Sierra 2 will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Sierra School building on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every half hour a video of the history of the school will be shown in room 9. In room 10, there will be historic exhibits and photos of the school including its rescue from demolition in the 1970s by the newly formed Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. At 2 p.m., there will be a ceremonial unveiling of the historic landmark plaques at the front entry facing 3rd Avenue, followed by a 90th anniversary cake celebration in the garden room.

The Sierra 2 Center is working to restore some of the light fixtures to provide a more historically accurate representation of the original design. The center is looking for potential donors to help fund the project. Every $200 tax-deductible donation will purchase one light fixture. Each donor will be named on a commemorative plaque to be hung at Sierra 2 Center.

The following history and photos accompanying this article have been provided by Sierra 2.

When World War I ended Sacramento had great pent up demand for homes and schools. The Curtis Park neighborhood had only Highland Park School, a wooden structure first erected in 1888. A bond issue paved the way for new schools and Sierra School was opened for the spring term in 1923. Alumnus Philip Watkins who became a United States  District Judge recalled moving day from Highland Park School across the street: “We got in line and marched, two by two, down the steps of the old school and then across the street to our new home,” recalled the judge.

“Mrs. Rowe (the principal) led the way. It was the biggest thrill of our school life to that point.”

Much of the design of the school was accomplished by Curtis Park’s landmark architects Charles and James Dean. The school is Andalusian Spanish Style and inspired Spanish Revival Style homes in the nearby 1920s subdivisions. The auditorium was added in 1929. The campus was designated a Sacramento historic landmark in 2005.

Sierra was used as an elementary school from 1923 to 1976, educating thousands of Curtis Park children.

When the Field Act, an earthquake safety measure, forced cosure the neighborhood rallied to save the school. The successful effort led to the creation of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. Since it was saved, SCNA has run the Sierra School campus as the Sierra 2 Center for Arts and the Community. The first decade of that stewardship entailed a major restoration and rehabilitation project. Over the years the Home and Garden Tour has been a major source of revenue to continue the tradition of stewardship of this historic landmark and social and cultural resource.

Sierra 2 is located at 2791 24th St. For more information, call 452-3005.

East Sacramento resident Mabel “Bunny” Perich will turn 100 years old on Nov. 24. Photo by Lance Armstrong

In today’s world, it is certainly not very common to encounter someone with firsthand World War I related memories. And this is just part of the reason that the life of East Sacramento resident Mabel “Bunny” Perich can be of interest to so many people.
While sitting down and at times standing inside her residence at Mercy McMahon Terrace senior residential care facility last week, Bunny shared details about her life, which began on Nov. 24, 1912.
In recalling one of her World War I related memories, Bunny, who was raised adjacent to the west side of Chicago in the village of Oak Park, said, “I remember my mother (Mabel Gearon) making fudge during the First World War. Two of my uncles were over in Germany and I remember my mother packing fudge to send to one of them (Gratton Eugene Gearon) in 1917, before the war ended. I can still see her standing in the kitchen stirring the fudge and packing it in a tin box to mail over to my uncle.”
Bunny’s other World War I related memory involves an event, which was held at Chicago’s city hall shortly after the armistice between the allies and Germany was signed in Compiegne, France on Nov. 11, 1918.
“When the war ended, they had a pageant in city hall to commemorate all the men who had been killed during the war and I was dressed as a Red Cross nurse and a little boy was dressed as a doughboy – a soldier,” Bunny said. “I remember that they gave me a sterling silver spoon with (an image of) a Red Cross nurse on the handle and they gave the little boy a sterling silver spoon with (an image of) a soldier on the handle. I still have the Red Cross spoon. I don’t know the name of the little boy, because I only saw him that one day at the pageant.”
Two years later, Bunny took dancing lessons and was involved in a dancing recital in Chicago.
In remembering the recital, which she believes was held in a theater on Ashland Avenue, Bunny said, “I was dressed like a doll in a French doll store. That was the scene. I remember I did a dance and at the end of the dance – I had an American flag tucked down into my uniform – I came to the (theater) lights and I pulled the flag out, which was a silk flag, and held it up and the audience went wild.”
Bunny, who was given her nickname by her father, Joseph S. Gearon, who worked for the Department of Streets for the city of Chicago, also recalled the days of Prohibition.
“I remember my mother and father going out on Saturday nights to a speakeasy,” Bunny said. “I didn’t know it at the time where they went, but that’s where they would go on Saturday nights, not every Saturday. People would go to speakeasies back then and hope they wouldn’t get raided.”
Although she was certainly living in the Chicago area during the days of the notorious gangster Al Capone, Bunny said she does not remember hearing any Capone-related stories during that era.
Among Bunny’s favorite childhood memories was roller skating with her sister, Helen Marie, in the basement of her family’s home during the winters.
In 1927, Bunny graduated from the eighth grade at the now historic St. Edmund (Catholic parochial) School in Oak Park, Ill. The original, 15th century French Gothic designed portion of the school, which was built as a copy of the Palace of Justice in Rouen, France, opened in 1917.
Bunny, whose partial description of 5 feet, 2 inches tall with blue eyes would cause some people to begin singing a popular song of the past, graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Ill. in 1931.
Among the notable people to graduate from that school were the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, Dan Castellaneta, who provides the voice for the cartoon character Homer Simpson, National Football League Hall of Famer George Trafton and city planner and architect Burley Griffin.
In October 1937, Bunny married William J. “Bill” Luck, who worked for the Cherry-Burrell Corp., which was known for manufacturing dairy equipment. And less than two months later, he was transferred to work in San Francisco.
The couple’s first San Francisco residence was at Chestnut and Divisadero streets. And while residing in an apartment at Francisco and Gough streets, the couple had their first and only child, Nancy, on Nov. 13, 1940.
Like many people who recall World War II, Bunny remembers where she was when she learned that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.
“I was giving my daughter a bath and my husband came rushing in and said, ‘I just heard on the radio they bombed Pearl Harbor,’” Bunny said.
And with the United States’ involvement in World War II came the blackouts, which Bunny also remembers well.
“They blacked out the whole city and they painted all the streetlights that faced the ocean black when they had blackouts,” Bunny said. “And they had air raid wardens to tell you to turn all your lights out and we would put blankets over the windows that faced outside. And then we would go up on the roof of the apartment house and the whole city was blacked out, but we could see the outline of the ships going under the Golden Gate (Bridge).”
After the war, Bunny and her family moved to 2566 39th Ave. in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
Bunny became a Sacramentan when she moved with her family into an apartment at 2230 10th Ave., near Sacramento Junior College (today’s Sacramento City College), in 1947.
Bill, who was married to Bunny for 37 years, died at the age of 64 on June 23, 1976.
Bunny, who worked as a clerk in the bonds section of the state treasurer’s office from 1960 to 1980 and is a lifetime member of St. Patrick’s Home Guild, married a widower named Peter J. Perish (1909-1987) in 1981.
Peter and Bunny spent about seven years of their retirement lives together, enjoying a variety of activities, including traveling through Europe.
Among Bunny’s most gratifying activities during her life was her volunteer work for such places as Holy Spirit Parish and School and the Sacramento Children’s Home through her service to the Los Niños Service League, which raised funds through its assistance to the Casa de Los Niños luncheon restaurant – today’s Casa Garden Restaurant.
In January 2004, following an unfortunate incident when she fell and broke her hip, Bunny became a resident of Mercy McMahon Terrace.
Until her accident, she had been living alone and driving her own vehicle.
She said that her decision to move to her current home was an excellent one.
“I decided I would stay at Mercy McMahon, because it’s a wonderful facility for older people with nice people, good food and good care,” Bunny said.
Despite residing in this facility, Bunny, who enjoys reading historical novels and occasionally playing bridge, remains very independent, as she takes her own medicine and is still mobile on her two feet.
In reviewing her life as a soon-to-be centenarian, Bunny said, “I’ve been lucky. I’ve had a wonderful life.”

American Red Cross Capital Region Chapter members gather together at the chapter’s headquarters near Cal Expo. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

It was on May 21, 1881, thus nearly 130 years ago, that the ARC was founded by Clara Barton.

Furthermore, on a national level, this is currently a very notable time for the organization.

This month is Red Cross Month, a recognition that has been a tradition since President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was serving as the honorary chairman of the organization, first declared March as a special month for the organization in 1943.

Since then, United States presidents have continued to proclaim March as Red Cross Month on an annual basis.

As a fundraising campaign with a goal of collecting $125 million, the original Red Cross Month received an overwhelming response as the goal was reached in less than six weeks.

Further proving that the public did not recognize Red Cross Month as a drive with an expiration date, funds continued to be donated to the organization. By June 1943, the drive had resulted in donations totaling about $146 million.

Because of this initial success, Red Cross Month became a tradition that has assisted the Red Cross in fulfilling its mission, which reads as follows: “The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.”

Clara Barton, who was also known as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” founded the American Red Cross in 1881. / Photo courtesy of the American Red Cross

Furthermore, the ARC described its role as an organization that “shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.”

With a long history of responding to the nation’s needs, the ARC, which is strictly a charitable, non-government agency that relies on the volunteer support of the American public to perform its services, has grown with the times.

For all the good that the ARC does to assist others in needs, none of the many services of the organization would have been possible without the work of its founder.

And for this reason, it is important in any overview of the ARC’s history to highlight Clara Barton.

Born Clarissa Harlowe Barton in Oxford, Mass. on Christmas Day in 1821, Barton can be considered a holiday gift for countless people who have benefitted from the services of the ARC since its founding.

But in order to have a better understanding of how long Barton maintained a deep interest in assisting others in need, it is necessary to know that Barton was active in helping such people long before she founded the ARC.

With the beginning of the Civil War, little time passed before Barton was dedicating her time to helping soldiers in her home state.

Initially, Barton cooked for soldiers and also ripped sheets into towels and handkerchiefs for them.

But her efforts did not stop there, as Barton was dedicated to bringing comfort to the sick and the wounded from the battlefield, and fought for permission to bring food, medicine and supplies to soldiers on the frontlines.

An American Red Cross worker speaks to an injured soldier in a field hospital in Vietnam. / Photo courtesy of the American Red Cross

Through these efforts, she received the nickname, the “Angel of the Battlefield.”

Following the war, Barton was commissioned by President Abraham Lincoln to search for missing Union soldiers and she also initiated a movement to have a national cemetery constructed for Union soldiers who died in the Andersonville prison – the Confederate prison of war camp, which was officially known as Camp Sumter – in Andersonville, Ga.

Barton’s goodwill nature and experience in helping those in need led to her founding of the American Association of the Red Cross – the name was later shortened to the American Red Cross – which evolved to become known as the nation’s premier emergency response organization.

In understanding that disasters result in human suffering, Barton, who served as the Red Cross’ first president, recognized a need for a volunteer organization that would be available during emergencies.

Barton, as well as the Red Cross symbol, became synonymous with the fact that comfort would be offered by the organization to those who suffered due to disasters.

The first American Red Cross chapter was organized at the Lutheran Church of Dansville, N.Y.

Among the early service of the Red Cross was its assistance to victims of the Ohio and Mississippi floods of 1884.

Nurses work at an American Red Cross recruiting station to field new members during World War II. / Photo courtesy of the American Red Cross

Five years later, the Sacramento Record-Union printed the following quote regarding Barton: “The sublime life of this plain, simple, unpretentious and self-sacrificing woman is one of the grandest monuments to charity and merciful kindness the world has witnessed.”

In 1898, the Red Cross played a very significant role in the Spanish-American War, as the organization assisted refugees and prisoners of war.

Since its early beginnings, the ARC has expanded to other cities across the nation, and today the organization, which also provides assistance in other countries, has many chapters throughout the nation.

Sacramento’s chapter, which was previously known as the Sacramento Sierra Chapter and is presently known as the Capital Region Chapter, was established in 1898.

The founding of the Sacramento chapter was very timely, considering that only seven years after its organization, the chapter was assisting in the relief efforts of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

This 1956 “On the Job” recruiting poster by John Gould is among the many posters that were designed to recruit American Red Cross volunteers. / Photo courtesy of the American Red Cross

The Red Cross’ local and national response to this disaster prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to describe the Red Cross as “the national organization best fitted to undertake the outpouring of the nation’s aide.”

The ARC also provided assistance during the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic and World Wars I and II.

Leftover ARC funds from the Great War were utilized to create the “Baby Clinic,” which became part of the Sacramento Health Clinic in 1927.

During World War II, the Sacramento chapter was a 24 hours per day operation, and overall, Sacramento contributed $468,037 to the National War Relief Effort.

The Sacramento chapter responded to five American River floods and the Yuba City-Marysville floods during the 1950s, and during the Vietnam War, ARC programs were expanded to assist the military and their families.

In more recent times, the ARC’s Sacramento chapter has continued to provide local and national assistance, including its aide to Hurricane Katrina.

Trista Jensen, communications and marketing director for the Capital Region Chapter, said that as a representative of the American Red Cross, she is pleased that the organization has been able to successfully operate with consistency for the past 130 years.

“I think what’s remarkable about the American Red Cross is that we are still doing the things that we started doing 130 years ago,” Jensen said. “We started serving people in the battlefield, responding to disasters and helping people in their greatest time of need. Whether that’s a house fire across the street, a hurricane across the country or a major disease breakout across the world, we’re still responding in the same manner that we were 130 years ago.”

lance@valcomnews.com