Happy school dazes of a bygone time
A LOOK BACK
The Huntington Beach School Alumni picnic at Lake Park sure
brought out
a lot of happy memories of the past.
This week I thought we would look at a few of the people who were
around in the 1930s at Central Elementary School, which is Dwyer
School today, and I’m sure that those who attended the picnic will
recall many of these people and have fond memories of when they
started school here in Huntington Beach.
The school started out as Central Elementary and taught
kindergarten through eighth grade. Today we have two schools -- Smith
School, named for Agnes Smith who was the principal of the old
grammar school and Dwyer
Middle School, named for Ethel Dwyer who was the school’s vice
principal.
When Huntington Beach resident Gordie Higgins was in the eighth
grade his teacher was Miss Ethel Dwyer, who began her long career
here in 1921. In those days you didn’t talk back to the teacher and
if you did, a sharp rap on your knuckles by the teacher’s ruler
stopped that real fast.
So lets begin with our flashback at Central Elementary.
When you were first thrust into its hallowed halls to begin your
education it was in kindergarten and that would have been in Margaret
Giacomazzi’s class who began her stay here in 1931 after graduating
from Broad Oaks College. Longtime Huntington Beach resident and
first-grade teacher Esther Funk began at Central in 1924 after
graduating from UCLA. Another first-grade teacher in school is
Isabelle Siracusa who received her teacher’s degree at USC and
started teaching here in 1936. Gladys Jones, another first-grade
teacher, began her career here in 1928 after receiving her diploma
from Broad Oaks College. In 1930 Rebecca MacMillan joined the faculty
to teach the first grade and she came to us after graduating from
Arizona State Teachers’ College.
Do you remember being in Dora Dow’s second-grade class during the
big earthquake of 1933? She started here in 1926 after receiving her
degree at UCLA.
Another great second-grade teacher was Jean Berry, who came here
in September of 1937 after graduating from Pomona College that June.
In 1936 Dorothy Lewis started teaching the second grade after
attending UCLA to get her teaching papers. Moving to the third-grade
classes we find Frances McKelvey from the Duluth Minnesota Teachers’
College and she started here in 1922.
In 1924 Agnes Snasdedd joined the faculty to teach fourth grade.
She was a product of the San Francisco State Teachers’ College and
with her teaching the fourth grade was Alice Sturgeon fresh from USC
in 1937.
I don’t know if you remember or not, but in the fifth grade school
work starts to get tougher and teaching that grade were Ruth Bates,
who came here in 1936 from LaVerne College, and Betty Ruth Sheppard
who started at the school in 1927 after getting her degree at
Whittier College. The last fifth-grade teacher was Kathryn Scales,
who also began her career here in 1927.
We now come to the sixth-grade teachers who you might recall with
more fond memories and they are Susan Russell, later be to called
Mrs. Bergfelt. She joined her fellow teachers in 1935. In 1930
Gertrude Peters who received her degree from USC came on board.
Jacqueline Woods was our third fifth-grade teacher and she started
here in 1937. I’m sure the girls remember their physical education
teacher Mary Goodman who started fresh out of USC in 1924. Another
dedicated teacher was the boys gym teacher, James Ranney, who came to
teach from the Missouri State Teachers’ College the same year as
Goodman, 1924.
In the art department was Rheta Akins, who came here from UCLA in
1928. The school’s librarian, Lea Hood, came to work at Central
Elementary in 1930 after getting her training at USC. My friend Teri
Webb who works in the office at Dwyer School today, and is one of the
unsung heroes of the school, joined the ranks of those unsung heroes
of the 1930s that included office clerk Chrstine Advant and school
secretary Lorene Hancock and school nurse Alice Freeman.
When we see that big yellow school bus on the road we scarcely
think of who hat driver is, and the one in charge of school
transportation in the 1930s was Joe Perry. He would also drive the
bus, and in later years have a local school named for him.
Angie Mollica and Michael Nichols did double-duty as bus drivers
and custodians. Other custodians of the time included John Flaws,
George Mitchell, Lee Orrell, Zinie Phillips and Earl Robinson. I’m
sure a lot of you can name your grammar school teachers, but how many
can name the ladies who served you a hot meal in the cafeteria on
those cold rainy days.
Some of these unsung heroes include Leona Miller, Florence Preston
and Beulah Westmoreland. School gardener Albert Lake and building
Supt. Fred Lock are two more unsung heroes without whose help the
school could not function. Many of these people would remain with the
school for 30 to 40 years.
I hope some of these names brought back a fond memory or two. If
you stop and think that these people walked the very halls that your
grandchildren walk today, you might tell them that today’s teachers,
custodians and cafeteria workers will be their fond memories someday.
* 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.
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