Official records, board meetings, financial reports – these can all give us a glimpse into the inner workings of the University over the years. And while we can paint a picture of the campus with formal files, it takes a special kind of record to understand the true experience of being on campus in years past. For this personal experience, I always turn to the student newspapers, another one of my favorite things in the archive.

November 1935 marked the first issue of The Nor’easter, the first of many titles of Western New England’s student newspaper. The cover reads –

It is with mixed feelings of pride and misgivings that the staff of the ‘Nor’easter’ presents the student body with this first edition.

The paper was renamed in 1951 as W.N.E.C News, officially spelled it out with a new title, Western New England College News in 1962, then finally stuck with The Westerner, which is how we know it today, in 1964. The paper has been published continuously over the past 82 years, and is still going strong.

Front page of the first issue of The Nor’easter, November 1935

These newspapers provide a world of information to researchers, and serve to place our little corner of the world into a much larger context. From editorials about the draft, to low enrollment numbers during World War II, to the first IBM on campus, there is so much worldly information to be gleaned from their pages.

And the best part of the student newspapers is that they are all digitized and full text searchable, which means if you have a topic in mind, you can search for the appearance of keywords within the issues. All of the issues housed in the archives are freely available on the Internet Archive.

To the original editors of The Nor’easter of 1935 – no misgivings needed! They would be proud to see their legacy continuing almost a century later.

As a general rule, archivists avoid collecting objects whenever possible. Not that we have anything against objects – they reveal as much about the past as paper, and are far more appealing to look at! But as archivists we are trained in the preservation and conservation of paper only. And our storage facilities are typically not equipped, nor large enough, to properly store three dimensional objects.

All that said, sometimes it’s very hard to refuse to accept an object into the archives, especially when the potential donation doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Over time the Western New England University Archives has accepted some hard to resist objects, creating a small but interesting lot in our storage room. In the archives you will find freshmen beanies, an array of bowling trophies, and even a fraternity paddle. And among this varied collection is another of my favorite things in the archive – the original Golden Bear mascot costume.

Handmade in 1971, the costume consists of a full, furry body suit and a fur covered paper mache head. Its ears are a little hairy, and its eyes and teeth a little scary, but it’s our original beloved bear, and an amazing piece of Western New England History. Since the bear found its new home in the archives last year, it’s been exhibited in the display case in the library, and even inspired a series of blog posts about the history of the Golden Bear.

The head of the original Golden Bear.

The original full costume of the Golden Bear

Because of this costume everyone will be able to see what the original mascot looked like. Sure, there are a few photographs of the mascot in action, but to see the actual costume is an entirely different experience. The power of objects is palpable, and something that archivist seldom get to enjoy!