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In 1913 the high school board of trustees approached my mother, Mattie Evans Alderman, about the need for more permanent facilities for high school the following two years. As there were no funds available with which to build on land, about ten acres three miles west of Thermal, which had been given the school district for that purpose by G. H. Narbonne on Avenue 56. (The Coachella Valley High School is still located there.)
Mother, having been a school teacher for years, was naturally concerned about housing for a school. By the way, she started teaching at 17 in a one-room school in rural Indiana. The school teacher had been horsewhipped the previous year and fled for his life from some of the big boys in that school. My mother's first year she had the experience of being tied to the flagpole and a threat was made to set it afire. Just in time (maybe) a parent drove up, to change all those plans.
Back to the request for a school building in Thermal: It was agreed that the need was for three classrooms and an assembly room.
She had the land, not the funds with which to build, but most of all she had a real desire to help solve the problem. She decided to go ahead with the project if she could be assured of its occupancy for two years.
So it was that a "gentleman's agreement" was made, even though one of the board members, a Mrs. Allen, who was teaching in Coachella, sought the high school for Coachella even though she lived some distance below Thermal.
The year before the new building was built in Thermal, high school was taught in two places, one of which was the Thermal Baptist Church, the other in an unoccupied house in the community.
Mrs. Alderman had built a spacious assembly room (now my living room) and four classrooms, as well as a cloakroom for the boys and one for the girls. A splendid big fireplace was in the assembly room for heating in cold weather.
The first school had three teachers: Mr. George Beach was the principal with Miss Carrie Shepard from Fullerton, and Miss Mable Lehman, a Canadian. She later became the wife of Jess Wise. Miss Lehman-Wise continued to teach in the Valley for many years.
Years later Mabel recalled her second teaching year at the high school, but also recalled her first year by saying:
"My! How nice it was to have that big room your mother made! The year before that building was built I taught partly in the Baptist Church belfry, where it was cramped and sometimes awfully hot! There were bats up there, too, and I hated them with a passion!"
At the close of the first year of the two-year agreement, someone, likely the person teaching in Coachella, caused to be removed from the Thermal building, to the school in Coachella, all of the material belonging to the high school. This left my mother schocked and holding the bag for the means to pay off her debt.
Again quoting Mabel: "And that next year in Coachella I had to teach in a cupboard after having that nice big room in Mrs. Alderman's building in Thermal."
Rearrangements were made to accommodate lodgers, and the next year. Dr. Paul Popenoe and his bride occupied one side of the building. Dr. Popence and his father were among the early importers of date offshoots to our Valley and were prominent in the pioneer date industry.
In my backyard today still stands the great "Balm of Gillead" tree often mistaken for a cottonwood tree. It was planted about the time the school was built. Long gone is the backyard shelter used in those days to shade horses and ponies ridden to school by students. The original school flag pole attached to the east eave of the building is still present.
So the school building, built by my mother, was then enlarged to accommodate lodgers, among whom for years were teachers in Thermal Grammar School and teachers at the Coachella Valley High School.
Much of this may already be known by early residents of the Valley, but I am pleased to share these recollections with you. The old Hotel Thermal sign is still on the front roof, and the flag pole which few the stars and stripes in 1913 over the Valley's first high school building is another reminder of our history.
Article by Gilberta Alderman Harmon
The Periscope, a series available on Amazon:
The Periscope includes a series of engaging publications that detail the rich history of the Coachella Valley. From life as a pioneer, the growth of the date industry, all the way to the Salton Sea saga, and much more, the stories bring to life the desert region of Southern California. Written under the umbrella of the Coachella Valley Historical Society (dba Coachella Valley History Museum), books in the series tell the stories of the innovators who helped to make the vibrant region what it is today.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dr. Priscilla Porter is the Co-Director of the Porter History-Social Science Resource Center at the Palm Desert Campus of California State University San Bernardino and a volunteer at the Coachella Valley History Museum. A former elementary school teacher, she is the author of many popular curriculum guides for teachers.
Professional gratitude is extended to the contributing authors: Patricia Korzec, Renee Brown, Diana P. Kitagawa, Rod Hendry, Julia Sizek, and Patricia Laflin. Credit is extended to Eduardo Contreras for the cover design.
This is the first book in The Periscope series from the Coachella Valley Historical Society (dba Coachella Valley History Museum). Additional books in the series will be available SOON. To hear about the latest books, sign up for the exclusive New Release Mailing List by sending an email to prisporter@aol.com. You’ll be glad you did!
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