Westridge School: A Centennial History by Westridge School

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FRAN NORRIS SCOBLE

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Fran Norris Scoble Retired Head of School and Centennial Chair

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Eudora Welty once wrote, “One place understood helps us understand all places better.” This was from a woman who lived her entire life in Jackson, Mississippi, a place that served as inspiration for her best-known works. Her words help explain the meaning for me of this project: writing the 100-year history of Westridge. In the course of my research into the life of Mary Lowther Ranney and the unfolding growth and evolution of the school she founded, I came to new understandings of a place where I had already spent some of the best years of my adult life and that I thought I knew through and through. Understanding this particular place better has, as Miss Welty suggests, broadened my understanding of the organic, self-forming lives of all healthy organizations. When Mary Ranney opened the doors of Westridge on October 1, 1913, she could not have known what it would become. No matter. She brought to the project of starting the school a well-formed philosophy of what constitutes an excellent and useful education for young women; a pitchperfect sense of place as she chose the location at 324 Madeline Drive (an address that sings with its own music), and an architectural aesthetic that holds a magnetic power for all who have studied and worked at Westridge over 10 decades. Understanding deepens appreciation. I hope that reading this history will increase the reader’s understanding, deepen the reader’s appreciation, and inspire readers to value this singular, remarkable institution.

The Westridge Centennial is more than a milestone. Unlike a birthday marking the simple passage of time, the 100-year anniversary of an institution is a major accomplishment for countless people, rooted in a vibrant vision carried forward with passion and determination, decade after decade. Sir Isaac Newton, referencing a quote originally attributed to 12th century philosopher Bernard of Chartres, said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Westridge endures today, one century strong, because of those who came before us, each generation paving the way for the next—leaders carrying forward a purpose to educate girls as dynamic learners with conviction, drive, and creativity, who will continually redefine the roles of women in the world. The Westridge School flower—the Cecile Brunner climbing rose that is long-lasting and has an extensive root system—was presciently selected by our founder, Mary Lowther Ranney. The school is deeply grounded in her vision and ideals, and through the years has been nurtured to grow in ways that a woman in 1913 America would have never dreamed. As we climb, we strive to reach new heights of educational achievement, to explore innovative paradigms of teaching and learning, and ultimately to continue the work of educating young women who are committed to excellence and goodness in everything they do. I am humbled to be the head of Westridge School as we reflect on 100 years of history and change. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of the Westridge journey into the next century! Elizabeth J. McGregor Head of School

Westridge School A C E N T E N N I A L H I S TO RY

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FRAN NORRIS SCOBLE

A C E N T E N N I A L H I S TO RY

Fran Norris Scoble Retired Head of School and Centennial Chair

SCOBLE

Westridge School A C E N T E N N I A L H I S TO RY

4/26/14 10:25 AM

T HIS HIS TORY IS DEDICATED TO T HE GIR L S A ND WOMEN OF W ESTRIDG E SCH OOL: PA S T, P R ESEN T, AN D FU TU RE

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WESTRIDGE SCHOOL

A CENTENNIAL HISTORY

FRAN NORRIS SCOBLE Balcony Press • Los Angeles

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Contents

7 Foreword 9 Preface 11

Chapter One: The Perfumed and Bangled Girls

Chapter Two: New Beginnings and the War Years

Chapter Three: The Post-War Years

4 7

Chapter Four: Coming of Age and Celebrating 50 Years

Chapter Five: Building on the Past and Looking to the Future

Chapter Six: A Legacy of Leadership

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Afterword: 100 years: Founding Values Shape a New Century

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Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipients

118 Acknowledgments 119 Index

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Foreword Westridge School has now been at the center of women’s education in California for a century, teaching girls to measure their own capacities with a sure line. But the campus has also been at the center of a peculiarly Pasadena life for those 100 years. Set in the heart of one the city’s original neighborhoods, Westridge, under its camphor-tree canopy, is an aesthetic delight. How happy founder Mary Ranney would be with her school today! The campus has expanded from the original single house to the Pitcairn House by Charles and Henry Greene, the firm she once worked for, to Roland Coate Jr.’s master-planned quadrangle, to the cool Whitney Smiths and on to the glowing jade cubes of Pica + Sullivan’s new science building. All of this begun by a woman with passion and talent for architecture who surely knew that so much good design would rub off on a person. It has been part of the creation of a high bohemian style that has run through Westridge girls for generations: the arts have always been as important as the books and the labs. My sister, Victoria Hibbs ’70, actually graduated with honors in ceramics, and still spins a wheel—as well as teaches Manhattan students mathematics. That Westridge style is exemplified in the line from Shakespeare that Jean Hill ’70, one of the greatest of the fine artists the school has produced, chose to place under her yearbook picture: “Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.” Now that a century of Southern Californians have had the great good fortune of the vigorous intellectual life at Westridge School for Girls, it is fitting to reflect on how their luck is also the city’s. Pasadena was a small town when the school was founded by a woman who knew what she wanted and so created this compact paradise. The campus and the city have grown up together. If the school weren’t here, how much more lackluster Pasadena would be, how dully deprived of 100 years of Westridge and its girls. Over the second century, may they thrive. — Larry Wilson, Editor, Pasadena Star-News

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Preface The tales we tell are either false or true. But neither purpose is the point. We weave The fabric of our own existence out of words. And the right story tells us who we are. Perhaps it is the words that summon us. â&#x20AC;˘ from â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lunatic and the Loverâ&#x20AC;? by Dana Gioia The tale is often wiser than the teller.

Two things are at work as we frame 100 years of growth, change, accomplishment, and excellence within the pages of this small book. First, the historical narrative provides an overview, along with essential details, about the century-long Westridge journey from 1913 to 2013. Second, the narrative reveals a subtext of values, culture, guiding philosophy, and leadership that give meaning to 100 years of events and anecdotes. Westridge is a vibrant community that has reinvented itself time and again, and yet still managed to remain, from one decade to another, recognizable as its original self. How remarkable! More than any other single indicator of the quality of Westridge as a school and a community are the stunning, diverse alumnae, who now number in the thousands. They are the living river of both change and constancy who embody institutional continuity. Five generations of teachers, school leaders, trustees, staff, and students represent a powerful testimony to efficacy and tenacity worthy of the motto: Surgere Tentamus. We do strive to rise, to move forward and to become our best selves, from our earliest days, now and always. It has been an honor to learn more about the person who started it all: Mary Lowther Ranney, a gifted, strong woman whose legacy is visible in every brick, every blade of grass, even the Cecile Brunner rose that grows outside the office of the head of school, and most especially in the animating foundational values that will propel us forward, ever upward. Happy Birthday, Westridge! You have never looked better!

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Chapter One The Perfumed and Bangled Girls

From the very beginning, Westridge was an outspoken sort of place where women assumed leadership roles and where preparation for higher education was the cherished goal. In 1913, most girls didn’t go to college. Careers outside the home were almost unheard of. But a good, formal high school education was imperative for those well-heeled young ladies going on to finishing school. If nothing else, their mothers advised, it might help them catch an intelligent, well-connected young man. • from the 75th Anniversary History

Graduation 1927

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Mary Lowther Ranney had a different idea. When she moved to Pasadena in 1904 with her parents, Henry and Lucy, and her two brothers, George and William, she was 34 years old. She had graduated from Kemper Hall Academy in Kenosha, Wisconsin, attended classes at the newly established University of Chicago, and taught at the University School for Girls in Chicago. A progressive thinker, a single woman with an intellectual and artistic temperament, Mary Ranney had already begun to chart her course as an educator. Soon after arriving in Pasadena, her family purchased a lot at 440 Arroyo Terrace, where they would build a house designed by Mary Ranney for herself and her parents. For several years, Mary worked for the Greene & Greene architectural firm and taught privately in Pasadena. She established a reputation as a gifted teacher among Pasadena families who lived along the Arroyo Seco. Before long, those families began planning for a school for girls near the arroyo, and Mary Ranney was their choice to become the founding headmistress. It was Mary Ranney who came up with the name Westridge— possibly to reflect the location and perhaps a hint of the name Brackenridge! The goal of those founding families, organized by Margaret Brackenridge with her own daughters in mind, as described in her speech on the first Founder’s Day in 1940, was to have a school in their neighborhood “that was exclusively for girls, with a standard of education which would compare favorably with the most advanced schools of the East, and which would fit the pupils to enter college.” That vision aligned closely with the school where Mary Ranney had taught in her native Chicago. Margaret Brackenridge and her friend Mrs. Alexander Duer had determined that Mary Ranney would be the best person to become the founding headmistress and intended to extend a formal

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Mary Ranney House 440 Arroyo Terrace circa 1910

324 Madeline Drive 1922

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invitation, but before they could act on their decision, they happened to see Mary Ranney at a tea they all attended. As described in the 1941 Inlook, Mrs. Brackenridge seized the opportunity and asked Mary Ranney to become the founder right then and there. “Thus,” she said, “over teacups, Westridge became a reality.” While Westridge School for Girls owes a great deal to those parents who guaranteed an initial group of students as an inducement to Mary Ranney, it seems clear that Mary Ranney’s own vision and ambition for the new school motivated her agreement to start a school. Within the first year, she had chosen the school’s motto: Surgere Tentamus, “we strive to rise.” She commissioned a school song using Surgere Tentamus as the refrain that remains the alma mater 100 years later. She chose pink and green as the school colors; ivy as a symbol of faithfulness; the lamp as a symbol of knowledge, and she chose the school flower, the Cecile Brunner rose—a climber! In the second year, she created the Greek and Roman intra-school rivalry. Many of the traditions dear to the hearts of Westridge alumnae for a century date back to Miss Ranney and the school’s earliest days. “Our options then were Polytechnic or Miss Orton’s school on Los Robles Avenue,” explained Margaret Brackenridge Jones ,21, eldest of the Brackenridges’ three daughters. “But my parents did not believe in coeducation at any level and wanted a school reasonably convenient so we could walk. Miss Orton’s was not considered a forward-looking place. It didn’t allow perfume or bangles. Mrs. Alexander Duer and

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School photo Miss Ranney (center left) and Miss Rumney (center right) 1922

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my mother guaranteed their friend Miss Ranney that they could rustle up enough students to make it worth her while to start a new school. They did it very discreetly, among their friends only. I suppose if they hadn’t found enough students they would have paid the difference.” Mary Ranney purchased a bungalow at 315 State Street to house the new school. She sent out announcements of the school’s opening at that address, only to discover by mid-summer that early enrollment indicated that the house would be too small. She moved quickly to purchase a larger house at 324 Madeline Drive, just around the corner. This was a fortuitous choice because it was adjacent to a private gymnasium owned by the Arthur Fleming family. For many years, the school rented the Fleming gymnasium for school activities before it was purchased by a Westridge parent, Tod Ford, and donated to the school in 1922. Thus, on October 1, 1913, Westridge School for Girls opened its doors to 21 “perfumed and bangled girls” from the west side of Pasadena. Mary Ranney had shrewdly invited her friend, Mary Robinson, a Montessori-trained teacher, to be in charge of the elementary program for the new school, and to bring her students with her, including

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five boys. Thus, with one decision, she attracted a skilled progressive educator with the bonus of increasing the initial enrollment of the school. Just four years later, in 1917, Mary Robinson was forced to retire because of illness. When Mary Ranney looked for a replacement, she turned to her friend, Elizabeth Bradshaw Trotter, another Montessori-trained teacher, who ran a pre-school and kindergarten out of her home at 356 West California Boulevard. When Mary Ranney asked her to come to Westridge to be the lower school director, Elizabeth Trotter reportedly said, “I already have a school.” Whereupon Miss Ranney, ever the practical headmistress, said, “Bring your school here.” So, in 1917, Elizabeth Trotter and her pupils, including 11 boys, joined Westridge. The boys were allowed to attend Westridge for only the primary grades.Westridge still called itself a school for girls, but in 1918 the school advertised “Boys received in the primary grades.” The last year that boys were admitted was 1923, and the coeducational phase of Westridge history came to an end in 1926 when the last group of boys left for other schools.

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Kenneth Rhodes, Elizabeth Fleming Rhodes ’33, and Margaret L. Rhodes ’60

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That chapter produced a unique family of Westridge alumni. Kenneth Rhodes was one of the boys who enrolled in 1917. He, his wife, Elizabeth Fleming Rhodes ’33, and daughter Margaret L. Rhodes ’60 are the only family in which husband, wife, and daughter are alumni of Westridge! The early infusion of the Montessori method is a reflection of Mary Ranney’s own progressive educational views, which became a philosophical strand that has formed a significant element of the school’s identity for a century. The cultural braid of Westridge from its founding was composed of the three strands of commitment to challenging academics and the arts, to the architectural aesthetic of southwest Pasadena, and to a progressive educational philosophy. There was, from the school’s beginning, an air of informality and intimacy about the environment at Westridge. Some girls arrived at school in chauffeur-driven cars, some walked, some rode bicycles—or even roller skates! They went home for lunch and returned for afternoon classes. Some of the students had never gone to school before, having reached fourth or fifth grade with the help of a private governess or tutor. Many of the girls went on to finishing school or to boarding schools in the East. Others spent their senior year in New York or another international city, immersed in culture. For those wishing a less academic curriculum, Westridge offered 11th and 12th graders a special course in elective studies that stressed modern languages and art. Westridge School was founded as a proprietary school, which was typical of private schools founded in that era. Mary Ranney was the owner of the school. Beyond that ownership, it was also her creation, and she ran the school with her own goals in mind. According to her earliest pupils, she consistently encouraged the girls to attend college. She also had a significant personal impact on the students. “What I remember most about Miss Ranney,” recalled Anne Wyman Esbenshade ’26, “was that we admired her and were impressed by her. We had daily chapel and we would enter in rows. Miss Ranney then said a prayer and gave a talk and we marched out. She always stood there very straight, and she was very intimidating—but just.” In the early years, Westridge offered English, Latin, French, German, history, math, geography, physical training, and music. Margaret Brackenridge, a gifted mezzosoprano and member of the Los Angeles Oratorio Society, led the girls in singing. Many of the teachers held degrees from Eastern or Midwestern colleges. Report cards were sent out six times a year, homework was required, and school brochures warned that a high “standard of scholarship is strictly maintained.” Some students attended

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Mary Lowther Ranney 1930 First class roster and early school traditions, handwritten by Mary Ranney

Announcement of school October 1913

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Harriette Jansen First graduate 1919

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Westridge only during the three or four months their parents wintered in Pasadena from Midwestern cities such as Chicago and Detroit. In the early years, the cost for a highschool student was $250 for the year! A 10 percent discount was given any family with more than one child attending. Every inch of the first floor of the large, shingled house at 324 Madeline Drive was used for classrooms and school activities. Many students said that Miss Ranney held some classes for the youngest students in an an outbuilding at the back of the lot that the students nicknamed “the chicken coop.” “We took French on the front porch,” recalled Harriet Snider Greeff ’23. “The living room was the study hall. Miss Ranney taught Shakespeare in the dining room and used the pantry for her office. Miss Rabb taught history on the sleeping porch. And when Mrs. Brackenridge led us in singing, she would stand in the door of the bathroom”. There are clear student memories of Miss Ranney and her parents living on the second floor, which they did until the school needed the upstairs space for classes. Mary Ranney spoke of the Arroyo Terrace house as “home,” but the Ranneys rented out the Arroyo Terrace house off and on while living at the school and at other locations on the west side of Pasadena. Throughout the early years, the school rented the Fleming gym for athletic activities. Making do without regular sports equipment, the girls played a game called “captain ball,” essentially basketball without baskets. The physical training teacher, Miss Ruuth, was a native of Sweden and taught “Swedish gymnastics” as part of the physical education program. One of Westridge’s early traditions was to give plays at regular intervals, including one at graduation exercises. One year a play benefited a group of French war orphans whom the Westridge girls had adopted during World War I. Another raised money for the Red Cross Junior Auxiliary. The girls frequently wrote and produced original performances themselves. One alumna remembered: “When there was a play, everybody was in it. We were not an awfully large group so everybody had to play a part.” There were even performances of Molière—in French! By 1917, the school had grown large enough and complicated enough for Mary Ranney to need administrative support. She named one of the teachers, Amie Rumney,

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Graduation 1923: Miss Ranney and Miss Rumney laying cornerstone for the new building at 324 Madeline Drive

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co-principal, and for the next 14 years, Amie Rumney and Mary Ranney ran the school together, with Amie Rumney as co-owner as well as co-principal. Both women also continued to teach. As World War I drew to a close in the fall of 1918, the worldwide influenza epidemic hit Pasadena and the Westridge community. Schools, churches, libraries, and theaters closed for eight weeks, then reopened early in December, one month after the Armistice was signed. Many Westridge families were affected by the epidemic, including the Brackenridge family. Young Margaret and her mother were spared the illness, so the two of them stayed home and nursed all of the other family members back to health. Harriette Jansen was the first senior to graduate from Westridge, in 1919. Margaret Brackenridge and her sister Marian were the second and third graduates, in 1921. The school grew to 82 students in the year 1921-1922, but even so, the 1923 senior class graduated only three students. Their small class held their senior dance at Pasadenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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Early May Day celebration

tiny Rose Tree Tea House, with an accordion player providing the music. The Tea House was owned by close friends of Mary Ranney, the Ludovici family. The family lived upstairs above the Tea House, and by 1922, following the death of Mary’s father, Mary and her mother had moved in with the Ludovici family at 167 Orange Grove, where they stayed until 1928. From early days, Westridge girls donated a great deal of school time to charity causes. In 1918, Marian Brackenridge ’21 and a classmate pasted together the first lnlook as a fundraiser to help support French war orphans. In 1922, the primary department, grades one through three, performed the play “Pages From Mother Goose.” The 50-cent admission was donated to the Pasadena Preventorium, a home for children whose parents had tuberculosis. Because Westridge did not have a stage, the play was performed at the Shakespeare Club on Los Robles. Other fundraisers, including doll and apron sales, benefited Armenian and Russian relief. The later development of a robust service-learning program had its roots in these early outreach efforts by Westridge students. In the 1920s Pasadena’s population grew rapidly and so did the number of schoolage children. New public schools were opening and the private schools in town benefited from the growing community. Westridge also continued to grow and the need for more space became critical. In 1922, Tod Ford, whose only daughter, Marian, was in the class of 1927, bought the Fleming family gymnasium and donated it to Westridge. In 1923, several parents and interested friends, including Harrison Snider, Curtis

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Willock, and Roy Shaw, helped raise money to build a new classroom building that would replace the house that had been the original school. Mary Ranney commissioned the noted architectural firm of Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury to design the building in the Tudor Revival style. On June 8, 1923, the graduating seniors set the cornerstone. In a ceremony attended by students and faculty, the three graduating seniors, Harriet Snider, Sally Cameron, and Francena Henderson, placed the addresses they had given during graduation ceremonies into the cornerstone, along with their class picture, the original copy of the school song Surgere Tentamus, and that dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pasadena Star-News.

Main Building 1925

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Over the summer of 1923, the original house was demolished and construction of the new building began. Remarkably, just four months later, the new classroom building was ready for school on October 1, 1923. According to Kathleen Tuttle’s biography of Sylvanus Marston, the building included: “10 classrooms, an assembly room, 3 offices, a teachers workroom, collapsible iron gates, maple floors, slate blackboards, skylights.” The cost of the new building was $35,000! At this same time, the Fleming gymnasium was remodeled to make it better suited for athletic activities. The next fall, Westridge enrolled 135 students in its new classroom space. The faculty grew as well, and physics was added to the curriculum. The Optima Award for best all-round student was given for the first time in 1925 to Anne Brackenridge ’26. The Optima Award continued to be given until 1946, when it was discontinued by headmistress Gladys Peterson. The Athletic Association was founded during the 1923-1924 school year. With the remodeled gym (later known as the “Old Gym”), sports became more organized and more competitive. In 1927, a riding club was formed. Called the Crop and Spur Club, the members inaugurated a school gymkhana that became an annual tradition. The Spur team won that first year, after competing in bareback races and relays, including a pajama relay in which riders, dressed in pajamas and baby bonnets, mounted their horses and raced to teammates, who then donned the costumes. Westridge competed against other schools in equestrian, basketball, tennis, and baseball competitions. The intraschool rivalry between Greeks and Romans, whose athletic and scholarly battles began soon after the school’s founding, resulted in a tradition of each team hosting a party for their rivals in alternate years. In 1925, the winning Greeks threw a dance for the school with a children’s party theme. Decorations included blue and gold toys, and the Caltech Orchestra played. The following year, the winning Romans put on a vaudeville show, and in 1927, the Greeks outdid themselves

Point patches Greeks, Academic, Romans 1930-1931

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1931 Ojai Valley Tennis Champion Ruby Bishop ’31 (second from left) Below: Jane Sharp ’32 (left) at the Women’s National Singles Tennis Championships at Forest Hills, N.Y.

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Jane Sharp ’32 and Ruby Bishop ’31

In 1926, the tennis team began a long tradition of strong athletics for Westridge. That year, Louise McFarland ’28 won the interscholastic girls’ singles at Ojai and went on to win the Girls’ National Tennis Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. In 1931, Ruby Bishop ’31 defeated Alice Marble of San Francisco to win the Girls’ National Tennis Championship. Another Westridge student playing the game was Jane Sharp ’32, Canada’s girls’ national champion.

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Westridge commemorates first 20 years with a play called School Through the Ages 1933

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by transforming the Old Gym into a tented circus with a sawdust ring; sideshows lined the entrance. Peanuts and lemonade were served, and a ringmaster called forth various clown, tumbling, and contortionist acts to compete for prizes. In 1933, the Athletic Association decided to give a formal banquet at the end of the year in place of the traditional Greek and Roman party. In 1929, the Great Depression hit the country with devastating effect. Many families in Pasadena were affected and the hard times threatened the tuition-supported schools in Pasadena. Although some students were forced to withdraw from Westridge and some families were no longer able to travel to Pasadena for the winter, the school remained strong and survived. In 1932, the Westridge Alumnae Association designated their fundraising efforts for Pasadena emergency relief to help those hardest hit by the Depression. In 1934, Mills College, the oldest women’s college in the West, invited Westridge, along with 25 other “honor” schools in the state, to send a student to its campus to study as a Trustee Scholar. Westridge had outgrown its small, family beginnings and was on its way to becoming a notable school. The early ’30s saw some significant challenges for Mary Ranney. Her close friend and long-time director of the lower division, Elizabeth Trotter, announced her retirement in 1932. The following year, to mark the 20th anniversary of the school, Amie Rumney wrote an article for the Inlook that celebrated the school’s accomplishments, milestones, and progress over the first 20 years of its existence. Mary Ranney added this statement to Miss Rumney’s article: “The foregoing article so delightfully summarizes the Westridge years, amazingly sped, that I should pronounce it perfect but for the omission of a memorable event— the writer’s acceptance of a co-partnership in 1917! From that date, the school has met its problems and successes under the guidance of two principals.” To mark the 20th anniversary, a group of students, assisted by an Occidental professor, wrote a play called School Through the Ages—from prehistoric times into a spaceage future! Mary Ranney’s praise and acknowledgement of Amie Rumney and her role as coprincipal for 16 years was soon tinged with sadness in the school as an illness forced Amie Rumney to reduce her responsibilities and finally relinquish them altogether. After two years of absence from her duties, in the fall of 1937, she officially retired.

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Miss Ranney (center) with faculty 1930

Along with Amie Rumney’s declining health and retirement, the death of Mary Ranney’s mother, Lucy Ranney, in 1934, was a significant personal loss for Mary Ranney. On January 14, 1937, Miss Ranney announced her wish to retire and to sell Westridge to a group of parents and educators who would form the first board of trustees to govern the school as a non-profit institution. Susan Thorne was named the first president of the board. Mary Ranney was elected to serve on the board of trustees following her retirement. In the spring of 1937, Margaret Brackenridge Hale ’21, in reference to the school’s transition of leadership, wrote on behalf of the Alumnae Association: “The Alumnae Association needs to take drastic steps to prevent any indecorous behavior at the prom which might injure the reputation of the school during this critical time.” That same spring, the Alumnae Association commissioned Alice Ludovici, a noted local artist, to paint Mary Ranney’s portrait in anticipation of her retirement. That portrait still hangs in the school’s reception area in the Main Building. Miss Ranney agreed to stay on as principal for one more year while the newly organized board searched for her successor. When she retired in 1938, the school enjoyed strong enrollment with a graduating class that numbered 11 students. In the spring of 1938, the board of trustees appointed Anne Parker to succeed Miss Ranney and become the second headmistress of Westridge. In October of 1938, while staying with her friend Laurabelle Robinson in Connecticut for vacation and rest, Mary Ranney was diagnosed with cancer. Instead of returning to Pasadena and her work on the board of trustees as planned, she travelled to Chicago to stay with her brother’s family to recuperate. The diagnosis

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was dire, as her cancer had spread. In February 1939, just eight months after her retirement, Mary Ranney died, surrounded by her family in Chicago. The Westridge community received the shocking news in a telegram from George Ranney. Only a few people had known she was experiencing health problems, and no one had been aware of the seriousness of her illness. A local memorial service was held at St. James’ Episcopal Church, where Mary Ranney had been a parishioner since her early days in Pasadena. When she had announced her retirement as headmistress and turned the school over to a newly formed board of trustees, Mary Ranney fully intended to remain connected to Westridge for many years to come. She was a member of the original board and they expected to benefit from her wisdom and experience as they entered a new phase in the school’s history. She would perhaps have written a memoir about her career and the founding of Westridge School and a chronicle about her life and how the path she chose became a school that does not bear her name, but carries all of the values she held dear: courage, integrity, faithfulness, and care. While perhaps the history of Westridge may have been different had Miss Ranney remained involved, this much is certain: for 100 years, Westridge School has challenged and changed generations of girls and young women because of an extraordinary founding educator who grounded her work always in faithfulness and love. Grace Henley, principal of Polytechnic School, wrote a gracious tribute to Mary Ranney on behalf of The Headmistress Association of the Pacific Coast, which read in part: “Her rich personality, her warm, generous, sympathetic heart, her capacity for affection and enduring friendships, her wide interests and fine achievements combined to make her a person of distinction and her life a radiant source of generosity, shelter, guidance, and confidence for others.”

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T H E RIN G CEREMON Y The first Ring Ceremony was held in the spring of 1936. Originally, the seniors received their rings in a candlelight ceremony. The 1949 school handbook has this description: “Friends and parents of the seniors and the junior class attend. Mona bakes a cake in which she puts a ring. [Mona Save was the longtime cook who served lunches at school.] The lucky junior who chooses the piece of cake containing the ring exercises all senior privileges for one week and becomes Mistress of the Rings for the following year.” Later, the ceremony became the occasion for all juniors to receive their rings as they prepare to move into leadership roles for their senior year. Over time there have been variations on the original ceremony, but it has always included a Mistress of the Rings and the ritual of the ring baked into a cake. The following description of the ring ceremony, as Miss Ranney envisioned it, is from the archives. “Embossed upon the school ring, which these girls are about to receive, is the school seal, with the name Westridge School and the date 1913… in the outer circle. Within that, the ivy and the school’s motto Surgere Tentamus: at the center, a lamp of antique design, symbolizing the light of learning and the enlightenment that comes through learning”.

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Chapter Two

New Beginnings and the War Years

Anne Parker 1938–1941 In January 1939, under the terms of the sale of the school by Mary Ranney and Amie Rumney to the board of trustees, the board was required to begin regular payments on the promissory note to Amie Rumney and to Mary Ranney’s estate. This left a very lean operating budget. Margaret Brackenridge Jones ’21 remembered, “The school was very short of cash in the beginning. One trustee gave us a truckload of manure as a donation because keeping up the grounds had become very difficult.” Susan Thorne served as board president from 1937 to 1950. Under her leadership, the trustees began to articulate the school’s policies, stabilize its finances, and strengthen the academic program as they guided Westridge to become a strong, non-profit institution. Those early trustees, many of them parents, were also careful to preserve the traditional strengths of Westridge, including the outstanding arts programs in painting, drawing, music, and drama, which still exist today.

Susan Thorne, president of trustees; Barbara Beardslee Perren ’42, alumnae association president; Margaret Brackenridge Hale ’21, and Gladys Peterson

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Anne Parker

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One of the most important challenges facing the new board was to support and mentor the new headmistress, Anne Parker. Anne Parker was a bright and capable young woman, who had taught at St. Timothy’s School for Girls in Maryland, but she had no significant administrative or leadership experience. By her own account, she experienced culture shock when she arrived at Westridge. St. Timothy’s had not prepared her for the close involvement of the board of trustees and parents in making decisions about the operation of the school. She admitted, “My training in history at Mount Holyoke and Oxford did not prepare me for the situation I found at Westridge. Everything I knew about teaching and administering I had learned at St. Timothy’s, a small proprietary school in Maryland with a very long academic tradition. But because it was extremely hard to get in, and because most of the parents were so far away, we had no problems trying to suit the parents. We all lived together: headmistress, faculty, and students. All decisions were made by the headmistress in conjunction with her faculty—which is how I imagine Westridge was run before there was a board of trustees.” In 1940, Westridge purchased the Fullerton estate on the corner of Madeline Drive and Orange Grove Boulevard and adapted it for school use. Downstairs rooms served as classrooms for primary students, and upstairs rooms housed single faculty members. As a school building, the house became known as “Ranney House.” The Fullerton property added not only a spacious lawn but also the camphor tree that is a favorite climbing tree of lower school students today on what is now part of the lower school playground. For many years, the lawn of the old Ranney House was the site of school graduations and other ceremonies. One of the first significant ceremonies to be held on the lawn of Ranney House was the first Founder’s Day, an occasion to honor those who established Westridge School, and especially to honor Mary Lowther Ranney. Margaret Brackenridge, who had selected Mary Ranney as founding headmistress, spoke at the celebration: “After due deliberation, we decided that Miss Mary Lowther Ranney was the one who filled our ideal of a headmistress; it remained only to consult her; and at the very first opportunity, we did so…fate generally takes these matters out of our hands.” Mrs. Duer and I were [at a tea] when we saw Miss Ranney; so, seizing her and the opportunity…there among the clatter of the teacups, we solemnly announced to her that she was about to become a FOUNDER!”

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FOUND ER ’ S DAY

Margaret Brackenridge

Founder’s Day Water Ceremony 1940

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She also spoke about the loss of Mary Ranney in 1938: “In 1937, Miss Ranney announced…that the time had come for her to give up its government and take a much needed rest. We knew that she was not in robust health; but we were quite unprepared for the long and painful illness which followed shortly after her retirement from active life….When she passed away, we all felt that our loss was irreparable. We pause today to pay a loving tribute to her memory; for it is due to her unceasing effort to keep the school at the high standard which it has ever held…. As it has been since its inception, [it will continue to be] a home for our daughters, where they will learn the principles of right living and thinking which will fit them for whatever they may undertake in their lives, and which will enable them to hold the torch to light the way for those following.” Anne Parker and faculty 1939

Describing the situation she experienced at Westridge, Miss Parker said, “I wasn’t there before, and I hardly knew Miss Ranney, but it’s fair to say that the school underwent a major transition when she retired and that we all stumbled a bit. The board was new and inexperienced—but they loved Westridge and took their duties very seriously. Most were parents, and only one was a professional educator, the head of Occidental College, Dr. Remsen Bird. Sue Thorne did a splendid job as first president of the board and was an absolute dynamo.” There can be little doubt that the fact that Mary Ranney’s untimely death deprived both the new headmistress and the newly formed board of her counsel complicated the transition. After three difficult years as headmistress, Anne Parker resigned to follow her heart to Portland, Oregon, to marry physician William Maxwell Wood.

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Louise Wood 1941–1945 Following the resignation and departure of Anne Parker, the board sent out the following announcement: “The Trustees of Westridge School for Girls are pleased to announce the appointment of Miss Louise Holabird Wood as Headmistress, beginning with the coming school year, 1941-1942.” A 1919 Bryn Mawr graduate, Louise Wood’s life was centered on schools, teaching, art history, and a deep love of Italian culture. At the University of Chicago, near her family’s home in Winnetka, she took courses in educational theory. She then taught at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka before moving to Italy. Later, she returned to the United States and earned a master’s degree in fine art from Radcliffe College. In 1929, she returned to Italy to conduct a “study year in Europe for American girls.” As Hitler was moving into Poland and Czechoslovakia, Louise Wood left Italy and returned to the United States, where she took a teaching position at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago in 1939. In 1941, she accepted the invitation from her friend Susan Thorne to become the third headmistress of Westridge. With the war raging in Europe and the United States’ entry into the war a question of national concern, Westridge, with a new governing board and a new headmistress, teetered on the brink of an uncertain future. Under the circumstances, it was doubtless a comfort to board president Susan Thorne to have a trusted friend as the new headmistress. When Louise Wood arrived at Westridge in 1941, newspaper clippings of the time quote her not on educational philosophy or college admissions but rather on the danger of Mussolini and Hitler. Her January 1942 report to the board is an account of air raid drills, the restlessness of students due to the war, budget and enrollment concerns, plus the “orgy of cleaning” that she, the janitor, and his wife had conducted over the holidays. Despite the outer turmoil, Miss Wood remained a pillar of stability, giving the students “steady does it” as the motto to live by. She threw herself into the management of the school during a difficult time—perhaps a critical time—and is credited with increasing the breadth of Westridge’s history curriculum and strengthening the school’s international perspective. The board’s fears about falling enrollment and possible closure never materialized. In fact, Miss Wood, the faculty, and the board soon found themselves dealing with overcrowding when enrollment increased by 40 percent in 1943. In addition to teaching an art history class to juniors and seniors, Louise Wood each year at Christmas season expressed her deep love of everything Italian by presenting a slide show and lecture on Italian art. With every hairpin in place, the normally

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C LAS S O F 1 9 4 5 A N D WWII

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An alumna from the Class of 1945 wrote this memoir of the impact of World War II on members of her class at Westridge. From our freshman through senior years our nation was embroiled in a devastating world war; it was a strange and confusing backdrop for what is, at bare minimum, a strange and confusing time of life. News of someone’s older brother, uncle, or close family friend being wounded or killed in some obscure region was not uncommon as we waded through our junior and senior years. Our class debate, presented before the entire student body, “Roosevelt vs. Wilkie for U.S. Presidency,” was not mere academics. We were passionate and spoke out of deep conviction. Several well established friendships were severely strained. Republican families tripped over Democratic ones. It was unexpected, and painful. And many of us started growing up ahead of schedule. I, for one, have thanked God many times for having been securely nested at a safe place—Westridge—through a very perplexing time.

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In 1943, Westridge was invited by the public school system to participate in a joint endeavor to raise money to support the war effort. The administration asked our class to spearhead this citywide project, and so we launched the Welfare Association, a carefully crafted three-pronged fundraising commission: war bonds, Red Cross, and Community Drives. The public schools assigned us a quota of $15,000, our share of an Army training plane. Alone, we raised $35,832.25, and bought the whole plane! And then on August 6, as we joyfully prepared to take off for our various colleges, our country dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and a second one on Nagasaki three days later. An era had ended. Something awesome had begun. So there we were, the class of ’45, standing precariously at the crossroads of history. Our distinction is that we were woven into the texture of the times just at that indefinite, impressionable life stage when childhood has ended and adulthood looms.

Westridge faculty 1945

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autocratic headmistress transported the entire student body with her rapturous Christmas message inspired by Italian ecclesiastical art. On other occasions her primness prevailed, such as when she disapprovingly delivered the board’s message to seniors that they would be allowed to smoke at the prom. In the board minutes of April 26, 1943, the report of the headmistress included this: “We shall continue next year the one-year European history requirement which we introduced this year in addition to the American history which is required of the senior year. I should like to see another year of history added to these two—for surely nothing could be more needed in a liberal education today.” As the war drew to a close, Miss Wood felt the pull to return to Italy and the need to put herself “in line for reconstruction work in Europe.” In April 1944, she tendered her resignation, to be effective as soon as the board could install a new headmistress. She remained at Westridge until the newly appointed headmistress, Gladys Peterson, arrived in June 1945. Upon leaving Westridge, Miss Wood became involved in the Quaker-sponsored American Field Service program that linked American and European schools in an experiment in international understanding. Although Louise Wood was headmistress for only three years, she proved herself to be a consummate manager of an important transition for Westridge. She possessed deep experience in a variety of schools, both in the United States and in Europe, and she herself modeled intellectual curiosity and rigor. She was calm during the war years, and she set herself to many tasks that created

MONA SAVE One of the longest-serving employees in the history of Westridge was Mona Save, who ran the cafeteria from 1937 to 1964. During that long tenure, Mona worked for five different headmistresses, including Mary Ranney, and was a source of comfort and friendship to generations of Westridge students. For all of those years, she baked the traditional “ring cake” that revealed who that year’s junior Mistress of the Rings would be. When she announced her retirement in 1964, the senior class dedicated the Inlook to her with this citation: “It is truly fitting that we, the Inlook Staff of 1964, pay tribute to a woman who has literally served Westridge for twenty-seven years. We marvel at her patience with “the girls,” her thoughtfulness in keeping the lunchroom open after school, and her other special favors. In deep gratitude for her interest in school life, her persistent courage, and her understanding, we dedicate the INLOOK to Mona.”

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Art class 1942

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an orderly administration. Most important, she brought new focus in the context of a world at war for an understanding among nations and cultures, and she advocated an expanded history curriculum. She also observed in her report to the board of trustees, “At all costs, I believe we should continue our efforts to have some kind of Current Events Groups in school. The girls’ ignorance about what is going on in the world, is deplorable.” Her dedication to an expanded history curriculum and the need to inform the students about world affairs proved to be a legacy that both Gladys Peterson and Elizabeth Edmundson would build upon. In 1965, Louise Wood returned from Europe and retired at the San Antonio Gardens in Pomona, where she was instrumental in establishing a residential infirmary. She died there, during an early morning swim, in 1974.

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Chapter Three

The Post-War Years

Gladys Peterson 1945–1959 In May 1945, the board of trustees recruited Gladys Peterson to become the fourth headmistress of Westridge. On May 8, the school celebrated the end of the war in Europe on VE day. There was an all-school assembly that included the singing of the national anthems of England, France, and China. Betty Spenser ’45, head of student government, led the singing, but then read the words of the new Russian anthem, “as it did not seem appropriate to sing either the Czarist hymn or the Internationale.” Born in Montana, Gladys Peterson had migrated to the East Coast for her education at Wellesley College before becoming a Latin teacher at Rye Country Day School in Rye, New York. She then moved to Washington, D.C., to accept an administrative position at the National Cathedral School, a leading school for girls. Thus, Miss Peterson arrived at Westridge with experience at an excellent school for girls and an outsider’s perspective on Pasadena and on Westridge itself. She came to her position at Westridge with more formal administrative experience than any of her predecessors. She also came with a well-developed educational philosophy of her own. “I should start by saying that I’m deadly serious about schools, and that I always wanted to run a school,” Gladys Peterson said. “When I interviewed for the position at Westridge, I said my general aim was to run a school in which every girl would find her best self and would develop her best intellectual powers. There are different approaches to reaching that goal, but I think the main ingredients are the discipline of study, the love between teacher and pupil, and an atmosphere in which students and teachers ask a lot of each other.” That statement both defines Gladys Peterson’s

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Study Hall 1950s

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tenure at Westridge and clearly identifies her as carrying the legacy of Mary Ranney’s own commitments as the school’s founder. All of the school’s early headmistresses shared traditional views about what a school should be, but those views were always grounded in a progressive idea of how best to support the growth of the students. In Gladys Peterson’s own words, “I think the primary thrust of education is the inner development of each student, of her mind and her attitudes.” One commitment that Gladys Peterson inherited as part of Louise Wood’s legacy was a student exchange program sponsored by the American Field Service between Westridge and a school outside the city of Berlin in Germany. The school, SchulfarmScharfenberg, was a rural boarding school that provided Westridge with its first foreign student. Westridge’s involvement in the exchange program lasted 10 years and ended as the political situation in Germany became too dangerous, given the school’s

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location in East Germany and Cold War tensions. In 1966, Westridge ended its association with Schulfarm-Scharfenberg but continued a long association with the American Field Service student exchange program. Gladys Peterson made this observation, “I once heard Miss Madeira, the founding headmistress of the Madeira School, speak, and I remember her saying that it was always her intent to run a ‘good’ school, but that it came as a surprise to find herself also running a ‘popular’ school. I always remembered her saying that because I’d also noticed that when students work hard and develop themselves, happiness is a natural part of the process.” Miss Peterson added, “I considered myself a modern educator, certainly for the times, and that was one reason I wanted to come out to California. I thought I’d find a school open to new ideas out here, and I was very lucky to find Westridge.” During Gladys Peterson’s tenure as headmistress, the campus and the facilities expanded significantly. In 1947, the school acquired additional properties along Madeline Drive to the east; however, the City of Pasadena declined the school’s application to use those properties for classroom spaces. It would be four years before the required

G E RT R UD E H A LL Gertrude Hall came to Westridge in 1941 and, except for a three-year leave of absence, worked there for 25 years. While at Westridge, she did everything but teach. She was in charge of Inlook and the American Field Service student exchange program. She handled all publicity for the school, oversaw maintenance, and was everyone’s counselor and friend. She also served as liaison for two fundraising campaigns and saw the school grow from 125 to 300 students. A small classroom building constructed south of the Main Building facing the central quadrangle was named for Gertrude Hall—a testimony to her many contributions over 25 years. Gertrude Hall was born in 1900 in Bay City, Michigan. In 1921, she graduated from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She married Chalmers Hall in 1926 and moved to Pasadena in 1932. Both her daughter, Hannah ’46, and her daughter-in-law, Bernadine Marquis Hall ’49, were graduates of Westridge.

Gertrude Hall is one of those individuals who, without title or requirement, took on duties and responsibilities that made the school and the work of others better. She was revered by those she served and those she befriended. Gertrude Hall retired from Westridge in 1966 and died in 1982 at the age of 81.

Gertrude Hall and Inlook Staff, early 1950s

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Gladys Peterson and faculty 1950

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zoning variances were approved. In 1948, a new science lab, designed by architect George Lind, was built in the corridor adjacent to the Old Gym at a cost of $4,500, including eight new microscopes. In 1950, the school acquired another significant property to the east. This, plus earlier property acquisitions, opened the possibility of developing a new athletic field, tennis courts, and the use of one of the houses on Madeline Drive for classroom space. In 1955, a new classroom building designed by George Vernon Russell was added just south of the Main Building, facing the central quadrangle. Later, the building would be named for Gertrude Hall, who had served as assistant to the headmistress for 25 years. Wisely, the board of trustees and Miss Peterson recognized the need for a five-year master plan to guide the development of additional facilities to meet the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing needs. A newly-formed Development Committee was charged with looking

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Spyglass special alumnae edition illustration by Janet Rouse ’45 1952

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at all aspects of the school’s curriculum and operations. In 1957, with funding provided by Mr. Wesley Dumm, the block wall along Orange Grove was constructed to provide both privacy and safety for the campus and the students. Gladys Peterson also revitalized the Westridge Alumnae Association, originally formed in 1927 by Mary Ranney. Efforts were made to provide leadership for maintaining communication with alumnae and informing them about news of the school. Under Gladys Peterson’s leadership, the school’s national reputation as a leading school for girls was strengthened. Miss Peterson was the first Westridge headmistress to belong to the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls. As headmistress, she raised academic standards and improved the athletics program. She also expanded the role of student government as a means of teaching the importance of taking responsibility for one’s own actions. Miss Peterson thought that balance was important to student development. She said, “As Harry Overstreet, an influential educator of my day, put it, students need a balance between academic discipline and ‘time to stand and stare.’ ” She regarded the students’ lives as “the school’s final exam.” In 1954, Miss Peterson implemented the first annual fund drive at Westridge. It was an informal, almost casual, request for additional funds for operating expenses from parents. The total raised that year was $7,000. Also in 1954, a Fortieth Anniversary Fund raised $75,000 for buildings and campus improvements. In the post-war era, both Southern California and Pasadena grew rapidly as people from all over the country were drawn to California’s prosperity, mild climate, and

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opportunity for success. Along with the region, Westridge grew and prospered. Enrollment had consistently averaged around 240 students during the 1950s. The curriculum was fully college preparatory and continued the strong focus on the arts begun in its earliest days. In 1959, at age 62, Gladys Peterson retired as headmistress and turned the school over to the leadership of her protégé, Elizabeth Edmundson, who was named the fifth headmistress of Westridge. Miss Peterson had overseen over a decade of growth and campus expansion. An experienced educator with a broad understanding of both curriculum and student life, she left a strong legacy of leadership and a clear vision of what Westridge could become. For several years, during the ’60s, Gladys Peterson returned to Westridge to teach Latin and history. Gladys Peterson died in 1993 and a memorial service was held at the Episcopal Home in Alhambra, where she had been living. Libby Edmundson and Fran Scoble, who was then head of school, attended the memorial service together. After the service, Libby confided to Fran, “Gladys often said to me that, had she known how long she was going to live, she wouldn’t have retired as early as she did.” Gladys Peterson’s contributions to Westridge remain a remarkable record for a gifted educator. In remembering Gladys Peterson as a mentor, Libby recalled, “she was very friendly, but there was a little distance….She especially liked people who would speak out and up to her…and she was very direct with others….With Gladys you always knew where you stood.”

Nancy Owen, headmistress, Bob Bovinette, chair, board of trustees, Gladys Peterson, Elizabeth Edmundson Herrick 1978

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JAMES T. SATA

James T. Sata worked at Westridge for 14 years, beginning in 1947. He was born in Japan in 1896 and emigrated to the United States in 1918, when he was 22 years old. Sata was a successful and gifted photographer who also worked as a retail manager in Los Angeles. In 1944, Sata, his wife, and his ten-year-old son, Frank, were transferred to the Gila River Camp near Phoenix, Arizona, as part of the Japanese internments. While Gila River was considered one of the least oppressive of the relocation camps, there were particular hardships there, including the severe heat of the Arizona summers. The Sata family was released from the camp at the end of World War II, and they returned to California to settle in the small agricultural town of Guadalupe, near Santa Maria. At that time, Sata and his wife listed their occupation as “farm worker.” They may well have worked on farms that were in the camp and used that experience to find employment after the war. Many Japanese-owned businesses were closed due to the relocation and never reopened. By 1947, the Satas had returned to Los Angeles, where he resumed his photography and found employment at Westridge School for Girls. He was a member of the maintenance crew and lived on the second floor of Ranney House with his family. While he was employed at Westridge, he took many photographs of Westridge buildings and some of his photographs appeared in the yearbooks. The 1957 Inlook was dedicated to James Sata: We, the Inlook Staff of 1957, in deep appreciation of the many services he has rendered to us, dedicate this book to Mr. James T. Sata. His skills and abilities, his thoughtfulness, his interest in our various activities, and his constant good nature have made him an integral part of what we think of as “Westridge.”

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James Sata retired from Westridge in 1961 for health reasons, and he died in 1975. James Sata is one of many “unsung heroes” whose histories were likely unknown to the Westridge community at the time, and whose work formed strong threads of generosity and care in the fabric of the school’s history.

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Chapter Four

Coming of Age and Celebrating 50 Years Elizabeth Edmundson Herrick 1959–1973 Among the many sound decisions made by Gladys Peterson as headmistress, the hiring of Elizabeth “Libby” Edmundson in 1952 to teach history was one of the best. A native New Englander, Libby had grown up in Peterborough, New Hampshire. She received a bachelor of arts degree from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, and then went on to earn her master’s degree from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Although she was a New Englander through and through, Libby Edmundson said she wanted to live and “teach in a different school culture” from that of the East Coast. So when Gladys Peterson recruited her to teach at Westridge, Libby eagerly accepted her offer. As Libby Edmundson told the story, she was 25 years

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old in 1952 when she traveled alone across the country by train with a few suitcases, having never before seen California, and knowing little about Pasadena or Westridge School for Girls. The journey to Pasadena was in fact her first trip outside New England. For her first two years at Westridge, Libby, along with other faculty members, lived upstairs in Ranney House in rooms they rented from the school for $25 a month! Libby immediately became one of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most beloved teachers and was soon an indispensable partner with Miss Peterson in making decisions about guiding the school. Two years after Libby came to Westridge, Miss Peterson named her director of the upper school. In that role, she had a major impact on student life and on the curriculum. In 1957, she helped implement the Advanced Placement program at Westridge. Libby and two other teachers taught the AP US History course using a thematic approach. Given Libbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success as a teacher and the high esteem in which she was held by teachers, students, and parents, she was a natural choice to succeed Gladys Peterson. She assumed the leadership of the school on the threshold of a turbulent time of social and political upheaval, both in Pasadena and around the country, during the 1960s and 1970s. Libby Edmundson recognized that the world around Westridge was changing rapidly and dramatically. Three assassinations rocked the country. Protests against the Vietnam War were spreading across college campuses and that spirit filtered down to

Elizabeth Edmundson with students, early 1970s

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G E NNA R AE M c N E I L ’ 65

When Genna Rae McNeil ’65 came to Westridge, she was the only African-American in the school. She left the public school she had been attending and came to Westridge at the invitation of Headmistress Libby Edmundson. When Genna Rae returned to Westridge in 2005 to receive the Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award, she was an accomplished writer and scholar who held a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She had become a professor of African-American history and United States history and written scholarly articles and books. In many ways, she embodied the spirit of Westridge and in some particular ways, she transcended it. Fran Scoble said this as she introduced Genna Rae as the Ranney Award recipient: Genna Rae is a rigorous truth teller and a deep listener. The primary manifestation of her respect for her students is how present she is to them, to who they are, and to their voices…. I was not at Westridge in 1963 when Genna Rae first set foot on this campus. I was a few thousand miles away, teaching high school in Nashville, Tennessee. So I know quite well the tenor of the times. What I know is that there is a story that unfolded for Genna Rae in those two years that most people around her at Westridge never knew. The vision of the future led by Elizabeth Edmundson and Sue Sweezy and others moved them to act out of their own deep values in some contradiction of their time to begin a long important process of change. They could not possibly know all of the consequences of their actions, but they believed in the rightness of those actions.

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In accepting her award, Genna Rae remembered her graduation from Westridge: I most remember the small stage set up on which my father sat in one of his last public appearances before he would succumb to cancer. My classmates and the administration—race notwithstanding—had decided to extend to the Negro professor at Covina Baptist Theological Seminary, my father, an offer to give the invocation and benediction at our graduation. On that day, I was permitted to break with tradition and hug my father after receiving my diploma. Only weeks later, my father died.

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schools like Westridge. The Civil Rights Movement, with its urgent imperative of equal opportunity for all children, was a rallying cry. As Libby put it when later interviewed about those years, “At the beginning of my time as headmistress, I think most of us idealized a school in which simplicity was the order of the day. Well, that changed, and we changed, and I think everyone grew in the process. And we never lost (except for perhaps on a few days) our sense of humor.” Libby Edmundson was the first headmistress to provide financial aid to support racial diversity at Westridge. The first minority students were two Japanese-American girls, Lynne Tsuboi ’63 and Margaret Omori ’62. In 1964, Libby then recruited the first African-American to graduate from Westridge, Genna Rae McNeil ’65. Genna Rae was the recipient of the Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna award in 2005. Pasadena itself was in turmoil. There was controversy around mandatory busing and redevelopment efforts that involved the use of eminent domain to take over 102 acres of property in the northwest section of Pasadena to build new apartment

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Open Future Program 1968

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buildings. The City of Pasadena placed covenants on property that restricted where black people could live. These initiatives divided the community, and controversies were exacerbated when Proposition 14 passed in California, asserting the rights of property owners to discriminate on the basis of race when selling their property. This caused all federal housing funds to be cut off to California. The legislation that grew out of the passage of Proposition 14 was later declared unconstitutional by the California Supreme Court. The California court’s ruling was upheld by the United States Supreme Court. In response, Libby Edmundson and the board of trustees framed and approved a broad policy of non-discrimination. The school officially stated that it “is open to all qualified students, without regard to race or creed, and there is no discriminatory policy of any kind,” and further redefined its philosophy to “seek a diversified student body, consisting of girls of high standards who will contribute to the school through academic achievement, or leadership, or other personal qualities.” The board also established a policy regarding scholarship grants that stipulated they were to be made on the basis of need and qualification, with the degree of assistance determined by financial necessity and available funds. In 1955, $5,500 was allocated for scholarships. In the decade of the 1960s, many local educational institutions were thriving. John Muir High School had an outstanding reputation, with 80 percent of its graduates going on to college. A new public high school, Blair, was established in 1964 in converted industrial space less than a mile east of Westridge School. Polytechnic School added the Upper School in 1959, a move that had a significant effect on Westridge,

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since it changed a longstanding pattern of girls who attended lower and middle school at Polytechnic attending Westridge for upper school. Notably, Caltech produced 20 Nobel Laureates during the 1960s and 1970s. The social issues in Pasadena reflect just how far-sighted and courageous Libby Edmundson’s decisions were. As she later said, “The school responded to changing social morés in a variety of ways: our longstanding effort to diversify our student body, which we had been working on for over 10 years, came to fruition. We introduced sex education and drug education and we expanded the role of student government.” She added, “We had a lot of challenges to deal with, and we used student government not as an end, but as a means of teaching self-governance. We let students handle many of the problems of daily living themselves.” Libby Edmundson also led the school to join the Open Future Program to support underserved minority students. The program was hosted on the Scripps College campus and involved Westridge faculty and students as teachers and mentors. Through that program, several African-American students were admitted to Westridge. Thacher School in Ojai, Cate School in Carpinteria, Midland School in Los Olivos, and Webb School in Claremont also participated in the program, which was funded by the Carnegie, Danforth, and Rosenberg Foundations. Some of the Open Future students lived with Westridge families during the school week to reduce their commuting time from South Central Los Angeles, and some lived on campus at Scripps College. This program was a source of pride for Libby, and she viewed it as an important part of her legacy. To underscore Libby Edmundson’s courage and perseverance in moving Westridge forward to become an inclusive, egalitarian community, references can be made to the sale of the school by Mary Ranney to the newly-formed board of trustees. As other properties were aquired, the deeds and agreements precluded the use of the property by “any person not of the white or Caucasian race.” When each property was purchased, the board of trustees was required to state in writing that they intended to abide by the original covenants. Thus, in 1942, Susan Thorne, the president of the board, sent a letter to the original seller that stated, “I will also send to you the agreement signed by me limiting occupancy of our property to the white race.” While this was legal at the time, it is significant that, not only did times and legal norms change, but Westridge benefited 25 years later from a far-sighted and courageous headmistress who led Westridge to stand on the high ground of equality of opportunity and fair treatment. Even as Libby Edmundson focused on increasing diversity at Westridge and increasing financial aid to support those efforts, while implementing the Open Future Program, Pasadena was in turmoil in anticipation of mandatory busing. The Los Angeles Times referred to Pasadena as a “community severely polarized over the issue.” At

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MART HA TO R R ES ’ 72

In her oral history, Martha Torres describes her Westridge experience. When I was 12 years old, I was living in East Los Angeles, and I learned about a program called Open Future. At the time there were probably 20 Hispanic young women and about 70 African-American young women in the program, most of whom came from Watts and Compton. I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the program. Libby hand-picked, I’m going to say, at most, five of us from that program that she felt could go a step further, and I happened to be one of them. She interviewed my parents, who were very old-fashioned Mexican and very, very intimidated. There was a wonderful family, the Nevins—Richard and Mary Lois Nevins. Mary Lois sat on the board of trustees for Westridge, and she had volunteered to take in two students…. I was so fortunate that she selected me and my roommate, Pat, to live with them during the week. When we left for the summers, when we left for vacations, I would go to work to earn money that would help me at Westridge, and they would go all skiing. So there was that very marked distinction between my group and their group. I left my siblings; I left my parents; I left everything that was my comfort zone to go into a family that I did not know at all. And I never had a second thought. My parents did. My mother certainly did. But I was just hungry, so hungry, for a better education. I was so hungry for more exposure. I wanted more than what I was in, because I knew that I had gone beyond everything. Libby Herrick really recognized it in us, that there was much more that we could accomplish, but it was going to get lost if we stayed where we were. And I was very young and I made those decisions, and my parents allowed me to make the decisions. And they’re both gone now, and when I look back, I just appreciate so much that they allowed me to do it.

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Every door that opened for me, every opportunity that opened for me, it all started at Westridge. And the confidence that it instilled in me—the broad outlook that it gave me…. I don’t know what ignited in me, but I knew that I would never give up. It was too important to me. It was my future.

Martha Torres and members of the Class of 1972 at Alumnae Day 2012.

Martha Torres ’72 2013

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about that same time, the board of trustees moved to enlarge the Lower School at Westridge by adding a fourth grade on a trial basis. Libby noted that there were mixed views of this among the board of trustees and the fourth grade was added “with some hesitation.” She also noted that the grade combination of four, five and six as a lower school made educational and developmental sense. Libby Edmundson also turned her attention to innovations and expansion of the curriculum. In her first few years as headmistress, the curriculum changed significantly to include further requirements in history, science, foreign language, and art. The total course load for students increased accordingly. In Libby’s own words, “We strengthened our science and math programs, began teaching Algebra I in eighth grade, increased art and music requirements, and added a German course and a religion and ethics requirement. I was very proud of the Westridge faculty and the initiative we all took in several areas, social as well as academic. When students became more restless and questioning, we always tried to respond to their concerns but never to dilute our requirements or to lower our standards.” Even in a challenging time for schools and for young people, Libby Edmundson remained steadfast in her belief that the school was there “for the benefit of the girls.” Libby Edmundson also oversaw many campus additions and improvements. The Greene & Greene-designed Pitcairn House was purchased in 1963. It was rented until 1969 to generate income while money was raised to convert it for school use, which was accomplished in 1970. The “new” Ranney House, designed by Henry L. Eggers and Walter W. Wilkman to house the lower school classes, was completed in 1963. When the new building was constructed, the “old” Ranney House was demolished to make space for a playground for lower school students. In addition, in 1962, the old study hall wing of the Main Building was expanded to become the Joan Irvine Smith ’51 Library. The Gladys Peterson Art Building was completed adjacent to the central

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MAR I ON HU TC H I N S O N TS C H O P I K

In 1964, Libby Edmundson hired Marion Hutchinson Tschopik, not to fill a specific position, but largely because of the person she was. She served as a member of the administrative staff of Westridge School from 1964 to 1991. During that 30-year tenure, she served five heads of school and left an enduring contribution to the fabric of Westridge. Marion was raised in Newton, Massachusetts, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree in anthropology from Radcliffe. When her husband died suddenly, Marion was left to raise her three children. Needing the support of family and friends, she moved from New York to Pasadena to be near her brother and her best friend from childhood, Barbara Morse, who fortuitously worked at Westridge School. The day after Marion arrived in Pasadena, Barbara Morse immediately spoke with Libby Edmundson on

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behalf of her friend and Libby immediately replied, “I am sure we can find something for her to do; why don’t you have her come in to start tomorrow.” This is how Marion began her career as “Mrs. Tschopik of Westridge School.” She started in the mimeograph room sandwiched between the girls’ bathroom and the staircase in the main hall. Marion’s office eventually changed from the mimeograph room to the office next to the head of school. Libby, noting how well Marion wrote and how discreet she was with information, asked her to staff the board as the recording secretary and keeper of the minutes. Marion, from that day on, was known by students, parents, and board members alike as “Mrs. Tschopik,” of uncertain job title but of immense importance to the school. And for nearly 30 years, that is just what she did. She was the first and only archivist in the school’s history. Every June of those 30 years, the girls walked to graduation in long white dresses. The faculty stood in their academic robes. A changing array of board chairs handed out the diplomas. Each year, Mrs. Tschopik stood in the back, arms folded across her chest, a small smile playing on her lips, a twinkle lighting up her eyes, and she knew all was well. Marion Tschopik’s fortuitous hiring by Libby Edmundson led to a three-generation Westridge family, as her daughter Hope Tschopik Schneider ’70 attended Westridge. Hope’s two daughters, Hannah ’03, and Rebecca ’06, are also alumnae.

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Roza Kuppermann Science class 1970 Opening of Gladys Peterson Art Studio 1962

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quadrangle in 1962. In 1966, the school also purchased the Cates property on State Street, and it became known as State House. It was renovated to provide classrooms for art, Latin, and Spanish, and a meeting room for Student Council. In all, Libby Edmundson oversaw a $25 million campaign for campus improvements. Looking back on the campus expansion, she made this observation: “I think of my years as a time of intense long-range planning and fundraising. Most of the changes for which we planned and raised money came to fruition from the mid-’70s to 1980. The Herrick Quadrangle was dedicated as I left Westridge, but the planning for it, and for the overall campus design that exists today, was worked on and worried over for years before then.” When asked to reflect on her most important accomplishments, she answered as we would expect: she began with the students. “Well, it was quite a time…. I’m mostly proud of all the wonderful students with whom I worked over the years. I was one who felt that the protests of the ’60s were understandable and healthy and that the best and the brightest of the students were passionately concerned about real issues. I thought that passion was to be respected. But what all the tumult obscures is that so much of the daily functioning of the school just went on. The school was doing its job. We kept everyone together and worked things out.”

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D R . HOWA R D S . SWA N

Dr. Howard S. Swan, the Glee Club director at Westridge from 1938 to 1968, was one of the most beloved teachers in Westridge history. Dr. Swan was nationally recognized as one of the most distinguished choral directors in the country. In addition to teaching at Westridge, he was Professor of Music at Occidental College for 37 years. He also taught at California State University, Fullerton and at the University of California, Irvine. In May 1995, he was honored by the American Choral Directors Association with the Robert Shaw Choral Award for lifetime achievement. His daughter Katherine was a member of the Westridge Class of 1948. But beyond his musical talent and his force as a conductor, he was a much beloved individual. His early music career included conducting various choral groups, but the focus of his early work was as a gifted vocal soloist. In what must have been a deeply disappointing setback, at the age of 31, he lost his voice completely, ending any possibility of a career as a soloist. His paralyzed vocal chord was partially repaired many years later. When asked by a Los Angeles Times reporter about the effect of this loss on his life and career, Howard Swan said: “There’s a bit of providence in this whole picture. If I had stayed in solo work, I wouldn’t have amounted to very much.” Not only that, but countless young people would have been deprived of the privilege of singing under his enthusiastic, uplifting direction.

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One observation by an Occidental student could easily have been made by hundreds of Westridge alumnae: “Each generation of music students felt Dr. Swan belonged to them. Dr. Swan made music a living thing.” The respect the students had for Dr. Swan was heartfelt and his lessons about doing their best were life lessons. A former Occidental student summed up his enormous influence this way, “We sang and we believed in heaven. We believed in Bach. We believed in each other. And we believed in Howard Swan.” The long, distinctive tradition of choral music that began in 1913 with Margaret Brackenridge and taken to new heights for 30 years by Howard Swan continues to be a hallmark of excellence at Westridge.

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MAR I AN L I P S C H U TZ & R U T H F R E N C H

Marian Lipschutz with students 1968

This remembrance by long-time Westridge teacher of English and Creative Writing, Marian Shaw Lipschutz, of her colleague and friend Ruth French, is emblematic of the faculty community nurtured by Libby Edmundson, Katherine Trower, and Nancy Owen. Early in the 1967-68 school year, Miss Edmundson introduced me to Ruth French and asked me if I would like to team-teach with her as a way of combining English and drama. I hesitated but Miss Edmundson had a habit of putting me on the spot, asking me what I thought of this or that. I couldn’t believe she really wanted my opinion. But there was that woman staring at me, so I said yes. This was indeed the right answer, but much more deeply right than I imagined—both for my students and for me. Ruth French became, and remained until her death in 1986, my closest friend. And many students found in their new drama teacher a friend and confidante. But we made these discoveries gradually as our program developed.

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For intervals of six weeks Mrs. French took over one of my English II sections. Instead of writing essays (this was an immediate hit!) students memorized and performed selections from the poetry, novels, and plays we were reading. Ruth showed me students I had never seen as they performed with passion and insight. I remember Jean Hill ’70, who made so plain her understanding as she delivered Shakespeare’s Sonnet 94, “They that have the power to hurt, and will do none.” These were students in English I had seen as shy girls, quiet girls. It was never exactly team-teaching. Ruth and I talked endlessly about our work, but we never taught side by side or watched each other teach. I regret that now. I wish I had learned Ruth’s secrets. I would like to know better how to get students to empty their minds of just about everything in order to enter and inhabit a play or a novel and, at the same time, to bring to their reading their most profound thoughts and feelings.

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Joan Irvine Smith ’51 Library 1962

Lower school playground 1970s

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LI B BY H E R R I C K It isn’t that I think of her as perfect or without flaws, but the sum of Libby was always positive. Her assessments of people were always realistic, and her responses were always gener-

ous. Women who once were her students tell many stories of encounters with Libby that changed their views of themselves, and hence, their lives.

~ Fran Norris Scoble at Libby Herrick’s Memorial Service

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She also observed the deep effects of the assassinations and violence of the Vietnam War. “The assassinations of those years so shook the school, so struck our sense of stability. When President Kennedy was shot, like everyone else, we went into shock. There was talk of closing school for the day, but instead we had an all-school assembly. How a school responds to crisis was one of the things we learned in the ’60s.” Elizabeth Edmundson left a deep imprint on the culture of Westridge with her humanism, her inclusive vision, and her wry Yankee humor. She often expressed gratitude that she had been well-mentored and encouraged by Gladys Peterson. Taken together, the two women presided over 21 years of dramatic campus development and expansion as well as the creation and implementation of a progressive curriculum that kept Westridge true to its founding values and relevant to the times. In 1970, Elizabeth Edmundson married John L. Herrick, a long-time Westridge supporter whose deceased wife, Grace Harris Herrick ’32, had been an alumna of the school. Friends for a long time, Libby and Jack married and so began a new chapter in her life. She resigned as headmistress in 1973. She later served as president of Pacific Oaks College from 1977 to 1985, and was a member of the Scripps College Board of Trustees. From 1991 until 2001, she returned to Westridge to serve on the board of trustees, where her wisdom, perspective, and educational commitments made an important contribution. Her husband, Jack, died in 2001, and soon after, Libby’s own health began to decline. She died peacefully at her home in July 2003. During her tenure as headmistress, both she and the school were nationally recognized for educational leadership and excellence. Her memorial service was held on the lawn of Pitcairn House and was attended by many alumnae and friends who held Libby Edmundson Herrick in high esteem and deep affection. Libby once told this story, as is sometimes said, on herself. In her oral history narrative she recalled a couple of seventh graders who were unabashedly staring into her office shortly after she became headmistress, trying to size up this new headmistress. Her secretary overheard one say to the other: “Well, that’s good. She looks like she’ll last for a long time.” Who knows what particular quality that young girl noticed, but her words were prophetic beyond anything she could have intended. Indeed, Libby will last for a long time.

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Chapter Five

Building on the Past and Looking to the Future

Katherine Trower Schwarzenbach 1973–1977 In many ways, the tenures of Gladys Peterson and Libby Herrick represent a continuum of growth and change with differences of leadership style, but with a coherent philosophy and strategic vision for the school. When Katherine Trower was recruited to become the sixth headmistress of Westridge in 1973, she herself observed that she presided over a “transitional period.” Katherine Trower graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Before becoming the headmistress, she had been an assistant professor of English literature at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

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Andrea Eldred ’81 1972

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The early ’70s continued to be a period of turmoil in educational institutions across the country as students protested the war in Vietnam. That spirit of protest caused students to rebel against the status quo and the sources of authority in schools. While Westridge was not a hot-bed of protest, there was a strong student impulse to challenge the culture of the school. The board of trustees that had just attracted a new headmistress from a college faculty position knew that she would be following a successful, visionary, and much-beloved headmistress. To support the success of the new headmistress, the board reaffirmed its strong commitment to the continued vitality and forward-thinking leadership of the school. Specifically, the board wanted to continue the balance at Westridge between high academic standards and humanistic support for students, as well as the fulfillment of a campus master plan. Katherine Trower readily admitted her lack of administrative experience as she accepted the responsibility for leading Westridge. “Although I was an English teacher on the university level, I was really very green, without administrative experience. I was also young, with two small children and lots of energy. Everyone was forgiving of my blunders and helpful about things like explaining that I was expected to have an agenda for meetings.” An important strength that Katherine brought to her role as headmistress was an openness to student opinions and a focus on the student experience at a time when student values were shifting and responsive leadership was needed. The administrative staff at Westridge was very lean at the time. One person was in charge of admissions, testing, and college counseling. Katherine Trower hired the first full-time college counselor, Sandy Padgett. She also added staff to the development office and appointed Nancy Owen, a member of the faculty, as development director. Up to that time, the work of fund-raising and development had been done by volunteers, both parents and trustees, and as a part-time responsibility for the business manager. Or, as music teacher Anna Pechanec ’65 observed at Nancy Owen’s retirement celebration, “Before this, fundraising, endowment, building, and scholarship aid had been a rather subdued, genteel affair.” The addition of these new administrative positions was the beginning of creating a more professional organization at Westridge—a necessary step to support the school’s growth, both in size and complexity.

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Sandra Padgett, College Counseling and Admissions, early 1980s

Juanita Jimenez, Ceramics, Lonnee Hamilton â&#x20AC;&#x2122;80 1970s

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Katherine Trower also continued the tradition that headmistresses of Westridge always taught classes. She noted: “I usually led the senior seminar on philosophy and religion or contemporary concerns. One year I taught all of the junior English classes!” Along with her focus on students and student life, Katherine also addressed the quality of the faculty. Under her leadership and with the support of the board of trustees, the school implemented a salary schedule to make teachers’ compensation more equitable and consistent, in place of the previous arrangement of individually negotiated salaries. In 1969, the board of trustees engaged Roland Coate Jr., a noted architect, to develop a new master plan for the Westridge campus. This decision was preceded by a vigorous debate within the board of trustees over two very different approaches to the development of the school’s facilities, and, indeed to the very direction of the school itself. The debate was prompted by a need for a regulation gymnasium, new art facilities, and a new science building. One faction of the board favored the repurposing of existing houses and facilities to avoid the expense of new construction and the fees for the services of one of Southern California’s leading architects. The other group made the case that if Westridge aspired to be a leading educational institution, then it must have first-rate facilities and preserve its founding tradition of a campus that exemplified architectural excellence. Fortunately, that view carried the day, and Whitney Smith, also a leading architect in Southern California, was engaged to design new buildings to fulfill the campus plan created by Roland Coate Jr. The board launched the “7th Decade Campaign” that successfully raised funds to build what became the Seeley G. Mudd Building and the Laurie ’68 and Susie ’71 Frank Ceramics Studio, named for the daughters of Richard N. Frank, completed in 1978. The board then began to raise funds for a new gymnasium. In 1972, the City of Pasadena installed a traffic light at the corner of Madeline Drive and Orange Grove Boulevard. But to the east of Westridge, there were larger trafficrelated concerns. In 1964, Caltrans had announced a new right-of-way plan for the extension of the 710 Freeway from Long Beach that would connect on the north with the 210 Freeway. The frontage road for the proposed freeway would cut off a narrow slice of the Westridge campus on the east property line. Westridge trustees gathered signatures from neighbors to support closing off Madeline Drive and creating a cul-de-sac on both the east and west side of the Westridge property. The city acted quickly to grant the request, and Westridge used the newly-available land to create an extended athletic field and tennis courts. Since the earliest plans for freeway extension, the Westridge board has remained vigilant and protective of the eastern boundary of the Westridge campus against any plans that might degrade the campus.

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TITLE IX Title IX was passed by Congress in 1972. The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Birch Bayh, who said this: “While the impact of this amendment would be far-reaching, it is not a panacea. It is, however, an important first step in the effort to provide for the women of America something that is rightfully theirs—an equal chance to attend the schools of their choice, to develop the skills they want, and to apply those skills with the knowledge that they will have a fair chance to secure the jobs of their choice with equal pay for equal work.” Title IX became law on June 23, 1972. While Title IX’s most dramatic impact may have been on high school and college athletics programs for women, the bill itself does not mention athletics but focuses on equality of opportunity.

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With the success of the 7th Decade capital campaign, the footprint of the modern Westridge campus began to take shape. Pitcairn House was remodeled to accommodate music and photography classes. The central Herrick Quadrangle, named for Libby Herrick when she retired, was now surrounded on three sides by handsome classroom buildings. As Katherine Trower observed, “The board’s wisdom and foresight in planning the Westridge campus as an artistic whole became obvious as we watched the new Westridge take shape. It was exciting!” In 1978, one major component of the master plan remained to be completed: a new gymnasium. The oversight and fundraising for this project fell to the leadership of Nancy Owen as director of development. Following the resignation of Katherine Trower in 1977, the board of trustees, realizing that the school was still in the midst of a building campaign, sought the continuity of fundraising that Nancy Owen provided and appointed her interim headmistress.

Nancy Hughes Owen 1977–1986 Nancy Owen was headmistress from 1977 to 1986; before that she taught and held various administrative positions, totaling 19 years of service to Westridge, 9 as headmistress. Nancy Owen had come to Westridge as an English teacher in 1967 and established a strong reputation as a teacher with high standards, a passion for her subject, and a dry sense of humor. In 1974, she took on the role of development director and con-

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Herrick Quadrangle 1980

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tinued to teach part-time. In her capacity as development director with the help of dedicated volunteers, she successfully guided the 7th Decade Campaign. Nancy Owen was appointed headmistress in the spring of 1977. As she reflected on her tenure as headmistress, Nancy Owen made it clear that she saw herself as part of a continuum and a tradition of leadership. She set a priority on championing the importance of college preparatory education for girls and the preservation of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high academic standards. She also valued the historic focus on the sense of community and a supportive environment. As a result, the years of Nancy Owenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership were years of building on the historic strengths of Westridge. She also took justifiable pride in the accomplishments of the successful 7th Decade Campaign. With the completion of the Hoffman Gymnasium in 1980, the plan of a central quadrangle surrounded by campus buildings was realized. The new gymnasium had an immediate positive effect on student enthusiasm for the athletic program. Nancy Owen and the board of trustees then turned their fundraising efforts to increasing endowment to ensure the future financial security of the school. With increased focus on fundraising and the challenges of moving the school forward academically, Nancy Owen made changes to the administrative structure by appointing an associate headmaster. The first person to hold that position was David

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Forbes, who was hired to serve as upper school director and to oversee the academic program. Forbes was later succeeded by Charles Ott, who was designated “an honorary member of the Class of 1983” in the Inlook. In addition, Nancy Owen appointed a full-time college counselor and separated that function from the admissions office. The development staff was increased to maintain the momentum of the endowment campaign and to increase annual giving. Even with these staffing increases, Nancy Owen herself remained directly involved in the management of the budget and fundraising. During the late ’70s and early ’80s, enrollment continued to be robust. The 1986 edition of Surgere noted that enrollment had remained steady at around 325 for several years, but that year enrollment increased to 360 students. As the number of applications for admission grew, admissions became more selective. The percentage of non-white students doubled during the early ’80s. An interesting corollary to these changes was a broadening of religious diversity among the student body. During Nancy Owen’s tenure, student financial aid increased by over 20 percent. Trustees were deeply committed to providing financial aid and worked hard to make additional funds available to support socio-economic diversity. The tradition of providing financial support was begun by Mary Ranney in 1937 with a financial award to one student each year. It is a tribute to decades of board commitment and administrative leadership that many new endowments to fund tuition support were created over the years and that commitment remains strong today. Awards for tuition support now exceed $2 million each year. Throughout her headship, Nancy Owen maintained close relationships with faculty who had been her colleagues when she first arrived at Westridge. She valued the independence of classroom teachers and the tradition of academic freedom. As she said, “I sought to have a blend of experienced and beginning teachers, hiring the experienced when academic good sense required it and beginners when opportunity existed to help newcomers to the profession.” Significantly, Nancy Owen worked closely with the board of trustees to improve faculty salaries and benefits. A sabbatical program for faculty was implemented and the school initiated a program of contributing to faculty retirement funds. The Westridge curriculum has always been both broad and deep. Girls’ schools were traditionally strong in the humanities, social sciences, and arts; in the post-war era, such schools realized with new urgency that they needed to be equally strong in math, science, and computer science. Westridge, with its already impressive math and science departments, added an excellent and fully equipped computer science department in 1984-1985, with the support of a grant from the Keck Foundation.

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Martin Kaplan Spanish 1990

Early technology Klara Vogel Koetters â&#x20AC;&#x2122;86 1980s

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Asked to reflect on her accomplishments as headmistress, Nancy Owen said this in her final report to the board of trustees in June 1986: “I have gained much from Westridge: association with interesting and intelligent adults, a love of children, great responsibility, and enormous challenge…. I have experienced enormous personal growth, 25 pounds to be exact. I can only hope that retirement will remove that final burden.” When Nancy Owen retired in 1986, she had been responsible for over a decade of progress and significant change at Westridge. At her retirement, she observed, “I know of few other schools where the development of the rational intellect, the development of the creative talent, the development of taste, and the development of the physical person are more happily and kindly combined.”

Elsa M. Bowman 1986–1990 In 1986, the board of trustees appointed Elsa M. Bowman as the eighth headmistress of Westridge School. Midge Bowman’s academic background was in music and music education. After an extended tenure at the Bush School in Seattle, she moved to Los Angeles with her husband and took a position as Director of the Upper School at Oakwood School in North Hollywood. Both the Bush School and Oakwood were guided by a progressive educational philosophy, and Midge brought that perspective to her work as headmistress of Westridge. Midge said that before she took the job at Westridge, the headmaster at the Bush School told her she should accept the position, saying, “…that’s your kind of school.” In the late ’80s, there were several rigorous academic research studies underway to evaluate gender bias in schools. The studies showed that unconscious gender bias in coed classrooms put girls at a disadvantage. Early studies by Carol Gilligan and by Myra and David Sadker created new awareness of the impact on girls of classroom bias. A study published in 1992 by the American Association of University Women became a call to action for schools and teachers to evaluate unconscious gender bias in their classrooms. The study also provided research-based support for a long-held belief that girls receive significant advantages when educated in an all-girls setting. Midge Bowman became a passionate and articulate advocate for the particular benefits of an all-girls school. As she noted, “One thing is certain: there is no longer any doubt about the tremendous advantage of single-sex education for girls and young women. Westridge has an important role to play.” And she added this prescient observation: “When we celebrate our 100th year, I know we will look back with pride on

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what we have accomplished.” She also noted, “Recent research has shown that graduates of women’s schools and colleges are two to three times more likely to assume positions of leadership than are their coed counterparts. Certainly, Westridge alumnae are living proof of that point.” Midge encouraged the inclusion of women’s studies in the history curriculum. In addition, she introduced an exchange program with other girls’ schools throughout the United States. She built on Nancy Owen’s initiatives to increase the use of computers as tools of learning and communication. Both women anticipated the increasing impact of technology on schools and viewed competence with the tools of technology as an important component of a Westridge education. Midge also believed in the importance of expanding the parameters of a Westridge education beyond the physical campus. She and the administration strengthened the community service programs and arranged internships for senior projects.

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Vendula Vogel Mathematics 1980s

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Midge Bowman initiated two very important traditions for Westridge. She presided over the first formal Grandparents Day, when grandparents come to campus to visit their granddaughters and see them in their classrooms. That tradition has grown over the years to a participation of over 300 grandparents and friends every year. She also initiated the Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award. The first recipients chosen by the Alumnae Association were Margaret Brackenridge Jones ’21 and Marian Brackenridge ’21, two of the original students who enrolled in Westridge. Their mother, Margaret Brackenridge, was one of the parents who urged Mary Ranney to start the school and who, along with other parents, provided financial support through the early years. Following Midge Bowman’s resignation in 1989, the board of trustees formed a search committee co-chaired by Tempe Brooks and Dorothy Hughes Matthiessen ’52 to conduct a national search for the next head of Westridge School. In the spring of 1990, the board of trustees announced the appointment of Fran Norris Scoble as the ninth headmistress of Westridge School.

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Midge Bowman and Maha Youness ’88

Margaret Brackenridge Jones ’21, Midge Bowman, Marian Brackenridge ’21 1988

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T HE AR CHI T E CT U R E O F WEST R I DGE

Pitcairn House, designed by Charles and Henry Greene 1906

The Westridge campus is distinguished by its welcoming beauty and its unusually rich architectural heritage. The school’s original architecture dates back almost to the turn of the 20th century, and its most current construction includes a state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable facility. The school’s elegant structures are inseparable from its identity. The oldest building on the Westridge campus was designed in 1906 by Charles and Henry Greene as a private residence for Robert Pitcairn. Pitcairn House was first used by Westridge as the Fine Arts Building, but now houses offices for advancement, alumnae, communications, and business. Pasadena’s most famous architects, the Greene brothers have garnered international

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recognition for their unique contributions to the Arts and Crafts Movement and the development of the California Bungalow style. Pitcairn House exhibits many features common to other Greene & Greene designs, such as stained shingle exterior, massive exposed beams, cantilevered sleeping porches, and broad terraces which integrate the house with the site. A special connection exists between Westridge founder Mary L. Ranney and Charles and Henry Greene. Records indicate that Ranney worked as a designer, or more probably a draftsman, for the architects. Randell Makinson’s book Greene & Greene: Architecture as a Fine Art indicates Mary L. Ranney created the first design for her own home at 440 Arroyo Terrace. Following

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THE A RCHITECTU RE OF WESTRIDGE

Braun Music Center, designed by Frederick L. Roehrig 1909

the construction of her house, Mary Ranney was given the opportunity to design a bunkhouse for the Charles Leffingwell ranch in Whittier, California. In a break with their tradition, the Greenes permitted Mary L. Ranney’s name to appear on the drawings as the designer, which was unprecedented. It is interesting to note that Mr. Leffingwell’s daughter, Marion Leffingwell Sanford ’22, was to be among the first group of Miss Ranney’s students at Westridge. In 1973, Westridge School retained the architect Roland E. Coate Jr. to refurbish Pitcairn House and adapt it for school uses. Coate performed a particularly sensitive remodeling, all done with care to retain the original features and finishes conceived by the Greenes. A

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complete refurbishment and restoration of the upstairs interior walls was completed in 2000 by Pica + Sullivan Architects. Braun Music Center (originally known as the “Old Gym” and later as the Performing Arts Center) was designed by Frederick L. Roehrig as a private gymnasium and theater for the Arthur H. Fleming family in 1909. Roehrig designed Victorian and Shingle style houses, as well as Craftsman bungalows and also a rare Prairie style house. A north wing was added to the Braun Music Center in 1932 by Bennett and Haskell, a Pasadena firm that played an important role in Pasadena in the 1920s. Bennett and Haskell made numerous contributions to Pasadena’s

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T HE AR CHI T E CT U R E O F WEST R I DGE

cityscape with their civic and commercial buildings, including the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Green Street and the First Trust Bank at Colorado and Madison. In 1958, Henry Dreyfuss designed a larger and more functional stage for the Braun Music Center, which now serves the instrumental music and choral programs. Dreyfuss was an internationally known industrial designer who was responsible for the design of a wide range of furniture, trains, planes, and mechanical products and probably best known for his design of telephones and related equipment. The Main Building, a Tudor Revival structure (1923), is the work of another major Pasadena firm, Marston, Van Pelt and Maybury. The building houses the Sarah and Molly Burgess Exhibition Gallery, James F. Rothenberg Technology Center, classrooms, and upper school administrative offices. Marston was trained at Pomona College and Cornell University and began practicing in Pasadena in 1908. Although the firm’s earliest designs were in Craftsman mode, it is principally known for its Revival designs of the 1920s, including the Grace Nicholson Building (now Pacific Asia Museum). Adjacent to the Main Building on the west, the Gertrude Hall Building, housing classrooms and a small auditorium, was designed by George Vernon Russell in 1955 to relate to the older buildings on campus. The steeply pitched gable roofs, stucco walls, and exterior wood trim refer to the Tudor Revival style of the Main Building, while the large expanses of glass opening onto the two interior courts reflect contemporary design. In 1962, a major addition to the Westridge campus was realized with the completion of the library (now the Joan Irvine Smith ’51 Academic Resource Center), the Gladys Peterson Art Building, and Ranney House, used for lower school classrooms and faculty offices. These buildings were the designs of Henry L. Eggers and Walter W. Wilkman. The use of outdoor covered walkways and

Main Building, designed by Marston, Van Pelt, Maybury West view of the Joan Irvine Smith ’51 Academic Resource Center, designed by Henry L. Eggers and Walter Wilkman 1962

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THE A RCHITECTU RE OF WESTRIDGE Joan Irvine Smith ’51 Academic Resource Center

Eggers and Wilkman Master Plot Plan

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T HE AR CHI T E CT U R E O F WEST R I DGE Laurie ’68 and Susan ’71 Frank Art Studio designed by Whitney R. Smith 1978

below: Hoffman Gymnasium, designed by Whitney R. Smith 1980 right: English Classroom Building, Pica + Sullivan Architects 2000

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THE A RCHITECTU RE OF WESTRIDGE balconies for pedestrian circulation (in place of interior corridors) is an excellent example of the “California Style” school developed by this firm and others. The Seeley G. Mudd Building (1978), the Laurie ’68 and Susan ’71 Frank Art Studio (1978), and the Hoffman Gymnasium (1980), were designed by Whitney R. Smith. Smith’s concept was to place the new buildings so that their principal exposure would be inward, toward a courtyard, forming the present Herrick Quadrangle, creating an “outdoor room” and a primary focus for the campus. The materials used are shingles and brick, which respect and recall the adjacent Pitcairn House designed by Greene & Greene more than 70 years earlier.

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Between 1997 and 2010, Westridge embarked on a building program to enable the campus to better serve the needs of Westridge students and the space demands of an expanded, modern curriculum. These structures were designed by Pica + Sullivan Architects, a firm that specializes in master planning for schools and other non-profit organizations. In 1997, Pica + Sullivan designed the Marjorie May Braun ’36 Science Building and the Karsh Family Science Garden, which contain science classrooms and outdoor study spaces specifically designed for lower and middle school students.

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T HE AR CHI T E CT U R E O F W EST R I DGE

Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, Pica + Sullivan, Architects 2005

In April 2000, Westridge dedicated the Anne F. & James F. Rothenberg Humanities Center on the north end of the campus. The three-building complex, also designed by Pica + Sullivan, contains humanities classrooms and faculty offices, upper school art studios, a photography lab, art and photography exhibition space, the school’s largest technology center, and the Elizabeth Edmundson Herrick Commons dining room. In 2004, Westridge unified the north and south campuses with the creation of Madeline Court, a beautiful allée under spreading camphor trees. In 2005, the addition of the Rokus Athletic Complex included an expanded Richard N. Frank field, a dance studio, and the Studenmund Family Weight Training Room. Also in 2005, the Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, designed by Pica + Sullivan, opened as a state-ofthe-art teaching theater with a 600-seat auditorium, the

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Wagener Black Box Theater, outdoor Seiter Family Amphitheater, and rooms for rehearsal, dressing, props, stagecraft, costuming, and theater technology. In 2010, again in partnership with Pica + Sullivan, Westridge completed construction of the first Platinum LEED-certified, environmentally sustainable facility on campus. The Science & Mathematics Building, encompassing approximately 14,000 square feet on two levels, houses math and science classrooms, extensive laboratory spaces, and faculty offices, as well as indoor and outdoor spaces for students and faculty to meet and study. A teaching tool in itself, “green” technology and hands-on experimentation and observation areas are central features of the facility where girls will do science, not just study it.

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THE A RCHITECTU RE OF WESTRIDGE Science & Mathematics Building, Pica + Sullivan Architects 2010

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Chapter Six A Legacy of Leadership Fran Norris Scoble 1990–2008

Fran Norris Scoble Installation, with retired headmistress Libby Herrick, and Jim Rothenberg, board chair 1990

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On October 14, 1990, in her remarks at her installation, Fran Scoble said this: “Good leadership and good teaching have a fundamental quality in common: they are both transforming acts best practiced by those who understand their work to be grounded in truth, example, and the responsibility for those they lead and those they teach.” The statement was a response to a specific charge from the board of trustees to lead and manage the school with purpose and vision grounded in a clear educational philosophy with high standards for teaching and learning. Fran Scoble was the director of the Upper School at Colorado Academy in Denver, Colorado, prior to her appointment as the ninth head of Westridge School. She had also been a member of the founding faculty of The Urban School of San Francisco and had taught English, history, and philosophy in both public and private schools. While at Colorado Academy, a co-educational school, she and several colleagues in Denver had become interested in the research about optimal learning environments for girls. The timing of the opportunity to lead Westridge represented an extension of work Fran had already begun. The early ’90s saw the school grow in many ways. Enrollment increased, annual giving increased, facilities and equipment improved, and new administrative structures created greater efficiencies. One early innovation from Fran Scoble was the creation of The Primer, a monthly publication that provided current information about school events and programs as well as an essay by the head of school that reflected a philosophical perspective on the daily life of the school. The purpose

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“J.P.”, subject of many of Fran Scoble’s Convocation speeches

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of The Primer was two-fold: to inform and inspire, and to unify the school community around shared values. There were other, more mundane changes, as well. Fran Scoble declared Westridge to be a “non-smoking campus,” meaning that neither employees nor visitors could smoke on campus. (This was met with great relief by non-smokers but with less enthusiasm by those who smoked.) A second change that may have been more significant than was recognized at the time was the shift in title from “headmistress” to “head of school.” The traditional all-school Convocation was an opportunity for the new head of school to speak directly to the students from grades four through 12 about making the most of the year ahead. Each of the 18 years that Fran spoke at Convocation, she used her dogs and cats, starting with J.P., a Yorkshire terrier, who had a philosophical view of life, and later including the Persian cat Arlo, as the “subject” of her talks. By telling stories about her pets, she engaged everyone from nine-year-olds to adults to think about doing their best, about the importance of kindness and friendship, and about the values of an exceptional school. While the style may have been more than decades removed from Mary Lowther Ranney’s morning homilies, there was a kinship of purpose! The early years of the ’90s saw dramatic improvement in the school’s vitality and health. Admissions remained robust, college application results were strong, and fundraising was gathering momentum. In 1995, a major renovation of the Main Building was completed that created the James F. Rothenberg Technology Center and new, more spacious office spaces for administration. The development office moved to Pitcairn House. The first Summer Opportunities Fair was held in 1992. A major project of the Westridge Parent Association, it was an oppor-

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James F. Rothenberg Technology Center 1995

tunity for organizations and vendors that offer summer activities and programs for young people to showcase information about themselves. It began as a small, local program and is now nationally recognized. Open to all residents of Pasadena and surrounding communities, it has grown over the years to include over 100 exhibitor booths and many additional exhibitors in the Resource Center. There are areas dedicated to food and entertainment, and the fair attracts over 2,500 visitors to the Westridge campus in the course of one day. Each year, the Westridge Parent Association donates money earned by the fair to Westridge and to the Skills Enrichment

Convocation, Fran Scoble with Kelly Brereton ’92, Melissa Tyson ’92, Marianna Pisano ’92, Sarah Ahmed ’92 (left to right) 1992

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Program, a summer-school program that serves more than 300 students from Pasadena public schools. In collaboration with Polytechnic School, Chandler School, and Mayfield Junior School, Westridge hosts over 50 girls from Pasadena Unified School District on the Westridge campus each summer. The students are identified by their teachers, selected by their principals, and attend classes on each of the four independent school campuses. Students pay no tuition; the program is funded by money raised by the participating schools. In 1992, riots in South Central Los Angeles erupted in protest against the verdict in the trial that exonerated law enforcement officers in the beating of Rodney King. As clouds of smoke hung over the city, rumors were rampant in Pasadena and among Westridge parents, many of whom did not want to send their daughters to school. After consulting with administrators and trustees, Fran Scoble decided to keep the Summer Opportunities Fair 1992

school open and to proceed with the scheduled Grandparentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day. Despite the rumors and tense atmosphere, 75 percent of the grandparents who had planned to attend were present. A very successful program that has become a much-beloved tradition is the Yam Festival. The festival was the idea of the Families of Black Students at Westridge, in 1998. The purpose of the festival is to educate students and the community about the universal importance of yams as a dietary element in cultures around the world.

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Yam Festival 2010

Families bring favorite family yam dishes, and students who might otherwise never eat yams, race from their classes to be the first to have yam fries, yam latkes, and, of course, yams with marshmallows! In the mid-’90s there were increasing tensions between the head of school and some members of the faculty who perceived that the growing focus on a strong administration pre-empted traditional faculty prerogatives for making decisions about curriculum and policy. In January 1994, a group of teachers, unhappy and frustrated with what they viewed as diminishment of faculty decision-making authority, initiated the process to form a teachers’ union at Westridge that would be affiliated with the California Teachers’ Association. The board of trustees and the school’s administration opposed the idea of the union, and the campaign on both sides of that issue resulted in divisions, not just between faculty and administration, but also among parents, alumnae, and students. This was a painful period for the Westridge community and threatened to cause irrevocable damage to the school and to many relationships within the community. Fortunately, the board of trustees took strong, decisive steps to enable people on both sides to find a way to work together. A union was formed and, after a year and a half of negotiations, the school and union agreed to a contract. The contract preserved the decision and policy-making rights that the school deemed essential and also created structures and procedures that guaranteed forums for faculty concerns to be heard and for grievances to be fairly resolved. Led by trustees Jim Rothenberg, George Benter, and Rick Jones, Westridge was well-served by a board of trustees that acted in ways that were both courageous and wise.

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View of the North Campus: Anne F. & James F. Rothenberg Humanities Center, 2000; Elizabeth Edmundson Herrick Dining Commons, 2000; Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, 2005; Ayrshire Courtyard, 2005; Madeline Court, 2005

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In 1990, the lower and middle school students were attending science classes just twice a week in Mudd Science Building. In 1993, a full-time experiential science program was implemented for both lower and middle school students. Responding to the success of this new program, the school built a new science building in 1998—the first new building to be constructed on the Westridge campus in almost 20 years. Named the Marjorie May Braun ’36 Science Building, it provided equipment and facilities to strengthen both lower and middle school programs and included the Karsh Family Science Garden, an outdoor classroom for the study of the botany and ecology of California. The building is adjacent to Ranney House and provides two state-of-theart science labs. As part of the fundraising success, in 1993 the school received its first ever $1 million gift from an alumna. The gift to endowment came from the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation, whose board was chaired by Audrey Steele Burnand ’40. Between 1990 and 2008, the school’s endowment grew from $2.66 million to $18 million. Growth of the endowment allowed the school to increase funds for professional development, for faculty travel, and for continuing education to encourage creativity and professional renewal. In the mid-’90s, two key properties on the north side of Madeline Drive became available for purchase. The addition of these two properties enabled the school to develop a new master plan with the City of Pasadena. In the span of a few years, the campus went from 6.5 acres to 9.5 acres, with space for new classroom buildings, an expanded athletic field, and the opportunity to create a pedestrian “Madeline Court” on what had been Madeline Drive. The North Campus expansion, including the Anne F. & James F. Rothenberg Humanities Center as well as the Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, were funded in large measure by a series of unprecedented generous gifts by Anne and Jim Rothenberg. Jim Rothenberg served as chair of the board for five years, from 1991 to 1996, and is now a life trustee. His generosity resulted in the most significant campus expansion in 25 years. The expansion and construction took place in two phases, from 1998 to 2005. Phase I saw the development of the North Campus, featuring the Rothenberg Humanities Center, which houses classrooms, faculty offices, a photography lab, the Karsh Technology Center, the Community Room, and the spacious Elizabeth Edmundson Herrick Commons that also serves as a space for large meetings. At the same time, a visual arts building that contains two art studios and faculty offices was built adjacent to the humanities building. In addition, the Tudor-style house at 327 Madeline Drive was remodeled and expanded to house the admissions office, the office of the head of school, a faculty office, and three classrooms for upper school English.

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Plate to memorialize the time when lower school girls had to ask permission to cross Madeline Drive

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With Phase II, the North Campus development was complete. In addition to the construction of the Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s athletic facilities were enhanced with the completion of the Rokus Athletic Complex, comprising a dance studio, the Studenmund Family weight training room, and the expanded Richard N. Frank Athletic Field, providing a regulation soccer field for the first time in the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. The new performing arts center allowed for a remodeling of the Braun Music center to include dedicated rehearsal spaces for both choral and instrumental music with the Howard S. Swan choral hall and the Margaret Brackenridge music room. With the addition of these spaces, both athletics and music programs were served by first-rate facilities. The new performing arts center opened in October 2005 with a gala evening, complete with searchlights scanning the sky, that included a production written by theater director Tim Wright called A Dream Come True. Westridge alumnae who had starred in musical productions in earlier years returned to reprise their roles. The first musical performed in the new theater was Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim. Even as these major improvements were completed, the school was developing plans for a property at the northwest corner of the campus that was a bequest made

Richard N. Frank Field 2005

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Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center 2005

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in 1974 by Clough Steele, a Caltech professor and friend of the school. The bequest remained in trust as part of his estate until 2003 when, upon the death of his widow, the title to the property was transferred to Westridge. The board of trustees saw the opportunity to create a state-of-the-art science building on that site that would expand the possibilities for the upper school science program and also be the first Platinum LEED-certified, environmentally sustainable building constructed by Westridge, as well as the first in the City of Pasadena. The new science building was completed in 2010, and at the same time, the Mudd Science Building was renovated for additional middle school classrooms.

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T I MES OF S O R R OW

Over time, it is inevitable that the head will have to provide moral and emotional support when tragedy and loss unexpectedly shake the community. The sudden loss of Mary Ranney in 1939 was a blow to the new board of trustees and to the students. Libby Herrick’s description of the impact of three terrible assassinations in the 1960s brings home the importance of the community of the school at such times. During Fran Scoble’s headship there were three such events. In the early ’90s, smoke from the riots in Los Angeles hung over Pasadena. Parents wanted the school to close for the safety of the students, but the administration made the decision to keep school in session for exactly the reason Libby Herrick had done so 30 years earlier: students draw solace from their routine, their friends, and the sense that there can be a normal day in the midst of upheaval. On two other occasions, the community grieved over outside events. In 1999, the Columbine massacre in Denver hit

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the students and faculty with particular force because it was an assault that happened within a school. The opportunity to gather as a community came in conjunction with that year’s Ring Ceremony—a poignant juxtaposition of innocence with senseless destruction. Perhaps the most difficult of such events was September 11, 2001. Less than one week after a Convocation that launched the year with joy and optimism, the world was turned upside down. As the community gathered, Fran Scoble offered these words of reassurance and comfort: “At the same moment we are driven to despair that such heinous things could happen, we gain hope and renewal from the courage and spirit of good people who quietly begin repairing and healing the damage and the pain. The greatest difference we can make in this world is to stand with the healers and with those who turn to the light.”

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Mandarin comes to Westridge 2008

During the 18 years of Fran Scoble’s leadership, enrollment increased from 350 to 510 students, and fourth-grade enrollment doubled. Additional choral music ensembles were offered to accommodate a range of musical backgrounds and skills. The instrumental music program improved in quality and increased in participation. A full sequence of Spanish language instruction was introduced in Lower School, allowing students in Middle School to begin at a more advanced level. Mandarin Chinese was added as a foreign language option in 2008. A four-through-twelve technology program was developed to ensure proficiency for every student, and a one-to-one ratio of students to computers was achieved, with over 500 computers available on campus for student use. Human-development courses were added to the lower, middle, and upper divisions to address developmental and emotional issues. An ethics course was added to the upper school curriculum. Golf, lacrosse, yoga, and water polo were added to the athletic program. The season for the theater program was expanded from two productions a year to six, including a musical. An after-school program for lower school students was added at no charge to parents. The entire curriculum became more multicultural. Westridge used the NAIS Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism to develop new strategies for community building. By the 2008-2009 school year, the school’s commitment to diversity was supported by $2 million designated for financial aid. The Adelaide and Alexander Hixon Endowment for Lower School Diversity and the Adelaide and Alexander Hixon Endowment for Multicultural Education have contributed significant financial support for maintaining a diverse student body. Under the leadership of assistant head for academic affairs, Rosemary Evans ’71, a major revision of the daily schedule for the Upper School was implemented in 2006.

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The schedule created longer blocks of time for classes with fewer class blocks each day, providing the opportunity for greater depth of exploration in each class and also allowing for a reduction of daily homework requirements. When asked to name her most important contribution to Westridge, Fran Scoble said, “I think the most important thing was creating the Centennial Vision. It was the culmination of 18 years of creating a genuinely student-centered culture. One of the most important words in that vision statement is the word ‘goodness.’ Others and I believed it to be the foundational quality of every remarkable school and it is the quality that gives human and humane significance to the concept of ‘excellence.’ It enriches our motto, ‘We strive to rise.’ The students and their experience are what everything is ultimately about: first, last, and foremost, it’s about the students. ” After working closely with the board of trustees to plan an orderly transition for the school community, Fran Scoble announced her intention to retire from Westridge in June of 2008. The chair of the board, Richard Patterson, announced the appointment of Rosemary Evans ’71, assistant head for academic affairs, as interim head of school for the 2008–2009 academic year to allow ample time for the board to conduct a national search for a successor.

Fran Norris Scoble retirement, with Richard H. Patterson, Jr., board chair; Rosemary C. Evans, assistant head for academic affairs; David G. Mgrublian, trustee 2008

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C ENT ENNI A L V I S I ON The Right Kind of Excellence

Statement of Purpose The fundamental purpose of Westridge School is to develop in girls their intellectual and creative powers and their unique qualities as individuals. Essential to the school’s purpose is the commitment to be a community that reflects and values diversity, respects individual differences, and responds to a changing, dynamic world. An intellectually engaging and challenging curriculum prepares students to continue their education in college and beyond as discerning, motivated learners who are committed to excellence and goodness in everything they do. Westridge strives to develop young women whose joy in learning, personal ideals, commitment to ethical action, social and environmental responsibility, courage and compassion will lead them to meaningful lives as contributing citizens of the larger world.

Fundamental Principles A tradition of educational excellence for girls. • Westridge will continue its commitment to provide the best possible educational experience for girls who are college-bound. • Westridge intends to maintain a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. A legacy of leadership and service. • As the lives of women have changed dramatically through the twentieth century, Westridge has continued to prepare students to help shape their world and to make a difference to those around them. This legacy of leadership will continue as Westridge prepares future generations to engage in an increasingly complex world. • Westridge instills in its students a commitment to stewardship of the natural world and compassionate engagement with the human community.

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Excellence and goodness in every part of the program. • Westridge was founded on the principle that an informed life is a richer life, and this principle motivates all decisions about the school’s expectations, standards, and requirements. • Every part of the program embodies the qualities of excellence as the school expects the best of itself and its students, and goodness as the school offers myriad opportunities for intellectual, social, physical, ethical and emotional growth. The program. • There is more to understanding what it means to take one’s place in the world today than when Mary Lowther Ranney first opened the school’s doors in 1913. Therefore, in addition to areas considered to be traditionally academic for college-bound students, the school offers excellent programs in the following areas: • Understanding and stewardship of the natural world • Physical, emotional and spiritual health • Understanding human communities and global realities • Commitment to ethical action and social responsibility The campus. • The aesthetic and functional qualities of the Westridge campus are inseparable from the school’s identity. It is critical to maintain and improve the physical plant and to maintain the beauty of the campus into the future in support of excellent programs and excellent teachers. ~ Approved by Westridge Board of Trustees, 2006

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T HE T R AD I T I O N O F T H EAT E R AT W EST RIDGE Her Best Interpretation of Creon

The Westridge drama club, Mask and Brush, was created in June 1927 as an outgrowth of the earlier Dramatics Club and the Aesthetics Class. Like the Inlook and Greeks and Romans, it was established to promote school spirit and encourage extra-curricular participation. But activities at Westridge never remain stagnant or one-dimensional. Each evolves into a special opportunity for young women to develop and grow. Mask and Brush is no exception. For many Westridge alumnae, their most cherished memories of their years at Westridge center on participation in theater productions. From the very first year when Westridge opened its doors, theatrical productions played an important role in

the lives of students. For many years, it was an annual tradition for Mask and Brush to produce a play. Some of the plays were written by students. For several years, the French club produced plays by Molière in French! In 1933, on the 20th anniversary of the founding of Westridge, a major focus of the celebration was a student-written play called School Through the Ages—from prehistoric times into a space-age future! The theater program always took on challenging plays. In 1925, the students performed Moliere’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. A Pasadena Star-News reporter was inspired to write a rave review commending the students, not only the quality of their acting, but also for the fluency of their French!

The Mikado 1965

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THE TRA DITION OF THEATER AT WESTRIDGE

School Through the Ages 1933

From its early days, Mask and Brush always thought that it was important to cast the girls in every role, including fathers, brothers, and boyfriends. Exceptions were made in 1949 and 1950, when boys from Flintridge Preparatory School were imported to play the male roles in the spring play. Mandy Reynolds Boesche ’69 was drama director at Westridge from 1984 to 1997. She once said, “It’s just as easy for a girl to convincingly play a male role as it is to be convincing as a child or an old person.” Many students over the years said they particularly enjoyed the challenge of playing male roles. Where else could a young woman give her best interpretation of Creon in Antigone, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or Anton Schill in The Visit?

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For decades there was a tradition of producing Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. From Patience, to The Mikado, to Iolanthe, to H.M.S. Pinafore, the Gilbert and Sullivan productions showcased both the choral music program and the theater program. Despite the limitations of a small stage, the productions took on a grand feeling. In the 1990s, the tradition of the Braun Center stage was interrupted when a large-cast production of The Music Man was performed in Hoffman Gymnasium. In 1995, Damn Yankees was performed at Thorne Hall on the Occidental College campus. Two years later, in 1997, The Sound of Music was performed in Thorne Hall. During the 1990s, theater director Tim Wright expanded the unconventional venues with a performance of The Fantasticks on the north terrace of

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T HE T R AD I T I O N O F T H EAT E R AT WEST RIDGE

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THE TRA DITION OF THEATER AT WESTRIDGE

Into the Woods, first musical performed in Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center 2006

Pitcairn House and a summer theater performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which the audience moved with the cast to different locations on campus. For many years, Mask and Brush had mounted two plays each year: a main-stage play in the fall and a musical in the spring. When Tim Wright joined the faculty, he added a small-cast play in the late fall that offered productions with more edge and challenge. Tim produced The Bad Seed, Agnes of God, The Glass Menagerie, Steel Magnolias, and many others. Perhaps the most memorable of these plays was The Laramie Project, a play by Moises Kaufman based on real events in Laramie, Wyoming, when a young gay man, Matthew Shepard, was brutally beaten to death. The performance of that play in 2007 proved transformational for the cast, the student body, and everyone who saw it. In October 2005, the theater program at Westridge moved into the Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center. With a larger stage, state-of-the-art lighting and sound, productions could be designed and mounted with a

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more expansive vision. To open the new theater space, an original script titled A Dream Come True, was written by Tim Wright to capture the history of great performances at Westridge, with alumnae reprising roles they had performed while they were students. The first full musical performed in the new theater was Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, as part of a season titled “A Year of Dreams and Dreamers.” In addition to the main-stage space, the new theater also contains a full dressing room, a costume workshop, a green room, rehearsal studios, and the Sigrid Burton ’69 Gallery, which also serves as a reception area and lobby for the Wagener Black Box Theater. For 100 years, Westridge has maintained high standards of performance and a willingness to choose challenging plays. Westridge students have responded with enthusiasm and passion for the opportunity offered them by an extraordinary theater program.

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Rosemary Evans ’71 2008–2009 During her year as head of school, Rosemary Evans continued the work toward the goals outlined in the Centennial Vision. She oversaw the groundbreaking and early fundraising for the upper school science building, to be constructed on the land bequeathed to Westridge by Clough Steele. Significantly, Rosemary Evans was the first alumna to serve as head of school. In her remarks at Commencement, Rosemary connected her own time as a Westridge student with the significance of presiding over the graduation of the Class of 2009. “Commencement is a momentous occasion, and yet I am mindful about how little I remember of my own graduation. I recall some details, of course; at 47 students, we were the largest class to have graduated from Westridge, we sat on risers in the shade of Ranney tree on Ranney lawn long before the current playground equipment made its appearance. The commencement speaker was actor Karl Malden of Streets of San Francisco fame, but I couldn’t begin to tell you what he spoke about….But in spite of this, my graduation from Westridge remains a powerful memory—not because of what was said, but because of what was signified.”

Rosemary C. Evans ’71, head of school, presides at the groundbreaking for the Science & Mathematics Building 2008

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As a tribute to her steady leadership during a transitional period, the board of trustees voted to change her status from interim head to the 10th head of Westridge School. During her 25 years of work at Westridge, Rosemary served as a middle school teacher, director of middle school, dean of faculty and studies, assistant head for academic affairs, and as the 10th head of school. She implemented and consistently led annual evaluations of faculty and presided over a major overhaul of the school’s daily schedule to create extended blocks of time for classes. She remained at Westridge as associate head of school for one year to assist Elizabeth McGregor in her first year as head of school and to provide continuity for a new administration.

Elizabeth J. McGregor 2009 to Present In the spring of 2009, the board of trustees named Elizabeth J. McGregor as the 11th head of Westridge School. Before coming to Westridge, Elizabeth McGregor served as associate head of school at the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California. Prior to that, she was a member of the Buckley faculty for 16 years, holding positions across all three divisions, including being a kindergarten and third grade teacher, middle school English teacher and upper school academic dean. During an interim year, she served as acting head of school. A native of England, Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree in Education and English from the University of London and holds a Master of Education degree in Languages, Literature and Communication from Columbia University. Her career has included teaching and administrative leadership in South Africa, New York, Connecticut, and Southern California. On becoming the 11th head of Westridge School, Liz said she was delighted “to secure a position as head of school at a recognized independent girls school, one that is philosophically and ethically a match for my own beliefs, and one that seeks to embrace and support its community and prepare its students to be global citizens for an increasingly diverse and complex world.” Liz McGregor oversaw the fall 2010 opening and dedication of the new, award-winning Science &

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Marjorie May Braun ’36 Science Building

Above right: Karsh Family Science Garden

Elizabeth McGregor visiting with students

Mathematics Building. The first Platinum LEED-certified building in the City of Pasadena, it has received a Pasadena & Foothill Chapter American Institute of Architects Merit Award, the inaugural Sustainable Innovation Award from the U.S. Green Building Council–Los Angeles Chapter, and a commercial design award from the Pasadena Beautiful Foundation. The school has continued to deepen its commitment to environmental sustainability. In 2012, the installation of water conservation equipment and a 52.3kw solar array earned the school a Green City Award from the City of Pasadena. These projects will help Westridge continue to conserve financial resources and reduce its carbon footprint well into the future. A renewed focus on community building has resulted in more active engagement of various constituents with one another and with the school. The Westridge Parent Association formed a Dads’ Club and the Multicultural Parent Collaborative to strengthen

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Betty Cole, upper school history teacher, with Earth Day Quilt

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Newly-formed Dads’ Club 2011 Multicultural Parent Collaboration with Elizabeth McGregor 2010

London alumnae gathering: left to right, Nancy Ennis Follett ’59, Bonnie Dean ’75, Suzanne Baggs Watt ’80, Barbara Holway Ilias ’59, Elizabeth McGregor, head of school, Sarah Wilson ’06, and Bryan Simpson (husband of Crystal Wu Simpson ’96) 2011

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Lower school string ensemble: Eleanor Roth ’14, Marina Settelmayer ’14, Emma Ayzenberg ’14, Erin Golden ’14 2007

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parent connections and student support. A “College Conversations” program brings Westridge alumnae in their first year of college back to campus to share with current seniors their experiences of the application, admission, and transition process. Alumnae regional gatherings, which take place across the country, have now extended to Liz McGregor’s native England, where a small but strong Westridge presence now thrives. Special gatherings for parents of alumnae and class representatives, new parent receptions, and social evenings for employees at the head’s home have been implemented as part of the school’s effort to foster and maintain Westridge relationships. In 2011, Elizabeth McGregor initiated the planning for the celebration of the Westridge Centennial during the 2013–2014 academic year. The theme of the celebration is Our Chosen Path: Founding Values for a New Century.

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AFTERWORD

100 Years: Founding Values Shape a New Century

Mary Lowther Ranney’s vision for an all-girls’ school was shaped by a world in flux when women’s lives were changing. She herself was shaped by an all-girls’ school and by a family that believed deeply in the value of education. She was a suffragist and believed that women could and should have a public as well as a domestic role in society. She was a humanist who loved literature and wrote poetry. She expressed her artistic sense as a draftsman for the Greene & Greene architects. As the founder of Westridge, she had both an institutional vision and a sense of personal responsibility for individual students. She chose as the first director of the Lower School a Montessori-trained teacher whose work infused the fledgling school with the core belief that the school’s highest duty was to enable each student to know and fulfill her own potential. At the Founder’s Day ceremony in 1940, Margaret Brackenridge spoke about Mary Ranney’s unique and enduring role in the success and identity of Westridge School. She praised the durability of her clear vision, high standards, and strong moral sense as founding values that will enable those who came later “to hold the torch to light the way for those following.” Those founding values were so strongly expressed that they have guided the growth and direction of Westridge School through 10 decades that have seen monumental change: wars, a depression, assassinations, a transformational civil rights movement, men on the moon, an unprecedented terrorist attack on an American city, a technological revolution without precedent, and women contributing to every aspect of public life. From a shingled house at 324 Madeline Drive, with the guiding aesthetic of the bold and artistic Mary Ranney, a stunning campus has been built with the dedication and generosity of hundreds of volunteers, teachers, staff, and 11 heads of school. From the early description by Mary Ranney of the school’s first course of study to the Centennial Vision, the legacy continues and gathers momentum into a new century.

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As Westridge moves boldly into its second century, we do well to return to our past and learn the value of those contributions that have made a bright, exciting future possible. Westridge should view its history with particular pride and with a new understanding that something extraordinary has been created, sustained, and preserved through the leadership and commitment of women and men who believed in its values and purpose. Westridge is a school of substance and great beauty because for 100 years, people of vision, courage, and commitment did what it took to keep it alive and thriving. Even as we acknowledge our debt to the past, we affirm our commitment to a future that is secured by faithful stewardship and bright with promise.

The Lamp and Ivy lectern

Beloved camphor tree Ranney Lawn 2013

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Clockwise, from top left: Uniform Pinfeather dress ’70s–’90s Uniform navy and white herringbone skirt ’90s Letter jacket 2007 Letter jacket 2007 Uniform Pinfeather skirt ’80s–’90s

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Clockwise, from top left: Letter sweater 1960s over Drill team uniform 1970’s Letter sweater detail Uniform white dress ’70s–’90s Sweatshirt late ’80s– early ’90s Uniform white blouse and skirt, current

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M A RY LOWT H ER R A N N EY DI ST I N GU I S H E D A LU MN A AWA RD RECIP IEN TS The Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Each year, from a list of women nominated by fellow alumnae, a Distinguished Alumna of the Year is chosen to be honored at the annual alumnae luncheon. The first recipients were chosen in 1988 and were two members of the Westridge student body from its founding in 1913. The citation for the award reads as follows: To honor Mary Lowther Ranney the award is given annually by Westridge School to an alumna whose life embodies the spirit of the Westridge motto, Surgere Tentamus, and who, by her commitment to her chosen path, her dedication to lifelong growth and learning, and her habits of heart, mind, and action is an example and an inspiration to the Westridge community. Marian Brackenridge* Class of 1921 1988 Recipient Marian studied sculpture at the Arts Student League in New York, and in Santa Barbara with Ettore Cadorin. Marian exhibited at the National Academy of Art and Design and the Whitney Museum. Her principal works include statues for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and sculptures for churches across the country. In addition, Marian designed a bronze plaque honoring Westridge founder, Mary Lowther Ranney, incorporating delicate ivy leaves that symbolize Westridge. She is a member of a founding family of Westridge School. “Art, like morality, begins with drawing a line somewhere…”

* Deceased

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Margaret Brackenridge Jones* Class of 1921 1988 Recipient Musician and among the first students to attend Westridge, Margaret is a member of a founding family of Westridge School. It is because of Margaret’s initiative and purposeful action that music is such an integral and core part of the Westridge curriculum today. Harriet Huntington Doerr* Class of 1927 1989 Recipient A late-blooming and highly successful author, Harriet was a granddaughter of railroad and real-estate tycoon Henry Edwards Huntington. She attended Smith College, but left one year shy of a degree to marry engineering student Albert Edward Doerr. She raised two children, shuttling between Pasadena and rural Mexico, where her husband’s family had mining interests. She later received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Stanford University. At age 73, Harriet published her best-selling novel based on her life in Mexico, Stones for Ibarra, for which she won a National Book Award. She wrote two more highly-acclaimed books Consider This, Señora and Tiger in the Grass. “I like to think Westridge helped me to be a non-conformist” Anne Richardson Gilbert* Class of 1927 1990 Recipient Anne served as president of the Planned Parenthood Clinic of Pasadena and was avidly involved in the Community Chest (United Way) organization and the Fellows of Huntington Library. Her philanthropic work through the Junior League was extensive and legendary. Anne’s sense of personal responsibility to the community and to Westridge, as both an alumna and parent, as well as her lifelong dedication to volunteerism, made her an alumna whose life and work exemplified the Westridge motto, Surgere Tentamus.

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Gwen Garland Babcock Class of 1953 1991 Recipient Gwen has served as a director of the Los Angeles Times, board member of the Huntington Library, a Polytechnic School trustee and board member of the Florence Crittendon Home. She is a genealogist, gardener, wife, and mother. She has also served on the Westridge Board of Trustees and acted as Class Representative for over 35 years. Joan Montgomery Hotchkis Class of 1945 1992 Recipient Actress of stage and screen, Joan studied with legendary teachers Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg. A member of the famed Actors Studio, she debuted on Broadway and performed in regional theatres across the country. Joan co-starred in many television sitcoms, most notably as Oscar’s girlfriend Nancy, on The Odd Couple. Her film credits include Breezy, opposite William Holden, Ode to Billie Joe, and Legacy, which she also wrote. She co-authored a manual for actors entitled, No Acting Please: Beyond the Method, which is used in colleges and conservatories throughout the country. “At Westridge I relaxed. I could feel. I could think. And I could know what I was feeling and thinking. What a sweet sensation, this permission to be me. I would pursue it the rest of my life.” Joan Lamb Ullyot Class of 1957 1993 Recipient Joan, a self-described former “cream puff,” is a world-class marathon runner and one of America’s top women distance runners. She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School, where she was one of only eight women in a class of 160. She is a pioneer in the field of sports medicine and psychology and the author of several books, including Women’s Running, Running Free, and The New Women’s Running. “Westridge made me feel independent. We at Westridge grew up knowing that we could do anything.”

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Jessie Reynolds Groothuis Class of 1964 1994 Recipient Jessie is a physician nationally recognized for her research on premature infants and young children with serious heart or lung diseases. She is the director of the Neonatal High Risk Followup Clinic at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We who sit in this room are some of the most fortunate people on this planet. As a physician who has spent over 20 years caring for underprivileged children, I have learned that it is only through education that we can begin to heal the problems of our society.” Jae Giddings Carmichael* Class of 1942 1995 Recipient Jae was a painter, sculptor, poet, photographer, independent film producer, teacher, stained-glass artist, and Renaissance woman. She founded and served as head of the production design department at the University of Southern California’s famed School of Cinema. She also established cinema classes at Pasadena City College and worked in stage design for the Pasadena Playhouse. “There is a very special spirit at the heart of Westridge, the quest for knowledge, the pursuit of excellence, and standing tall and straight.” Julia Cates Class of 1969 1996 Recipient A highly successful Silicon Valley engineer, Julia has been on the forefront of design and marketing of high technology. She left the all-girls institution of Westridge for the all-male electrical engineering department at Stanford, where she received her master’s degree. Julia went on to design “fast math” programs for Hewlett Packard and to market leading-edge computer technology to Fortune 500 companies.

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Jean Tarr Fleming Class of 1944 1997 Recipient Jean has devoted her life to family and community. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in history from Scripps College and master’s degree in human development from Pacific Oaks College. Jean has served on the board of Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center and been a trustee of Pacific Oaks College. Audrey Steele Burnand Class of 1940 1998 Recipient Philanthropist and lover of humanity, Audrey supported the arts, the environment and education through the Harry and Grace Steele foundation. She made significant contributions to her community and worked to make the world a better place. Audrey’s dedication to Westridge was profound, and she gave the first $1 million gift to Westridge from an alumna through the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation. Polly Hunter Turpin Class of 1945 1998 Recipient Polly served on the Westridge Board of Trustees for 13 years. During her board tenure, she brought quiet wisdom and unswerving commitment to the financial aid program, chairing the Financial Aid Committee for many years. Polly’s dedication to Westridge and her desire to ensure a bright future for the school and for young girls in our community led her to make a planned gift of $1 million to the school’s endowment. Polly’s generosity of spirit and depth of commitment have had a lasting impact on Westridge.

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Helen Hastings Murphy Class of 1967 1999 Recipient Helen is nothing short of a true heroine. A graduate of Stanford University, a nurse practitioner and epidemiologist, Helen has led an extraordinary life of service improving the quality of life for women and children in some of the world’s most under-served populations. She worked with refugees in Thailand who were escaping the brutality of the Khmer Rouge, trained healthcare providers, and immunized hundreds of thousands of refugees. In Afghanistan, during war with the Soviet Union, she developed a natural, easily accessible treatment for childhood diarrhea, the leading cause of childhood death, saving untold numbers of lives. Helen has worked with non-governmental organizations and the United Nations Children’s Fund. “If we are to improve the health and welfare of women and children in the less developed world, it will be by investing in women’s education.” Dorothy Hughes Matthiessen Class of 1952 2000 Recipient Dorothy exemplifies a lifelong commitment to the values of Westridge. Throughout her life, Dorothy has set an example of determination to be the best she can be in every endeavor. While a student at Westridge, she was a tennis standout, and in her adult life, she has been highly ranked as a player in her age group by the International Tennis Federation as she has competed in countries around the world. Beginning in 1963, Dorothy served on the Westridge board of trustees for 30 years. She was deeply involved in the development of the campus master plan designed by Roland Coate Jr. and implemented by architect Whitney Smith. Her dedication to Westridge and the enormous positive impact she had on the school represent community service at its best. Three of her granddaughters have attended Westridge.

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Joan Irvine Smith Class of 1951 2001 Recipient Activist and philanthropist, Joan is the great-granddaughter of James Irvine, founder of The Irvine Museum in Orange County. She was instrumental in organizing and funding the National Water Research Institute, whose mission is to create protect and conserve water resources through research and technology. She founded, along with her mother, the Joan Irvine Smith & Athalie R. Irvine Clarke Foundation, a private grant-making foundation that collaborated with Christopher Reeve to pursue research in the treatment of spinal-cord injuries. Joan has published nine books, and all her life has “given with purpose” to improve the worlds of education, health, and the environment. Adelaide Finkbine Hixon Class of 1936 2002 Recipient Adelaide is a philanthropist who is outspoken in her commitment to social justice and fairness. She has served on the board of American Way, Planned Parenthood, Pacific Oaks College, Foothill Family Services, and Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center. She has given generously to the community and to a wide array of educational institutions, including Westridge. She is known, loved, and respected for her forthright opinions, her generosity, and her true internal compass. Margaret Taylor Cunningham Class of 1958 2003 Recipient Margaret is an Episcopal priest and has served in pastoral care at All Saints Church in Pasadena. She holds a master’s degree from University of California, Los Angeles and also attended Vassar College and University of California, Berkeley. She received a Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1996. She has a longstanding commitment to equality for women and for underserved populations in our society. Before becoming an ordained priest in 1997, Margaret taught high school English at Polytechnic School.

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Linda LeMoncheck Class of 1971 2004 Recipient Feminist philosopher, arts enthusiast, and longtime Westridge advocate, and a long-time faculty member at California State University, Long Beach, Linda also served as a trustee of the Long Beach Museum of Art and was a founding member of the Westridge Women in Action Task Force, as part of her work with the Alumnae Council. She is respected in academic circles for her intellectual excellence and scholarship. Genna Rae McNeil Class of 1965 2005 Recipient Genna is a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill specializing in African-American history with an emphasis on race, law, and social movements. She was the first African-American admitted to Westridge. Genna earned her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She has served as chairperson of the Department of History at Howard University and taught at Roosevelt University, Hunter College, and Howard University School of Law. Her publications include scholarly articles and four books, among them the definitive biography of Charles Hamilton Houston, mentor of Thurgood Marshall, for which she was awarded the distinguished Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. Palmer Robinson Class of 1968 2006 Recipient A Superior Court judge for Kings County, Palmer has specialized in complex civil law cases involving product liability, insurance, and employment law. She has been an advocate and protector of at-risk children and underserved populations. Palmer attended Stanford University and holds a Jurist Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

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Sara Sweezy Berry Class of 1957 2007 Recipient Researcher and professor of African-American history at John Hopkins University, Sara teaches courses in history and anthropology, and is affiliated with the Center for Africana Studies. She is the author of several books and many academic articles. Sara is the recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright Scholars Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Michigan and her Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Radcliffe College. Sara has held academic positions at Northwestern, Princeton, and Boston University and is a noted scholar and advocate for social justice and economic change in Africa. Joan Taufenback Haskell* Class of 1947 2008 Recipient Known to her friends as “Joanie” or “Tauf,” Joan was class representative for over 60 years! Her dedication to the Class of 1947 and her sense of building and keeping the fabric of community alive and well was legendary. All in the Class of 1947 knew her for her enthusiasm, her creativity and her ceaseless hard work and positive energy for all things Westridge. Bonnie Dean Class of 1975 2009 Recipient International businesswoman and director of several public and private organizations in the United Kingdom, Bonnie is a tireless advocate and mentor to women in business. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. Bonnie is an avid traveler and has an abiding interest in Asian cultures, which she acquired while doing a study-abroad program in Thailand while at Westridge. She credits Westridge School for her lifelong success. “Westridge is the finest school I have ever attended. The Westridge standards are the highest I’ve ever experienced, but were combined with a mature and considered level of support.”

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Elizabeth Wayland Barber Class of 1958 2010 Recipient Elizabeth is professor emerita at Occidental College and author of several books, including the award-winning, Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years, named one of the “100 Best Science Books of the Century” by Sigma Xi, and her most recent, When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth. She is the pre-eminent authority on prehistoric textiles and acclaimed in the fields of linguistics and archeology. “Betchen,” as she is known, received her bachelor’s degree in archeology and Greek from Bryn Mawr College and her doctorate in linguistics from Yale University. Nan Elliot Hale Class of 1969 2011 Recipient Award-winning writer and filmmaker, Nan is an independent spirit with a commitment to the environment and a deep caring for her community. Her joy in storytelling has led her to write numerous books about her home state of Alaska. As a filmmaker, photographer, and adventurer, Nan has traveled 1,200 miles by dog sled along the Iditarod race trail, directed film crews on Japanese fishing boats in the Bering Sea, descended into the coal mines of Appalachia, and traveled to the Himalayas to tell the story of a legendary Alaskan climber who died beneath Mt. Everest. “By profession, I am a writer and filmmaker. By nature, I am an adventurer.”

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Alissa Arp Class of 1972 2012 Recipient Renowned scientist, researcher, professor, and author, Alissa has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Oregon University. She is world renowned for her expertise in the physiology of animals living in challenging environments and has been on eight deep-sea submarine dives and 22 oceanographic expeditions. Her discoveries have been recognized in internationally distinguished scientific journals and by the national media. Alissa, a natural leader and student body president at Westridge, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Sonoma State University and her master’s and doctorate in biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Joni Moisant Weyl Class of 1972 2013 Recipient Owner and operator of one of New York City’s finest galleries, Joni earned her bachelor’s degree in art history from Stanford University. She began her career in the arts with the renowned Los Angeles artists’ workshop and print publisher, Gemini G.E.L (Graphics Editions Limited) where she served as director of sales. She opened her own gallery, now in its 28th year, aptly named Gemini G.E.L at Joni Moisant Weyl. She shares her life’s passion for the visual arts and her international involvement in the international art world with her husband and Gemini co-founder, Sidney Felsen.

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AC K N OW LED G MEN TS

Thanks to… Sue Parilla, who edits with sharp eyes, genuine interest, and the discipline every writer needs Monica Meñez for her sense of style and keen eye for proportion and design Sara Williamson, researcher and fact-checker with bloodhound instincts Stephanie Chandler Dencik ’90 for starting the history ball rolling with the Green Scrapbooks Patient publisher Ann Gray of Balcony Press Kurt Hauser, designer par excellence, for his keen eye and for his patience Archival deep divers Ava Megna and Marianne Polonsky Early readers Alison Taylor ’80, Leslie Clarke Gray ’62, and Kristi Wallace ’61 Cheerleaders and encouragers Liz McGregor and Anne Scott-Putney My home base: alumnae Molly Munger ’66, HopeTschopik Schneider ’70, Rosemary Evans ’71, Leslie Clarke Gray ’62, Kristi Wallace ’61 and Alison Taylor ’80. Jim Rothenberg for making the project possible Larry Wilson for appreciating the deep connections between Pasadena and Westridge School All the volunteers who searched, scanned, and sorted a seemingly endless mountain of photos and documents. The oral history volunteers who added the important dimension of “living memory” to our history Westridge faculty who made history for ten decades The living river of alumnae whose experiences and memories are the essence of our collective history Mary Lowther Ranney, whose hidden hand is on every page.

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IN DEX

Academic Resource Center, 79 Architecture Academic Resource Center, 79 Braun Music Center, 77 English Classroom, 80, 81 Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, 82 Frank Art Studio, 80, 81 Hoffman Gymnasium, 80, 81 Main Building, 78 Pitcairn House, 76 Science & Mathematics Building, 83 Athletics, 22–24, 95 Bowman, Elsa M., 72–75 Boys attending school, 14–16 Braun Music Center, 77 Campus additions and improvements, 54, 56 expansion of, 21–22, 41–43, 91–93 freeway extension, 66 initial classrooms, 14, 18 new master plan, 66, 68, 91 North Campus, 90–92 performing arts center, 92–93 science, 42, 91 Centennial Vision, 96, 97 Charity work, 20 Civil Rights Movement, 50 Community-building focus, 69, 73, 86, 94, 95, 97, 103, 104, 106 Computers, 70, 71, 73 Convocation, 86, 94 Curriculum computers, 70, 71, 73 expansion of, 54 foreign languages, 95 gender bias, 72–73 initial curriculum, 16, 18 physics, 22 post-war, 70 Dads’ Club, 104, 105 Discrimination, 50–51, 52 Diversity, 50, 52, 70, 95, 97 Drug education, 52 Educational philosophy, 16 English Classroom, 80, 81

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Enrollment in the 1920s, 22 in the 1930s, 25 in the 1940s, 33 in the 1950s, 44 in the 1980s, 70 in the 1990s, 85, 95 in the 2000s, 95 initial, 14, 15 Evans, Rosemary, 102–103 Facilities. See Campus Fine arts, 7 Founder’s Day, 11, 30, 31, 107 Fran Norris Scoble Performing Arts Center, 82 Frank Art Studio, 80, 81 French, Ruth, 58 Fundraising, 20, 64, 86 Future of Westridge, 107–108 Gender bias, 72–73 Gertrude Hall Building, 78 Goal of founding families, 11, 13 Graduation, 19–20 Grandparents Day, 74, 88 Great Depression, 24 Gymnasium Fleming gymnasium, 14, 20, 22 Hoffman Gymnasium, 80, 81 new gym in 1978, 68 Hall, Gertrude, 41 Herrick, Elizabeth Edmundson, 47–61 Herrick Quadrangle, 56, 68, 69, 81. See also Quadrangle History of Westridge, 11–27 Influenza epidemic, 19 Inlook, 13, 24, 36, 41, 45, 70, 98 Lipschutz, Marian, 58 Los Angeles riots, 88, 94 Main Building, 78, 86 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award, 74, 112–117 Master Plot Plan, 79 McGregor, Elizabeth J., 103–106 McNeil, Genna Rae, 49 Multicultural Parent Collaboration, 104, 105 Music program, 57, 95, 106

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Open Future Program, 51, 52, 53 Optima Award, 22 Owen, Nancy Hughes, 68–70, 72 Parker, Anne, 29–32 Performing arts center, 92–93. See also Theater Peterson, Gladys, 39–44 Pitcairn House, 7, 54, 61, 68, 76, 77, 86, 101 Political environment in the 1970s, 48, 50, 61, 94 Primer, The, 85–86 Quadrangle, 7, 41, 69. See also Herrick Quadrangle Ranney, Mary background, 11 death of, 25–26, 94 election to board of trustees, 25 as founder, 13–14 house, 11, 12 retirement, 25 Ring Ceremony, 27, 94 Sata, James T., 45 Save, Mona, 36 Schwarzenbach, Katherine Trower, 63–68 Science & Mathematics Building, 83 Scoble, Fran Norris, 85–96 Sex education, 52 Social issues, 52 Spyglass, 43 Study Hall, 40, 59 Summer Opportunities Fair, 86–87 Surgere Tentamus, 9, 13, 21, 70 Swan, Howard S., 57 Tennis, 23 Theater, 18, 24, 98–101 Title IX, 67 Torres, Martha, 53 Tschopik, Marion Hutchinson, 55 Uniforms, 110–111 Vietnam War protests, 48, 50, 61 Wood, Louise, 33–37 World War II, 33–37, 39–45 Yam Festival, 88–89

Non-smoking campus, 86

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C R ED I TS All images courtesy Westridge School except as noted. Page 12, courtesy of David and Judy Brown Westridge archive images photographed in part by: Nick Boswell David Current Douglas Hill Ann Katzman Karen Klemens Marshall Kwong Walt Mancini Monica Menez James T. Sata Courtney Seiberling Bill Youngblood Westridge School: A Centennial History Published in the United States of America in 2014 by Balcony Press. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Balcony Media, Inc., 812 N. Fremont, Suite 205, South Pasadena, California 91030. www.balconypress.com Design by Schoenehauser, Pasadena, California Printing and production by Navigator Cross-media Printed in South Korea Traditions ÂŠ 2014 Westridge School LCCN 2014930920 ISBN 978-1-890449-67-4

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FRAN NORRIS SCOBLE

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Fran Norris Scoble Retired Head of School and Centennial Chair

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History DJ.indd 1

FRAN NORRIS SCOBLE

A C E N T E N N I A L H I S TO RY

Fran Norris Scoble Retired Head of School and Centennial Chair

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Westridge School A C E N T E N N I A L H I S TO RY

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