In the year 1950, the Camas High School (CHS) yearbook did not contain a Homecoming page. Instead, there was a different tradition called the Senior Ball. This was a formal dance event held for the high school seniors usually to celebrate the capstone of their high school career.

The 1962 CHS yearbook did contain a page highlighting. The theme of this dance was Autumn Leaves and the page revolves around the Homecoming royalty showing the significance of Homecoming court at the time. This page also contains a photo of students at the dance. There is a significant size difference between this year and recent years.

“It was way smaller. It is huge now. But, we still dressed up, and we still had dates,” Brandy Reed, CHS Cheer coach and CHS alumna said. 

The 1970 CHS yearbook did not contain a Homecoming page. However, it had many pages highlighting the school spirit the students embraced which is a key factor to a successful Homecoming season. 

The 1980 CHS yearbook did not contain a Homecoming page. However, this yearbook highlighted the same tradition as the 1950 CHS yearbook. They also held a Senior Ball. Along with this, the 1980 CHS yearbook contains a page highlighting TOLO week, which is the week leading up to the TOLO dance. The TOLO dance is a formal event typically where girls ask the guys to be their dates. The name comes from the “Tolo Club”, originating at University of Washington, in hopes of promoting women’s achievements. 

The 1990 CHS yearbook did contain a page highlighting Homecoming. Similar to the 1962 yearbook, this page is heavily focused on the Homecoming royalty. CHS alumni have also observed a change in the amount of decorations throughout the Homecoming decades.

“There weren’t a ton of decorations like you guys have,” Reed said

“It was much more formal. We had a spirit week like they do now. So, there were all these exciting things leading up to the homecoming dance on Saturday night. Everybody was involved,” Beth Filion, CHS administrative assistant and CHS alumna said. 

The 2000 CHS yearbook contains a page for Homecoming as well as the spirit week leading up to Homecoming. The yearbook highlights aspects of the dance over just the Homecoming royalty as well as the creative outfits the students put together for spirit week. 

“Our homecomings were always the biggest event of the year. Everybody loved to go. It was a really fun time to just gather with friends,” Stephen Baranowski, CHS athletic director and CHS alumnus, said. “We used to have these big picture stations at dances where you take formal pictures and you get packets.” 

Similar to the year before, the 2010 CHS yearbook contains a page for Homecoming as well as spirit week leading up to Homecoming. The Homecoming page shows off various formal looks. The spirit week page is full of color and unique looks.

The CHS 2024-2025 yearbook contains a page highlighting Homecoming. This page shows various photos of students taking on the dance floor. This yearbook also has a page highlighting the Homecoming football game. Students are seen showing their support and spirit for the CHS Papermakers.

Homecoming has proven to show countless changes over the decades but still remained to be a special part of the CHS school year.  

“[The old Homecoming dances have] different memories than what you guys have these days but it has still always been fun and special,” Filion said.