February 1956

Vol. 35 No. 2

FEBRUARY 1956

Yosemite Falls, Winter —Fiske, c, 1885

Ansel Adams Winter In Yosemite

THE MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE YOSEMITE NATURALIST DIVISION AND THE YOSEMITE NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION, INC.

John C. Preston, Superintendent D. E. McHenry, Park Naturalist P. H. Hubbard, Assoc. Park Naturalist W. C. Bullard, Asst. Park Naturalist

VOL. XXXV FEBRUARY, 1956 NO. 2 THE YOSEMITE VALLEY SCHOOL

By Laurence V. Degnan

PART I

A first decade or two after its first settlement by white men, the wild County North and Easterly of the South Fork of the Merced River including the Big Tree "~~ Station, and immediate neighborhood UMt lu ots that was Yosemite must

Commencing at the Big Tree Station afore-,}ipvo been "Paradise enow " to the said running thence along the new road of school age who was fortunof Washburn, Chapman & Co. to the Hermitage, including the vicinity of said road upon to live there — where a special the Southerly and Westerly side thereof In the three R's, "huntin', fishin', and Commencing again at and including the immediate vicinity of said Hermitage -thence their sport ' had no competitors. Westerly along the boundary line of the Yo 1 Into this Eden too, the serpent Semite Valley - thence down the Main Merced River to beguile the grown-ups with River to and including Hennessy's place thence in a North Easterly direction to the versive ideas. Northerly boundary line of the Yo Semite ordingly, in the spring of 1875, Gran! and including the Gentry Station – a heads of the Yosemite families, thence of ry Easterly to the most eastern boundMariposa County — Ordered that said biding George F. Leidig, AlexPetition be granted and that said District Olden C. Black, James M. Hutchings, as above described be declared a School District. William J. Howard, and others, peti Another Mariposa County school pllwd the Mariposa County Board district with a similar name, the Yoof Supervisors to establish a Yosem semite School District, not far from INO Valley school district. The peti Coulterville, and about 40 miles SOP, lirrrwn up by Howard, was from the Yosemite Valley, had exfiled by the Board, at their meetisted since 1870; and for some years of May 3, 1875. The action of the list of school districts in the SII{tt rvisors is recorded on page County included two Yosemites; the C of their minutes, in the Yosemite School District, and the 10114 )w ttly language: Yosemite Valley School District. (1~ Ih matter of Petition of J. M. The obvious confusion resulting let the establishment of a School Disfrom the similarity of names was h be known as the Yo Semite Valley commented on at different times by M, h unded and described as follows to 1 r l,racing all that portion of the the Mariposa Gazette, but it was not

YOSEMITE : NATURE : NOTES

until 1884 that the Yosemite District was renamed the Greeley District. After the enactment of the ordinance creating the Yosemite Valley School District, there seems to have been little delay in opening for business, and the school plant progressed rapidly from a log under a tree, to a tent, to a sure enough schoolhouse, built specifically for the purpose. The following account of the school 's beginnings is quoted (with some changes) from the Stockton Daily Independent for Wednesday, August 2, 1876: Yosemite VALLEY SCHOOL—We are furnished with the following facts in relation to the establishment of the first school in the Yosemite valley, a year ago : The Pioneer public school in Yosemite valley was organized by I. A. Chestnutwood, (now principal of the public school at Linden), July 6, 1875, The school was formally opened and taught for a week under a large oak tree, about one mile distant from the Yosemite Falls. The children were seated on a prostrate log and on boxes. A dry goods box was used by the teacher for a blackboard, on which he printed small words, there being no books in a class of seven beginners. During the first week Mr. Anderson, a Scotchman by birth, was engaged in building the school-house, a cloth structure 12x16 feet. The upright posts were hewn by Mr. Anderson from a fallen cedar. This is also the gentleman who subsequently was the first person to ascend South Dome, 4,990 feet above the valley, and, there planted the starry flag of his adopted country. The School Trustees were W. I. Howard, J. M. Hutchings and George F. Leidig. The following are the names of the pupils who attended the school. Ida Howard Sammy Harris Della Howard Charles Leidig" Carrie Howard Tennie Keith William Howard Charles Keith Albert Howard Victoria Tiscornia Royal Howard Ella Tiscornia Gertrude Hutchings' Johnny Boitano * Flora Hutchings' Nellie Gordon Esther Harris "Born in the valley Annie Harris The preceding transcript differs from the original newspaper article in that I have corrected the spelling of some of the names of the pupils, and omitted an erroneous statement that George Leidig was the first white child born in the Yosemite Valley. George Frederick Leidig, Jr. the oldest son of George F. Leidig, was born in Coulterville, California on May 11, 1865. Florence Hutchings, born August 23, 1864, was the first white child born in the valley Florence Hutchings Her sister Gertrude (known as "Cosie"), born October 5, 1867, was the next, and Charles Tuttle Leidig born March 8, 1869, also listed among the pupils, was the first white boy born in the Yosemite Valley. In later years Cosie Hutchings was one of my teachers in the Yo semite Valley school. The exact site of the first "fresh air" school probably cannot be determined now. The testimony of Cosie Hutchings that it was near the foot of Indian Canyon is corroborated by Charley Leidig, who says that it was close to Indian Creek; both agree within the expected limits of approximation, with the newspaper's statement that the school was about a mile from the Yosemite Falls. The need of a water supply would make the bank of a creek a desirable site, and with no other

Florence nearby, that consideration trict attorney of the county. The recMerns to support Charles Leidig 's statement of Merced County show that he taught the Plainsburg school in that The records of the early history county from October 1875 to March of the Yosemite Valley school are 1876, and it might have been posincomplete, and the situation is sible for him to teach in Yosemite complicated by mutually corroborafor a short while. On the other hand, tive written statements by Jack Leidig and it is puzzling to find his name omitand Mrs. Esther Harris Nathan, ted from an account purporting to In the files of the Yosemite Museum and further confirmed by Jack Leidig's older brother Charley), to the tell of the beginnings of the school. The newspaper quoted says that John A. Chestnutwood organized the effect that the first schoolhouse pioneer Yosemite school on July 6, building in the valley was the "Lick 1875, and there appears to be no House", a building that had been a doubt that he taught school immedi- Lass, serving house for Washburn & ately thereafter. He also taught in Merced County from September Nile-dreddy's stables, located between Black's hotel and Leidig 's 1874 to June 1875, and according to hotel, about a mile down the valley the Stockton Independent, was principal of the the schoolhouse that I first atschool at Linden, San tended, which, rightly or wrongly, I Joaquin County, in August 1876. His always knew as the first school- tour of duty in Yosemite would house in the valley. Newman Jones therefore appear to have occupied Was said to have been the teacher part of the latter half of 1875, sandwiched in between his assignments and Mr. Leidig. The "Lick in Merced and San Joaquin Coun- House" that they mention should ties. Not be confused with the "Lick The "Annual Report of the Con- House" of my day, likewise a board- dition of Common Schools of the house of Washburn 's on the County of Mariposa " for the year fell bank of the Merced River below commencing July 1, 1874 and end- Clark's Bridge, across from the site ing June 30, 1875, filed in the State of the present Company stables. Department of Education in Sacra- The accounts given us by Mrs. mento, mentions the Yosemite Val- Nathan and the Leidigs seem inconley school district with a census of sistent with the story told by the 22 children between 5 and 17 years Stockton Independent, but the use of of age, and names W. J. Howard as the original Lick House as a temporary District Clerk. No other information schoolhouse during, or even for the Yosemite Valley school is at the time of the formal organizing of the given for this year. In addition to the school, may not necessarily contra- the Yosemite Valley district, three dict the apparently straightforward other school districts were created newspaper report. Perhaps some addi- by the Board of Supervisors at the tional contemporary evidence same time, and on one page of the may in time be produced that will report the four new districts, Yosemsettle these versions. ite Valley, White Rock, Chapman, There was in fact a Newman and Live Oak, are grouped together Jones, who obtained a teacher's certificate in a sort of footnote, with the note in Mariposa County on September, "No report ". 6, 1873, when he was 20 The regular report for the Yosemite years old, and who later was District Valley school begins with the

next school year, July 1, 1875 to in personal matters at least, the record June 30, 1876; the census statistics of that period is fairly complete. show 17 boys and 13 girls of school I am indebted to Mrs. Thelma Mcage. The sex (male) of the teacher Gregor, of Yosemite, for her areal is given, but his name does not appear help in transcribing information . The teacher's salary, including board, is reported as $80 per from these registers. Her copious month, and the school was in session and accurate notes represent an immense amount of labor in summarizfor four months, at a total outlay ing and pulling together in convenient of $310 for teachers' salaries. The form the data from the primary sources. sessions, as in my time, appear to From available information the have been limited to the summer following table has been constructed, and parts of spring and autumn, an showing the names of the average term of about six months teachers and the lengths of the in all, and there is some difficulty school terms, from the time of the in matching a school term that was official organization of the district confined to a single calendar year, to the beginning of its "modern" with a report that covers parts of two era, when the full school term was calendar years. adopted. From 1886 on, the list is From 1887 on, the school registers correct; the preceding decade may are available in the Yosemite Valley, be subject to correction in spots. in the Yosemite Museum, and Year Length of term Name of teacher 1875 John A Chestnutwood 1876 4 mo. 1875-76 Miss Ida Howard 1877 6 mo. '76-77 Miss May Anderson 1878 6.5 mo. '77-78 Miss Ida Howard (resigned about end of April 1878) J. C. Tichworth (vice Miss Howard) 1879 6 mo. ' 78-79 J. C. Tichworth 1880 5 mo. '79-80 A. M. Chadwick 1881 Not reported Miss Alice Willatts 1882 6 mo. '81-82 Miss Mary E. Adair 1883 6 mo. '82-83 Miss Mary E. Adair 1884 5.5 mo. '83-84 Miss Anna Robinson 1885 6 mo. '84-85 Miss Elisse Raymond. 1886 6 m. '85-86 Miss Mamie Kerrins 1887 May 2 - Oct 21 Miss Mamie Kerrins 1888 Apr. 16 - Sep. 7 Miss Mamie Kerrins 1889 Apr. 1 - Oct. 18 Miss Frances M. Hall 1890 May 5 - Oct. 17 Miss Frances M. Hall 1891 Apr. 20 - Oct. 16 Miss Annie Kerrins 1892 May 2-Oct. 14 Miss Annie Kerrins 1893 May 1 - Oct. 13 Mrs. Winslow E. Gallison 1894 Apr. 30 - Oct. 12 Mrs. Winslow E. Gallison 1895 Apr. 29 - Oct. 11 Miss Nettie L. Craighan 1896 Apr. 27 - Oct. 14 Miss May E. White

1897 Apr. 19 - Nov. 5 Miss May E. White (left early because of illness of sister) Miss Gertrude Hutchings (vice Miss White) 1898 May 2-Oct. 21 Miss Julia McClenathan 1899 Apr. 17 - Oct. 20 Miss Alice Bruce 1900 Apr. 16 - Nov. 16 Miss Alice Bruce 1901 Apr. 15-Nov. 15 Miss Alice Bruce 1902 Apr. 17 - Oct. 24 Miss Nettie L. Craighan 1903 Apr. 3 - Oct. 30 Miss Nettie L. Craighan 1904 Apr. 18-Oct. 28 Miss Nettie L. Craighan 1905 Apr. 10 - Oct. 31 Miss Kitty Dexter 1906 Apr. 30 - Oct. 26 Miss Kitty Dexter 1907 Apr. 22-Dec. 6 Miss Kitty Dexter 1908 Apr.27 - Dec. 18 Miss Kitty Dexter 1909 May 10 - Dec. 21 Miss Kitty Dexter 1910 May 2 - Dec. 20 Miss Kitty Dexter 1911 May 1-Dec. 22 Miss Ora Boring 1912 Apr, 15 - Dec. 20 Miss Ora Boring 1913 May 5 - Dec. 19 Miss Ora Boring 1914 Apr. 21 - June 27 Miss Ora Boring July 1 - Dec. 11 Mary E. Schutze 1915 Apr. 5 -Nov. 12 Mary E. Schutze 1916 May 1 - June 30 Mary E. Schutze ' 16-17 7-5-16 to 6-6-17 Clare M. Hodges '17-18 9-4-17 to 5-1-18 Clare M. Hodges preceding list indicates that indicate that the creation of the system of half a year of school Yosemite Valley school district was half a year of vacation, which quickly followed by the construction of a permanent school building. the rule in my time, continued The Mariposa Gazette about 40 years and ended in for June 5, 1875 announced that the trustees and from then on we have a full had arranged for a teacher, and term, just like "city folks ". that school would start in a short Only children, however, who time. The school house site, accordenjoy the six-months vacation ing to the Gazette, are the all-year residents of the had been selected, and the building would be valley. When I attended the school erected as soon as lumber could were the Degnan children be procured. That the trustees held once in a while, the Cavanaugh close to their construction schedule The seasonal families, like close to their construction schedule the Kenneys and the Barnards, may be inferred from a letter from away for the winter and their the valley, dated July 7, 1875, and children then attended other printed in the schools. Gazette for the following July 17. This letter says that the In effect, they were deprived of the school was then going full blast, summer vacation. with 14 pupils; Mr. J. A. Chestnutwood Newspaper items, on which for was the teacher, assisted by the most part, we have to depend his wife. As for the schoolhouse, the

Yosemite Valley School, 1877, Miss May Anderson, Teacher letter says: "Our school will be The statement in this letter that completed today. We have a beau- the schoolhouse was built "last tiful location in a nice oak grove in year", that is to say, in 1877, front of Coulter & Murphy's hotel, one quarter of a mile distant." is contradicted by the more nearly con- Another letter from a visitor to the spot evidence furnished by the Yosemite, dated August 30, 1878 Mariposa Gazette, previously and printed in the Santa Barbara referred to, and no doubt can be dis- Press of September 4, 1878, has this missed as a pardonable error. But to say about the school: even the Gazette, in a later number I visited the school in the valley on Monday. (June 17, 1876) makes the evident I was surprised to find twenty-three incorrect statement: "A new schoolpupils enrolled. The teacher, Mr. Ira Tichworth, (Apparently the name should be J. C. (from Ontario, Canada, is a Tichworth. LVD) most faithful and efficient teacher. The schoolhouse is a rude little structure in the shadow of Glacier Point, and it is surrounded by a beautiful growth of trees, and a good supply of massive boulders, which form lovely playhouses for the children.... The school house was built last year. The first school ever opened in the valley was held in a tent, within a lovely grove on the banks of the Merced.

Now, The reference to Coulter & Murphy's Hotel, in the Gazette for July 17, buildings on the south side of the 1875, and the statement in the Santa Merced River, immediately west of Press that the schoolhouse the Sentinel Bridge. The schoolis "in the shadow of Glacier house was on the same side of the Point", tie in definitely with the schoolbridge, about 250 yards above the the schoolbridge, and 40 or 50 yards south school in which I spent my first of the present (1955) highway. It school years. Coulter & Murphy's was, as the Santa Barbara Press hotel was none other than the one states, and the accompanying from which J. H. Hutchings was photograph shows, close to the evicted by Sheriff John F. Clarke on south wall of the valley, surrounded May 11, 1875, which Coulter & Mur- by trees and boulders. The statement phy operated in 1875 and 1876. On in the Gazette of July 17, 1875, that January 1, 1877 it was leased to the schoolhouse was a quarter of a K. Barnard, who in turn, was mile from Coulter & Murphy's hotel, forcibly evicted by Sheriff R. A. is probably within the limits of precision to be expected from such off- Mchouty on May 11, 1893 (by coinci- hand estimates. The boulders dence the same month and day as shown in the photograph still mark Hutchings' eviction). Barnard's successor the site, which is very easy to find. in interest, A. B. Glasscock, named the hotel "The Sentinel ", a As all but about one term of my name by which it was well known Yosemite school days were spent in recent times until the buildings at this location, the incidents and wow torn down about 1940. details of school life that I describe The hotel comprised a group of will in general be centered here. Th (To Be Continued) Yosemite In Early Days. Hutchings Hotel on Left From a painting by Thomas Hill

BOOK REVIEW OUTDOOR HAZARDS — REAL AND FANCIED

Mary V. Hood Illustrations by Don Perceval. Macmillan Co. 1955 Pp. 242. $3.95 Do you approach the outdoors with misgivings? Do you worry about bats, horned lizards, water snakes, "and things that go bump in the night?" You need not. Do you recognize a danger in deer, range cattle, rabbits and ticks? You should. Can you cope with the gift of an unhibited skunk, recognize the symptoms of rabies in a dog, and distinguish the pattern of a harmless snake bite from that of a venomous snake? And do you know the correct procedure for crotaline and elapine snake bites? If you fear danger where it is not and do not recognize danger where it exists, then OUTDOOR HAZARDS REAL AND FANCIED offers some highly informative and reassuring reading. Mrs. Mary V. Hood has camped and explored by sea and forest and mountain throughout the West. While assisting the park naturalists in Yosemite National Park she became interested in outdoor hazards, investigated them exhaustively with the help of leading authorities, and then wrote the first truly

"safety first" book for the outdoors. Even veteran naturalists will read it gratefully to check their own evaluations of fact and folklore. Covering the entire country, dangerous animals and plants are described, their range noted, the hazard evaluated, cautions advised and first aid prescribed. The section on poisonous snakes is particularly complete. As a veteran camper, the author helps the reader anticipate other dangers of camp and trail. Sage advice is given regarding water, woodcraft, and health precautions. The avoidance of lightning strikes is especially significant for those going into high country. OUTDOOR HAZARDS should read before any extended camping trip, and certainly before exploring new terrain. I enjoyed it as much for its natural history as for safety first content. It is a most competent and a thoroughly enjoyable book. I. R. Barnes (From the Atlantic Naturalist November-December 1955)

—Ansel Adams