Maple School Kindergarten Class 1955 courtesy of Cal Blood

Two Factors Leading to a Segregated School:

Maple School was racially integrated since 1924 but became segregated after 1958. There were two contributing factors.

Racially Restricted Covenants:

One was racially restrictive covenants, attached to homeowners’ deeds and denied housing to nonwhites. According to Fullerton – The Boom Years, “Many of the Fullerton subdivisions established in the 1920s and 1930s included racially restrictive covenants – private agreements barring nonwhites from occupying or owning property – that led to segregated neighborhoods.” Americans of Mexican, African, and Asian descent were confined south of the Santa Fe Tracks in the East Truslow barrio or into family housing camps provided by citrus associations or railroad companies.

Richman School Opened in 1958:

The second factor was the Richman School opening. After World War II, Fullerton experienced a population boom. New housing communities sprang up, which required more schools. According to Fullerton-The Boom Years, “Fullerton’s population surged from 10,442 in 1940 to 85,987 in 1970. By August 24, 1955, city staff reported that twenty-seven homes were added to the city’s residential areas every weekday.”

Most new housing tracts throughout Fullerton weren’t available to nonwhites except those adjacent to Maple School. Many East Truslow families – along with families from citrus & railroad housing camps – bought these homes. Therefore, when new boundaries for Richman School were set in 1958, the children transferring to Richman were majority white. Students remaining at Maple were mainly nonwhites, thus producing the only segregated school in the FSD. Cal Blood, a former Fullertonian, lived in the Maple Area. His maternal great-grandfather shepherded the flocks of Domingo Bastanchury. He attended Maple School during the demographic transformation. He was among the few whites remaining at Maple and jokingly stated, “I was a minority within a minority. The change didn’t affect me much because I had more Chicano friends.”

Segregated Schools Ruled Unconstitutional:

The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case of Brown vs Board of Education Topeka, Kansas, ruled that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional. The FSD began desegregating Maple School in 1966 by bussing the 5th & 6th graders. Announcements were mailed to parents informing them about the bussing plan. There were parent meetings to determine schedules and school designations. Parents generally accepted the initial bussing process in 1966. Nevertheless, this yearly, incremental bussing plan would lead to the closing of Maple School in 1972.

Mr. Hamm & Bobby Acacia School 1967

My Bussing Experience to Acacia School:

I transferred to Acacia in 1966 for 6th grade. I was very fortunate to go to a new school with many friends. Other Maple students were less fortunate. I got up earlier and returned home much later than if I attended Maple. Students boarded buses in front of Maple, and bussing would continue for 30 years. Upon arriving at Acacia, a teacher escorted us into the campus while being stared at and scrutinized by several groups of Acacia students.

Sticking close together – I and Maple friends Ricky Jaimes, Joseph Valenzuela, Albert Ybarra, and Fernando Arce – headed to the playground, our custom at Maple. A fellow Little Leaguer, Kevin Barlow, greeted us with his friends. We agreed to play football, and it was the browns versus the whites. When the bell rang, Kevin said, “Bobby, tomorrow I’ll be on your team.” That exchange began my fruitful experience at Acacia.

Our Acacia teachers, Mr. Hamm and Mr. McGregor organized seasonal sports teams, and for me – it was a sports-loving boy’s paradise! Our principal, Mr. Alan Elliott, was welcoming and supportive, and the Froelich and Maglione families opened their homes to us.

Maple School Sixth Grade Class 1961 courtesy of Cal Blood

My Maple classmates transferring to other schools experienced the following:

• Karen Esqueda – “Oh, my dad was very upset because he disagreed with only us getting bussed, so he enrolled me at St. Juliana Catholic School.”

• Anita Louise “Weez” Morris, Acacia – “I didn’t like getting bussed out of my school and neighborhood. The girls at Acacia weren’t friendly, except for a new friend, Linda Bridgford.”

• Albert Ybarra, Acacia – “It was a good experience and beneficial for me. I met new friends, and it helped make me more outgoing in a different environment.”

The Twins, Charlene & Darlene Quijano – Golden Hills.

• Charlene said, “They immediately started calling us “Beans & Tortillas.” “Initially, it was not a good experience, and the girls weren’t nice.”

• Darlene stated, “The bus driver was also rude to us, so we ditched the bus one day and walked to Golden Hills. The first months were unpleasant, but it got better.”

• Victor Garcia, Golden Hills – “It helped me, and mom said it was important for us kids to mix. Some of my Maple textbooks were well-worn, and previous names listed on the book inside flap included my sister – who was ten years older.”

• Jesse L. Wallace Jr., Fern Drive – “It was good and bad. I was immediately called the ‘N-word’ by a boy, who eventually became one of my best friends.”

Next is Part Three: 1972 – Bearing the Brunt – A District-wide, Bussing Plan Placed on One School, reviews Maple Community’s resistance to the school’s closure, a failed legal effort against one-way busing, the school’s transition to the Maple Community Center, and changing ethnic demographics leading to reopening Maple School.