For years, people have been donating high school and college yearbooks to NEPGS. These books have been scanned and digitized and made available at the NEPGS office for members and visitors.
During the Covid lockdown, Jim McAndrew, one of our senior volunteers, decided to enhance and enlarge our high school and college yearbook collection. Jim visited, called, emailed and wrote to schools throughout Luzerne and Lackawanna counties and asked if NEPGS could borrow their yearbooks and return them along with a digital copy.
In addition, Jim has been asking people he knows or meets where they went to high school and if they have yearbooks to lend to NEPGS.
Many schools have been happily participating with NEPGS in this effort. To date, we have been able to process yearbooks from 78 Luzerne County high schools and 34 Lackawanna County high schools. The oldest yearbook we have is from 1897 Wyoming Seminary.
Additionally, we have many complete yearbooks collections from high schools including Coughlin, GAR, Meyers, Wyoming Seminary, Ashley, Ashley-Sugar Notch, Hanover, Wyoming Valley West, West Pittston, Shickshinny, Crestwood, Northwest Area, Nanticoke, Lehman-Jackson, Holy Redeemer and Greater Nanticoke Area.
Lately, we have been able to obtain a good number of yearbooks from high schools in Tioga, Sullivan, Monroe and Wayne counties. We also picked up a few needed yearbooks from Pittston Area High School. Our collection has grown to over 3,000 yearbooks, photos, graduation and reunion booklets.
The project continues with promises from more high schools to provide their yearbooks – especially in Lackawanna County – over the next few months. To see our entire collection of yearbooks to date, please click on the list below. All the yearbooks can be viewed and searched at the NEPGS office.