Post–World War I Youth Culture and Education in Texas, Raborn Graduation Scrapbook with Athletics and School Ephemera, 1921–1923

Texas Women's Education

Manuscripts & Autographs

Raborn, Winola. Scrapbook, 1921–1923, documents high school student life in Waco, Texas, immediately following World War I, preserving evidence of educational experience, peer relationships, and extracurricular culture within a Southern public school system. The volume provides primary documentation of student networks, school athletics, and institutional activities at Waco High School, supporting research into youth culture, gendered education, and the social environment of American secondary schools in the early twentieth century.
Raborn, Winola. Scrapbook. 1921–1940 (bulk 1921–1923). “The Girl Graduates Record Book.” Manuscript and printed scrapbook containing 176 pages with 27 handwritten inscriptions, 11 silver gelatin photographs, and approximately 255 pieces of ephemera. Entries from classmates and teachers reflect shared academic experiences and social bonds, including informal notes such as one addressed to “Dearest Fellow Sufferer” from the Chemistry room and others referencing nicknames and classroom interactions. Sentiments emphasize friendship and transition, with messages noting the imminent end of school life and hopes for future success, alongside teacher remarks encouraging further education: “You have given evidence of real ability as a student and I trust you may go to college.” The scrapbook includes extensive material related to Waco High School athletics, particularly football, with tickets, ribbons reading “Take ’Em Tigers” and “Waco HS Tigers,” newspaper clippings, and typed game reports against regional schools including Mexia, Oak Cliff, Beaumont, Austin, Marshall, and Marlin. Additional contents include report cards documenting coursework in History, Chemistry, English, Domestic Science, and Civics; programs from school plays such as “The Daisy Chain” and “Ruth in a Rush”; commencement programs; and personal materials including a Western Union telegram, a metal nail file, and a Thanksgiving card. Clippings record Raborn’s marriage in 1923, while a handwritten list of graduation gifts—such as silk hose, candy, and handkerchiefs—documents material exchanges marking educational milestones. Photographs include school portraits, later images labeled “School Days 1939–’40 Hubbard School,” and a snapshot of a man in a U.S. Navy uniform, indicating the scrapbook’s continued use beyond graduation.
This scrapbook emerges from a period of expanding secondary education and increased participation in organized school activities, particularly athletics and performance, which structured student identity and community engagement. The prominence of football-related materials reflects the growing cultural importance of high school sports in the American South, while the inclusion of academic records and teacher commentary highlights expectations placed on young women balancing intellectual achievement and social roles. The continuation of entries beyond graduation, including marriage documentation, demonstrates how such scrapbooks functioned as evolving personal archives bridging school life and adulthood. Original cloth boards with embossed floral motif; measures 10.25 x 7 inches; 176 pages. Back hinge loose and beginning to separate; light toning to pages, especially around pasted clippings; good to very good condition. A detailed record of student experience, institutional culture, and social transition in early twentieth-century Texas.

Item #16860

Price: $485.00