Victor Valley High School - Joshua Tree Yearbook (Victorville, CA)

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A GLIMPSE INTO VICTOR HIGH GRADUATES FIRST SECOND GENERATION STUDENT In l9l7 Victor High graduated its first pupil, Ruth Sanborn, now Mrs. A. C. Lester of this city. It is inter- esting to note that her daugater, Carol, is a member of I l , BM , iv K T 3 1 A Qi 'L . -. ,W T351 , We Y 4' . l..i1.1'Ln. ,- - ' L i V . A Nik? L-. ff3f4.'f . 1 - fi the present senior class and will be graduated this june from the same school from which lfer mother was grad- uated nineteen years ago. GIRLS' LEADERSHIP CLUB ACTIVE One of the school's most active organizations is the Girls' Leadership Club. lt was started last year, at the suggestion of Alva johanson, who was active in athletics, and encouraged and advised by Miss Leech. Membership is limited to G.A.A. members who have earned a thousand points. This year the girls bought regulation white sweaters bearing the leadership club emblem. In their meetings the girls carry on lively discussions on sportsmanship, manners, personality, and other topics of vital interest to high school girls. FOOTBALL GROWS IN POPULARITY YEARLY Football was first introduced to Victor High by Coach Conard in l927. Some fifteen or sixteen fellows turned out for the first season. Now it is one of the most popular sports and has a turn-out of about fifty fellows who, under Coach Gunn, go out to make the jackrabbits supreme in the Desert League. We are proud of the achievements of our team: We have, in the last eight years, won 44 games, lost l3, and tied 8. We have played Needles since i929 and have never yet been defeated by them. We have won Desert League championships in l932, l933, and I936. Tl-lE PAST.. This year the Chamber of Commerce of Victorville presented to the school a beautiful trophy. This is to be a perpetual cup, retained by a school only during the time it holds the desert league championship. Victor- ville is naturally very proud to be its first possessor, and to lim Rainey, captain of the 1935-36 team, went the honor of receiving it in behalf of the school. BLOCK V MEMBERSHIP COVETED BY ATHLETES Back in i928 a group of outstanding athletes organ- ized a club for the promotion of good sportsmanship and high ideals on the athletic field and in daily conduct. They called themselves the Block V, as membership was open only to fellows who had made their varsity letters. Today, under the sponsorship of Coach Gunn, this is one of the most outstanding organizations on the campus, and the fellows deem it a real honor to belong. james Rainey, captain of this year's football team, is president of the group. Past presidents were: Walter McEwen, 1929-30, Wes Hooley, l93O-31, Derrel Henson, l93l-32, Leo Butts, l932-335 Walter McAllister, i933-343 and Robert Street, I934-35. SCHOOL SONG WRITTEN BY WAUNA GALBRAITH IRWIN The school song, which leads our teams to victory and inspires our students to do their utmost for their Alma Mater, was written by Wauna Galbraith, now Mrs. Irwin, in l926. The song is written to the tune of California. 27

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A GLIMPSE INTCD Tl-IE PAST.. GREAT STRIDES IN IMPROVEMENT OF CAMPUS AND EQUIPMENT When the high school was first opened, in 1915, classes were held in the Richardson house. By 1917 the present main school building was completed and impressive-just equipped. lts setting was none too desert sand, sagebrush, and a couple of joshua trees. Gradually, as the school expanded its curriculum, new buildings and equipment were added-a shop building, bus shed, tennis courts, swimming pool, etc., and now a new gymnasium is in the process of construction. The grounds have been beautifully landscaped, with a lawn that is the pride of Victorville, and we need only glance at this snapshot of the school taken when it was first built to realize how far we have advanced since the sand-and-sagebrush days of 1917. VICTOR GRADUATES MAKE GOOD We are proud to realize that the number of high school graduates who go on to college is steadily in- creasing, Among those who have made good and returned to the old home town to teach are Muriel Moon inow Mrs. Ernie Kraftl, Marian Christenson lnow Mrs. Frank Burnsl, Harvey Irwin, and Wauna Galbraith, who is now Mrs. Irwin. Last year the number of grad- uates who entered college surpassed that of any previous year. Alva johanson, Wilbur Martinson, Dinsmoor Webb, Beth Rogers, Clara Herlick, Rozelma Weiss, and Catherine Dexter are all enrolled in institutions of higher learning, CALIFORNIA SCHOLARSHIP FEDERATION The California Scholarship Federation was organized in this school on February 9, 1926. The next year four students, jayne Barrett, john Lathrop, Flora Wadsworth and Richard Nolan were seal bearers of the C. S. F. A seal bearer is a life member of the organization. To attain this important office one must have an average of 3 A's and a B. ln 1929, Charles Snell was the only seal bearer. From that year until 1933, when Agnew Williams was the sole representative, there were no seal bearers. Then, in 1935, there were three life members: Wilbur Martinson, Dinsmoor Webb and Alva johanson. ln 1936 the number reached the greatest height since 1927, with four seal bearers: Kemper Campbell, Rosalis Dunham, jean Campbell and Margery Stevens. 26 GIRLS' LEAGUE NOW IN NINTH YEAR Mrs, Bolton, then Dean of Girls, organized the Girls' League in 1927. Miss Shaw, the present advisor of the League, introduced the custom of having teas for the mothers of the girls in school. These Mothers' Teas are yearly events and are among the nicest social func- tions of the school. WILL GREEN FIRST PRINCIPAL Early in the fall of 1915 homesteaders on the Mojave Desert were amazed to see a genial looking man bump over the cow trails in his Model T Ford, obviously in quest of something. Not jackrabbits, as one might sur- mise, but students,-students for a new high school that had just been organized in Victorville. And the man was Will Green, tall, blonde, and determined, the principal of the new school. Mr. Green guided the school through its infancy, planned and accomplished the construction of our main building, and bought much of the equipment still in use. He was well liked by his students and prominent in the community. Mr. Green has done graduate work at the University of California, where he received his Master's degree, and is now working for a Doctor's degree from the same institution. He is at present principal of the Alexander Hamilton junior High School in Oakland. The above snap of Mr. and Mrs. Green, taken when they were in Victorville, was snitched from Mrs. Lester's photograph album.

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A GLIMPSE INTCD STUDENT BODY SELF-GOVERNING The student form of government was introduced by Dr. john H. Francis in 1925-26. The constitution was drawn up by the first student body president, George Tedford. In i926-27 Wilma Hackley, the first girl president in our school, presided over student body meet- ings. Succeeding presidents were: Harvey Irwin, jack Page, Geneva Nielsen, Wesley Hooley, Arthur Hooley, William Puette, Margie Alters, and Wilbur Martinson. This year, under Kemper Campbell's leadership, the stu-- dent body has enjoyed many heretofore unrealized pleasures. with the Council. Also, this year the constitution was revised, approval and able assistance of the Student MR. HARKNESS FRIEND OF STUDENTS I928, school as principal, was indeed a fortunate year in the career of our school. Mr. Harkness has been the loved when Mr. Maxwell I. Harkness entered our and admired friend and advisor of all the students since his arrival. To his inspiring counsel and friendly advice many graduates of this high school owe their success. Our principal is always ready to lend a helping hand to those in difficulties, and this quality, among others, has endeared him especially in the hearts of the students. 28 TI-IE PAST... FIRST DITCH DAY IMPROMPTU The first Ditch Day-in l9I7-was definitely un- official. The class ditched without a word of warning, and as a result of this impromptu vacation enjoyed the privilege of staying after school for the next two weeks. What of it? said the ditchers. lt was worth it! Since that day the custom of Seniors having a Ditch Day-official and long-awaited--has been perpetuated. It proves one of the most popular affairs in the school activities-and is looked forward to with pleasure and anticipation by the veriest Freshman. IOSHUA TREE OUTGROWTH OF SMALL YEARLY PAPER Browsing through the i926 Joshua Tree we found a write-up that interested us very much, and we pass it on to you: Five years ago some pupils of the Victor Valley Union High School did a very remarkable thing when they started a little school paper called 'The Coyote.' This paper was published once a year. The next year it was made a weekly paper and was read in auditorium. This paper was called 'The School Paper.' The following year it was made a mimeographed paper and was published every two weeks. It bore the name of 'Pep'. Two years ago the paper's name was changed to 'The joshua Tree', the name it bears at present. We have progressed so rapidly that this year we have been able to publish our first printed Annual.