“Woodstock has changed”. It’s impossible to take five steps on this campus without hearing that familiar refrain from one person or another. “It never used to be like this”. Whether it comes to senior privilege, schedules, or even the campus, Woodstock’s metamorphosis seems to be a common sentiment among students. People tend to classify times at Woodstock into one of two categories – New Woodstock and the old Woodstock. However, as Woodstock has been an institution for over 100 years, change is inevitable. In an old institution like this, rocky periods and smooth ones are natural. But exactly how much has Woodstock changed? Has it become something unrecognizable to those who once went here? The answer lies only a Google search away.

One of Woodstock’s best kept secrets is the treasure trove of old yearbooks, dating back to 1928, uploaded in perfect condition online. Years of history and changing times are cataloged through decades of yearbooks. Clicking through the editions is surreal. The pictures slowly become more colorful, the classes larger. Traditions are created and forgotten. Reading through old senior wills and inside jokes, it’s easy to feel like an imposter- reading through jokes and stories that have been lost to time, made and created when most of us weren’t even alive. Some traditions like May Queen, and Boy and Girl of the Year have not stood the test of time, but others like JSB are here to stay. History can be observed simply by reading through the yearbooks chronologically. Trends change, the horn-rimmed glasses of the 1960’s being replaced by the tie dye of the 1970s. The Whispering Pine has endured throughout the decades- through World Wars, Cold wars, revolutions, and natural disasters- however you don’t feel this when reading through the editions. It feels as if Woodstock is it’s own bubble- resistant to the turmoil around it. 

 Even though change is unavoidable, it’s definitely tempting to glorify the old days of Woodstock- whatever you define those as being. Yet, this is a cycle. Perhaps every class feels like this, reminiscing for the years before them. It’s interesting to think that someday, 100 years in the future, Woodstock students will look at our old yearbooks and reminisce about the good old days. 

However, one common thread in the Whispering Pine is looking forward, not backwards. The forward of the Whispering Pine, 1964, reads “The class of 1964 looks out to the wide and distant horizon with eager ambition. What Woodstock has contributed in preparation for the future will not be immediately apparent. Perhaps, in the days when they see the curve of the earth from a swifter than sound airplane, they will look back with some nostalgia, and recognized that here in the Himalayas they gazed over great distances and saw the vast possibilities of service offered to the world.” Hopefully, some things never change.

Eliza is Head of Media at the Woodstocker.

Edited by Aryaman.

You can find nearly a hundred years’ of historic yearbooks on Woodstock’s issuu site. You might even be able to find some of your teachers in there!