Boys & Girls Schools in Palo Alto
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The Newsletter of the palo alto h i s t o r i c a l association Since 1913 March 2018 Volume 41, No 5 Te Palo Alto Historical Association presents Boys & Girls Schools in Palo Alto Sunday, March 4th, 2018, 2:00–4:00 pm Lucie Stern Community Center ~ 1305 Middlefeld Road, Palo Alto For our March program, PAHA Board Member Heather Allen examples of these early schools. Heather will also comment Pang will present the history of single-sex schools in this area, their on how educational trends have changed over the years. Many expansion in the 20th century to meet increased demand, the single-sex schools gave way to co-education, including Miss infuence of David Starr Jordan and Stanford University, and private Harker’s School and the Palo Alto Military Academy which school responses over the years to evolving educational trends. combined. Heather’s remarks will provide a window into Castilleja School, Manzanita Hall (later called the Palo understanding these evolving ideas, including coeducation Alto Military Academy), and Miss Harker’s School are all and redefned gender roles, in the context of single-sex schools. Castilleja School history teacher and archivist Heather Allen Pang was raised in Palo Alto. Heather graduated from Castilleja School, Wesleyan University, and earned a PhD in history at UC Davis. Harker Academy was once upon a time a girls’ school, while Castilleja, whose campus is pictured left in a 1930s map, has been educating women since 1907. Researching the (re-)naming of Palo Alto’s schools Recently I have been helping members of a excited by the new feld of electrical (radio) Palo Alto Unifd School District (PAUSD) engineering. He became the head of Stanford’s commitee research the history of several people electrical engineering department, and later the with connection to Palo Alto’s past. As you may Dean of the School of Engineering. He wrote be aware, the PAUSD School Board decided last the textbook on radio engineering. year to rename the two middle schools due to He is recognized for his encouragement of David Starr Jordan’s and Lewis Terman’s inter- former students William Hewlet and David From the Desk Of est in the study of eugenics. Steve Staiger Packard to remain in California and develop their City Historian Te PAUSD commitee is charged with reviewing company locally. Afer WWII, he prom oted the the numerous names that have been provided development of the Stanford Industrial Park. In by members of the community and submiting our Centennial History book, PAHA called him PALO ALTO their recommendations to the school board. the “intellectual father of Silicon Valley ”. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION Several of the names being evaluated were also BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terman Junior High School opened in 1958, considered 25 years ago, when as part of the Palo Ralph Britton, President named for his father, Lewis Terman. It closed Alto centennial celebration, Palo Alto’s “Creators in 1978. When the Terman Library opened in Rich Green, Vice President of the Legacy” was inaugurated. Tese names Robert Strohecker, Secretary 1985, on the site of the former school, it was include Anna Zschokke, Doctors Edith Eugenie Chris Botsford, Treasurer named for both the father and the son. When Johnson and Esther Clark, and Elinor Cogswell – the Middle School reopened, the naming honor Steve Staiger, Historian all names worthy of consideration. was extended to both father and son. Dennis Garcia Brian George Terman Middle School is named for both When public concern over the beliefs of early Betty Gerard Lewis Terman and his son Frederick Terman. 20th century academics led to the school Georgie Gleim It appears that Frederick will lose this honor board’s decision to drop the names of Jordan Alan Loveless through the “sins” of his father. Fred Terman and Terman, Fred Terman became an innocent Heather Pang grew up on the Stanford campus, the son of a victim, guilty by his father’s thoughts. Darla Secor well-known professor. As a young man, he was Jerry Tinney Molly Tinney Te wide world of Preschools Melissa Verber Readers of the Tall Tree will not be surprised to My own daughters atended Mrs. Hales in know that preschool education, what we used to Menlo Park and First Congregational Church in call nursery school, is alive and well in Palo Alto Palo Alto; a popular nursery school for boys in and has a distinguished history. A simple Google the 1960s was Jim Wright’s. Mrs. Hales and Jim Te Palo Alto Historical Association, a search leads to a dizzying array of local pre- Wright’s are long gone, but First Congo, a play- non-proft organization, was established in 1948 as successor to an earlier school options: private, cooperative, religious, based, parent participation preschool founded organization founded in 1913. Its main academically-oriented, play-oriented, foreign in 1963, is going strong. objectives are: language-oriented; each has an informative • Collect, organize, and preserve materials pertaining to the history and website and rave reviews from satisfed parents. One of Palo Alto’s more venerable preschools heritage of Palo Alto. is Bing Nursery School, founded in 1966 with • Spread information about Palo Alto’s gifs from Dr. Peter Bing and his mother. Bing history by means of programs, displays, and publications. Nursery school evolved from an earlier nursery • Recognize and preserve historic sites lab school founded in 1949. It was and still and structures. functions as a laboratory for research in child Te Guy Miller Archives of the Palo development where professionals both study Alto Historical Association are stored at Cubberley Community Center, K-7, and provide a sound educational experience Phone (650) 329-2353. for young children. Bing’s mission has always Board meetings are held the frst Wednesday been to improve the lives of young children and of each month (except August) at the Lucie their families. A decade or so ago, Bing expand- Stern Community Center at 4 pm. General meetings are held the frst Sunday of each ed its program to include a “young fves” op- month (October–December, February– May) at the Lucie Stern Community Cen- tion to help parents determine if their child is ter at 2 pm. Meetings include speakers. Te ready for kindergarten. Bing is an ever-popular fnal general meeting of the year is held in June and includes a dinner and a program. Children at active play in Bing Nursery School, which remains a site choice for parents of young children. Te public is welcome at all meetings. for learning about preschool education. Courtesy Dr. Edith Dowley. (article continues on next page) 2 THE TALL TREE, MARCH 2018 Lick-Wilmerding High School, San Francisco My father arrived in San Francisco in the summer of 1923 to Lick-Wilmerding School moved from the Potrero area to Ocean atend a science teacher’s course at UC Berkeley. At the time Avenue adjacent to Highway 280 in 1955 as a boys’ school. It Lick-Wilmerding High School was looking for a physics teach- became coeducational in 1972 at which time it started charging er and he applied. He returned to his teaching job at a high tuition. It is now a college prep school with a strong manual arts school in Muscogee, Oklahoma but returned to start teaching program, which is seen as balancing its curriculum. Admission at Lick in January 1924. Tat summer he married in Tulsa and is highly sought afer and very selective. brought his new bride to San Francisco. In 1926 they moved The sources of the founders’ wealth are an interesting bit of to Palo Alto and he commuted on the Southern Pacifc from California history. Lick arrived in Yerba Buena, now San Francisco, in the Mayfeld (now California Avenue) station until 1963. 1848. Many land owners were selling their land at a very cheap price to get money to pursue the quest for gold. Lick Founded with a $540,000 bequest from used the $10,000 he had to invest buying up James Lick, the California School of that land and soon had over $3.5 million( Mechanical Arts opened in 1895. Its about $64 million in current value. frst Director, George A. Merrill, deter- mined that it would provide a general Jellis Wilmerding was the son of a intellectual preparation and vocational wealthy New York merchant. He came instruction. Graduates were to be “edu- to San Francisco and spent his summers cated crafsmen”. Tere was a wood prospecting for gold and his winters shop, a machine shop and an electrical selling merchandise. He became a mem- shop. Industrial Chemistry with its own ber of the Second Vigilante Commitee laboratory was a unique o fering. Merrill of 1856 and the Society of California hired my father to teach Physics, Trigo- Pioneers. He was a delegate to the 1880 nometry and Strength of Materials; Republican Convention that nominated he also directed and accompanied the The author’s father, Ralph H. Britton, Sr., at Lick-Wilmerd- James Garfeld for President. ing in the 1940s, where he taught physics. In the left foregroud school’s boys’ chorus. Merrill remained is a Wimshurst machine, which generates a high-voltage Miranda Cranston married Charles Lux, an until 1939 and during retirement served electrical charge for instructional purposes. Courtesy author. immigrant from Alsace, who was a butcher as Mayor of Redwood City. in San Francisco in 1857. In 1858 he and Te original building was located at Henry Miller, another German butcher, 17th and Utah in the Potrero District, formed the Miller and Lux Corporation close to the industrial heart of San in Los Baños to buy ranch land for raising Francisco.