Walt Disney School
It's time for another SPECIAL GUEST POST! You guys love 'em. This one is from Grant McCormick, who has been nice enough to share photos with us before (see some HERE and HERE). Some of today's images are extra-special because they feature none other than Walt Disney himself!
Grant says: In 1956 the city of Anaheim was rapidly growing as whole neighborhoods were being carved out of orange groves. This of course required more schools be built. As luck would have it I lived in the area that would attend one of the newest schools. When the district was deciding on a name for the school they had the perfect one, considering it was just three miles from Disneyland - Walt Disney School.
It opened for the 1956/57 school year. In appreciation of the school being named after him Walt Disney himself came to speak at the school's dedication. He brought Vesey Walker and the Disneyland band with him. What a thrill for all the students, teachers and parents.
There's Vesey Walker and the Disneyland Band!
I'd hoped to recognized some other familiar faces from the Disney Studio, maybe Admiral Joe Fowler, or Walt's brother Roy, but none of these folks look familiar to me.
Grant continued: During his speech he announced that as a special thanks for the honor of the school's name he was inviting the entire school and staff to be his guests for a day at Disneyland. One morning a few weeks after the dedication ceremony several buses arrived at the school. Everyone climbed aboard for the ten minute ride to the Park. Everyone was given passes for unlimited rides and a free lunch. It was a day none of us will ever forget.
Can you imagine?!
And if that wasn't amazing enough, Grant saved his souvenir program! There can't be many of these around. It's fun to see a few familiar names in the acknowledgements, such as Bob Moore and Tommy Walker. I wonder if the boy scout visible in the first photo is Daniel Kirby, who recited the pledge to the flag?
WOW, the program is boldly signed by Walt Disney (using his famous red grease pencil)! WHAT A TREASURE!
Thanks SO MUCH to Grant McCormick for sharing these artifacts from a neat (but obscure) piece of Disney history!
30 comments:
Major-
What treasures these all are. The program alone, for its uniqueness - not to mention Walt's signature - is right up there with rare collectibles. Those 'unidentified' gentlemen are merely "seat fillers", Major... certainly no one wanted Walt's visit to feel like a bust-!
(Extra points for the use of crepe paper streamers - in the school colors?? - to 'decorate' the chain link fencing-!!) And once again - in the "too much information dept." - the microphone Walt is using appears to be an Altec 670A, multi-directional ribbon microphone-! That's a pretty snazzy microphone for school use, but I guess nothing is too good for Walt-!
Thanks so much Grant, for sharing these very wonderful items.
Neat photos! Thanks Grant & thanks to Major. This school is a very familiar sight because I live within walking distance of it (1 mile). I pass by the school often. It is actually an elementary school, not a high school. The fact that Walt Disney signed Grant's program is extra special.
-DW
Nanook, because I am feeling generous, I am going to offer Grant $100 CASH MONEY for his autograph! How can he resist such an opportunity? And if that microphone is "pretty snazzy", maybe his studio helped with the setup of the event?
DW, cool that you live so close, and THANK you for the correction, the mistake was all mine (I think my fingers automatically typed "high school" rather than just "school). I've gone back and fixed the error!
Woweeee! Obscure, indeed!
I wonder if the Bob Moore murals still exist in the school's multi-purpose room?
Imagine if you went to another elementary school in the same district, and you found out that another school got to go to Disneyland for free.....and your school didn't.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Grant! And Major, too!
I was curious about those Bob Moore murals that are mentioned on the program, so I did a search. I didn't find anything for the Walt Disney School in Anaheim, but there is a Walt Disney School in Marceline, Missouri. It looks like Bob Moore also did murals for that school, which opened in 1960. Perhaps the murals at both schools were similar, or maybe even identical:
https://www.yesterland.com/wdschool.html
How totally cool. I bet it must have been an event to remember. I hope that mural or murals are still there. No one would cover them up, I hope. We should send someone to do a little recon for us. Wow 100 bucks! Someone is feeling generous. Thanks to Grant and Major Moneybags for these awesome scans.
I'll bet that's Daniel Kirby in the first black & white photo, the Boy Scout in the back row of the "seats of honor" behind Walt. I'm not convinced he's the same Scout in the first photo; it's conceivable that more than one Scout wore his uniform that day.
This must have been such a neat experience, Grant. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Very cool experience, to be sure! Right ahead of living just miles away from Disneyland!
Thanks, Grant and the Major! Dis Walt sign every program?
zach
I'm still sitting here just taken aback by this incredible post by Grant. Holy Cow! What an event that must have been. I guess that's another time and place I need to check out with the Wayback.
A day in Disneyland by the Walt himself. I'm just pixelated thinking about it.
I assume that it's an elementary school (1 through 6). I sure hope some of them remember that occasion and count themselves incredibly fortunate. I'm sure Grant does.
I can't even formulate a lucid comment on the program with Walt's signature. Too much to take in. That is a thing of beauty, just one notch below the Ark of the Covenant. I try to keep being envious of other people to a bare minimum, but right now I'm envious of any of those school kids.
Thanks Grant, for this treasure you put before us.
Thank you Major, I'll give you another 100 bucks if it would help but I fear that treasure is staying with Grant till he can have Walt sign it again in the great Disneyland in the sky.
What great pictures, and Walt looked like a giddy child...with everyone in the background laughing as well. Very sweet. How lucky to have Walt's signature, and with such provenance- I'm not too much of a sentimentalist with "stuff", I probably would have sold that signature years and years ago. I'd keep it in a safe deposit box if I were you- it's not like a rando signature on a check or something- it actually is a "Walt piece of history" and it is a GREAT very classic WD signature! I'd have it appraised and insured- but maybe you have already! I've seem some other pictures of Walt speaking at that opening- but he's wearing a carnation and name tag and doesn't have the elaborate mike set up- perhaps it was for another Walt Disney elementary school (?) Not sure how many there are...Don't recognize any of the laughing suit guys, Tommy Walker could be one of them...but maybe his dad Vesey was enough Walkers' for that day- and this was about a year after his kidnapping...that's a weird and scary story- look it up when you have the chance.
What a great memento and memories of such a special time. Being in grade school myself at that time in Lancaster...dreaming of going to Disneyland with my folks...which we did in 1957...making the trek to there and back home in one very long day. Look at the happiness of everyone there. OK...I'm smiling too. Great post. KS
Grant, thank you for sharing this wonderful memory and the physical souvenirs. Although, I'm with Dr. Goat, this is more like a Holy Grail or one of the Three Rings. No ordinary autograph in any way.
How fortunate to have lived in that place at that time.
JG
Wow, thank you Grant for sharing these. I wonder what Walt said that has everyone cracking up like that. What a memorable day for everyone there, and yes, the autograph is amazing. Nice post Major.
WOW! What DrGoat and everyone else said!
Grant, you win the award for "BEST CHILDHOOD EVER!" You had a really cool mom who worked at Disneyland (who brought you to work so you could freely roam and enjoy everything at Disneyland); you lived near Disneyland; and you even went to a school dedicated to Walt! Not to mention - you met Walt (more than once, I believe)!
Grant, you do know what this means, don't you?? You owe us lots and lots and lots(!) of fun stories so that we can re-live your experiences with you, here on GDB. Thank you so much for sharing these photos and souvenir program with us!
Am now picking my jaw up off the floor because I have to get some work done.
Thank you, too, Major!
@ Bu-
You are correct in that items in those 'other' pictures don't match the festivities from 1957 - including the lectern - which was borrowed from the neighboring First Lutheran Church (hence the cross). Walt returned to his namesake school on February 9, 1965 for a Founders Day celebration. Evidently by then, the school had its own lectern, and the microphone was more what one would expect at a public grammar school [although not really best-practice in these circumstances]: an Electro-Voice 644 'highly-directional' dynamic microphone.
Following his 1965 visit, in addition to sending a letter to the student body, he sent letters to the parents of all the students, beginning with this immutable thought: “My visit with you this past Tuesday made me both humble and proud. For most of us, there would be little meaning in life without children.”
You can read more about that 1965 visit HERE.
In reference to the church, above... make that Faith Lutheran Church, not 'First'.
First - Thanks everyone for the kind comments. You guys are awesome!!
Major, Thanks so much for posting my memories. I love sharing them with my fellow Junior Gorillas as much as I love reading theirs. (Yes, we all love 'em!)
I was hoping you or others here could identify the dignitaries. I expected to see Tommy Walker since his daughters attended the school. I'm sure he was there but not in the photos.
Nanook, I dunno, maybe many of the men WERE seat fillers. We all know Walt hated to play to an empty room (like my band has done way too many times. LOL).
I can only positively identify one person. In pic #3 the man front right in the dark suit was the school principal Mr. Kauffman. He was a big 6' 2" intimidating hulk of a man. Believe me, the last thing any kid wanted was to be sent to the principal's office.
Also in pic #3 the man on the extreme left MAY be Dick Nunis (one of the original Disneylanders and eventually Director of Park Operations).
Fun fact: The area Walt was in was the bike parking area. The bike racks were removed for his visit. The crape paper decorations on the surrounding fence sure gave it a festive look.
Nice ID on the mic!
DW, Cool you live in the old 'hood (well, old to me). Until 1966 I lived on Baker St., off Orange Ave. between Gilbert and Magnolia. Where are you?
Major, The program bidding has started at $100. Do I hear a thousand? (He he... yeah, like I would ever sell it!)
Tokyo Magic, You are so right about students at other schools being jealous of our Disneyland trip. Another new school opened the same year as WDS. Salk Elementary School, named for Dr. Jonas Salk, creator of the first successful polio vaccine. So while the Disney kids got a day at the Park the Salk kids got fee polio shots. I'm sure glad my parents didn't buy a house in that neighborhood. *grin*
I've searched for photos of the inside of the cafeteria where the Bob Moore murals were but same as you, I only found photos of the Marceline school. Although they aren't identical they are similar.
JC Shannon, I'm sure the Anaheim murals are still there. I live only about 15 miles from the school. I should call them and if the murals are still there maybe get permission to visit and get some photos to share.
I was kinda shocked that Major only ponied up a hundred bucks for the program. With the cash cow that GDB is I expected more. (JK Major, I know you're squirreling the money away to buy Disneyland so you can Gorillaland to the list of attractions.)
Chuck, My guess it the seated scout is Daniel Kirby. There were lots of scouts in the school. It makes sense that being on the program he would have a VIP seat.
Zach, Yeah, it was a lifetime memory day. To the best of my recollection Walt signed the program for anyone who asked. I remember waiting in line for it.
Dr Goat, Yes, it is a grade K - 6 elementary school. I attended 1 - 6.
If there's a heaven I imagine it would be classic Disneyland on an uncrowded day with Walt leading a guided tour explaining details of each attraction. Then signing my program a second time saying something like "We meet again".
Bu, I wish I could remember what Walt said that day. He certainly had everybody laughing.
There are a lot of Walt Disney Schools around the country but this was the first so I'm sure it was special to Walt.
The Tommy Walker kidnapping really was scary. He lived across the street from us and when it happened his wife came to our house (she and my mom were best friends). I remember waking up hearing crying and screaming and ran to the living room to see Marge Walker completely melting down. My mom made up some story and sent me back to bed. It was years later before us kids were told what really happened.
Here's a link to the story.
http://disneylandcompendium.blogspot.com/2014/08/that-time-tommy-walker-was-kidnapped.html
KS, Cool that you were there in '57. Those early years were the best.
Kathy, If that event happened today video and audio from dozens of phones would be all over the internet. But since it was the middle of the last century all we can do is see that it was a happy day.
Lou and Sue, Thanks, I was really lucky childhood wise . I didn't realize how different it was from most until I met kids from other areas while on vacation. I've never taken it for granted. (Yes, I was very fortunate to briefly talk to Walt a few times.)
I do have a few more cool things to share but it's tough to top this one. Although I'm like you and everyone else here who loves anything Disneyland related. Or Knott's, or the World's Fair, or family photos, or Stuff From the Box. :)
Nanook, Great info on the lectern and letter from Walt. I was in ninth grade in '65 and wasn't aware Walt made a return visit to the school.
This is awesome! what a treasure to have experienced this as a kid, and to get a free day at Disneyland as well!
Thanks for sharing, Grant
TokyoMagic!, interesting thought about the murals. My mom went to Canoga Park High School, and that had murals painted by Kay Nielsen, who was a prestigious illustrator, and who also worked for Disney on such things as the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence for Fantasia. I think (but am not positive) that those murals are still there.
TokyoMagic!, yeah, all I could find was pictures of the ones in Marceline. Which makes me fear that the ones in Anaheim have been removed or painted over!!
Jonathan, I could easily imagine some administrator deciding that Disney characters were too frivolous or childish, or just not “cool” anymore. Greater things than those murals have been destroyed, sadly. And I may up my offer to $115.
Chuck, you might be right about Daniel Kirby. With my luck, had I been at that event, I would have had Kirby sign my program, instead of Walt Disney!
zach, I can’t imagine that Walt signed every program - the poor guy would have had to stick around for hours. Grant was very lucky!
DrGoat, I know, isn’t this amazing? When Grant sent the pictures to me, I was blown away. And in part because I’d never heard of the event. Grant knew that it was sort of a “lost” bit of Disney history. Yes, it is an elementary school (I initially called it “Walt Disney High School”, but that’s because I am lame). I have a Disney autograph, but paid big bucks for mine. The thought of having one made out, from Walt, directly to Grant (or Nanook too, he has one!) is leaps and bounds cooler. Thank you for the additional 100 bucks, if Grant agrees to sell it to us, we can take turns. You have it for six months, and then I’ll have it for six months!
Bu, gosh, I guess you really aren’t sentimental about stuff if you would have sold that autograph! On the other hand, if one could get several thousand dollars for a signed piece of paper, it could be just the thing to help buy a car or achieve some other goal. I’m a collector, so I place way too much importance on things (see: my “stuff from the box” posts, ha ha). I believe there are quite a few Walt Disney schools around the country - in fact I now remember that Grant found 14 schools by that name. I doubt Walt attended the opening of all of them, but how could he refuse the one so close to his famous park? I’ve read about Tommy Walker’s kidnapping, what a bizarre thing.
KS, wow, Lancaster to Anaheim, then all day at Disneyland, and then the drive home - I’m tired just thinking about it! But I’ll bet you loved every minute of it.
JG, I’d say that any signed artifact from Walt qualifies as the “ultimate” Disney collectible. I’m not even an autograph person, per se, but felt the need to have a Walt signature in my collection if I could ever get one.
Kathy!, yes, it is a shame that we don’t have a record of what Walt said, a transcription or even a recording. Maybe the archives has something!
Lou and Sue, ha ha, poor Grant! I hope he has lots more stories for us, but if not, I’m grateful for what he’s shared already (I know you are too). Grant sure had a priviledged childhood, though it probably seemed totally ordinary to him at the time. Doesn’t everybody’s mother work at Disneyland? He probably saw Walt so many times that he called him “Walt” instead of “Mr. Disney”.
Nanook, funny that the school in Marceline had to borrow a lectern from a local church. Didn’t the principal ever have to give long boring pep talks? I’m imagining the arguments with the school board about the big expenditure for a lectern and microphone. “For that amount of money, we could feed the kids 5,000 lunches of nothing but beets!”. Thanks for the link to the dizavenue article. Remember when schools took photos with the whole student body in one big group?
Nanook, maybe they were “first” in faith.
Grant, thank YOU again for sharing these photos and memories! I’m sure all those men were school officials of some kind. “Maybe I can get him to give my older son a job in the mail room!”. It makes sense that the school principal was right there. I’m not sure if that is Dick Nunis in that third photo, but I’m wrong all the time, so who knows. And yes, don’t sell your autograph for $1,000, it’s probably worth at least four or five times that amount! The kids who got free polio shots… didn’t everyone get free polio shots? You definitely got the better deal. And notice that I upped my offer to $115, and DrGoat will chip in another $100, for a grand total of (does math for 10 minutes) $215!! How amazing that Walt remembered you - just think of the number of people he met EVERY day, and yet he knew he’d met you before!
Grant, ah, I did not know that your school was the first “Walt Disney School”. Neat. That Disneyland Compendium story about Tommy Walker’s kidnapping is the very article that I remember reading - until then, I’d never heard of it.
I worked with someone who worked with Tommy Walker as one of the first tour guides back then: "Jeanne"...she had a lot of very sweet recollections and memories and became the un-official, (but official) "Carefree Corner" Ambassador. She had the patience of a saint, and her enthusiasm was still in-tact after 23-odd years of employment. To the reference to Dick Nunis: don't think it's him- his hair receded in the front, not on the sides like "Dracula style". That guy DOES look familiar though...I'll study him a bit more...he is a "someone", just don't know which someone. There had to be some official document on Interoffice Memo paper stating who was going and what they were going to do, etc. It will turn up, or someone reading this will know who all of these people are.
Major-
'Earth to Major... Earth to Major-!' I think all the excitement of Grant's treasures is messing with your head-! That [borrowed] lectern is ALL Anaheim - not Marceline-! (I haven't any idea what Marceline's lectern looked like - if they even had a lectern - or perhaps a mere stack of bales of hay-!)
What say I throw my Walt autograph into the ring, (the opening bid will start at a mere $75.00-!) and we can start a bidding war - or merely dilute the potential money pool-??!! Oh, well...
I usually get around to these posts much earlier in the day but medical appointments kept me away until now. So what do I have to say? The same as everyone else which is WOW! This is amazing. So many neat photos, the program and that autograph. I was also in elementary school during this time frame but my school was no where as cool as this. It was in Los Angeles and is now gone - it was torn down and rebuilt on the other side of the playground. I think the only celebrity we had come to our school was this cowboy who would do horse and lasso tricks. He was pretty well known back then but for the life of me I can't remember his name.
About 25 years ago, at my favorite store, in my favorite WDW park - Sid Cahuenga's (collector's shop) in Disney's MGM Studios* - I saw a beautifully-framed autograph of Walt Disney (can't remember if it was a signed contract, but I remember it was more than just a signed photo), and the asking price was $10,000. So...I'll gladly offer both Grant and Nanook EACH $299 for their Disney autographs. Sorry, Major, to bump you, but autographs are my thing...
* Side note: The current Disney Studios is NOTHING compared to the Disney MGM Studios, so it is no longer my favorite. Plus, they were stupid enough to get rid of Sid Cahuenga's. Just had to vent...
@ Sue-
I'm certain this will hardly come as a shock to you, but that $10K price tag was grossly-inflated-! Depending on where the signature appeared, a price closer to $3K would be much closer to reality - and possibly even less - certainly back then. Caveat emptor - especially when purchasing such items directly from Disney; as there's absolutely no compunction on their part to attempt a fair market price-!
Tom, I think most of us are pretty jealous of Grant!!
Bu, I can hardly believe that there hasn’t been a book about the Tour Guides, from the beginnings all the way to recent days. Think of all the history they know! I feel like the guy who resembles Dick Nunis might just be a school official with “one of those faces”.
Nanook, “Major here… heavy static! You’re breaking up! You’re breaking u——“! Somehow when you mentioned a cross on the lecturn, I was picturing something more obvious than that subtle one. Plus… I have poor reading comprehension! I guess I should get hooked on phonics.
Irene, I doubt that any of us had an elementary school experience as neat as Grants. The only visitors I remember was a group of Duncan Yo Yo experts, and a person who told us about the holocaust (which was so crazy I didn’t understand that it was real). Your cowboy visitor sounds pretty fun, I have to admit! I wonder who he was?
Lou and Sue, yeeeeouch, $10,000 for a framed autograph of Walt’s! That’s steep NOW, much less 25 years ago. It’s over $17,000 in today’s money. Well, I guess that’s what you get if you want to buy something like that on Disney park property. And I know that autographs are your thing, you’ve shown me photos of some of the luminaries who have signed things that now hang on your walls. I guess I’ll have to raise my offer to $299.99!
Nanook, yes, $3,000 is more in line with today’s prices, unless it is an especially bold, big signature (like yours!). And people like signed studio items (like yours!), or Disneyland items, and they are willing to pay a premium for those. I’ve always wanted a signed copy of “My Dad, Walt Disney”, but those go for way too much.
Nanook, I'm shocked, shocked to find that gouging is going on in Disney! Trust me, I did NOT purchase that beautifully-framed autograph. But I'll up my bid to $400 for yours.
Grant- Bruce St., off Orange Ave. between Gilbert and Magnolia- practically neighbors. It's a small world after all...;)
-DW
DW, I rode my bike on your street all the time in the late 50s, early 60s. Definitely a small world... after all. :D
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