Katie Panskyy ’17 Is Collecting Pins for a Princetoniana Project

Princeton pins commemorate everything from affinity groups and events (below) to milestone reunions, such as the Class of 1976’s 20th (left).

Photo: Courtesy of Katie Panskyy ’17

Last year during reunions, an enamel pin of a tiger sitting on a flagpole caught Katie Panskyy ’17’s eye, so she asked the alum wearing the pin about it. After he explained that it was created to celebrate the Class of 1970’s 40th reunion, he took the pin off and placed it on Panskyy’s lapel. 

“To me it was one of the most beautiful moments of both Princeton spirit and generosity, and passing on a bit of a memento or history to a younger generation,” she says. 

That moment jump-started a larger project: to collect pins representing the history of Princeton. 

Photo: Courtesy of Katie Panskyy ’17

As of early May, Panskyy had documented 133 pins — 122 of which are featured in an online collection — for what is now known as the Pin Repository Project, run by the Princetoniana Committee. Alumni have donated pins highlighting the eating clubs, University events, associations, classes, and more. 

A self-proclaimed history buff, Panskyy hopes this project will uncover when the tradition of creating and collecting pins began. 

Photo: Courtesy of Katie Panskyy ’17

One project contributor, Christina Clarke ’97, shares that curiosity. “When I saw this Princeton Pin Repository Project, I was so excited because over the years I have started a small Princetoniana collection of my own,” she says. 

Clarke has accumulated approximately 30 pins. Among them is a pin of the University crest, one with the words to the locomotive cheer, and a few highlighting the Alumni Schools Committee. Another is a sterling silver scarf buckle dating back to the early 1900s that she found in an antique shop during a trip to Pacific Grove, California. Clarke adds, “You just never know where Princeton is going to find you or where you’re going to find Princeton, which I love.” 

Photo: Courtesy of Katie Panskyy ’17

Her passion for pins led Clarke to suggest that her class create one to commemorate a joint community service project between the classes of 1997 and 1972 (the alums collected books for the New Jersey nonprofit Bridge of Books Foundation and organized a panel on community service) and to honor their 25th and 50th reunions. Clarke came up with the pin’s design, which reads “Princeton in communities” around the perimeter and highlights the two classes, plus the Class of 2022, with whom they have a parent/grandparent relationship. 

Clarke says it was a “fun way to be able to commemorate the fantastic collaborations … we hope to continue in the years going forward.” 

Throughout Reunions, all 83 of the pins from the physical collection will be on display at Maclean House. 

Alumni are encouraged to share their pins and the stories behind them by emailing Panskyy at ypanskyy@alumni.princeton.edu. 

Carlett Spike is PAW’s associate editor.