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.

Monterey Grammar School

I’ve run across things confirming that my grandmother, Mildred Loraine Gunzendorfer, attended Monterey Grammar School but now I know that she not only attended but she graduated from the school.  From what I can tell, the grammar school went through 8th grade and then off the students went to high school.

Not only did Loraine’s things spend the last 100+ years in an outdoor storage facility, but for whatever reason, some of her things never made it out of my garage.  Until recently, when it was time to bring things inside and make it easier for me to actually look at what I have.  And that’s when I found this.



Oh boy, the years have definitely taken a toll on this document – the Diploma of Graduation for my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, from June 30, 1911.  The photo actually looks better than it really is and I was anxious to somehow restore it, at least a little bit.  Thankfully, I’m a member of the Random Acts of Photo Restoration on Facebook which is a group of individuals who volunteer to restore photos so I posted the photo to see what could be done. 

And before long, I had a “cleaned up” version.  It looks so much better – I know this wasn’t an easy task!



Today I was looking through some things and I came across an autograph book I hadn’t really paid attention to before.  But it caught my eye today.



How beautiful is this?  I can just imagine my grandmother taking it to school for her friends to sign. 

And here’s the back.



I opened it up and saw this on the inside front cover.



Although the inside front cover isn’t dated, her friends dated their entries so I’m guessing this was a Christmas gift in 1909.  I sure wish I knew why she destroyed the name of the gift giver and replaced it with ? I’m not sure if she used an eraser or just something sharp to make the name unreadable.

What struck me was that very few of those who signed the book are names I’ve ever heard before.  And since I have her yearbook from just 4 years later, it’s surprising that there were only a couple of friends who graduated from Monterey High School with her.

One was her BFF, Hallie Hitchcock.  I sure would love to find a descendant of Hallie’s so I could share some of the school girl memories and pictures Loraine kept.



Another one of her girlfriends was Mary Salterbach.  Sometimes I see the name with a K on the end but this, in Mary’s handwriting, looks like an H to me.



And Carleton’s name seems familiar – ah yes, she kept some of Carleton’s cigarettes in her COLLECTION. 



This note from Diavillis Hutchinson was one that tells me these were friends from her days at Monterey Grammar School.



And another one which stands out to me – I have a friend with the same name.



I think the handwriting is beautiful – I’m sure kids back then spent a lot of time practicing their handwriting.  I still remember what a thrill it was to give up printing and begin writing in cursive!



What a beautiful school – and one which held so many memories for my grandmother.  Thanks again for sharing, Grandma!

The Day After

I’m finally getting back to transcribing the letters that my grandparents, Sig and Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, wrote back and forth between 1917-1919 as they were courting and planning for their wedding.  So much happened in their lives during that time – World War I, deaths, and the influenza pandemic of 1918.  It was a tumultuous time for America.

I have shared a little of their thoughts and will continue to do that as I complete the project.  However, after transcribing close to 200 letters from Loraine to Sig (with about 20 to go), I just learned from one of her letters that she had over 230 letters that Sig had written to her so I know I have really only scratched the surface. 

When we cleaned out my parents’ storage unit 4 years ago, I stumbled upon these letters and threw (yes, threw) them in a big black garbage bag and took them home.  I’ve sorted them by author, by recipient, and then put them in date order.  I’m certain I’m missing more than a few but hey, I’ll take what I can get.

As I’m winding down the first set of letters (from Loraine to Sig) I’ve come across a few random letters from various people.

To catch you up, a few years ago I wrote about Sig asking Loraine’s parents for permission to marry their only daughter – you can read that here.  And then a few weeks later I shared some of the letters of congratulations they received – you can read that here. 

And today brought the surprise of the letter that Loraine’s mother, Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, wrote to Sig and Loraine the day after their wedding.  Which based on the handwriting, has confirmed for me who wrote the letter back to Sig giving permission to marry their daughter.

[my comments included]

Monday aft

My dear Children:

Just came in & before getting ready to go out to Berkeley to have dinner with Wilt [Loraine’s brother] will drop you a line to tell you that your voices sounded awfully good over the telephone this morn [Loraine talked to her mother on the first morning of married life?].  Was happy to hear you were both O.K. & so happy.  The day has been delightful and I am sure you are enjoying your trip. [I believe they went to Southern California for their honeymoon]

I have had a funny day.  Went over to Aunt Ray’s [Rachel (Letter) Steen, wife of Bertha’s uncle, Samuel Steen] a little after nine this morn and stayed there until almost twelve.  While there Ray Mead Livingston [who?] phoned to me to congratulate us.  Have you her name for an announcement?

Sent away a pile of announcements this morn & will send the rest tomorrow.  Did not see one for Margaret Wright among these. 

Had lunch down town with Milt [her brother, Milton Harry Schwartz] & then we took all the lovely flowers out to the cemetery & covered our darling’s graves with them.  [The cemetery might have been Home of Eternity Cemetery in Oakland or Hills of Eternity in Colma.  I love that they did this!]  Mrs. Glickman [another new name] went with us.  When we came back I bummed around [people “bummed around" in 1919?] with her awhile, then went to Dr. Green’s about my teeth.  [I’ve learned that my family had a lot of trouble with their teeth].  He was so surprised when I told him Loraine was married yesterday.  Had an idea she was a man hater.  [WHAT???]

I feel like I was in a trance myself.  I can’t realize that my dear little girl is a married woman.  I only hope & pray that you will both be supremely happy & follow every day the word of the Rabbi & Uncle Milt.

Everyone said the wedding was a grand success so I feel amply repaid for my trouble.  [Sounds a bit harsh that she felt the need to be “repaid”]  Saw Mrs. Schuman [Madeline Schuman was married to Sig’s brother, Herb – I suspect this was her mother] in Tafts for a minute today.

Tomorrow will pack your dresses and get them off.  Dad goes home tomorrow.  I will stay here until Wednesday, then go to the city [San Francisco] for a few days & then homeward bound once again.

Must go to Wilt’s now.  May call Mary [Salterbach] and Hallie [Hitchcock] up tonight.  [Mary and Hallie were both high school friends and, I believe, Loraine’s closest friends].

Lots of love & kisses to my dear children, keep well and happy.

Your loving
Mother

While I have nearly every letter tucked safely inside an envelope, sadly I do not have the envelope for this letter so I have no idea where it was mailed to.  That might have provided a few clues but alas, I’ll hope to find some in the piles of letters I still have to transcribe.

I just love finding these treasures, especially so I am able to see their handwriting and hold the same paper that my ancestors held.  Once again, thanks for being a packrat, Grandma!

Invitations

One thing I’ve learned about my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, is that she was very social and liked to party.  The next page of the scrapbook is titled Invitations – the title speaks for itself!



Uh-oh, this envelope is empty.  I love how it is addressed to just Monterey, Calif. and then c/o “The White House”.  I guess in 1914 Monterey was pretty small and everyone knew everyone so the postman didn’t have to think too hard about where to deliver the mail.

Could this invitation have been inside?  The size fits and it’s on the same page of the scrapbook but the handwriting is different.  Funny how they had to add the word “each” after the admission so it was clear that it would be $1.00 for a couple.



Here’s another one.  The invitation has been inside the envelope for nearly 100 years – check out the discoloration.





I guess once the invitation was presented it was returned so that it could be kept as a memento.  I’ll bet no one expected it to be kept for 100 years!

Grandma’s cousin, Irene Gunzendorfer, announced her engagement on December 6, 1914.

 

And then came another invitation!



Jake Gunzendorfer was the youngest son on Ferdinand and Fannie (Goldstein) Gunzendorfer and brother to my great grandfather, Abraham Gunzendorfer.
Grandma was a bridesmaid in the wedding.



And another newspaper article with a picture of Irene.  I need to go through the box of unidentified photos I have and see if I can find anyone who might be Irene.



Last but not least is an invitation to the wedding of Grandma’s high school classmate, Mary Salterbach, to Mr. Howard Hatton.  This wedding was held 5-6 years after the other events, which probably explains why the invitation was just loose on the page.



I would sure love to run across some photos of Grandma all dressed up for these events!