As winter break drew near and students were focused on the holidays, there wasn’t much regular school news to cover or time to cover it. So student editors decided to put on an issue devoted primarily to photography. They would call this December 17 edition “photographic communique.”

The issue was in some ways a disappointment. Some of the photographs were excellent, but the production quality -- the press work -- left much to be desired. The small town newspaper that printed Ramsey Blueprint had experienced a fire that shut down its plant and required jobs to be printed ad hoc at other facilities as available. This edition was particularly plagued by printing inconsistencies. There were no blacks on what rolled off the press for this issue, only washed-out grays with streaks and smudges. The photos re-published here have been digitally enhanced where possible.

This edition is included despite the quality issues, because the images tell a story of what school life, Christmas shopping, and the Twin Cities were like in December 1969. The Christmas section opens with a photo of a crowd crossing a Downtown street to march into Dayton’s on a snowy day. The “Hope for Peace’ section captures crowds of antiwar protestors, an odd juxtaposition and reminder that in December 1969 a season of joy was also a season of angst over a war that would not end until four years later.

In addition to the work of Blueprint photographer Dave Erler, this issue featured poems by Ramsey students Sally Heuer and Julie Olson.