Photo of Paul Nemecek looking through the eyepiece of his telescope.

Paul Nemecek’s Telescope

adminMid-Century Whittier

You never know what someone is going to bring to the Whittier Museum. Majority of the time it’s copies of Whittier High yearbooks or Whittier Daily newspapers; but every so often it’s something very unexpected. At the beginning of August, during the sixth month of our temporary closure, I was contacted by Sarah Hall, a Whittier resident, who was inquiring if the museum would be interested in accepting a homemade telescope built by a former Whittier resident, Paul Nemecek. Sarah’s father, Mike Pavelski, had acquired Nemecek’s telescope years ago as a keepsake from Nemecek’s family, but was now unable to …

a watercolor image of a generic blue lake with a few boats

Mysterious Lake Marie

adminMid-Century Whittier

People come to the Whittier Museum archives to research a variety of topics. They range from researching their homes, ancestry, a former business/building or just to clarify something they remember from their past. We do our best to help everyone who comes to the museum, but there is always the possibility we do not have what they’re looking for. When we can find the smallest bit of data to add to what someone is looking for, it’s a victory for Whittier history. Last month we were contacted by a former resident of South Whittier, Jim Lentine, now a resident of …

A sketch by George Woods showing a young black boy holding an opossum by the tail

George Woods: A Whittier State School Cadet Part 2

adminFred C. Nelles School, Whittier History 1887-1918

In an earlier post, we were introduced to a Whittier State School cadet by the name of George Woods who attended the school from 1899 to 1906.  George was popular among the boys and staff because of his humor and artistic talent.  The story ended with a lament that there was no information about George after he left the Whittier State School.  I am now happy to report that there is some additional information to share.  Credit for finding this information goes to local artist, historian, and friend of the Museum, Vicki Schramm.  The main source of this article is …

Photo from the 1906 Biennial Report of the Whittier State School showing the boys working setting type in the Print Shop.

George Woods: A Whittier State School Cadet Part 1

adminFred C. Nelles School, Whittier History 1887-1918

George Woods, a cadet at the Whittier State School, was a good kid. How do we know anything about George? The boys and girls attending the Whittier State School (WSS) published a monthly magazine called, appropriately, The Whittier Boys and Girls Magazine. It was both written and printed at the school by the boys in the printing shop. The girls submitted articles, stories, essays and poems to the Magazine, but they were not involved in editing, lay-up, or printing as the boys were. The California State Archives in Sacramento have a good collection of the WSS publications. Staff and volunteers …

An image from a 1918 newspaper with a drawing of an apparent Spanish man coughing with people behind him looking upset. Text says "Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases / Spread of Spanish Influenza Menaces our War Production"

Whittier in the Time of the Spanish Influenza

adminWhittier History 1887-1918

Whittier was only 31 years old when it was hit by the world-wide pandemic called Spanish influenza.  It was called the Spanish flu not because it originated in Spain, but because most of the hard-hit European nations were under war-time censorship, so the news just didn’t get out.  Spain, being a neutral country during WWI, widely publicized the outbreak occurring there.  About 675,000 Americans would die from the Spanish Flu between 1918 and 1920. The first Whittier death from the Spanish flu occurred at the Whittier State School on September 14, 1918.  Cadet Walter Bruhms was a healthy 16 year-old. …