The History

Pg. 59 -71

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in the schoolhouse; however, as time wen on the teachers would board in the homes of the pupils.

Mr. Leuginger, Wiseburn's representative, met with representatives from other schools districts. As a result of this meeting, the first high school in the Centinela Valley was established in 1905. This new district was known as the Inglewood Union High School District.

Wiseburn had completed a period of sleep from which it was to experience many startling changes. After 1925, the district could no longer be looked upon as the one-room schoolhouse of Wiseburn.

Up to 1906, the district remained a large school district. After that time, many other districts decided to include parts of Wiseburn within their boundaries. It was also from the original large Wiseburn District that many others were formed.

Chapter V

Wiseburn Grows Up, 1925-1940

The Wiseburn School District started building more and better facilities to accommodate the children of the district. The one-room schoolhouse of Wiseburn was soon declared obsolete. New, beautiful, Spanish style structures surrounded by supers landscaping soon were to identify the Wiseburn School District.

The old farmers of Wiseburn started to be outnumbered by the influx dwelling units. Another interesting change in the population was the number of Japanese farmers moving into the district.

Trustees

The power structure in the community altered somewhat during this time. The majority of the board was now made up of members from the newer single dwelling units in the Liberty Acres section of the district rather than from the old original scattered farms of the area (see Table 7).

Progress was brought to the district in September, 1925, when the first school bus by the trustees.

The purchase price of the bus was $1,994 (see Figure 4)

Board meeting were held on Saturday evening for a short time in 1925. For the most part during the twenties, the meetings were held in private homes. Mr. Martin used his home consistently until he resigned from the board to serve as janitor and bus driver of the school. When Mr. Martin left the board, the meetings were changed back to weekdays.

Former board member Martin had a contract which specified his salary as $125 as the janitor and $25 by his fellow board members. This was because the district funds would not permit a higher salary (see Table 8)

The trustees had to contend with other districts attempting to slice away at its boundaries. In February, 1926, Manhattan Beach took a portion. Los Angles City came into the picture in 1928 and also took part of the district. The year 1935 saw Redondo Beach again taking more of the Wiseburn District.

A problem arose in 1939 when liquor had been served at a New Years Eve party on school property. The trustees felt that if liquor were brought on the school property again, the offenders would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

On December 15, 1936, the trustees leased the original one acre of land in front of the school. The property was leased to the Ruckti Oil Company for $50 a month and one-sixth of all the oil and gas found on the property.

The lease was renewed on August 18, 1937, for an additional six months. Three months later, however, the County Counsel informed the district that the Ruckti Oil Company was entitled to a refund on their lease. No drilling was done, and the lease was cackled. The Ruckti firm claimed that they had been misrepresented when the lease was signed. Mr. Smith proved to the County Counsel that the Ruckti agent had been on their payroll that day he signed several other leases for Ruckti. The district was then informed that no money would have to be paid to the Ruckti firm.

The district did not plan to put a well up in front of the school. It had been their intention to place the well at the extreme east end of the school property and drill at an angle under the land in the front of the school.

Budget protested

Several people were present at a board meeting on April 13, 1935, seeking information about 1935-1936 school beget. These people later returned to the board meeting on July 26, 1935, to protest the budget (see Table 8, p. 65).

Mr. F.M. Robertson appeared at the meeting and requested that the district be out 50 per cent. His property had been assessed at $600, and his tax for the Wiseburn School District was $1.60 a year.

Mr, Shessgreen also appeared at the meeting. He asked of it were absolutely necessary to take down the chimney on the auditorium. He also wanted to know the cost to educate a child in Wiseburn. He stated that school employees' salaries were too high, and he asked that they be given less money.

Mi. Geer, another citizen, wished to know where the broad obtained the money to reef and paint the teachers' garage. He concurred with Mr, Shessgreen that school employees earned too much money. He said that the district might get principal for about $4 a day , or about $80 a month.

The Building Program

Bond elections

On May 12, 1925, a $55,000 bond issue had been passed by the voters of the district. This money had been used for the construction of Unit Number One, or the South Building . Specifically, this construction consisted of an auditorium, a classroom, and two special rooms (see Figure 4, p. 64, far right).

By September, 1925, the $55,000 bond issue was declared inadequate to cover the completion of the building program deemed necessary by the board. THe trustees felt that the taxpayers and citizens of the district deserved school facilities comparable to those of the surrounding district deserved school facilities comparable to those of the surrounding districts.

A bond election for $50,000 was planned for October, 1925. Legal notices were posted in McFarland's Grocery Store, near Maine Street and Inglewood Avenue and Redondo Boulevard (Rosecrans and Aviation); and the Wiseburn Schoolhouse. Legal advertising was given to the Hawthorne Advertiser.

The $50,00 bond election of October 23, 1925, was canvased on October 24. The bond failed to pass by two votes.

Yes 18

No 10

Void 2

Total votes: 35

The bond issue was placed before the voters a second, time on December 18, 1925. The bonds again failed to pass by two voters.

Yes 44

No 23

Total votes 95

The third try for the $50,000 bond was set for February 5, 1926. This time the bonds appeared to have passed. The final count showed the following results:

Yes 65

No 30

Total votes: 95

A patron of the district, Mr. Edwin Fursan, complained about a technicality in election procedures. The election notices had been placed in the El Segundo Herald, an illegal paper for school bond advertising. The election was then declared void.

The fourth try at the $50,000 bonds occurred on April 14, 1926. This time the bonds legally passed.

Yes 75

No 22

Total votes 97

School Construction

Since $55,000 in bonds had been passed in the spring of 1925, the district hired Mr. J.A. Larraldi to design a new school building. Bids for the new building were opened on August 14, 1925, and all those submitted were apparently too high. The architect was instructed to make new plane. On September 4, 1925, Mr. Harvey Nichols was given a contrition contract for $14,900, with the plumbing to cost $1,400 extra.

The new building, of Spanish design, was stucco construction over block tile roof. The structure consisted of two main room: an auditorium and a classroom, with two special rooms between them. Inside toilets, with running water were constructed at the east and of the auditorium. This unit had a coal furnace central heating system (see figure 5, far right).

A pump and tower were build about 100 yards southeast of the auditorium. A horizontal pressure tank large enough to hold 3,000 gallon of water, and three horsepower Fairbanks engine were included in the construction. Mr. R. E. Maley constructed this unit for $745 on November 13, 1925.

The original one acre of land purchased in 1897 was too small to accommodate the district's building plans so nine more acres of land had been purchased on August 17, 1925. This land was purchased from A.T Johnson Corporation for $36,000.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Bancroft, Hubert Hoe. History of California. Vol. XVII.

Vol. XXIII. San Francisco: The History Company

publishers, 1886.

An effort has been made by the author to at

least mention all of the events and characters in

the early development of California history. The

information was not in great detail,

however. The reader is at least given a general

insight into the sequence of events.

Sauer, Helen. California Rancho Davs. Sacramento:

California State Department of Sducation, 1957.

Bauer covers the history of all the ranchos

in California. Since the history of California

under the leadership of the spanish and mexicans

is largely the stories of families, she tells many

stories of the families who lives then and what

they did.

Chapman, Charles F. A. History of California, The Spanish

Period. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1926,

Chapman discusses the period of Spanish

influence in California from the very first

Spanish explorations to the days of the great

ranchos.

Conner, Falmer. Romance of the Manchos . Los Angeles:

Title Insurance and Trust Co., 1936.

This book covers the early California period

of history.

Kroeber, A. L. Handbook of Indians of California.

Berkeley: California Book Co., Ltd., 1953.

Mr. Kroeber covers the history of the Indians

in California. He is recognized as one of the

outstanding authorities on Indian culture.

Ludwig, Slla A. Harbor District of Los Angeles.

California: Historical Record Co., Inc., 1927.

Mrs. Ludwig covers the history of the are of

the Los Angeles basin in historical times.

Rosembers, Roy. History of Inglewood. Inglewood : Arthur

H. Causton, 1938.

This book is array copy. At one time it

enjoyed wide circulation. There is a copy in the

Library of Congress. The book is divided into

two sections. The first section is the narration

on the history, while the last section contains

biographical sketches of the famous leaders of

Inglewood.

UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS

Kingsbury, Josephine. "The Establishment of Inglewood,

1887-1890." This was written for a course in

history, HIstory 257 B, 1941.

Minutes and records of the Wiseburn School District,

1896-1960.

Morning Eighth GRade CLass of the Wiseburn School.

"Wiseburn School, Its First Fifty Years, 1896-

1946." This was a report written by the members

of the eighth grade under the direction of a

teacher. It was presented to the school at the

graduation ceremonies in 1946.

Shaeffer, O. J. "karly HIstory of Redondo Beach."

Unpublished report about the city's history,

1934.

APPENDIX

My deepest thanks and appreciation go to these people for the cooperation in making this report possible

Chauncey, Hal, Mr.

This man is a resident of Hawthorne. He served as aboard member from 1954-1959.

Cooley, Ray, Mr.

Mr. Cooley is a resident of Hawthorne. He moved into the area before1910. His wide served as a board member from 1927-1930. Mr. Cooley served as a caretaker and bus driver for the school in the thirties.

Esensten, Shirley, Mrs.

Mrs. Esensten moved into Holly Glen treat in 1955. She was appointed to the school board in 1957. She left the board in 1959.

Farrell, Florence, Mrs.

This lady was employed by the district when the number of staff members increased to two teachers. She taught in the one-room schoolhouse with her sister, Mrs. Marieum Tuck. She is now a resident of El Segundo.

Graves, Gene, Dr.

Dr. Graves is the Assistant Superintendent of the Wiseburn School District. He was first employed in the District in 1953.

Hood, Paris, Mr.

Mr. Hood was a board member, 1929-1935. He also served on the Liberty Acres Waterworks Board in the thirties.

Jensen, Marjory, Mrs.

Mrs. Jensen moved into the district in 1936. She was first employed as a bus driver for the district in 1943.

Leuzinger, Arthur, Mr. and Louis, Mr.

these two men are brothers. They are the oldest residents of the Wiseburn who have lived here all their lives. They are the sons of Emma and Adolph Leuzinger. Their father was one of the original founders of the district. They are Graduates of the Wiseburn School.

McCormick, David, Mr.

Mr. McCormick, president of the Del Aire improvement Association, 1960-196, moved here in 1941.

McDowell, Jean, Mrs.

Mrs. McDowell moved into the district in1947. he has been associated with many district and school organizations. She is a staff writer for the Hawthorne Advertiser Press.

Mitchell, Janes, Mr.

Mr.Mitchwell came to the board in 1946 and left in 1959.

Tendletion, Julie, Mr.s (La Fover)

This lady became the first write-in candidate for the school board. She took office in 1946 and left the board in 1954.

Schults, Ellen, Mrs.

Mrs. Schults became a board member in 1951 and stayed until 1957. She is a resident of the Del Aire section of the district.

Smith, Don, Mr.

Mr. Smith, the superintendent of the district, first was employed here in 1929. He became the district's first man principle. He also was the district's first superintendent.

Tuck, Marieum, Mrs.

Mrs. Tuck is a resident of El Segundo. She first came to the district in 1924, as the last one-room schoolhouse teacher. She became the district's first principal in 1926. She retired from the district in 1960.

THE HISTORY OF THE WISEBURN SCHOOL DISTRICT

1896-1960

___________

Jack Wellington Goode

June 1961

INTRODUCTION

The pages herein comprise a condensed version of a 247-page research study entitled The History of the Wiseburn School District, 1896-1960, compiled in 1961 by Jack Wellington Goode, former Wiseburn Teacher-principal. The study was conducted as a requirement for his Master's Degree in Education from the University of Southern California.

These excerpts taken from the original study are verbatim, with the exception of wording designed to form a bridge or to enhance clarity and continuity.

Mr. Goode cites the value of the history in teaching when he writes, "As an educational tool, a history of the district can provide an excellent service to the administration and teaching staff by presenting them with a complete historical approach to education in this area." He also suggest that teachers use the study in units of instruction that pertain to community life.

The Wiseburn community of grateful to the author for undertaking this monumental task of recording not only the history of the Wiseburn School District , but also the role of community organization in shaping their environs.

This condensation is a project of the Wiseburn School District Centennial Committee, in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary celebration to be held October 18 and 19, 1996.

Jean McDowell. Member

Wiseburn School District

Centennial Committee

June, 1996

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter PAGE

IEARLY HISTORY OF THE WISEBURN AREA . . . . . . . 1

The Colorful Past

The First Settlers

Coming of the White Men

The Great Ranchos

The Railroad Comes to Wiseburn

Early Settlers

IIWISEBURN BECOMES A SCHOOL DISTRICT, 1896 . . 8

The Depot Schoolhouse

County Approves District

Classes Move from Depot to Schoolhouse

Hire First Teacher for Wiseburn School

Shifting Wiseburn District Boundaries

Parents Serve as Trustees

IIISCHOOL FACILITIES EXPAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

IVJAPANESE RESIDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Farm Children Enroll

Principal Befriends Families

VWISEBURN GROWS UP. 1940-1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

District Experiences Changes

Liberty Acres Waterworks

The Effect of the Earthquake

The Wiseburn Improvement Association

VITHE WAR EARS, 1940-1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

World War II Influence

Building Program

Kindergarten

Personnel

Pupil Increase

Religious Problem

Army Presence in District

Wiseburn Parent-Teacher Association

Del Aire Improvement Association

Chapter PAGE

VIIPOSTWAR PROBLEMS IN WISEBURN, 1945-1957 . . . 32

Schools Face Classroom Crisis

Trustees

Building Program

Administrators

Teachers

Enrollment Growth

Japanese Students

Wiseburn P-T.A. Becomes Dana P-T.A.

Juan de Anza P-T.A.

Juan Cabrillo P-T.A.

Jose Sepulveda P-T.A.

Peter BurnettP-T.A.

Construct Del Aire Meeting Hall

Wiseburn Coordinating Council

Wiseburn Park Recreation District

Wiseburn District Ass. for Better Education

Wiseburn Voters League

Wiseburn Civic Association

VIIIWISEBURN IN A STATE OF TRANSITION, 1957-1959 .43

Trustees

School Bonds and School Site

Building Needs Survey

Administrators and Teachers

Demise of the Wiseburn Coordinating Council

United Taxpayers Association of California

Wiseburn Taxpayers Association

of Los Angeles County

Holly Glen Homeowners Association

Wiseburn Citizens Council for Better Schools

IXPOLITICAL TURMOIL. 1959-1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Trustees

Contested Inventories

Tax Override Election

The Recall Election

Dana Building Program

Arson Destroys District Office

Superintendents

Teachers

C.T.A. Ethics Commission Investigation

Pupils

Wiseburn School District P-T.A.'s

Holly Glen Park

Very Interested Parents

Very Skeptical Parents

Farewell to Mrs. Marieum Tuck

Chapter I

EARLY HISTORY OF THE WISEBURN AREA

THE COLORFUL PAST

The Wiseburn area abounds in a rich lore that follows the colorful development of the State of California. Some of the History's most famous people have been associated with the land on which the Wiseburn School District now rests.

THE FIRST SETTLERS

Indians lived there before the Spanish arrived. Many artifacts have been found to verify this point. Indian objects such as movable granite mortars and pestles, stone hammers, and arrowheads have been plowed up by the modern farmers in the area.

These Indians were the Gabrielino strand of the Shoshonian linguistic group. The Shoshonians inhabited much of the area of the Los Angeles basin, and roughly from the desert to the coast, south of the Tehachapi Mountains. These people were the richest in the state and one of the most advanced groups south of the Tehachapi Mountains.

The Gabrielino Indians ate a variety of food. They were the first ones to use movable stone mortars to any great extent for the ordinary purpose of grinding acorns and plant foods, at least in historical time. the existed on clams, grasshoppers, roots, wild oats, eggs, birds, and jack rabbits.

They were Asiatic in appearance and have been classified as Yang-nas. Their clothing was simple. Their mean wore loin clothes, and women wore grass skirts.

No major Indian village as such has been found within the present boundaries of the district, but from the many artifacts found here, the region must have been inhabited by scattered groups._ The nearest major Shoshonian village was a few miles morth-est of Redondo Beach. It was called Engva. The nearest Indian burial grounds have been found in Manhattan Beach, formerly Wiseburn District property.

COMING OF THE WHITE MAN

The first white man to come near the area was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a spanish explorer, who was sent to explorer, who was sent to explore the north coast of New Spain to find suitable harbors for Spanish ships. Cabrillo sailed past the coastline of El Segundo in October, 1542. It is disputable whether he landed intros vicinity.

Thirty year slate, another famous sailor by the name of Sir Francis Drake made his appearance off this coast. He had plundered many Spanish ships, and was on his way to the San Francisco area in his Famous ship, "The Golden Hind," when he saw our coast.

Captain Portola, a spanish soldier, made a march from San Diego to San Francisco in 1769-1770 and passed through the Los Angeles area. He gave the Los Angeles River its name, from which the city was named.

Juan Bautista de Anza, another Spanish Captain, led a company of soldiers and their families from Tubac, Mexico, in 1775-1776, to settle the San Francisco area. He passed through the Los Angeles area after a difficult journey through the desert.

THE GREAT RANCHOS

The Present property that the Wiseburn School Distict rests upon was once the rancho of a California Don whore name was Don Antonio Tgnacio Avila.

Before Don Antonio acquired the land as a rancho, he was given permission to graze his cattle here in 1822. This right was given to him by Captain Noriego, commander of Santa Barbara.

During the spanish regime from !769-1822, no absolute ownership of the ;and titles existed in California. The Indians had held the land under Suzerainty of the King of Spain.

Don Antonio was a native of Fuerta, Mexico, in the state of Sorona. He lived in the Pueblo de Los Angeles for a number of years. The home of his family still stands on Olvera Street and is known as the Avila House. The house was built in 1818.

While Don Antonia grazed his cattle here, another famous sailor, Richard Henry Dana, sailed into the Los Angeles Area. He helped load the hides onto his ship from the great ranchos. He wrote a book about his travels called Two Years Before the Mast.

In the year 1837, Don Antonio was granted his land as his rancho by the governor of Alta California, Juan B. Alvarado.

Pg. 30-42 Condensed

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Pg. 7-19

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events and effects that have become a part of the historical recur of the district. This indeed is a most difficult task for which no clear-cut method, procedure, or philosophy can be devised. But by examination, re-examination, reference, interview, correspondence, comparison of data, and evaluation, a system was set up to filter the copious material for use in this report. In any case, a clear, concise, unabridged accept of history can hardly be classified as anything but fantasy. Objectivity and reliability have been constantly observed, however, in the preparation of this study. Moreover, if one look sat history without prejudice or without regard to the injections of the influence of his mores, he would probably be really too uniformed to prognosticate or give an opinion.

It is only with a sincere desire to preserve that which has gone on before for the benefit of those in the future, that this report was undertaken. Even with this in mind, some of the information written here will probably be classified as predilection by some future historian.

Source of data

It was necessary to investigate many sources of information. The following list was followed in the preparation of the history of the district:

1. Wiseburn School District Board of Trustees' minutes and records.

2. Mr. Don Smith, Superintendent of the Wiseburn School District.

3. Dr. Gene Graves, Assistant Superintendent of the Wiseburn School District.

4. Present and former trustees of the district.

5. Present and former teachers of the district.

6. The County Superintendent's office.

7. Hawthorne School District.

8. P.T.A. minutes and records.

9. Many residents and former students.

10. Inglewood Daily News, Inglewood.

11. Advertiser Press, Hawthorne.

12. Teachers' registers and lesson plans.

13. Wiseburn Faculty Association minutes.

14. Del Aire Improvement Association.

15. Wiseburn Citizens COuncil for Better Schools.

16. Campaign literature.

17. The County Auditor.

18. The County Assessor.

19. The County Board of Supervisors.

20. Land leases, maps, and deeds.

21. Minutes of the Wisburn Improvement Association.

22. Annual reports of the County Superintendent.

23. Taxpayers guides.

24. Personal experience.

Whenever possible, a personal contact was made with the party concerned. It was necessary in some cases, however, to telephone and correspond.

Organization of the Remainder of this Study

Chapter II deals with the early history of the district before it became a school district. Chapter III discusses the first year of operation for the district. Chapter IV gives the history of the district from 1897-1925. Chapter V covers the period of from 1925-1940. Chapter VI takes in the period that was influenced by the war from 1940-1957. Chapter VIII reports on the period of time when the district experienced a change of attitude between the trustees and the administration of the district, from 1957-1959. Chapter IX concludes with the period of political turmoil in the district, from 1959-1960. The last chapter of the study summarizes the activities that inspired in the district in it's sixty-four years of existence.

Chapter II

THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE WISEBURN AREA

The Colorful Past

The Wiseburn area abounds in a rich lore that follows the colorful development of the state of California. Some of history's most famous people have been associated with the land on which the Wiseburn School District now rests.

The first settlers

Indians lived here before the Spanish arrived. Many artifacts have been found to verify this point. Indian objects such as movable granite mortars and pestles, stone hammers, and arrowheads have been plowed up by the modern farmers sin the area.

Theese Indians were the Gabrieline strain of the AShoeshonian linguistic group. The Shoeonians inhabited much of the area of the Los Angeles basin, and roughly from the desert to the coast, south of the Tehanchapi Mountains. These people were the richest in the state and one of the most advanced groups south of the Tehachapi Mountains.

The Gabrieline Indians ate a variety of food. They were the first ones to use movable stone mortars to acorns and plant foods, at least in historical time. They existed on clams, grasshoppers, roots, wild cats, eggs, birds, and jack rabbits.1

They were Asiatic in appearance and have been classified as Yang-nae. Their clothing was simple. Their men wore loin clothes and women wore grass skirts.2

Ho major Indian village as such has been found within the present boundaries of the district, but from the many artifacts found here, the region must have been inhabited by scatterers groups. The nearest major Shoshanian village was a few miles north-east of Redondo Beach. It was called Engva.