The 1957-1958 edition of Fish-Tales, the R-MC student handbook, is notable for the drawing of Pogo, a popular cartoon character of the era drawn by Walt Kelly, in a Randolph-Macon freshman beanie. Assistant Editor Tom Inge, who later returned to R-MC as Dr. Thomas Inge, Blackwell Professor of Humanities, solicited this and drawings from several other prominent cartoonists for inclusion.
In 1933, the first student handbook was produced by the Y.M.C.A., which had a large membership among the students. Originally entitled Handbook of Randolph-Macon College, this was meant as a guide to college life for incoming students and included a college map, descriptions of student clubs and fraternities, sports schedules, important phone numbers, listings of faculty, and other essential information that now we find online. Advertisements from local businesses funded its printing for many years. Starting in 1946, the student government took over the production of the handbook until 1969, when it transitioned to the Dean of Students’ office.
The title Fish-Tales first appears on the 1948-1949 edition. As this handbook was still geared towards freshman, the title was derived from R-MC’s local term for its newest class members, “fish,” so-named because when they arrived on campus, so did large rains that flooded the campus. In 1967, the hyphen was dropped making it Fish Tales, and in 2001 the words were merged into Fishtales. Over the years the content shifted from practical tips and general information about the College for freshman to a focus on College policies and procedures for all students. The College Archives has copies of most of the years of Fishtales, including the contemporary ones that are produced online only.
Learn about other specialized and unique collections in the Flavia Reed Owen Special Collections and Archives.