Montalvo Milestone : Celebration to Mark Centennial of Former 1-Room School

It was a grand ceremony befitting an equally grand occasion, complete with speech making, food aplenty and dancing, courtesy of Barlette’s Orchestra, into the early morning.

The date--Nov. 2, 1889. The occasion--the opening of the one-room Montalvo School, built to serve the needs of a growing farming community.

The moment will be recalled today as Montalvo School, now one of 26 in the Ventura Unified School District, observes its 100th birthday. The centennial celebration scheduled for 1 p.m. includes a performance by the Buena High School Band, a happy birthday chorus from the school’s 520 students and a short historical presentation.

Historical records are somewhat spotty, but Montalvo School appears to have had a colorful history. Built for $6,000 on land donated by Ventura resident Jack Hill, the school originally served grades one through eight. Students walked to school through walnut groves. Those who lived farther afield came by horseback, stabling their horses in a small shed at the school.

Montalvo’s first students were taught by 20-year-old Santa Barbara resident Belle Pyle and overseen by Principal Lorenzo Ward. More often than not, their education simply prepared them for a return to the family farm.

“Back 100 years ago, many people didn’t graduate from the eighth grade,” said Vicki Paul, a member of the Montalvo Parent-Teacher Assn. that is helping hold the centennial celebration. “That was considered to be a good education. To go to high school was a tremendous accomplishment.”

The original schoolhouse burned to the ground in 1911, allegedly after a painter using a blowtorch to remove paint accidentally set fire to the building.

A two-room school completed in 1912 replaced the original at a cost of $2,000. That school was later expanded to include plumbing and a small kitchen. The school that stands today was erected in 1939.

According to Principal Marie Atmore, Montalvo School has always been an integral part of the surrounding community.

“This is a very close-knit community. . . ,” Atmore said.

“Even though Ventura is becoming a large city, there are people here that have gone to school here and their parents have gone to school here,” she added.

Atmore admitted that getting that sense of longevity across to some of today’s students could prove difficult.

“The kindergartners are working with it,” Atmore said. “They’re trying to relate their own span of years to 100 years, which for a 5-year-old is quite a concept.”

Today’s centennial celebration will be attended by civic leaders as well as former students.