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History preserved in database for high school alumni

By Josh Krysak 2 min read

CARMICHAELS – What began as a project to preserve history three years ago has now become a project to shape the future. In 2002, the county in conjunction with the school districts and the county libraries, worked to convert the year books form the five county school districts, to compact disc to preserve the region’s history.

Now the project has spawned a project, with local high school and college students working to take the new digital information and create a database for Greene County alumni to interact.

“We are working to create a database of alumni so we can find out where these people are, what they are doing and contact them,” Carmichaels Superintendent Jim Zalar said.

In 2002, Zalar approached the commissioners about the project, after the longtime Carmichaels educator recognized the fragility of paper records and the importance of preserving the region’s history.

“The first phase was to copy all the yearbooks and we have basically done that,” Zalar said. “It has been a great success. We get calls all the time with former students requesting a compact disc of their yearbook. It has been an asset.”

Zalar said the project is being coordinated by one of the students who originally undertook the project, Keith Vaveric, who is now a Waynesburg College graduate.

Students are still responsible for the actual work, utilizing the school’s technology to scan in the old books and create the database and discs.

“We find out about all the success that our past students are having,” Zalar said.

“It has also helped with class reunions, allowing organizers to find students easily.”

Zalar said the information repository has also proved beneficial to the district in particular, allowing the administration to gain a firm grasp on the number of scholarships established by former grads and allow others who have succeed to setup new ones as well.

“Many of our students have become quite successful and they consider their time here some of the best years of their lives,” Zalar said.

“They want to give back and now we have more than $65,000 annually in scholarship funds in our district.

But county officials are still seeking some books that have proved elusive in the three-year project to finally complete the yearbook collection.

They include Central Greene: 1924, 1951, 1955, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2004; Jefferson Morgan: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 2002 and 2004; Southeastern Greene: 1912-1940, 1943-1947, 1953-1955, 1957, 1966-1970, 1981-1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996 and 1999-2004; and West Greene: 1951, 1952, 1986, 1991 and 1994.

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