by Jiana Martin '26
For the past 100 years, The Boulder has been Houghton University’s (HU) yearbook. It was founded in 1924 and named in commemoration of a memorial boulder located across from Fancher Hall near the Houghton sign. The boulder marks the grave of Copperhead, the last Seneca man to live in Houghton, N.Y.
The Seneca tribe—a part of Allegany country’s original inhabitants— were forced from the Genesee Valley onto reservations during the Westward Expansion. Copperhead refused to leave because he claimed he was never paid for his land. He became a local icon and lived off charity until his death in 1864 at 120-years-old (he claimed). Copperhead was originally buried at the intersection of Centerville and Old River Road, but in 1910 his remains were moved to the top of campus when his burial site was beginning to be destroyed by the creek. As a proper memorial, Leonard Houghton (Willard J. Houghton’s son) donated the boulder that still sits there today.
The Boulder was faithfully published by students for 91 consecutive years until 2015. Student involvement in the yearbook decreased and yearbooks were also absent for 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022. In 2023, The Boulder was re-established by a group of students and made an official campus club. There was some pushback about re-starting the yearbook as involvement and sales have decreased over the past years. IBISWorld, a research firm, estimated a 4.7% decline in sales from yearbook publishing industries to schools.
Despite the pushback, the dedicated yearbook staff created the 2024-2025 edition and is now working on the 2025-2026 edition.
“The yearbook is how we treasure the memories that we make in college,” said Senior Jo Borges Edwards ‘25, the managerial editor of The Boulder. “Years from now, we might barely remember the members of our student organization or athletic team, but we will always be able to go to the yearbook to relive those memories.”
The Boulder staff want all classes to be included, which is why although the “yearbook has historically been targeted toward seniors” Borges Edwards said that “since we [The Boulder staff] restarted the organization in Fall 2023, we have had the goal of making a yearbook that includes everyone because we are all Houghton.”
Zoe Zachery ‘27 (a managerial assistant) and Ethan Scally ‘27 (a member of the managerial team and photographer) also believe the yearbook is an important part of HU.
“Life moves so quickly that sometimes we might forget about the little things that happen. By having a yearbook, we are given the chance to hold on to those memories and look back on them for years to come,” said Zachery.
Scally added that the yearbook “holds all the memories made on campus either with friends, at events, and/or just everyday life.”
It has been fulfilling for Borges Edwards to have the opportunity to put together people’s best memories. Zachery finds joy in the opportunity to form connections with various people she has not met before.
“I love taking pictures and getting them so that we, as a community and ‘family,’ have a memento of our times in college because, as they say, these are the best days of our life,” Scally reflected.
Help preserve Houghton memories by submitting your photos to The Boulder at boulder@houghton.edu. ★
