MECCA SCHOOL ONCE HELD IN A HAY BARN
Can you image attending classes in a hay barn?
MECCA SCHOOL ONCE HELD IN A HAY BARN
By Ceceilia Foulkes (Narrated at 1980 Indio Historical Days Symposium)
We came to live in Mecca in 1914. My dad had purchased a small ranch, (Dohr Ranch) on Avenue 64. There was our mother, father, Rosalis, David, Viola, and Frankie. Frankie and Viola went to Coachella Valley High School and we three enrolled at Mecca School. The school was located on Avenue 66 (Box Canyon Road) at Date Palm Street. There were about 60 pupils and two teachers, Mrs. Ross Lloyd and Miss Margaret McCloskey (she later married and became the mother of Mrs. Margaret Tyler - Dr. Tyler’s wife).
Sometime during the year, the school was moved to Sixth Street. It took about 8 mules to move the building. When it was in place it was saved in two and enlarged. In the meantime, classes were held in Hill's hay barn (now Frank's Market). The two classes were partitioned off with bales of hay.
The following is an excerpt from Early Dates in Coachella Valley - January 8, 1915:
"Mecca's new school building is nearing completion and was occupied Monday. The main building is approached by a wide cement walk leading to the long front porch on the east side. The main building consists of two good-sized rooms separated by easily manipulated rolling partitions. There is also a library, principal’s office, cloak rooms, ventilated lunch pail closets, two sanitary drinking fountains and two lavatories. It is handsomely painted and finished.”
A bus load of Indians from Martinez Reservation came to school. We had such fun at recess times playing baseball. This was such a happy time. We gave plays and I always had to take the male roles as boys were too bashful. I was Shylock in a scene from the “Mercant of Venice," Carl the Huntsman in "Snow White" and more.
The play"SnowWhite" was too long for one girl to memorize, so Mildred Waite, a tall slim girl was Snow White, in the first act, and Elsie Palmer, short and plump, was Snow White in the second act.
After about nine months we returned to Los Angeles, where I attended Polytechnic High School. As a member of the Glee Club, I took leading roles in the operettas.
One of the most outstanding students was the editor of our high school paper, "The Optimist" and she was (and is) none other than Dr. Louisa Springer Ames!
After high school graduation, I attended S.B.U.C. - which became U.C.L.A. I took the teachers' course, majoring in music. Our class president was Edith Hammond, later to become Mrs. Richard Elliott, head of the Desert Sun School. Also, in my athletic class was Helen Hammond, who later became Mrs. Donald Jayne. She is now President of Friends of the Library. I did not know either of these girls then.
In the meantime, our Dad bought the E. L. Hill store at Mecca. He renamed it the Mission Store. Both he and our mother were living in Mecca, so I was anxious to return there after graduation. I accepted a position at Indio at the Lincoln school, teaching sixth and seventh grades. We did departmental work and I had the music in all upper grades.
To quote from an article 50 years ago, "A Glimpse of the Past" - September 14, 1923:
"The Indio grammar school will open next Monday. Teachers on the faculty are J. C. Campbell, Principal; Margaret Wilson of Pomona; Cora Elianor Inglehart of Highland; Velma Jewell of Long Beach; Lenna Marie Jacobs of Santa Monica; Louise Emma Houlgate of Ventura and Cecelia M. Foulkes of Los Angeles."
Some of the pupils I remember are Cread, Floyd, and Sherman McIntosh; George and 'Roy Kohler; RalphPawley, Emmit and Dan Martin; Jack James; Ruth White and Frank Cavanaugh.
Mrs. Pawley, wife of Judge Pawley, was one of my school trustees who hired me.
We gave an exciting play at the Indio Woman's Club, "Rescued by Radio". We cleared $63.00.
At that time there were about 200 pupils. By contrast, when I phoned the Desert Sands School District, I learned that there are 12 schools with about 9000 pupils at the peak (this includes the high school).
Each weekend I would come home to Mecca by train (the old sidewinder). The fare was 75¢. Sometime during the first year I was offered a job at Mecca for the following year and I accepted.
There were only two of us teachers at Mecca. Helen Hammond taught the first, second, and third grades, while I taught the fourth through eighth. There were about 60 pupils then. Today there are about 450. There were a number of Indian pupils from the Martinez Indian Reservation. They came in an old bus. The Indian children were very shy. One little girl, Margaret Dominguez, followed me around on my yard duty. Her mother's name was Cecelia. I tried to find out how to say Cecelia in Indian. No luck, so I said, “Margaret what does your father say to your mother when gets home?" He says "Hello Honey”.
After that year, I taught at various schools - Ensign, Desert Sun School and did much substituting in Valley schools. I returned to regular teaching in 1956 and taught at Mecca third grade for nine years when I retired.
I was not teaching for about 15 years.
In 1942, I joined the WACs. I was stationed in Boom Town in Des Moines, Iowa. I became Staff Sargeant in supply. Along with my regular duties, I was one of a group that gave musical performances throughout Iowa where Liberty Bonds and stamps were sold. I sang and whistled also on the radio, too.
I have always been interested in flower arranging. When I came to the desert, because of lack of fresh flowers, I became interested in dry flower arrangements. I entered arrangements at the Fair. Bob Fulenwider, who was manager, saw some of my things and recommended me to a man, Mr. Curvan, from New York who was a wholesaler in dry flower materials. He gave me a huge order to fill and soon had other customers. Ellen Wilder and I went into business. It was fun collecting and making up arrangements, but we were not so good at selling. Later I turned all of my customers over to Martha Danner who became quite successful (now Mrs. Glen Vargas).
The desert materials we sold were okra pods, cotton balls, yerba mansa, various stems from both date palm and fan palms, screw beans, lotus pods, eucalyptus pods, cattails, dock, primrose baskets, agave pods, buckwheat (desert trumpet), mares' tails and desert drift wood.
I have been active i n community affairs as a board member of the Mecca Civic Council, which produced the pageant, "The Master Passes By”. I was a board member of the Mecca Sanitary District and deaconess of the Mecca Community Church.
Throughout the years my interests have been amateur dramatics, bird watching, flower arranging, and the wonderful beauty of our desert and its people.
This story is reprinted from the January 23, 1981, issue of The Periscope, a publication of the Coachella Valley Historical Society. Copies of past and current issues of The Periscope are available for purchase for a nominal price in the Gift Shop at Coachella Valley History Museum.
