Remember that genealogy research “to do” list I made back in December?
Good, I’ll forget about it, too.
I’ve been so busy at work lately that I am behind in everything. But readers are so helpful, that I will post something that is a bit of a mystery to me (what isn’t?!).
This “Class Day Exercises” announcement for the Kalamazoo High School Class of 1902 was with some other papers and clippings my grandparents held for years.
But who did it originally belong to? Who in the family graduated from high school in 1902?
My first guess was Joseph DeKorn because he seemed about the right age. Joseph Peter DeKorn: June 30, 1881. Look at that! He was born under the astrological sign of Cancer, just like me.
How old would he have been in 1902? My advanced math skills tell me he would have been 21. Hmm, that seems a little old for graduating from high school. Especially for a very smart young man like Uncle Joe.
Grandpa wasn’t born until 1908. I wondered about Alice Leeuwenhoek, but she was born in 1897. The daughters of Richard DeKorn’s second wife were born in the 1890s, as well. The first VanLiere boy wasn’t born until 1902 (in Goes, the Netherlands). It is possible that it could belong to a child of Mary DeKorn DeSmit and John DeSmit, but that seems unlikely.
It could have belonged to a friend, but then why would the family have held onto it all these years?
Any ideas on how I get a list of 1902 graduates of Kalamazoo High School from the comfort of my computer chair?
Another thing I wonder about is exactly what Class Day Exercises are. I believe they are still held today, but what role does it play in the graduation process that includes commencement, baccalaureate service, etc.?
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The Family Kalamazoo 
Look at this. http://kalamazoogenealogy.org/Schools/Search.htm
It doesn’t exactly answer your needs, but it might lead you to something.
LOOK AT THIS http://kalamazoogenealogy.org/Schools/KPSHIp32.htm
Joseph DeKorn
Good find 🙂
You, m’dear, are amazing. What a sleuth!!! Thank you so much. So it does belong to Joseph DeKorn!
You’re welcome!
When I have found school records I have used the folowing sources:
Ancestry look through newspapers, schools and reference.
Google the school, class and year. Also try the surname and Kalamazoo High.
Good luck
Thank you, Mrs. P! These are good ideas!Happily, WJ (jeannieunbottled) found the answer online! The announcement was for Joseph DeKorn’s high school graduation. Now the mystery would be why a smart boy like Joe was 21 when he graduated.
Things were quite a bit different back then in terms of education. Many people did not go to school. The ones that did, may have only gone for a few years. Due to a death in the family and living at an orphanage, my grandfather did not attend school until he was about 18 years old.
Once he started school, he never stopped. I am told that he was always studying for something.
My grand uncle went from high school to Masters within three years. He was the braniac of the family.
Imagine not being able to start school until 18! He probably tried to make up for it his whole life! Maybe Joe was out from school for a while for illness or maybe for the problems of another family member. Last year, I wrote about a terrible thing that happened to Joe’s mother in 1891. That would have been 11 years before he graduated. Maybe he had to take time off school because of his mother’s accident.
I’d try the phone in addition to the computer. See if there is a local historical society in the area where the school is or was. Is the school still in existence? If so is there a place where they store their records?
I’d also try the local library newspaper archives. Sometimes newspapers had articles about the children of prominent families or general news about events like this one.
Even if the school doesn’t exist you can ask around where their records if any are stored. You never know.
Also check out if there are or were any Alumni Associations.
EmilyAnn, these are wonderful ideas! I’ll squirrel this info away for future questions! WJ (jeannieunbottled) above solved the mystery with her online sleuthing. This announcement apparently did belong to Joseph DeKorn, so now the question is why he graduated when he was 21!
Hi Luanne,
You probably already found this, but I used the ALMIGHTY GOOGLE and found this page: http://kalamazoogenealogy.org/Schools/KPSHIp32.htm
You must know about http://kalamazoogenealogy.org/, right?!
Indeed your Joseph DeKorn was a graduate in 1902!
Cheers,
Ian
Ian, I only know about it because WJ (jeannieunbottled) above found this information. It’s so exciting to have information like that at my fingertips (now that I know where to look! Thanks so much, Ian. I am loving the story you are unfolding for us on your blog.
It truly is incredible what is available on the internet. I actually found PDFs of the architectural drawings of my Oma’s house in Nijmegen from 1933 the other day!
I always find it amazing how items like this have “survived” several generations. Multiple people must have found the invitation and decided that it was worth saving.
Sheryl, that’s an excellent point. It’s so true. Most likely the path here was that it was Joe’s mother to Joe’s sister to HER son (my grandfather) and then my parents gave it to me. Eventually I will have to figure out which young person in the family is the most likely to caretake things like this announcement.
I was for a number of years alumni director at my college. Class Day exercises were when awards were presented to class members and they were recognized for their accomplishments so that it did have to be done at Commencement. Perhaps those class day events served the same purpose. Baccalaureate was a religious service.