Polytechnic High School - Polytechnic Student Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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W. L. Richer was ap- pointed vice-principal. Miss Kate Smith, upon the resignation of Miss Ross in 191X, became girls ' vice-principal. In 1 91 5 Miss Smith re- signed, and Miss Adele Humphrey was chosen her successor. Mr. Louis Foley became boys ' vice- principal in place of Mr. Richer in 19x4. A year later Mr. Foley left, and Mr. Goodsell was ap- pointed totakehisplace. The problem of more room was apparently solved when the art building was erected, but by 191 1 Polytech- nic ' s numbers were so large that still more space was needed to care for her students. To sup- ply the growing needs, the Yellow House, once an elegant residence, was purchased and re- modeled into class- rooms. This house was situated near the giant . . . rubber tree. In 1915 more room was added to Polytechnic in the form of the Gray Castle, so outworn that in 1919 it was removed in order that the proposed gymnasium might have a site. How- ever, the plans for the building were indefinitely postponed, and the grounds became an athletic field, equipped with basketball and volleyball courts. In the same year, the boys of the Electrical Engineering department built a house of two stories, each containing twenty rooms, to serve as their laboratory for inside wiring. Since 1910 five large units have been added to the school. In 1911 the gymnasium was completed, in 1915 the English building and the auditorium, and in 1916 the science and domestic science buildings. Adele Humphrey, Vice-Principal 4l6]|i-

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name was changed to Los Angeles Polytech- nic High School and the course extended to in- clude additional sub- jects much as they now are. Bonds were voted for the purchase of grounds for the main building, although the people of the community gener- ally thought that they would have a white elephant on their hands. But in spite of the prediction that the auditorium would be filled with spiderwebs before it was filled with people, students were so eager that when school opened in September they began to come on Saturday to wait in line for the opening on Mon- day morning. They slept in blankets and their food was brought them by their families. For a few years the new buildings accom- modated Poly ' s stu- — dents, but by 1908 her numbers were so increased that the site for the art building was purchased. Plans for the structure were drawn by the students of the architectural department. Former President Taft turned over the first shovel full of dirt, and when school opened in 1905, the building was ready to be occupied. In 1906 Polytechnic made an important addition to her faculty. Mjss Katharine B. Ross became the first girls ' vice-principal. In 1908 Mr. Dunn, then a teacher in the science department, took the place of Mr. Birney H. Donnell, former vice-principal. Poly could not keep the Big Chief long, however, for Mr. Francis accepted the position of Superintendent of City Schools in 1910. Mr. Dunn became principal. As Mr. Francis is known to the older alumni as the Big Chief, so Mr. Dunn is spoken of by the younger alumni as Daddy Dunn, kind, helpful, and sympathetic. Mr. Willis A. Dunn, Principal €15

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Always a school of high ideals, Polytechnic showed her patriotic spirit during the great World War by attempt- ing to supply $3,000 for a Red Star ambulance. In this tremendous under- taking the students raised over $i,ooo, but the war closed and over half the amount was given to the Red Cross and to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. About forty French or- phans were adopted by the school, besides the ones adopted by indi- vidual students and teachers. Of these no record has been kept. Far more important than the money given to relief organizations were the boys of Poly- technic who put aside personal ambition and fought for democracy. Today the flag of the school has nine hundred ■ and seventy-seven blue and twenty-seven gold stars. Polytechnic may ' boast some of the finest equipment in the city. The organ, paid for by faculty and students, is one which any high school may be justly proud of; the auditorium is one of the best that could be procured; the cafeteria, shops, and print shop possess some of the latest machinery used by high schools. But more significant than her excellent equipment, even more important than her dramatic, musical, artistic, and athletic superiority, are the ideals of the students Polytechnic sends out into the world. May her present and future graduates always uphold the standard, Victory with Honor. . G. Goodsell, Vice-Principal 417