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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1978)
Portland Observer Thursday, November 30, 1978 Page 3 left there a few years later,” Willis reflected quietly, "th e vandalism rate at that school was the lowest in the entire city.” by Kathryn H. Bogle Here they arel Some o f Portland’ s first Black school teachers! Seven are pictured here — there were eleven, but four were either out o f the city or were unable to attend the big dance back in 1949 given by the Portland branch o f the NAACP tc celebrate the 40th anniversary o f the national organization. The teachers were honored guests that night and a very proud and hap py throng crowded Norse hall to see them, to gree than and to joy in their accomplishment. The applause was thunderous as each stepped forward to receive a bouquet in recognition o f the special strength o f character we knew that each had to possess to win a place in the city’s public schools. We could only guess at what ob stacles they had already overcome and to guess what hurdles might be later erected in their path as they pursued their profession. Receiving flowers on stage that night in 1949 were: W illis Williams, Leota Bryant Stone who had been the very first Black woman in Port land classrooms, Tessie Price, Helen Rawlins, Emma Walker Chiles, Ruth Spencer and Josephine Grim m ett. Not appearing in the picture were: Susie Patterson, M artha Jordan, Heloise H ill and Robert Ford who was the first Black male to teach in the public schools o f the city. Leota Bryant Stone, Josephine G rim m ett and Tessie Price are deceased but all led productive lives and were happy to remain in their profession throughout their working careers. Nearly all the others have retired. We have talked with some o f them and w ill share with you some pictures they have in their albums. W illis Williams did not change his profession basically, but he did go very soon in to a p rin cip a ls h ip capacity and he did change his geographic location to bring variety into his own life experience. He and his wife, Frances, who also became a teacher (changing her own profession), charted their journeys with imaginative skill ending their careers back in their old home town. Well, close to it. They have retired to a newly purchased home in Van couver, Washington. W illis is a graduate o f Pacific U niversity at Forest G rove. He worked hard for nine years on the Union Pacific Railway and then put himself through college, he related to us. Frances has seen to it that vacation periods afforded this couple a chance for “ enrichment as teachers, and for some earned s e lf-g ra tific a tio n .” Foreign travel has been their outlet. The W illiam s’ have spent summer vacation days in Italy, Greece, Israel and the more northern parts o f Europe. They have also touched down in Mexico and have made an aloha trip to Hawaii. Retirement for W illis means serv ing on the language arts committee o f the Evergreen School District in © Family Album Northwest 1978 ROSE VILLA CLEANERS Portland's first public school teachers were honored by the N AA CP in 1949: Willis Williams, Leota Bryant Stone, Price, Helen Rawlins, Emma Walker Chiles, Ruth Williams goes on with his story: ‘ ‘Since they had never had a Black full-time teacher in their district, the school superintendent and a prin cipal drove 45 miles to observe my teaching. I was not aware o f their in tent until 20 minutes before their arrival when I was so informed by my principal. They spent an hour in my classroom and they offered me a contract before leaving. I was assigned to a sixth grade at Addison School. “ A fte r my firs t year there, 1 passed a battery o f tests at Stanford University and applied for a prin cipalship with that district. " I was one o f 32 men applying for that single opening. 1 finished a lengthy interview before a group o f fifteen Stanford professors and cen tral district personnel. 1 came out in second place. 1 applied again the following year and was successful on my third try. The school I had been in as a teacher became my firs t assignment as a principal. It was quite a w ealthy and inte lle ctu a l community which afforded me op portunities for experimentation and new innovations.” Meanwhile, Frances, a graduate o f Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina who had worked as a social worker for Multnomah County when the family lived in Portland, decided to go back to college. She wanted to s h ift her profession to that o f teaching. Accordingly, she entered San Jose State College and added an Spencer, Josephine Grimmett. Not pictured: Susie Patter son, Robert Ford, Martha Jordan, and Heloise Hill. day that very few, i f any, white youngsters attended school for fear o f attack. “ Needless to say, I p ro m p tly called a lengthy ‘all school’ assem bly. This activity ceased immediately at my school.” HAWAII The couple heard the call o f Hawaii. W illis applied and received a one year exchange principalship to Hawaii with his salary paid by the California district. " I became the first Black principal in the Hawaiian Islands,” he said. " M y assignment was at M onaw ili School about nine miles from Honolulu at Kailua. My school was a 710 p u p il school, kindergarten through sixth grades. It was com posed o f pupils from a number o f ethnic groups from generally middle to high middle income families. “ I fo und the challenge oddly reversed to discover that here the white child and his family were the brunt o f considerable ill will. It was dramatically demonstrated on their annual " K ill Hoale” day. This was a WE DO ALTERATIONS 3l|t from the "low er 48” often had to be put back a class in transfer to catch up with their grade level. The school had its own com plete Stitz planetarium , an in s ta lla tio n especially satisfying to W illis. He had held a deep interest in DRAPERY CLEANING SPECIALISTS E A & LAUNDRY SERVICE. A M o n -F ri 9:30-6:30 - S a t. 9-1 BREAKFAST AT ANYTIME SPECIAL CHITTUNGS DAILY 5246 N.E. UNION 2 8 7 -9 3 6 3 PORTLAND,ORE. School Washings ¡¡ MADE EASY! Willis and Frances Williams in Hawaii in 1969. ALASKA W ithin two or three years, in 1964, the Williams teaching team heeded the "c a ll” again, this time it was the "c a ll o f the Y ukon” they heard. Positions for W illis as a principal, and for Frances as a teacher, were awaiting their arrival in Juneau. They drove their car from Palo A lto to Prince Rupert, took their car aboard a ship at Prince Rupert and when the ship docked in Juneau, Juneau’ s firs t Black teacher and Juneau’s first Black principal had arrived. The Juneau experience was a rewarding one, the couple agree en thusiastically, W illis was principal at d iffe re n t times at tw o d iffe re n t elementary schools and spent three happy years at the newly built junior high school called the “ M arie Drake.” What made “ M arie D rake” so special in W illis ’ album? The curriculum for one thing. The basic 3 R’ s were stressed here and children □ h o m e fu r n is h in g s 2-SPEED WASHER GE proven dependability with two wash and two spin speeds, plus two wash cycles for versatile family-style washing. Filter-Flo system helps eliminate lint. Famous GE Activator Agitator for thorough but gentle cleaning. Porcelain-enameled lid, top, wash basket and tub. No. 14-211 LIMITED QUANTITY *1 9 8 ANCHORAGE Eskimo students paint wall mural in Anchorage school. B WASHERS AND DRYERS planetariums as a teaching tool since his Portland days when the efforts o f Portland locals built one here. The children o f Juneau kept school hours exactly as children do in the "low er 48,” though often they had to lig h t th e ir own way by fla sh lig h t through the season darkness. Snows were frequent and deep, so the classrooms were equip ped with extra cloakroom space for the drying o f wet garments. Physical education classes very norm ally provided instruction for skiing and for ice skating. Marie Drake had its own ice skating rink and ice hockey games, and, ro u tin e ly children checked out any o f the 100 pairs of skis kept at the school for this pur pose. A fte r five years in Juneau, Williams was offered a place as the Assistant Superintendent o f Schools for that district, but he turned the o p p o rtu n ity down. He preferred principalships. Also there had been “ tw o d iffic u lt w inters o f deep snow” ; four-foot layers piled on top o f four-foot layers — with incessant, endless shoveling required. The Williams’ looked southward. The principal and the teacher ap plied for employment with the A n chorage School District where the winters were "less severe as far as snowfall is concerned.” They were accepted. But — there was a proviso before W illis was asked to sign the co ntract. He had to accept the position the District most wanted to fill. It was the problem school o f A n chorage. The school had had five different principals in eight years. W illis signed. Composition o f the student body was one-third white, one-third Black and one-third Indian-Eskimo. Van dalism was rampant. White parents knew o f only one other Black prin cipal in Anchorage schools (there were about fifteen Black teach«s in the 63 Anchorage schools) and they had some apprehension regarding the treatm ent they might receive from this new Black principal. "T h is was my first experience o f this nature,” recounted W illis, "and I accepted it with open arms. A ll parents soon discovered that I treated my pupils alike, regardless o f color and (gradually) they joined w ith other parents to make the needed changes. " I reorganized a number o f PTA m ethods, and the student body methods. The pupils took on a new pride in their school and had much to say through their student council on the running o f their school. When I /J 8525 N.E. F R E M O N T ^ CLOSED M O NDAY " I held several teacher workshops while there and 1 also conducted three-hour workshops in "Creative Social Studies” for the convention o f principals while I was there. The cen tra l adm inistrative s ta ff and my faculty cordially received all o f my efforts and I was asked to remain there. "Frances and I had enjoyed our year there in Hawaii but we preferred to return to California, which we did. j » \ f AST - QUALITY DRY CLEANING J T u e s -T h u r a 6:30 a m -6 p m — Fri- S a t 6:30 am -3:30 a m — S u n 6:30 am -3:30 p m School, where Willis Williams headed the athletic department. elementary school teaching creden tial to her secondary credential, and accumulated work towards an M .A. degree in education. So, two years after the W illiams’ move to C a lifo rn ia , Frances qualified and was accepted fo r a teaching position with the Ravens wood School District- in East Palo Alto. She taught also in Menlo Park while W illis was moving into his p rin c ip a lsh ip . A fte r teaching in California for seven years, she now holds a L ife Teaching Credential from that state. SERVICE & QUALITY MAKE OUR REPUTATION MARIE’S KITCHEN 1953 basketball team and cheer leaders at Portland's Failing Elementary " I n September o f 1948,” Williams began, ” 1 was placed in a teaching position in the eighth grade at Joseph Failing School here in P ortland. Being the only male person on the faculty (other than the principal), I was put in charge o f a number o f in school assignments such as head o f the athletics department, the m ilk program, the safety squad, and after three years, in charge o f the building in the absence o f the principal. " I spent five years at this school and during that time I took on some outside elected positions. I became president o f the Southwest Social Council, Director o f the Department o f Classroom Teachers for District 10 (P o rtla n d ) o f the Oregon Education Association, and became a member o f the Board o f Directors o f the P o rtla n d Grade Teachers Association. I also was a board member o f the Urban League.” Along the way, W illis also picked up a M .A . degree in School A d ministration from the University o f Oregon in 1953. Soon the Williams family decided on a move to sunny California. They settled in R ichm ond, C a lifo rn ia where W illis taught sixth grade for a year until he could get his bearings to select community and housing in a more permanent lo ca tio n . They found an attractive location at Palo A lto and W illis applied fo r a teaching position there. Vancouver, W ashington, being a member o f the Citizen’ s Bond and Levy Committee. He makes “ many tracks” to P ortland attending meetings o f the Royal Esquire Club and is their corresponding secretary. Willis also is running for a seat on the board o f directors for the Alaska State Retirement System. In retirement Frances seems con tent to decorate and settle the family into their new home and to brush up on the bridge game with old friends. 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