In the early days of Mendocino, the area east of what is now Highway 1 was known as “East Mendocino,” a community with its own characteristics and infrastructure. The town began two miles east of where the highway runs today and spread from the north fork of Big River in the south to Russian Gulch in the north. The community’s size peaked between 1910 and 1935. Longtime East Mendocino resident Bertha Reep Mason recalled that East Mendocino had “quite definite boundaries and was not considered a part of Mendocino City.”
In 1911, families petitioned the County Board of Supervisors for a schoolhouse. In order to attend school, the children of East Mendocino had to walk to the existing grammar school in Mendocino, with some children walking up to four miles one way. In harsh rain and cold weather, this was a difficult trek.
Auggie Heeser donated the land for the school, and Ray Valentine supervised the construction. Frank Bean cut a tree to make the 86-foot-tall flagpole for the school, which was installed in February 1912. A crew came to raise the flagpole, and a crowd gathered to watch. As the men pulled the guy ropes being used to raise the pole, one of the ropes slipped, causing the entire pole to crash to the ground. It struck and killed George Reinke, one of the crew members. The flagpole was abandoned that day, and several days later a group of men quietly cut “a length” off the pole and raised it.
Bertha Reep Mason recalled the red one-room schoolhouse, which in addition to classes, hosted community events and parties. “There was no artificial light,” Bertha stated. “For the evening events, families brought their kerosene lanterns to use.” During the day, three windows on each side of the building illuminated the classrooms, which were split equally into boys’ and girls’ rooms.
In the early twentieth century, Mendocino County required schools to have at least five pupils. Especially in rural areas, classes sometimes struggled to hold that number for the entire school year. When there were not five students in session in East Mendocino, classes were cancelled, and students made the long trek to Mendocino Grammar School. Louise Mesiter was the teacher during the 1918-1919 school year. Her class only had four students, so five-year-old Bertha was “recruited” to attend, along with another five-year-old.
Averee McNear is curator at the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino, Calif.