Orange Coast College

Adults Can Also Be Students
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by BILL J. PRIEST, EdD,
Assistant Superintendent, Orange Coast College, 1947-1955.

August of 1948 was the scene of a "crash-panic" program to ready for college use the former Santa Ana Army Air Base. Paint was flowing, drooping shrubs were being resuscitated, and crews of workers were racing around with expressions bespeaking the general feeling that the deadline was near at hand, though much remained to be done. Orange Coast College was about to be born, and those in charge were apprehensive over what was in the offing. Would the buildings be ready when the students arrived? Would any students in fact arrive, and if so, how many? Would the staff prove to be in practice what they appeared to be on paper at interviewing time? What kind of a guy was Dr. Basil Peterson, the relentless pusher of this project? These and a substantial number of other questions remained to be answered.

Incorporated in the grandiose plan of what was to become Orange Coast College were specific provisions for an adult education program which would implement this vital responsibility of a comprehensive community college. Both the college board and superintendent had agreed that adult education was not to be an afterthought, but was from the very beginning to be an integral part of Orange Coast's educational efforts. Provisions had been made to hire a full-time administrator who would devote one-half of his professional efforts to the development and operation of the adult education program. A small adult education office had been created, and a modest amount of secretarial help allocated.

In the area of adult education, as in virtually everything else associated with this embryonic institution, little was known about what the community reaction would be. Good preliminary studies had been completed to identify the occupational needs of the community, and regular day school curricula had been set up reflecting the findings of these studies. No predetermination had been made, however, regarding the focal point of the adult education program. Was it to be primarily cultural, primarily avocational, or was it to be traditional college courses given at night, including pre-employment training in the vocational areas? Some $12,000 had been allocated for teachers' salaries for the entire 1948-49 school year. This imposed narrow controls, but it also provided one of the few known elements in this incipient operation.

In mid-September, approximately one week after the beginning of regular day classes, the adult education program got off the ground with some 20 classes, taught almost exclusively by members of the regular day faculty. Recruitment of night school faculty proved to be one of the early challenges in getting this program from paper to a reality. Many full time faculty members were aware that heavy demands would be made on their time and energies by their new professional assignment. They were reluctant to dilute the quality of their regular day school work by taking on this extra assignment, and it became somewhat of a sales job to convince them that they could teach both day and evening classes on a high professional level.

The philosophy of adult education in the Orange Coast Junior College District had to be very permissively liberal. The superintendent delegated broad responsibility to the dean charged with implementation of the program. In general, the district was prepared to offer a class in any subject desired by not less than 15 people, provided suitable space and a qualified instructor could be obtained. No fees were to be charged, other than fees for materials which became the property of the individual student. The board was ready to supply funds within its capabilities to implement this philosophy. The big job, then, was to determine what was needed, to obtain qualified faculty members, and to provide an instructional climate that would provide optimum training opportunities for the residents of the O.C.C. service area. As further evidence of the status assigned adult education, the dean was authorized to attend college board meetings and serve as a resource person to amplify for the college trustees the superintendent's recommendations on adult education. The original college board seemed unanimously in accord with the superintendent's plan to give maximum support to this facet of the O.C.C. program. Very early in the operation of the college, the untimely death of Mr. Hubbard Howe resulted in the appointment of Mr. Walter Longmoor, also a staunch supporter of adult education, as the fifth board member.

Because a sizable percentage of retired persons lived in the coastal area of Orange County, a desire to accommodate the needs of this group existed early in the history of the college. This, of course, had major implications for the adult education program, and tended at the outset to skew it toward a much greater percentage of avocational and cultural courses than is found in most California communities. However, art area trend toward industrialization developed during the l950s which has since brought the O.C.C. district into what might be called a normal balance. Probably there is no better index to trace this trend than an analysis of the year-by-year adult offerings of Orange Coast. This analysis indicates that adult education has been responsive to the community needs and has shown a flexibility and adaptability commensurate with the rapid changes which have taken place in this region over the last fifteen years.

Among the early major decisions affecting adult education was the authorization to decentralize the O.C.C. program. As a result, numerous classes were spotted throughout the college district to serve clusters of people who sought assistance from their community college. Rental arrangements were made for church, school, and other facilities capable of housing college classes. There was general public acceptance and appreciation of the willingness of the college to bring the instruction to people, rather than demand that the people travel to one central location for such training.

Many community leaders wielded an influence on adult education in the O.C.C. district. Some performed as advisory committee members, to examine and evaluate the on-going program and make proposals for its improvement. Some served as faculty members in their specialty areas to work in upgrading others who needed assistance in such specialties. Some were colorful enrollees who became symbols of the worthwhile products of good adult education.

Probably none did more on a straight volunteer basis than a quartet of firemen in the Orange County area, namely, John Garthe, Santa Ana Fire Chief; Bud Higgins, Huntington Beach Fire Chief; and Ray Suess and Joe Sherman of the Forest Service. These men were genuinely concerned with the fire training needs of the area, and were ready, willing, and able to lend their efforts to helping the college do something about it. Scores of advisory committee meetings were held and countless hours of individual contact work were given. It is even rumored that certain midnight requisitions of much-needed instructional materials may have been made to expedite training. The upshot was a comprehensive fire training program which rapidly and significantly upgraded the quality of both the few paid fire departments and the many volunteer departments which served the total Orange County area.

Possibly because of their nearness to the desert, a large number of residents of the O.C.C. service area were keenly interested in lapidary art work. They approached the college for instruction in this craft. With expert guidance from "Barny" Barnes, and subsequently Taylor Kussmaul, the needs of the zealous lapidaries were more than met. Elementary, intermediate and advanced courses finally evolved. Jewelry making was a separate offshoot of the lapidary art in which classes were developed at both elementary and advanced levels. At one time several hundred enrollees were participating in some facet of this broad-scale lapidary program. So pronounced was the interest that a special facility was built to house the program when the fine arts unit of the college was expanded.

Thelma Paddock Hope, Corona del Mar artist, also contributed materially to the service capabilities of the O.C.C. adult education program. Mrs. Hope offered stimulation to a large number of prospective artists and adults seeking a cultural lift, through her effective painting classes. One of her protégés was Dr. Marvin Reitz, who made meteoric progress under Mrs. Hope's tutelage, becoming a very proficient portraitist.

Another zealot who contributed materially to meeting community needs was dog-handler Don Short. Short's capacity to assist owners of dogs in training their animals for both show and general satisfaction was a thing to behold. So great was the interest developed by Short that at one time several levels of dog obedience courses were given as a result of direct public demand for such training. Among the more interesting sights on the O.C.C. campus was the beginning of Short's class at dusk, when the chauffeured tycoon and his wife from Lido Isle would arrive in their sleek, black limousine with Fido on a leash, and take their place in the instruction circle, prepared to follow Short's oral instructions. (Harry LeBard, veteran board member who generally espoused adult education as a sound mission of Orange Coast College, periodically expressed reservations about the attention given to training dogs "when there were so many dumb people around." LeBard needed continuous reassurance that this was the right thing to do. As late as 1964 the author again found it necessary to reassure Mr. LeBard, since he never fully embraced all of the arguments presented to him.)

Jim Shaw, master upholsterer, was another colorful figure of the early O.C.C. adult education period. Jim ran a small shop, and between afternoons of calf-roping for fun, managed to earn a good living reupholstering furniture. He was induced to teach at O.C.C. for a few hours each week. These few hours rapidly became a full-time job, and Shaw closed up his business and devoted his full attention and energies to training upholsterers. It is even rumored that he allowed his teaching to cut into his calf-roping time, which demonstrates the importance he attached to this vital facet of adult education.

The parent education classes offered by Mrs. Alma Green represent a major milestone in O.C.C. community service. Arrangements were made to rent a church in the Harbor area, and classes were set up for mothers who were experiencing critical problems in understanding their pre-school-age youngsters. Knowledgeable, calm, and composed, Mrs. Green supplied understandings and techniques which permitted these women to realize that elsewhere in the annals of childrearing history youngsters similar to theirs had existed, and had actually grown up to be useful citizens. The salary scale was never able to compensate for the frantic phone calls which Mrs. Green received in her home at all hours of the day and night when Johnny failed to respond to the prescribed techniques.

No report on personalities would be complete without the inclusion of Johnny Owens—woodshop instructor, confidante, bon vivant, and educational ambassador of good will. Literally a master of all trades, no problem was too big or too small to command John's attention in the woodshop.

These people represent certainly not all, but a sampling of the individuals who made early contributions to the O.C.C. adult education program.

Readers of this account may find of interest a short review of several crises which occurred during these formative years of the now expansive adult education program. Perhaps not chronologically the first, but certainly one of the liveliest issues was the controversy over the use of nude models in the evening college art classes. There were at least two schools of thought on this. One held that in any "arty" area which included Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, there was general agreement that nude models were permissible, so, what was all the fuss about? The opposing school of thought held that as a public institution Orange Coast College would be well-advised to avoid the wrath of its more conservative citizens, and arrange for some modification of this practice. Those intimately concerned with the outcome of the decision ware badgered hard for an answer to their questions. The dean used all evasive tactics known to him, but it finally became necessary either to have 'em or not have 'em. Even the astute Harry LeBard, who proposed models in bikini bathing suits as a compromise, was pushed rudely aside by the proponents of nudity. The use of nude models was finally prohibited.

Another unforgettable incident was the tragic experience of an excellent course in weaving which had converted one of the temporary wartime buildings into a major weaving establishment. The use of unique materials in weaving is particularly appealing to the artistic cult which dominates such courses and entire classes tend to employ whatever approach is popular at the time. The case in point involves the period when wheat and barley stems, including heads of the grain, were worked into table mats or wall pieces. After one week of intense weaving, the lab was filled with items produced from this medium, using wheat from the fields of unsuspecting farmers. Came the weekend, the place was locked up and the women went home, eagerly anticipating their return on Monday. That Saturday and Sunday probably proved to be the most fruitful week-end ever enjoyed by the mice and rats of Orange County. Moving in as if led by the Pied Piper, they devoured in quantity the fine art works produced the preceding week, leaving the administration with a major rodent extermination problem. There was no acceptable remedy save to avoid repetition of this crisis in the lives of local weavers.

Yet another incident of some consequence involved the goat husbandry curriculum. Being responsive to community needs, the O.C.C. adult education door was always open to people who sought some new course. During a conference with several such people, it was pointed out that a crying demand existed for training in the area of goat husbandry. Presumably this training was sought by families who kept goats to produce milk for children required by medical prescription to drink goat milk rather than cow milk. With considerable reservations the administrator expressed sympathy for those confronted by this problem, and suggested that a meeting of the people in need of such training be held the following week. Arrangements were made for a room, with the understanding that the person requesting the course would inform prospective goat husbandry enrollees about the coming organizational meeting. The time for the appointed meeting arrived and the administrator informed his secretary that he would be back in a few minutes, after explaining to the goat raisers that a minimum of ]5 persons was required. To his utter amazement, he found the meeting room filled with 57 seated and standing adults, prepared to enroll in goat husbandry. The task of locating a goat husbandry teacher loomed as somewhat of a challenge, but this, also, was resolved by the assembled throng. A woman from Van Nuys who was recognized state-wide as "Mrs. Goat Husbandry" was obtained as an instructor. She no doubt spent more for transportation than she earned teaching goat husbandry, but this presumably proved no problem, so great was her zeal and her sympathy for goats with untrained owners. The upshot was three classes in goat husbandry, including an advanced goat husbandry class, for residents of the area.

An interesting venture which proved to be part of a continuing program of adult education was the O.C.C. cooking school. This school began under the tutelage of Patricia Moore, home economics instructor, with the assistance of Dick Richard, food market operator in the area (Richard's Lido Market), who contributed more than any other individual to the success of this project. The initial cooking school, held in the Lido Theatre, was attended by more than 600 homemakers of the area. An academic purist would probably disapprove of this school, but none could question that a great deal of valuable information pertaining to balanced diet and food preparation was communicated to housewives of the area.

"Peppery" Dick Richard used publicity avenues open to him to reach thousands of housewives with word of the school. He contributed foodstuffs needed for the many demonstrations. Pat Moore proved to be an articulate, personable demonstrator, who planned her presentations with great precision and incorporated into the instruction an element of friendliness which made each of the 600 enrollees feel as if she were getting individualized treatment. The cooking school continues to this date as one of the perennial favorite offerings of the adult education department.

Despite the anecdotes related here, the evolution of the adult education program at Orange Coast College was a rather orderly one. As the volume of offerings increased, the program gained more balance and served a broader constituency. With more and more industry moving into the area, both employers and employees looked to the college for pre-employment and in-service training. Such training was needed for white collar workers as well as blue collar workers. The ever-expanding freeway network made the district a bedroom area for persons who worked throughout the greater Los Angeles region. This in turn tended to change and to broaden further the spectrum of courses needed by Orange Coast College district residents.

Such courses as the dog obedience, weaving, knitting and goat husbandry described earlier gave way to speech, mathematics, science, petroleum technology, welding, drama, insurance, real estate, apprenticeship and the usual family of liberal arts courses. Because of the liberal attitude of the Orange Coast College Board and administration and the availability of funds, Orange Coast College's adult program has shown meteoric growth throughout the history of the college. Probably nowhere in California, perhaps even the whole United States, has a better job been done by a community college in meeting the adult education needs of its citizenry. The strong professional leadership provided by Superintendent Basil H. Peterson was a major reason for this success. However, such outstanding success can come about only when community leaders, mass media, college-connected personnel and the citizens at large work cooperatively toward the realization of the goals they have jointly established.

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