there were some good days.

[Jonathan]

I can't afford yearbooks, the price of my school yearbooks are $75, and my parents can't pay that much, the reason they are that price is because they are over 300 pages and its in ALL color. But I was able to affor my middle school and elementary school yearbooks, because those were only $20. But in high school, I'm never able to get yearbooks :(
$75? :eek: My yearbooks come in B&W for about $25 or so. I really liked the design this year. All the elementary yearbooks came in paper-back form. No color at all in my yearbook this year, or from that I can remember.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Junior high (which for me was 7th and 8th grade) was one of the low points in my life. I try not to think too much of those days. However, if I really went back and examined them I would probably find that there were some good days.
Those were my low point years too. I have year books from 7th and 8th grade but I just stopped getting them after that.

[Shine]

Those were my low point years too. I have year books from 7th and 8th grade but I just stopped getting them after that.


I try to pretend that everything that happened between August 1988 and June 1990 never really happened. :(

[vienna waits]

about the only way of getting the yearbook is if the adviser has extra copies. the printing companies arent going to be able to reprint the books. especially ones from that long ago.

[swedeace]

A co-worker friend of mine (who is a mother to two teenage girls) was telling me her daughters' HS yearbooks were $85 each. And, it's NOT in FULL color. Only some of the clubs and ALL of the senior pictures are in color. Whoa! :eek:

And - get this - the school is charging extra money (about $10-$20 per week) if students decide to purchase their yearbooks as the school year progress. Schools here in my city are going to get out in about 1.5 weeks, too. So, next week the girls' yearbooks will be $110. Wow... That's TOO much.... My friend had to tell her daugthers, "Forget it! I ain't paying THAT much." Wow...

[Steve M.]

My sister accidentally took my college senior yearbook when she move out and got married, along with her own stuff. My informal picture came out blurry, my class notes thanked a classmate I had a falling-out with less than a year after graduation for her "friendship," and I added two quotes to my yearbook entry that I no longer necessarily agree with. So I obviously never asked my sister to give me my yearbook back. There's a reason I don't attend college reunions anymore - because they're f:censored:in' waste of f:censored:in' time.

Kind of like college. :eek:

[Steve M.]

Junior high (which for me was 7th and 8th grade) was one of the low points in my life. I try not to think too much of those days. However, if I really went back and examined them I would probably find that there were some good days.


I don't think that period is a high point in anyone's life. As the late French movie director Francois Truffaut once said, "Adolescence only leaves fond memories for those who can't remember." :(