CORONA DEL MAR : 700 Attend School’s 40th Anniversary

It took Roy O. Andersen about 20 minutes to cross the crowded Harbor View Elementary School playground, but it wasn’t youngsters who kept stopping him to talk.

It was the multitudes of adults--most sporting gold alumni ribbons--who remembered him as district superintendent when Harbor View first opened 40 years ago.

Andersen, 83, was one of about 700 revelers who attended Harbor View’s birthday picnic celebration Sunday that included mimes, old photos, old-time music, speeches and a performance by the All American Boys Chorus.

The event, which ran from 4 to 6:30 p.m., was the culmination of two months of planning by about 50 parent volunteers, said publicity coordinator Colleen Manchester.

The event was spread across the lawn by the upper playground above 5th Avenue. People of all ages milled around exhibits, picnicked on blankets and beach chairs and tol stories of how it used to be.

Andersen, who first moved to Corona del Mar in 1936 and has resided there continuously since 1949, said the district in 1953 was called the Newport Beach Elementary School District.

“We had three schools then and needed another one,” he recalled. “We selected the (Harbor View) site because it was close to Corona del Mar and we knew that area was going to really grow.”

Andersen said the site that abutted Irvine Co. land had nothing around it then and commanded a view of the Pacific Ocean.

“We built an extension up Goldenrod (Avenue) to service the school,” he said. “We were just starting from scratch at the edge of wide-open country. That’s the way it was.”

One of his favorite memories, he said, is the day a mountain lion appeared on the ridge.

“The kids spotted him at lunchtime, and they were so excited,” he said. “The lion was just lying there, then he got up, stretched, fooled around and took off into the hills. He didn’t bother anyone.”

Another favorite anecdote concerns the day children found a skunk trapped in a garbage pail behind the cafeteria.

“You know how those skunks are,” he said. “They hoist each other up in the can and then they can’t get out. Well, the kids got all excited, took him out and chased him down the slopes.”

This wasn’t “altogether wise,” he said.

“I had to send about 10 of them home for a complete refreshment of clothing and hair washes,” he said, laughing. “The skunk did what skunks do. Of course, the skunk won.”

Corona del Mar resident Lee Marston, 46, said he was excited when the new school opened. He had previously gone to Corona del Mar Elementary School, then located on the other side of Pacific Coast Highway.

“The new school was bigger, it had a bigger playground and a better cafeteria,” he said. “It was in the midst of wilderness and cows would come up to the fence.”

Marston now has three children, all of whom attend or have attended Harbor View. He, like many Harbor View parents, recently donated $500 to help pay for music, physical education and computer programs, he said.

“Any public school is hurting financially, but I think Harbor View is as good as any private school,” said Marston. “It was good for me, and it’s been good for my kids.”

“I’m very proud of this school,” said Andersen, who had another school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District named after him when he retired in 1971. “Very, very proud.”