BY MICHELE ANGERMILLER
Special to the Times
PRINCETON -- Like many people, Ron Bogdan kept his important mementos in a cardboard box: pictures of family members, cards from old girlfriends, and his most prized possession -- his high school yearbook.
One fateful day in the'80s, his father's office in Hightstown suffered a flood. Much to Bogdan's horror, his Willingboro High School Class of 1976 yearbook was reduced to "mildewed waste."
Bogdan, a former president of the student council and active participant in many clubs, felt an emptiness in his heart he just couldn't describe.
"I was so upset, and felt a great sense of loss," said Bogdan, now a Princeton resident.
In the'90s, Bogdan found a glimmer of hope as he used internet search engines to find his old yearbook, but came up empty. He still has not found it.
"I understand the turbulence that one feels when they are not able to find their book," he said. "I would pay $100 just to find one copy of my yearbook. I would pay $200, because that is how much I want my book. It means that much to me."
Bogdan continued searching on the internet, and never could find a 1976 Willingboro yearbook. However, he did find other yearbooks on the internet and at yard sales.
"I started to pull up yearbooks from other schools like Cinnaminson and Trenton," he said.
A light bulb went on in his head.
"I thought, you know, Ron, you are not unique," he said. "If you want your book back that badly, others must feel similarly about their books."
Five years ago, he turned his heartache into what he describes as a hobby/business. Bogdan, a financial manager at AnswerNet, began to buy any yearbooks he could find. He would buy them at flea markets, on-line auctions, storage locker clean-outs, used book stores, garage sales, or any other place he could find them. He started to locate people through word of mouth and the internet who were desperately looking for a yearbook from their graduation year.
Currently, he has a stock of 150 to 200 yearbooks, and he charges an average of $70 a book. According to Bogdan, his customers haven't complained about the cost, and he plows the money right back into buying more books for future customers....
BY MICHELE ANGERMILLER
Special to the Times
TRENTON -- Sitting in a conference room in City Hall yesterday afternoon, Mayor Douglas Palmer was reunited with a long lost friend -- his 1968 Bordentown Military Institute "Sword and Sabre" yearbook.
"I almost want to cry," he said as he kissed the cover. "I can tell you about every one of these pictures."
Palmer said he lost his yearbook in a move and thought it was gone forever until he saw a story about Ron Bogdan in The Times.
"I saw the article in the paper and said, 'Oh, my God. I would love to find my 1968-69 yearbook," he said. "I lost all my scrapbooks when I moved from Spring Street."
Palmer contacted Bogdan, who found a copy of the mayor's 1968 junior yearbook among the inventories of people from whom he bought books. Palmer beamed as he pointed out pictures of old alumni that went on to storied careers in sports -- Stan Walters ("we called him, Lurch"), Philadelphia Eagles; Christopher Short, Philadelphia Phillies; Paul Boudreau, Offensive Line Coach for the Atlanta Falcons and Paul Pasqualoni, Defensive Coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
"This is special to me because the school isn't here anymore," he said of the academy, which closed in 1973.
Although the hunt continues for Palmer's 1969 senior yearbook, the mayor expressed his gratitude while flipping through the pages.
"This man has brought so much joy to my life," he said as he perused pictures of himself, resplendent in his military school and junior varsity football team uniforms.
Bogdan said he understands where Palmer is coming from. Since the article ran in The Times, Bogdan experienced a happy ending in his own journey -- the discovery of his own lost 1976 Willingboro High School yearbook. Bogdan had lost it in a flood, and devoted his life to replacing it and obtaining books for others.
"I am as pleased as the mayor was when he got his yearbook," he said, noting that one of his old classmates contacted his brother, Guy Boucher, about Bogdan's plight.
Boucher graduated with his wife, Susan Moran, in 1976. In a selfless act, the couple decided to part with one of their yearbooks and end Bogdan's search.
Bogdan says he has been contacted by at least 800 people in the last month, and has found "no fewer than 15 to 18 books" for desperate souls. Included in that search was a 1945 Trenton Central High School Bobashela yearbook that had a picture of one of Palmer's old friends, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.
"He's my godfather," Palmer said. "I'm going to call him and tell him I came across it."
The joy in Palmer's face continued as he flipped through the pages in the old book and came across another familiar face. "That's my mom," he said, pointing to a picture of his mother, Dorothy Louise Vaughn and two cousins on the same page.
Moments like that are what compel Bogdan to continue his mission to help others find their lost mementos.
"There are so many stories I have heard, you can't even imagine," he said. "People have told me they were married and their spouse threw (the yearbook) away to get even. They feel like a part of them is missing. People that still have their yearbooks can't understand the plight of what you feel when you don't have it."
Tomorrow, Bogdan is set to launch a new website: (getmyyearbook.com).
In addition to the website, Bogdan will launch a radio program on WIFI, AM 1460 9 p.m. May 4. The show will focus on lost yearbooks with a call-in portion of the show.
Bogdan, a collections manager for Answernet, a telecommunications company in Princeton, says he will spend all of his free time searching flea markets and hunting through auctions until he satisfies every request. He has some help, too. He reaches out to everyone from estate sales people to flea market vendors.
He says he will charge $65 -- a price he says is fair for what yearbook seekers get. Palmer agreed.
"You can't put a price on people's memories," said Palmer. "When people lose their homes to fires, tornadoes, or floods, they always say you can build another house, but you can't replace the baby photos or the family albums. You just can't do it."
Palmer says Bogdan's efforts will bring happiness to many people, as it did him. Still, he has one more request of Bogdan.
"Don't you give up on my '69 yearbook," he said.
Ron does a weekly radio show on WIFI 1460 AM from Florence NJ on Monday evenings which also replays during the week. The show talks about yearbooks, & take calls from callers who call to discuss their recent purchases and the feelings they have after getting their books. Callers may also call to ask questions about the site, the business or how things work. The show has a rising listenership each week and it is interesting to hear Ron talk with his callers about the specifics of their experience. The show streams live on the internet and can be accessed as easily as clicking on the link provided at our home page. This is a good thing to listen to if you are in the questioning phase of should i become a member as the call is full of experiences others have had dealing with Get My Yearbook.
