If one were of a mind to determine the entity in the South Bay that can be classified as an iconic institution because of its longevity and immeasurable contribution to the population of the region, it would have to be Sweetwater High School.
No other unit can measure up. Anyone driving west to National City on Sweetwater Road cannot miss the large building, and its accompanying small ones, when they reach Highland Avenue.
Since the 1920s the multi-floor structure has graced that corner.
Of a California art deco design, it was the educational base for many a South Bay secondary school youngster. Who knows how many of these young adults passed through its portals over the years?
We bring up the subject of Sweetwater High School because on Aug. 6 there will be the formal opening of a new building at that locale, a new edifice of modern architecture but a functional nature.
It is said to be a remodel of the original SUHS campus. It incorporates some of the classic architecture
in the new design.
The school is said to be one of the oldest in the county. It certainly is the oldest in the South Bay. It had its start in 1882 at what is now the corner of Ninth Street and E Avenue. In 1908 a new structure was erected at that same location with the name of National City High School. To accommodate the growing population of high school students the structure on Highland Avenue was built in 1921.
I have spoken with a number of people who were connected with Sweetwater High School in
one way or other. One of these is Dr. James Doyle who spent the greater portion of his education
career at Sweetwater.
Doyle, to me, is an example of the quintessential educator, that is, one who went into the profession
because that was what he wanted and, though he retired from it, never really left it. He and his wife Marilyn are both natives of the state of Illinois and taught school there for a couple of years, but on the advice
of a friend they moved to California as “that’s the place you ought to be.”
The couple initially landed north of here but eventually made their way south where both found employment, Marilyn in the San Diego district at Balboa School which is on the National City border, and Jim at Sweetwater. This choice was not only convenient but it also gave Doyle a chance to teach his favorite
subjects.
By his own admission Doyle says that from the very beginning he was a happy camper. He taught U.S. and world history and English courses, but more importantly he had the backing of one of the district’s finest principals, Alan Campbell.
He eventually teamed with the legendary Harlan Skinner in the music program where he taught the strings and from that grew a number of advanced musicians.
After 18 years as a classroom teacher he took charge of the library. He had that task for three years before he was appointed an assistant superintendent and worked out of the central office.
Bonitan Evaline Simmons was one of those Chula Vista students who made the trek to Sweetwater High School. She is a 1941 graduate of Sweetwater. I spent a pleasant afternoon with her. She showed me her yearbooks and reminisced over classmates she’d had through the years. She tells me that her parents lived on Twin Oaks and she rode the bus to the high school.
One of her friends was the late Zelma Klicka who lived nearby. They sometimes missed the bus and it was quite a hike back home. But she remembers them as happy times.
I was talking with Diane Pistole, one of our ukulele players, about Sweetwater High School and learned that she was a student there, a 1955 graduate. A precedent must have been established because her son Terry is a 1977 graduate and son Gerry a 1980 alumnus. We wonder how many other generations of families have graced those hallowed halls. Each one, I am sure would have an interesting tale to tell.
