Note: This story originally appeared in AlumnInsider, the Penn State Alumni Association's monthly member e-newsletter.
Karin Wells finally fulfilled a promise to her father. Eight years after his death, she’s ensured everyone has a chance to learn more about his time at Penn State, thanks to an old student handbook.
When Well’s father, Carl Christensen, Class of 1927, enrolled at Penn State as a freshman in 1921, he received the standard Penn State handbook. It contained rules and advice for navigating his first year at college, including student yells, songs, customs, interesting facts and poems.
Christensen kept this handbook his entire life, talking about it and his time at Penn State often and fondly.
Two other contributing factors make the handbook unique for Christensen’s family: 1921 occurred during Prohibition and Christensen was the only one of his siblings to attend college, which Wells called “a fluke.”
The way it turned out, all of Christensen’s siblings were bigger and stronger, so the family didn’t think they had to attend college to make a living. But Christensen, his parents deemed, needed a college education. So off he went to Penn State, and at a time when college was out of reach for most young people of humble means.
“He was very grateful for what he learned,” Wells said. “It was a big deal back then.”
Christensen, who was valedictorian of his high school, nudged his daughter to somehow make the book available to the public, figuring others would get the same kick out of it as he did over the years.
Now, that’s possible.
Wells has republished the 1921 handbook, and has added notes, pictures and other anecdotes that comprise a short intro. Also helpful is that the original handbook, just a few inches in length and width, has the text and pictures enlarged for easier reading.
“I thought it was a fascinating slice of life, and I wanted to put it out there,” Wells said. “It isn’t about making money, it’s just a little peek into one person’s life.”
Penn State began publishing student handbooks in the 1870s, with a new handbook issued each year. This continued until the mid-2000s, when the university replaced the small, pocket-sized publication with an informational website.
Wells’ book is available for purchase through iTunes. Also, the original handbook is available for free viewing on the first floor of Paterno Library on the University Park campus.
“It was his idea,” Wells said. “It's just fulfilling a promise. Penn State was a huge part of his life, that was such a gift to him.”