Placer High School 1910-20: Graduates include Wendell Robie, Earl Crabbe; rifle team is on target

This is the third in a series of articles looking at the people, events and structures that have had an impact on Placer High School and the Auburn community during the past 125 years. To celebrate Placer High's 125-year anniversary, a grand school and community celebration will be held Oct. 1 in Old Town, sponsored by the Hillmen Foundation. It was a decade in which some of Auburn's most illustrious businessmen of the future would graduate, and a decade impacted by a world war and flu epidemic. Significant graduates In the early days, it was not uncommon for graduates to remain in Auburn and offer significant contributions to the community. The Class of 1912 included Wendell Robie, who would go on to head one of the region's largest savings and loans, play a key role in establishing a ski industry in Northern California, and founded the famous Western States Tevis Cup Trail Ride. Members of the Class of 1916 included star baseball and basketball player John Robinson, who served as Auburn's assistant postmaster for 40 years and was the charter president of the Auburn Host Lions Club. His classmate, Jack Walsh, was the town's postmaster for 19 years and served on the city council for 16 years. Cadet Corps and Rifle Teams In 1911, Placer High applied to the newly founded California Cadet Corps and formed the first high school cadet company in California. The corps was outfitted with 80 Springfield army carbine rifles and drilled in uniform at Recreation Park (currently the site of LeFebvre Stadium). The program was so popular that within four years, so many boys had enrolled that another company was formed. Placer High now had the 1st California Cadet Corps and the 13th. In its 125-year history, the school has boasted legendary coaches and phenomenal teams. But none can match the record of the pre-World War I cadet rifle team. From 1912-17, Captain Fred S. Roumage's sharpshooters won six consecutive state championships and two national titles. Earl Crabbe A young coach recently graduated from the University of California joined the teaching staff in 1916. He would serve as a teacher, coach, director of physical education, dean of men and registrar for the high school and Placer College for 33 years. Crabbe coached all sports, and his basketball and track teams achieved incredible records. From 1916-20, his girls basketball teams sported a 41-1 record, at one time winning 37 games in a row. However, in 1921, the state of California refused to sanction girls interscholastic competition, deeming such activity as unfeminine. There would be no more girls sports until 1971. Crabbe's boys basketball teams enjoyed great success throughout his coaching career as well. In 16 years of coaching, Placer won 11 SFL titles, three Northern California titles and eight Central California championships. In 1918, a large wooden gymnasium with sideline seating was constructed. It allowed basketball teams to give up the dirt and rock-filled outdoor courts. It was used for rallies and assemblies and would last until 1974, when it was demolished. Outdoors, Crabbe's track teams excelled, winning 14 of 17 SFL crowns and seven Central California titles. Worldwide influences World War I had an impact on the campus during this decade. Placer Junior College was formed on the high school campus in 1914 to educate students in the first two years of college. At one time, a population of 13 boys and were girls were enrolled. But it was discontinued in 1918 because of the small enrollment due to World War I. A Junior Red Cross organization was created, which included all students. Boys were instructed in manual training, and girls learned to make surgical dressings. In 1918, students, stirred deeply by the war overseas, contributed $500 toward a Red Cross War Fund. Faculty members Crabbe and Roumage served in France during the war, and some boys left school early to join the army. The influenza epidemic reached campus. There were not as many social activities as usual during the 1918 year. The cadets' annual encampment at Recreation Park was cancelled, and the start of the girls basketball season was postponed. Many students dropped out with a "left school because of influenza" designation next to their names. Expanded curriculum Three courses of study existed at this time: Classical, Scientific and Commercial. A new course, domestic science, taught girls the "practical and scientific knowledge of cooking, sewing, and household duties, correct habits, the way to perfect health, and the power of endurance," according to the student handbook. Boys, on the other hand, had a manual training course that featured a modern carpenter's shop with work benches, a lathe, jointer and grindstone where students made such items as umbrella racks, slipper stools, necktie racks, dining room tables, Morris chairs and library tables. Military drill was compulsory for all boys in their first year of school. Activities Getting to school took several modes of transportation. Those who lived in town walked, some living in the country rode their horses, others boarded in town during the week and went home on weekends, while still others took the train from Roseville. Club activity became popular at this time, ranging from German to Agricultural, which eventually became Future Farmers of America, the oldest club still in existence on campus today. Some were exclusively girls clubs like the Umsuwee Club, which met every three weeks to have a good time and sponsored two dances – Halloween and Valentines. There was also the Girls Hiking Club of 1913, which took many trips of 5 to 6 miles down to the American River and back. One trip even included an overnight campout at the river in which "the girls carried blankets on their backs, cooked their own beans, and slept on hard sand," according to the 1913 Potpourri, the school yearbook.