THE PILOT - Murray High School Yearbooks
1979 to 1940
We thought you might enjoy seeing a collection of the Murray HS PILOT yearbook cover designs (as many as we could find) created by "Pilot" yearbook staff throughout the years. A big thank-you to Elizabeth Decourt (Murray Middle School Librarian), and Maria Flores (Lead Clerk/Office Manager) for their assistance with photographing several covers we didn't already have.
Did you know?? The first graduating class of 1940 chose the school’s nickname “Pilots,” and chose a ship’s wheel as the logo (most likely in honor of 19th century Mississippi riverboat captains that helped "pilot" goods up and down the river). They also chose BLUE & GOLD as the school's colors, and named the school’s first yearbook “The Pilot."
It is fascinating to see how the Pilot covers changed over the years, some with traditional designs and others with more avant-garde designs. For instance, the 1967 Pilot cover is pleasantly abstract and is a complete break from the traditional covers of previous years. Interesting to see that students in the following year (1968), one of the most turbulent years in U.S. history, chose to return to a traditional cover design. Then there's our 1974 yearbook cover. With an orange, stylized "Wheaties" cereal box cover design, it got mixed reviews when it was presented. We'd love to hear from anyone on the 1974 Pilot staff about how this design was chosen -- or Pilot staff from other years about how their design was chosen.
We are still missing 1940 and 1943 covers, so if you happen to know a parent or relative who attended Murray High School in those years and has an old yearbook, please consider taking a good photo of the cover and emailing it to us.
