San Pedro High School - Black and Gold Yearbook (San Pedro, CA)

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harbor and then over to Catalina for a wienie roast. As classes grew, this activity and the Spaghetti Dinner given the night before graduation, were can- celled because of impracticality. The new Chemistry lab was added in 1927: and the Merit System of four years was revised. The old system allowed students to earn merits by being on a team and by participating in assemblies. The loss of 20 merits resulted in the stu- dent being sent home pendino a parent teacher conference If the same student lost ten more merits, he was expelled for the rest of the term. In 1927. SPHS started its second semester enrolling system - still used today. 1928 saw 25. 34 and 23 cent lunches The candy window usually only made 12 dollars a day. grossing a giant $17.50 on its best day of the year. Teenage petting was considered a fad that was fading fast in 1929. SPHS had a closed campus because even then stu- dents persisted in smoking and ditching if left unattended. 75th Anniversary

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The roaring twenties might not have actually roared into SPHS. but they certainly did not go unnoticed. The seventh graders were dropped from the student body, the school buildings were enlarged as were the choices of classes and a new principal, T. H. Elson. was added to the faculty. The Black and Gold had been a success since its beginning in 1910, and so the 1920 students wanted to add a school newspaper to their printing successes. It became the Fore n Aft. The community hosted the first Ca- brillo Pageant in 1921 in honor of early adventurer Juan Cabrillo. This event became a tradition, as did the now illegal ' Senior Ditch Day ' and Senior Boat Ride. Senior Ditch Day in its original form, came to be in 1922. The senior class and faculty took a holiday and went hiking over the ' Palos Verdes hills ' to White ' s Point (now Royal Palms) and back again. The third tradition, less easily kept alive, was the Senior Boat Ride. The faculty sent the seniors on a tour of the 2 3 hfltfeefi The Harmoni] Tour Tibtre Pdtne Three Younq Ama om ' SI KRRI JOHNSON frej ej 4n!di ' QlUiiife l !!

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In the years preceding WWII expan- sion was in the spotlight. By 1934 the old SPHS had expanded to nine build- ings, but the 1933 Long Beach earth- quake had proved the school not quite safe in such emergencies. A new site, between 15th and 17th Streets, above Dana where the old Dodson Estate had once been was bought for a new campus. The construction began with the dig- ging of all the foundations by hand. These were so deep and sturdy that after the 1972 earthquake, SPHS had absolute- ly no damage to report, unlike many other schools, such as Dana Junior High. The quality could never be duplicated because of time, cost and effort. For example, the chalkboards in the English building were made of slate and the stalls in most of the bathrooms were made with marble. In 1937 the students and faculty moved into the new school. Dodson Field was soon dedicated in honor of the Dodsons whose ancestral home (now at 13th and Parker) once occupied the school site. The Victory Arch was also presented to SPHS within that year, but all the build- ings were not completed until 1939. Tyrone Comfort was commissioned by the federal government to paint Ameri- can Life murals on the library walls in 1938. These paintsings with their bare- chested males were considered bold for the times. 1. A division page in the 1935 SPHS yearbook shows the San Pedro known by students of that i ear. A similar but much larger version hung for years in 263 and gave the room the name of Chart Room. 2. Still a newcomer to its present surroundings. SPHS dominated the above Gaffey and Vista del Oro areas of San Pedro, as the town had not spread out to the foothills in 1940. ' fe iS