In the final days of the school year, students at Granby Memorial High School receive their yearbooks and flip through the pages filled with memories, signatures and well wishes. It is a beloved tradition that has endured for generations.
This year, that tradition took a special significance thanks to Casey LaPlant, the school’s librarian, who received a collection of 35 yearbooks from the daughter of Ken King, Granby’s legendary athletic director who served from 1952 to 1987. Twenty-seven of these yearbooks have been scanned and are now available online through the high school’s website, alongside graduation programs that chronicle the school’s past.
To explore this digital archive, visitors can go to the school website, click on the menu, look under Departments, and see Media Center Home, click and scroll down to GMHS Archives and click for the yearbooks. For those curious about Granby’s businesses, the ads at the back of each yearbook provide a glimpse of Granby’s businesses over the last sixty-seven years.
The first graduating class from GMHS to publish its yearbook was in 1958. That inaugural edition included advertisements from local businesses such as Beman Hardware, Paul Avery General Insurance, Carlson Cabinet Company, Brewer Superette, Shaw’s Garage, Powers Chevrolet, the Leaders Department Store in Simsbury and the Hayes Funeral Home.
With the 1960s, more names joined the pages: Guay and Kellogg, State Line Oil, Simsbury Bank and Trust Company, Deming’s Craftsmen at Old Mill Pond Village, Dr. Milkey and Dr. Davis, Joseph Mazuk Tourist Cabins, Avery’s General Store, June Shattuck Feley print shop and Wagner Ford in Simsbury. Even Mr. Griswold, a long-time popular business teacher at Granby Memorial High School, ran an ad for his Dog Training Classes.
The 1970s brought a new mix of businesses to the yearbook, reflecting the growing and changing town. Western Auto, Tanner Service Center, Granby Pharmacy, Phillips Sportswear in Simsbury, the Granby Package Store, Roncari, Burns Garden Mart, Babb’s Rolling Skating Rink in Suffield, R and N Tire in East Granby, George Rossetti Television and Appliances, Peter L. Brown, the Farmington Valley Herald and Necker’s Toy Store in Simsbury all became part of the record.
In the 1980s, ads came from GH Village Market, Bank Street Pharmacy, Flavor Mount, Hayes-Huling and Carmon Funeral Home, Antonio’s, Simsbury Lanes, Geissler’s, Kane’s Market, ABC Pizza, Lost Acres Orchard, Small World, The Granby Drummer, and the Copper Lantern. These names evoke memories for many longtime residents.
By the 1990s, the yearbooks began featuring ads from parents congratulating their graduating children. This new revenue source helped the yearbook staff’s budget while adding a personal touch. However, business advertisements continued, including Dr. Russe, Coldwell Banker, Windsor Federal Savings Bank, Old Mill Pond Village, Arrow Concrete and Video Galaxy 23.
As Granby entered the 21st century, newer businesses made their mark; Rome’s Place, the Mitchell Auto Group, Cahill Motors, LADA PC Land Planners, Valley Kitchens, Wholesale Auto, Route Ten Tire, CVS Pharmacy, Goomba’s Pasta and Pizza, Stop & Shop, McDonald’s of Granby, and the Cambridge House.
Last year’s edition, marking the 66th anniversary of the first yearbook, featured ads from Zen Marketplace, including stores like the Barn, Hans Asian Cuisine, La Figata, and Table 570 in Simsbury. Other businesses included The Whisk, the YMCA, Maximum Tree Service, and the two longest running advertisers in the Granby Yearbooks—Beman Hardware and Hayes-Huling and Carmon Funeral Home.
The Salmon Brook Historical Society extends its congratulations to all of this year’s graduating seniors at Granby Memorial High School. The journey through decades of yearbooks offers more than just a look at student life, but also the journey of businesses in the last 67 years. Some businesses have stood the test of time and other businesses are just a memory. If you want to learn more about businesses in Granby, come join the Salmon Brook Historical Society by calling 860-653-9713, or visit salmonbrookhistoricalsociety.com