Things You Didn't Know About Downey: Downey High yearbooks

Photo courtesy Downey High School ASB.

DOWNEY — In the file with newspaper clippings of 1970 was a story headed, “Students Search for Oldest Book.”

Downey High School journalism students had recently thought they had found the oldest copies of the school yearbook: 1921 and a 1923 issue, until David Shirley brought a copy of his great-uncle’s “Summary” to the school.

The great-uncle, Geroge Francher, now lived in Austin, Tex. Then a few days later, Rhea Rasmussem brought a copy of the 1915 “Summary” belonging to a family friend, Mrs. Minnie Batson.

Poems, jokes, essays and short stories were included in both of the earlier books. Among the seniors in the 1916 book was Wallace Kincaid, father of Wally Kincaid, baseball and basketball coach at DSHS. Cecelia Mandala’s father was a senior and student body president in the 1923 book.

Downey’s first football team was formed in 1921 and the first yearbook now in the journalism files to have a picture of the football team is the 1923 “Summary” brought recently by Martin Logan, a painter working on the new buildings.

The 1915 yearbook refers to the school by its original name, Los Nietos Valley Union High School, but the 1916 book calls it Downey Union High School, indicating that the name was changed between these dates.

Among the songs listed in the 1915 book as favorites of the seniors are “Put Your Arms Around Me Honey” and “You Made Me Love You,” both of them popular at the time.

Among the jokes were such killer-dillers as this:

“Do you know the difference between capital and labor?”

“No, sir.”

“Well, if I loaned you a dollar, that would be capital; if I tried to collect it, that would be labor.”

Increased enrollment forced construction of a new school in 1921.

OPEN HOUSE: The Downey Historical Society will be having an open house tour of the Dismukes House built in 1887. The date is Dec. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Mark this Saturday on your calendar so you can enjoy seeing how early pioneers celebrated the Christmas holiday. Address is 12540 Rives Ave., just north of Imperial Highway in Downey.

The Downey Historical Society will be looking forward to your visit on Dec. 15.

Bobbi Bruce is a docent for the Downey Historical Society.