JERRY PERSON -- A Look Back

I was reminded of how fast the summer has come and gone when I ran

into Huntington Beach resident Teri Webb, who returned to work at Dwyer

Middle School -- or as we learned at the start of summer vacation --

Central Elementary School.

This week, I thought we might look at a few of the people who taught

or were associated with the school at 14th Street and Palm Avenue.

John R. Peterson was the school’s first superintendent and held that

position for a quarter of a century -- 1940 to 1965. In his honor, a

school on Farnsworth Lane in Huntington Beach bears his name now. Before

becoming superintendent, Peterson served for six years as superintendent

for the Ocean View School District. Peterson and his wife, Elizabeth,

lived at 411 Crest Lane before he passed away Nov. 11, 1972.

Another one associated with Central Elementary is Harriet Ethel Dwyer,

who began teaching in 1912 for the Ocean View School District. In 1921,

she came to teach at Central Elementary and was there when classes were

held in the school’s gym because of the damage the school suffered during

the 1933 earthquake.

Dwyer was named the school’s vice principal under Principal Agnes

Smith. Dwyer retired in 1951, and in 1965 she was honored by the school

board for many years of service. They even named the school after her --

the Ethel Dwyer Intermediate School. Dwyer passed away in June 1970.

Esther Funk taught at area grammar and high schools for more than 35

years. She first came to Huntington Beach in 1924, where she molded the

minds of our youth at Central Elementary for more than 20 years.

In 1945, she went over to teach at Huntington Beach High School. In

1960, Funk retired from teaching to devote time to the Orange County

Childhood Education Assn., the Community Chest, the YMCA, the League of

Women Voters, the Friends of the Library and the American Field Service.

In 1973, Funk was named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Coast

Community College District at a ceremony at Golden West College.

Carther “Pop” Miller and later Joseph Perry drove those yellow school

buses that brought our kids to class.

And, if you can add two plus two or bake a cake, then we are indebted

to Gail Langenbeck for teaching her students both math and home economics

from 1930 to her retirement in 1958. To keep those young bodies in shape

was the responsibility of James P. Ranney, who for 40 years served as the

school’s physical education instructor until he retired in 1964.

And finally, Lea Hood served as the school’s librarian for more than

20 years. Hood lived Downtown at 423 1/2 9th St. and retired along with

Ranney in June 1964.

These are only a very few of the highly dedicated people who have

shaped the minds and bodies of our young at Central Elementary School.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.