100 years of Glendale High
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Claudia Peschiutta
1901 -- GLENDALE UNION HIGH SCHOOL OPENS
Five years before Glendale was incorporated, the Glendale Union High
School District was formed to serve students from seven grammar school
districts, including Burbank, Tropico and Eagle Rock.
Nearly 30 students enrolled and began meeting in the dining room of
the Glendale Hotel, later known as the Glendale Sanitarium. The average
daily attendance was 23.
The school’s opening allowed area students to continue their education
without having to travel to Los Angeles.
Llewellyn Evans served as the school’s first principal.
1902 -- SCHOOL HOUSE COMPLETED
The cornerstone for a school house was laid on Sept. 2. Construction
of two-story, seven-room facility was completed on Dec. 2.
The structure’s bright yellow color earned it the nickname “cheese
box.” Some also called the building the “cracker box” because of its many
windows.
Formerly an elementary school teacher, George U. Moyse became
Glendale’s principal, a post he would hold until 1937. His starting
salary was $120 a month.
During the search for a new location, Richard A. Merrill, owner of the
Glendale Hotel property, offered a 2 1/2-acre site to the school district
for $550. A handful of people came forward and provided the funds to buy
the plot, on the southeast corner of Brand Boulevard and Fourth Street
(now Broadway).
Voters approved a $10,000 bond measure for the construction of a
school.
1903 -- CAMPUS EXPANDS
A shed was built next to the school house so students who came to
school on horseback could store their horses.
1904 -- SCHOOL HOLDS FIRST GRADUATION
Four girls made up the high school’s first graduating class.
1907 -- ENROLLMENT GROWS
The number of students surpassed 100.
A lot on Central Avenue and Broadway was leased for use as an athletic
field.
At a citizens’ meeting, the school trustees were instructed to procure
$75,000 to construct and equip a new campus.
1908 -- LAND FOR NEW SCHOOL SITE PURCHASED
Growing enrollment lead education officials to buy the block of land
bordered by the streets now known as Colorado Boulevard, Maryland Avenue
and Harvard and Louise streets. The 4 1/2-acre lot cost $20,000.
A $75,000 white brick building was later erected on the site, which is
now home to the Glendale Central Library.
While at that site, the school was often called “Harvard High School.”
1910 -- THE ORATORICAL ESTABLISHED
Students took part in a contest of speeches and tableaux that would go
on to become an annual tradition.
-- COMITES FORMED
Comites was established to encourage the study of Latin. Gladys
Hamilton served as the group’s first Imperator.
The club went on to earn a place among the school’s oldest
organizations. It was disbanded in 1968 but soon reorganized with more
than 20 members.
1911 -- HOUSEHOLD ARTS INTRODUCED
The Household Arts Department offered girls lessons in sewing and
cooking.
Two years later, the school’s yearbook -- Stylus -- stated the program
“has already proved popular with the girls, as they realize that their
education will be sadly lacking if they have not learned practical
economy, good taste in clothes and home furnishings and how to clothe and
feed the body.”
1912 -- THE SPECTATOR PUBLISHED
Students published a weekly newspaper titled The Spectator. The
four-page paper sold for one cent.
-- STUDENT BODY FORMED
The first meeting of Student Body of Glendale Union High School was
held on Dec. 3. The group’s mission was “to give students control over
certain things pertaining to the various activities of the school. It
gives them practice in making and enforcing laws, and also drills them in
parliamentary rules.” Charles Wells served as the first speaker, a title
that waslater changed to president.
-- ASSOCIATED GIRL STUDENTS FORMED
Female students established the Associated Girl Students in the fall
under the leadership of Gladys Hamilton.
The group sought “to meet girls’ problems and to make all the girls of
the high school better acquainted with each other.”
1913 -- FIRST ANNUAL ISSUE OF THE STYLUS PUBLISHED The senior class
published the first annual edition of Stylus with the theme “Work and
Win.”
Stylus was first published as a monthly from January to June 1909. Its
first editor was Ray Wolff. The publication was sold to students for 10
cents.
The following year, Stylus became a quarterly, with the first issue
published by the juniors, the second by the sophomores, the third by the
freshman, or “scrubs” as they were known. The fourth issue of the year
was published by the seniors.
1913 -- BIG ‘G” CLUB FORMED
Students formed the Big “G” Club for anyone who had earned a school
letter. Frank Littell served as the group’s first president.
“The object of this club is to promote fellowship among the athletes
and to keep the big ‘G’ from being worn by any who have not won it.”
1914 -- CAMPUS EXPANSION BEGINS
The school grew to include 12 teachers and 340 students.
The passage of bonds worth $100,000 made possible the purchase of
adjoining property on the west side of Mary Street (now Maryland Avenue).
Construction began on the Household Arts and Mechanical Arts
buildings, which were occupied the following year.
1915 -- GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TEAM FORMED
Girls got their own basketball team and lost all of their three games
in the first year. The players wore knee-length skirts and sailor blouses
with a handkerchief tied around the collar.
1917 -- GLENDALE’S FIRST FOOTBALL GAME
On Nov. 2, the Dynamiters played their first football game, losing 6-0
against Monrovia High School. The team played only three games in its
first season, which ended with a 13-6 win over Lancaster High School.
1917 -- EXPLOSION BORN
Publication began on a weekly student newspaper, the Explosion. The
Explosion’s birth had been foretold in the last volume of The Spectator,
its predecessor.
Created in 1912, The Spectator stopped publishing in 1915. Its last
edition, a single-page published in the 1915 Stylus, blamed lack of
interest for the paper’s demise.
“Neglected, passed by, and unnoticed by the students, nothing was left
to those in authority save abandonment and submission to adversity. Thus
died The Spectator, together with its creator and sustainer, School
Spirit,” read the last volume, called the Death Edition.
“On the second advent of school spirit there will arise a new paper
from the ashes of the old -- The Phoenix -- bigger, better and more
glorious.”
The Explosion has proven to be the more successful of the two papers.
Budget cuts over the years forced the weekly, at times, to publish less
often.
Today, The Explosion comes out monthly.
1918 -- STYLUS DEDICATED TO WWI SOLDIERS
More than 140 students, alumni and faculty members were serving in the
Armed Forces. Students created a service emblem decorated with one star
for each of the men in action.
1920 -- GROWING ENROLLMENT LEADS TO SEARCH FOR NEW SITE
The city’s growing population caused enrollment to jump to more than
800 students. The following year, that number grew to 1,050 and five
temporary bungalows were installed on campus.
1921 -- BALL PLAYER NAMED BEST IN STATE
Baseball star Floyd Herman, known as “Lefty” around school, was the
1921 state baseball player of the year. This alumnus, later known as
“Babe” Herman, would go on to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers and set many
team records. A Little League field in Glendale is named after him.
1921-22 -- BONDS APPROVED FOR NEW CAMPUS
Two bond measures, totaling $685,000, were passed. The money was used
to purchase a 21-acre or 23-acre lemon grove, owned by J. P. Lukins, on
Broadway and Verdugo Road.
1923 -- MOYSE STADIUM OPENS
A football stadium opened on the site where the new school was being
built. It was named after George Moyse, who would become the school’s
longest-running principal.
The football team got to the Southern California championship but lost
to Long Beach High School.
1924 -- NEW SCHOOL OPENS
The new campus at Broadway and Verdugo welcomed Glendale students.
1921 -- SCHOOL LOSES STAR BASEBALL PLAYER
Baseball star Floyd Herman, known as “Lefty” around school, graduated
with the class of 1921.
Herman had been considered the best first baseman in Southern
California during his time on the Glendale team.
This alumnus, later known as Floyd “Babe” Herman, would go on to to
play with the Brooklyn Dodgers and set a team record in 1930 with a .393 batting average.
A Little League field in Glendale is named after Herman.
The Spanish-style campus included a tall, narrow bell tower, which
would become a symbol of the high school.
The Harvard Street site remained open, taking in ninth graders.
1925 -- JOHN WAYNE GRADUATES
A star football player known as Marion Morrison graduated. Later known
as John Wayne, Morrison was a star player, senior class president and
served as sports editor of The Explosion while at Glendale.
1926 -- BOYS’ SWIM TEAM FORMED
A group of about 20 boys joined the school’s first boys’ swim team.
1929 -- ALUMNUS SETS WORLD SERIES RECORD
While playing with the Philadelphia Athletics, Howard Ehmke, of the
class of 1914, set a World Series record by striking out 13 batters in
the first game of the 1929 World Series.
Ehmke had been drafted into professional baseball during his senior
year at Glendale.
1930 -- GLENDALE-HOOVER RIVALRY BORN
With the opening of Herbert Hoover High School came the beginning of
Glendale’s cross-town football rivalry.
When the Dynamiters and Tornadoes faced off for the first time, Hoover
won 12-6.
The game used to be preceded by a parade put on by the two high
schools along Brand Boulevard.
1930 -- GENDER ISSUES SUBJECT OF INTER-CLASS DEBATE
Juniors and sophomores competed in the inter-class debating
championship on April 12, taking on the following issue: “Resolved that
it would be to the best interests of all involved if high school boys and
girls equally shared all expenses of their mutual entertainment.”
1932 -- CAMPUS HOUSES JUNIOR HIGH
The Glendale campus became the home of Woodrow Wilson Junior High
School. The middle school would continue operating at the site until
being moved into its own facility in 1955.
1933 -- GREAT DEPRESSION SPEECH WINS ORATORICAL
Sophomore Florence Green won the Oratorical by tackling a timely
issue. Her subject was “The Great Depression.”
-- EARTHQUAKE DAMAGES HARVARD STREET SITE
Once home to the high school, the Harvard Street site was serving as
the first home of Glendale College when the Long Beach Earthquake hit in
November.
The temblor severely damaged the buildings and forced classes to
temporarily meet in tents.
1934 -- THURBER WINS STATE HIGH-JUMP COMPETITION
Delos Thurber become the boys’ high-jump champion in the state high
school competition. He later won a bronze medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin with a jump of 6 feet, 6 3/4 inches.
1935 -- ROTC ESTABLISHED AT GLENDALE
The first year of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the
school saw 120 boys joining. An armory was built to house 150 rifles for
the boys. A Military Ball was held in conjunction with the Hoover High
ROTC program.
1936 -- FUTURE WIMBLEDON CHAMP LEADS TENNIS TEAM TO TITLE
Ted Schroeder, who would one day become a Wimbledon champion, helped
give the tennis team an undefeated season and a Foothill League title.
1936 -- FUTURE BASEBALL GREAT HEADS BASEBALL TEAM
Though the 1936 baseball team struggled, its captain, Bob Dillinger,
would one day play in the major leagues.
While playing with the St. Louis Browns in 1948, Dillinger led the
American League in hits. With 207 hits, he beat out Joe DiMaggio and Ted
Williams.
In 1949, he played on the All-Star team and earned a .324 batting
average, the third best in the league.
1937 -- ALBERT LEADS SCHOOL TO CIF CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterback Frankie Albert led the schools to a win in the CIF
football championships in 1937.
Albert would go on to join the Stanford Indians. He was later inducted
into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
1937 -- HARVARD STREET CAMPUS CLOSED
After years of serving as a home to ninth-grade and, later, college
students, the school’s former home was closed.
1941 -- FIRST COSMETOLOGY CLASS GRADUATES
Fourteen girls made up the first graduating class of the Cosmetology
Department in 1941. Today, Glendale High is one of few schools in the
state offering a certified cosmetology program.
1941 -- CAMPUS DEALS WITH FEARS OF WORLD WAR II
Principal Elon Earl Hildreth opened the 1941 Stylus with words of
encouragement for the outgoing seniors: “A new kind of world awaits the
members of this class. It is different from that which has awaited any
other class in our history. The world of 1941 is in conflagration and
calls for help ... The members of this class must be among the great
heroes of tomorrow if that which is wrong with the world today is to be
set aright. I am not pessimistic of the future. I have known the youth of
today and am certain that this generation will not be found wanting.”
1942 -- SENIORS AWAIT AN ‘UNCERTAIN FUTURE’
Principal Hildreth bid a somber farewell to the senior class.
In the 1942 Stylus, he said: “In this grave hour one hardly knows
whether to congratulate or sympathize with you at this commencement time
... Generally speaking, it is conceded that for sheer intensity of
pleasure and unadulterated joy, no time compares with high school
graduation.”
“For this class, however, the case may be different. A year ago,
everyone uttered a prayer that the thing which was feared might not come.
This year, June 1942, we enter commencement time with our hopes of last
year shattered. Japan has struck her dastardly blow. The other nations of
the Axis have followed suit, and now we stand grappling for an uncertain
future.”
“Applied to the life of an individual, this sad national experience
might teach us that everyone should prepare himself against the worst and
live for the best; that it is dangerous to assign all other peoples of
the world the same high ideals that we, Christian people, have been
taught to cherish; that fortitude should not lead one to rashness; that
planning, equipping, anticipating, budgeting, training, and education are
after all the only means of meeting that which, of necessity, will always
be an uncertain future.”
“In these moments of disquiet, we hope that Glendale High School may
be of some help to her graduates. To them Glendale is giving her
blessing.”
1943-44 -- STUDENTS GO TO WORK TO HELP ‘BOYS OVERSEAS’
The war work campaign had students knitting, sewing quilts, preparing
supply kits for soldiers and making games for wounded servicemen confined
to hospitals.
During the war, the ringing of the 9 a.m. bell was a solemn moment
during which students rose and faced west. Bugle playing accompanied the
raising of the American flag and students bowed their heads in prayer
“for all those who have gone forth to help preserve our precious
freedom.”
1945 -- BONDS BUY GLENDALE WAR PLANE
Students and staff did their part to help the Allies in World War II
by raising money for bonds that go to purchase a war plane.
The 1945 Stylus said: “The campaign to buy a Flying Fortress to be
named ‘The Spirit of Glendale High’ was the biggest and most successful
activity of the year. The drive opened on November 15 and by February 7
the entire amount of $325,000 had been raised. The students were
enthusiastic, not only demonstrating their best school spirit but also
proving a tremendous amount of patriotism.”
1945-46 -- JAZZ GREATS PERFORM ON CAMPUS
The King Cole Trio and Stan Kenton and His Orchestra performed at an
assembly.
1948 -- ALUMNUS WINS OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL
A star athlete while at Glendale High, Owen Guinn Smith won a gold
medal in pole vaulting at the 1948 Olympics by going 14 feet and 1 1/4
inches.
1949 -- FORTY-NINERS FORMED.
Group of boys formed the Forty-Niners club, “organized to stimulate
interest in and encourage leadership and service to the school and
community, especially service not recognized in other ways.”
The group’s members served as hall monitors, issuing citations for
dress code violations. The accused would then appear before the Student
Court, the judicial branch of the student government.