A View from the Hill; a History of Humboldt State University
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A View from the Hill A History of Humboldt State University ;'-*v A View from the Hill A View from the Hill A History of Humboldt State University by William R. Tanner, PhD published by University Graphic Services, Humboldt State University, Areata, California 1993 Genesis Appendices I 1911-14 1 A Humboldt State Chronology 1 35 A Beginning ... & Almost an End B Major Gifts Since 1985 145 II C HSC Improvement Association 146 1914-21 9 D HSC Advisory Board 146 Roaring Through the 20s E Academic Senate Chair 147 III F Faculty Officers 147 1922-30 21 G Scholar of the Year 148 The Depression Years IV H Outstanding Professor 148 the 1930s 37 I Alumni Who's Who 148 Alumni Association Presidents 149 The War Years J V K Homecoming Royalty 149 1939-46 47 L Student Body Presidents 150 M Lumberjack Editors 150 Peacetime Invasion VI N Athletics Hall of Fame 151 1946-53 59 O Coaching Records 152 Changing Times: Bibliography 155 VII Korea through Kennedy Photo Credits 159 1953-63 71 Index 163 Growing Pains in the Age of Aquarius VIII 1964-73 87 No Cinderella Story IX 1974-87 103 The Spirit Continues X 1987-93 121 This history of Humboldt State University is dedicated to the memory of "Mr. Humboldt," Homer P. Balabanis (1897-1991). From 1923 until his death, he served this university as faculty member, administrator, and booster of "the Humboldt Spirit." Foreword This volume is not meant to be a comprehensive Erich Schimps, Lincoln Kilian, and other personnel in the institutional history. Rather, it is an attempt to record a Humboldt Room of the university library. social memory for former students, faculty, staff, and Thanks to Simpson Paper Company for their donation of administrators. Thus the reader will discover an emphasis the cover stock and part of the text paper. Thanks also to on the people of Humboldt State. Brizard Company, Simpson Timber Company and Areata The creation of this volume was a collective effort. Redwood Company for their financial support in the Associations and conversations with Homer P. Balabanis production of this book. inspired the book. President Alistair McCrone encouraged Finally, most credit for the making of this book goes to it. A university sabbatical leave of one semester provided Kathleen Heil and her staff in University Graphic Services. the necessary time for most of the research. She and Dar Spain, with assistance from Erich Schimps, Many people provided information and some provided selected photographs and created an attractive design for photographs, including Gladys Burritt, Connie Carlson, this volume. Jim Toms assisted Dar Spain in making prints Jean Falor, James Gast, Mary Greta, Paul Hendrickson, of all the photos. Tim Sims, assisted by Julie Steiner, Vern Henricks, Gayle Karshner, June McCartney, Dan edited and rearranged parts of the manuscript and wrote Pambianco, Dana Rice, Virginia Rumble, Howard some of the special features for publication. Seemann, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sorenson, Helen Stover, Without all these people, we would not have a published Bill Sullivan, Tom Trepiak, and Edward Webb. Several history of this institution. students helped with research and conducted oral interviews. Among them were Jeanie Allard, Edie Butler, The reader may find mistakes or may be disappointed by Joe Coohill, Clark Hatch, and Chris Hopkins. At various the omission of a name, a story, or an event associated stages, portions of the manuscript were typed by Linda with his or her own experiences at Humboldt State. For Hall-Martin, Judy Kirsch, Kathy Mayer, and Delores that, we apologize. Those names, stories, and events McBroome. mentioned in this little volume are meant only to be representative of the larger experience of Humboldt Those who read parts or all of the manuscript, correcting since 1913. Future revisions of this history can correct errors and making suggestions, were Milton Dobkin, Patsy any omissions. Givins, John Hennessy, Gayle Karshner, Alistair McCrone, William R. Tanner and Rod Sievers. Many thanks to all of these, as well as to Professor of History The effort to establish Humboldt Nor- The committee brought forward many arguments to sway mal School was fraught with uncertain- legislators. Foremost were the area's isolation and the long ty and controversy. Three hundred distance from a teacher-training institution (Southern miles from San Francisco, this area was Oregon Normal in Ashland was closest — 200 miles away). mainly rural during the first decade of Most passenger traffic in and out of Humboldt County the 20th century. The founding of a college on this isolated came by water. The Northwest Pacific Railroad was coming coast presented a number of challenges: limited transporta- from the south, but not until 1914 would Fort Seward resi- tion, lack of facilities, few faculty available, and distance dents witness the driving of the final spike in the line con- from the seat of state government, to name but a few. necting Sausalito and Eureka. The Areata & Mad River The normal first opened its doors in the spring of 1914, in Railroad could bring students from Korbel and Blue Lake. facilities leased from the Areata Grammar School. Probably From Crescent City, however, they had to wait up to six no one of that era envisioned a thriving university such as hours for high tide to make the Klamath River navigable by would exist eight decades later. In those early years, sur- ferry, then progress slowly southward by car or (more like- vival was enough of a concern. ly) horse-drawn wagon. Prior to 1914, only one poor dirt road, the Humboldt and Mendocino Wagon Road, served A national wave of social progressivism had prepared (p 2) these travelers. Roads to Redding stood unimproved. the way. Education had become a national priority around the turn of the century, accenting the need for more, and Sixty-five percent of the teachers in the area were not certi- better trained, schoolteachers. Locally, Humboldt's normal fied. Without a North Coast normal school, they, and any school (a normal trained elementary teachers, primarily) future teachers, would have to bear the expense of attend- owed its existence to months of arduous preparation. Poli- ing school in Oregon or San Francisco. Humboldt County tical maneuvering dominated the effort: in particular, a also shared in the statewide shortage of qualified teachers contest between the cities of Eureka and Areata over the due to increased public school attendance. A 191 1 state school's location. assembly decision to distribute funds according to average daily attendance had had the effect of a compulsory school attendance law. The Politics of a New School The Eureka normal committee mounted these and other Eureka's chamber of commerce apparently made the first arguments. With some reluctance, they left out of their move toward establishing a normal school in Humboldt proposals the controversial matter of a site for the normal County. In late 1911, Eureka appointed a committee school in order to enlist support from other communities. A comprised of George Burchard, Charles Stern, and E.A. new agency, the Federated Commercial Bodies of Humboldt Leach, to mount public support and make overtures to County, headed by Eurekan William Cook, joined the com- Sacramento. Burchard later moved to Areata and headed a mittee in seeking countywide support. chamber of commerce effort to locate the normal school there. Stern was later appointed by Governor Johnson to the In December, 1912, State Senator William Kehoe and newly created state board of education, where he served as Assemblyman Hans Nelson introduced legislation to an important spokesperson for the North Coast. establish a Humboldt County normal school. Rumor has it that the governor was unenthusiastic, but a local Republi- I he foundingof Humboldt The reforms that began California had lived un- State coincided with an ex- in the cities in the 1 890s, der the thumb of the pow- citing era of reform, the soon spread to state poli- erful Southern Pacific Progressive Movement tics and eventually found Railroad, which con- Progressive (roughly 1897-1917), leadership in the admin- trolled the workings of Education which brought education istrations of two presi- government so as to keep researched by dents, the author to new prominence on the Theodore Roose- competitive railroads and national agenda. The Pro- velt and Woodrow Wil- shipping lines from mov- gressives sought to allevi- son. Reformers regulated ing into the state. But ate the negative conse- public utilities and big when progressive Repub- quences of industrialism. business, created safety licans (those breaking They wanted a nation eco- and sanitation laws, from GOP ranks), and nomically equitable and fought state and city po- Democrats sent Hiram socially just with in- litical bosses, and Johnson and other re- creased political partici- pushed through legisla- formers to Sacramento, pation by the masses. For tion on women's suffrage, the assembly put into ef- all of this, education was prohibition, and com- fect many of the afore- key. Historian Lawrence pulsory school atten- mentioned reforms (in- Cremin defined progres- dance. cluding regulation of the sive education as railroads). California experienced part of a vast humanitar- this reform under the The reform atmosphere ian effort to apply the principal leadership of created a more receptive promise of American life Governor Hiram Johnson environment for propos- — the ideal ofgovernment (later U.S. senator and als to establish new nor- by, of, and for the people sidekick to President mal schools. (Fresno State — to the puzzling new ur- Teddy Roosevelt). For a Normal was established ban industrial civilization quarter century prior to in 1911; Humboldt State ... a many-sided effort to Johnson's governorship, Normal in 1913.) use schools to improve the lives of individuals.