Spartina, depicted in the 15th page of the 1945 Wolverine with suitcases to introduce "The Colleges" section.
Spring has sprung, love is in the air and a recent display at the Michigan State University Library reveals that even Sparty is not immune to love’s temptation. Located on the first floor of the MSU Library is a display highlighting past MSU yearbooks, and the 1945 Wolverine edition features a character called Spartina, Sparty’s girlfriend.
Spartina is featured throughout the yearbook and is drawn in many different iterations to introduce each portion of the book. According to an article by the MSU Archives and Historical Society, Spartina was a reflection of how campus that year was made up of mostly female students while many of the male students were fighting in World War II.
Engagement and Outreach Archivist Jennie Rankin said the 1945 Wolverine inspired her to create a blog post about Spartina to highlight its unique history.
"I try to write posts about MSU that are fun, and stories I think people will find interesting," Rankin said. "To say 'Sparty had a girlfriend!' is something I think a lot of people don't know about and would love to know."
The 1945 Wolverine is just one of 128 yearbooks that were added to a digital repository in 2024. The yearbooks represent over 160 years of MSU history and showcase how MSU has grown from a humble land-grant college to the Big Ten university it is today.
The project to digitize the yearbooks began after a crowdfunding campaign in 2022, 108 yearbooks were sent offsite to be scanned and uploaded. The most fragile and rare books were kept on-site to be scanned by the MSU Library Digital Imaging Services.
"I also worked on how I wanted the landing page to look for the yearbook," Rankin said. "I included a robust history of the yearbook because the yearbook formats changed over the years, and the name changed from the Wolverine to the Red Cedar Log."
Spartina appears on the first page of the 1945 yearbook wearing the iconic Spartan helmet. The following page explains that Sparty is fighting in WWII with signs pointing toward Tokyo, Paris, Berlin and one headed towards East Lansing.
According to records from the MSU Office of the Registrar, there were 3,105 female students enrolled in 1945, compared to only 1,293 male students. This figure soon flipped on its head with men quickly outnumbering women in the years following the end of WWII.
"Sparty, the spirit of Michigan State College, returns on furlough from many battle fronts to introduce his girlfriend, Spartina, to the campus," the third page of the yearbook says. "While he is away, he expects her to carry on traditions."
Throughout the book, Spartina keeps Sparty updated about campus life in her "V-Mail," or Victory Mail letters. According to the USPS, V-Mail was a cost-saving mailing technique used during WWII.
The 1945 Wolverine reveals that not only does Sparty have a girlfriend, but he also has a dog named Random and a little brother named Bud.
In one letter Spartina writes to Sparty, "I finally found some film for my camera so I can take those pictures you asked for. Of course, the biggest job of all is catching Random to give him a bath before snapping him. And wait until you see your kid brother Bud with his two front teeth missing."
Spartina’s "V-mail" letters indicate the impact of the war on all aspects of life and the different ways MSU students had to adapt. Another sign of the times featured in the yearbook is Spartina’s Red Cross outfit that she is drawn wearing while she folds gauze before the activities section.
The 1945 Wolverine is currently on display at the MSU Library, but another copy made its way to the MSU Surplus store and into the hands of the right person.
Human biology junior Sara Kani works at the MSU Surplus Store part-time as a labor assistant, sorting and listing books for the store’s website. She’s seen it all -- from ancient first editions, to an extensive "Puss in Boots" collection -- but when her manager showed her Spartina, she knew she was something special.
"I have such a love for Barbie, and Spartina reminded me of Barbie, it’s the girl symbol," Kani said. "Spartina is going to do what she needs to do, Barbie has so many different careers and does so many different things, she's like an icon."
Kani felt so inspired by the image of Spartina in the 1945 Wolverine that she decided to post a photo of Spartina to her Instagram story to share her findings.
"I honestly was so happy with the find and I don’t post often, but I was like 'this is cool, I find it cool, other people will find it cool,'" Kani said.
Spartina only appears in the 1945 Wolverine edition of the yearbook and has not been depicted in any MSU yearbooks or media since. However, Spartans interested in learning more about Spartina are in luck.
The 1945 Wolverine is available to view online, and it can be checked out from the MSU Library along with other copies of past MSU yearbooks.
Although Spartina only appears briefly in the MSU Yearbook, she left an impact that has been intriguing students for over 80 years. Spartina exemplifies her piece in Spartan history best in a letter written to Sparty.
"Of all the things you told me about State when you introduced me to the campus last fall, the spirit of friendliness impressed me most," Spartina writes. "Now after a term or more here, I’m more than impressed with the Spartan Spirit -- I'm a part of it."
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