52 Ancestors: School

One of the first treasures I found when I started this journey was related to School – my grandmother’s high school yearbook.  I remember thinking it was really cool to look through it online but when I somehow discovered that I could actually OWN it, I thought my head would explode!  Since then I have become the proud owner of the original high school yearbooks of my grandfather, Sig Levy, and his brothers and the high school and college yearbooks of my parents.  But this was my first and will always be a special treasure.

The original Monterey High School, prior to 1905, consisted of both Monterey High School and Del Monte Technical School.  In 1905, the two schools were joined to form Monterey Union High School.  The school serviced students from Castroville to Big Sur to all of Carmel Valley.

When the original three story wood building burned down (on the site where the District Office is today), the new school was built at 101 Hermann Drive where it stands today.

The Whisper was the original name of the yearbook, which was a collection of poems and pictures by the students rather than a ‘traditional’ yearbook.  The word whisper was used to reflect the “whisper” in the students’ voices in their poems.  Keeping with the Spanish tradition, the name was changed to El Susurro (Spanish for the whisper).

A couple of notable people (besides my grandmother) attended the school – former Secretary of Defense Leon Paneta and former NFL head coach and defensive back, Herman Edwards.

With the rich Spanish heritage in the City of Monterey, the Toreador was chosen as the mascot when the school opened in 1905. The original Mascot "Tony the Toreador" caricature served as the face of the school for 80 years.

Some interesting facts from about the time my grandmother attended Monterey High School:

• The green and gold were chosen as the school colors in 1906.
• Three new departments were added – Home Economics, Manual Training, and Biology – in 1912.
• Eight seniors were in the graduating class of 1913, which increased to 133 in 1933.
• The new high school building was officially opened in its current location on February 12, 1915.

And now on to the yearbook of 1915.



I love that a beautiful painting was included in the yearbook – it looks so “Monterey-like”.



I guess you don’t need a huge faculty with only 16 seniors.



Luella Thurston was the yearbook adviser as the students dedicated the book to her.

“To Miss Luella Thurston who for five years has been ‘El Susurro’s’ staunchest friend, we now with our ‘good byes’ and warmest wishes dedicate our Journal”

And the graduating class of 1915.  So many names I’ve read about or seen pictures of.  My grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer, and that beautiful smile.  Her BFF was Hallie Hitchcock, who was actually a year older than Grandma, and her brother, John Elbert Hitchcock, was about 8 months younger than Grandma.  Another notable name on this page is Howard Hatton, who married Mary Salterbach on the next page.




Clayton Philip Salterbach was younger than Mary by two years so not sure how or why he ended up with the class of 1915.  While the other names on this page are familiar to me, one that really stands out is J. Meryl Pugh who appeared in Loraine’s scrapbook.



I laughed at the Senior Advice.  There’s Loraine advising the girls to never allow their hearts to “go adrift”.  I wonder who broke her heart that caused her to write that.




An example of a story included – Loraine snatched an apple!




This collage of photos is interesting - can you find Loraine in the Before and After photos?



Loraine’s younger brother, Wilton, was a Freshman at the time.  I know their father was often known as Gunzy so I’m assuming “Champ Gunzy” is Wilt.



And here’s mention of Wilt again – president of his class!



Even with a close up of the photo, I can’t be sure which young man is Wilt.  Perhaps the one on the left sitting on the steps?



Some more photos from El Susurro.







I can almost imagine my grandmother walking the halls of the school and sitting in the dining room.  But I cannot imagine her in the Manual Training Shop.

Another collage of photos.  Since dad Abe was a photographer, I wonder if he took any of these photos.



I have to enlarge the Mermaids as you-know-who was posing.  Yep, that’s Loraine second from the left.



Grandma was the Assistant Editor!

And no yearbook would be complete without advertisers.  I wasn’t surprised to find a very special advertisement.



The White House and the Gunzendorfers were a fixture in Monterey during the late 1800’s and until Abe’s death in 1944.  Nearly 100 years of a successful family business.

What a wonderful account of Loraine’s senior year in high school.  I am so happy to have a glimpse into her life as a young woman.

More Invites

The next pages of Grandma’s scrapbook are filled with invites and dance cards proving once again that my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, liked to socialize.  My dad was just like that – he hated sitting at home and always wanted to “be where the people are”.  Guess he got that from his mother!



She writes a lot about Earle.  There was a young man in her class named J. Meryl Pugh – wonder how Earle and Meryl were related?  Or were they the same person?

I love how the envelope is just addressed to Monterey, California.  Although since there is no postmark, it was probably hand delivered.





You are cordially invited to attend the Middy _____? Dance given by the + x girls April 18th, 8:30.  Civic Club – Pacific Grove.  Ladies $1.00  R.S.V.P. Geneva Marcellus, Helen Allan, committee

I wonder what or who the + x girls were?  And $1.00 for the ladies – wonder what it cost for the men?  Maybe they had separate invitations for ladies and men?

And here’s another event in Pacific Grove:



Bid to a dance in P.G.  Sent my acceptance but did not go as was in Hollister.

Yikes!  She said she was going to attend and then didn’t?  That seems so out of character for my grandmother as she always seemed to be worried about doing the right thing socially.  What was so important in Hollister that caused her to give up a dance?

What beautiful handwriting on this invitation.



Glad they confirmed there would be dancing!  Grandma left no description about this dance so I have no way of knowing if she actually attended.

And the next page said “Earle sent me these from San Luis”.  Okay, does that mean that Earle lived in San Luis Obispo?  Maybe he was a cousin or something of J. Meryl Pugh?  And who is this in the picture – is that Earle?  And who is the young lady he was with?  It almost looks like she’s wearing a wedding dress.  Sadly, I doubt I’ll ever know the answers.



And then there’s this postcard which someone mailed to Grandma with this on the back.

Picture of our colonial ball given by the Director’s wife last Friday.  Earle – chums – friends.



I scoured and scoured this photo looking for Grandma and I can’t see her.  So why would Earle send her a photo? 

So many questions and the more I look at this scrapbook, the more I have!