UMass Lowell yearbooks and those of its legacy institution are available digitally on the Library's Archives and Special Collections Internet Archive site.
The 'Marm is the title of the 1934 Yearbook for the Lowell Teachers College, the south campus branch of the UMass Lowell Family Tree. Published but one year, it was succeeded by The Knoll (1935 -1975).
The term "'Marm" derives from schoolmarm: "a person exhibiting the prim or didactic behavior conventionally associated with a schoolmistress" and is believed to be a New England dialectic variant of ma'am.1 For students who were in training to become school teachers, the use of the term "'marm" was probably for the sake of self parody.
Of the two copies held by the Center for Lowell History, one is marked as "College Library Copy" and is without inscriptions: The 'Marm. The other copy of The 'Marm belonged to LTC alumna Mary Frances Lanigan, a gifted pianist, and contains inscriptions from her classmates. It is also autographed by college President Clarence M. Weed and Art Instructor DeMerritte (Demie) A. Hiscoe.2
Click image for access to entire book Lowell Teachers College Yearbook
The 'Marm contains a fanciful Class Prophecy piece in which the future lives of the graduates are viewed from the misty summit of Mount Olympus. It also contains a History of the Class of 1934 which concludes:
"Let not the future destroy what we have built, rather let it bind us together in bonds of stronger friendship. Wherever we go, we take with us these memories, invaluable and cherished reminders of our college career."
When Lowell State College merged with Lowell Technological Institute in 1975 the Knoll as well as LTI's Yearbook, the Pickout, were discontinued and succeeded by our present UMass Lowell Yearbook, the Sojourn.
