Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Campbell Mayor: Jeanette Watson
The Good Old Days
City's old schools exist in spirit and structure
By Jeanette Watson
As a Campbell native, I have many recollections of growing up in this community. One important memory is of a building we all see when we drive through the Winchester Boulevard/Campbell Avenue intersection.
I'm not talking about the community center, which is on the site of the old Campbell High School, but about the structure that was built as Campbell Union Grammar School. Today that structure is known as Heritage Village Offices. While it still looks like the old grammar school on the outside, it doesn't on the inside.
When the cornerstone was laid in 1922, stores closed so that everyone could attend this important event. The school opened in 1923, its wide expanse of lawns unusual in this farm community, where lawns were superfluous due to gardens full of trees. In spring, these orchards were full of blooming mustard. Who needed lawns with beauty like that!
This building didn't have mustard but what seemed like acres of lawn and bushes to a farm child like me. The road was only two lanes then, so there was much more lawn than there is today. The building was designed by William H. Weeks, who 15 years later was asked to design Campbell Union High School across the street.
When I first entered kindergarten at the school, the classroom seemed huge. But it was a friendly room with a tile-enhanced fireplace surrounded by built-in reading benches, and the many windows gave it a light and airy feeling. Each child had a cupboard with his or her name on it. I had never seen my name in print before, so it made a big impression on me.
The kindergarten was on the east side of the building, where the porch is. That porch was a Weeks innovation that allowed kindergartners to go outside, into the sunshine, where snacks could be served.
The school cafeteria was on the west side of the building. School lunches were so popular that the staff had to be increased to meet demand. The school population grew, and with it, the need to turn music rooms into classrooms. The auditorium was used for school events as well as community programs in the '20s, '30s and '40s. I remember being in school plays and graduating there.
In 1964, the school was closed and leased to the newly formed West Valley College District. Classes were held there for three years. I took a creative writing class, and it was fun to be back on the campus again. After the college moved to Saratoga, the building sat vacant, and vandals began to take their toll. In 1979, the property was sold.
At first, not many in the community rallied to save the building. In fact, when I went to a state meeting to have the building declared historic, only one person accompanied me. That person was Frank Blaine, a descendant of Benjamin and Mary Campbell, the founders of our city. Later, when others heard what had happened at the meeting, I received support from both the city council and the community.
In perhaps one of the most significant cases of compromise to save a building in our city, developers agreed to keep the front façade, including the cafeteria and kindergarten with the sun porch. Architect Morris Stark, from the firm of William Hedley, worked with the developer to design the rest of the building's exterior as close to the original as possible. Indeed, for those of us who attended school there, it looks like the same building all the way around. The tile roof and banks of windows preserve the appearance that has been a part of this community for 80 years.
The only other time the building was threatened was when the city was building the loop streets. Civic Center Drive was to take part of the kindergarten porch. Naturally, I flew into action to preserve that special place. After all, that is where I remember having graham crackers and milk. Now as you drive by, you can see the porch, which looks much smaller than it did when I was a child.
The entrance to the building is still impressive, although both the auditorium and the inner courtyard are gone. In its place, however, is a lovely recreational area with waterways and pathways. It's really quite beautiful compared to the sterile asphalt playground it once was.
Now when I go to the Heritage Village post office, I feel like a child again, stepping back to a time when orchards were more plentiful than houses.
I was pleased to play an active role in this preservation project, and I'm grateful to all who worked to preserve this most special building in our community.
It's hard to imagine what it would be like today if this building and those across the street in our former Campbell High School were gone. It would be like any other intersection in the valley. The "schools corner," as it was known in the early days, lets everyone know they are in Campbell, Calif., USA., where history lives on in its outstanding architectural beauties.
Jeanette Watson, author of "Campbell, the Orchard City" (1989, published by Jeanette Watson in conjunction with the Campbell Museum Foundation), is the mayor of Campbell.
Campbell, California
