Relive Richmond's past: digitized yearbooks showcase city's evolution through the decades
The Richmond Public Library has partnered with California Revealed, embarking on a project to digitize decades-old yearbooks, providing digital access to images of days gone by and priceless high school memories.
Librarian Angela Cox, who coordinates the local history collection, said the library is excited to work with California Revealed to bring the collection to a broader audience.
“Not too many people know that we have the yearbooks, but some do, and we get requests to find a graduation photo for birthdays and anniversaries. Occasionally, the requests come from people out of state,” Cox said. “Now people are able to just find them online.”
The yearbook collection includes Richmond, Harry Ells, and Kennedy High Schools and covers the years from the late 1920s to the early 1980s. El Cerrito High School yearbooks will also be available soon.
Cox says digitizing the yearbooks is a labor-intensive task that takes about two years once the collection is packed and sent off for scanning.
“It’s a lot of work, and I am the only one who administers the collection, but these yearbooks preserve the history of many remarkable people and things in Richmond, and it is important for people to know about them and have access,” Cox said.
Like tiny time capsules, the yearbooks document Richmond’s evolution and provide a glimpse into its past. From its early days to World War ll and throughout the 1970s, the yearbooks illustrate the various decades through the fashion trends and hairstyles that appear on their pages.
“That’s what most people comment on most,” said Cox. Those hairstyles really show change!”
Cox says the yearbooks also document events long forgotten or, in at least one case, that failed to come to fruition.
Harry Ells 1975 yearbook features photos of the school’s celebrated track and field team, including one superstar who set his sights on Olympic gold.
Dedy Cooper led his team to win the 1975 California State Meet title. Later, he ranked in the top 10 in the world in the 110-meter hurdles for six years straight. Cooper qualified for the U. S. Olympic team in 1980, finishing a close second behind not-yet-San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Renaldo Nehemiah.
But the United States' decision to boycott the games ended Cooper’s quest for an Olympic medal.
Cooper did not get to run in the Olympics, but his high school yearbook documents his journey and achievements as a high school track and field star.
California Revealed has also digitized and made available a limited number of historical photographs and city directories. Soon, it will also have online access to historical newspapers, such as the Point Richmond Progress.
California Revealed is a California State Library initiative that helps public libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other heritage groups digitize, preserve, and provide online access to archival materials documenting the state’s histories, arts, and cultures.
California Revealed also offers support and assistance for cataloging, community archiving, and K-12 curriculum development. It also works with the State Library to establish Memory Labs at public libraries across California.
To learn more about Richmond Library’s digital collection, visit Richmond Public Library historical resources.
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