Students, staff and alumni can now remember their college days through a cumulative yearbook written by Glen Gildemeister, director of the Regional History Center.

Gildemeister is the author of “A Castle on the Hill.” The book is a cumulative yearbook that covers almost 110 years of pictorial history of NIU and Altgeld Hall. It was released this month and is available at University Bookstore, Village Commons Bookstore, DeKalb Gallery in downtown DeKalb, the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center and the Convocation Center.

“A Castle on the Hill” contains the history of John Peter Altgeld, Altgeld Hall and the history of the Glidden family.

Altgeld Hall is everything NIU used to be and is always showcased to visiting parents and students, said vice provost Earl Seaver.

“It’s our signature building and it really represents our school,” Seaver said. “It’s beautiful and very significant.”

The book also details a brief history of the different halls on campus, information about the DeKalb area and enrollment statistics.

Telling people’s stories

Gildemeister has been working at NIU for 30 years and it took him three years to write “A Castle on the Hill.” He knew NIU had about 250,000 unseen photographs and the last yearbook NIU had was created in 1974.

His goal in writing the book was to sell it to alumni as a fundraiser for the library. He also wants money earned from the book to go into scholarship funds. The book is targeted for NIU alumni, but Gildemeister also wanted the people who dedicated their lives to NIU to have something to look back on and cherish.

“People who have given their lives to NIU … They are the audience,” Gildemeister said.

Gildemeister said he considers “A Castle on the Hill” to be one of his biggest achievements and knows many people will enjoy reading it.

“I’ve done a lot of exhibits and published a few books, but this is my biggest book publication,” Gildemeister said. “I knew it would be fun to write and people would enjoy it.”

Gildemeister said history is just like journalism because everyone has a story, and history is basically telling people’s stories.

“That’s why I love what I do,” he said. “I get to talk to people who made history. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

NIU President John Peters said “A Castle on the Hill” is not just a great pictorial history of Altgeld, but of NIU in general.

“The narration is superb,” Peters said. “It’s such good history and so informative in a readable style.”