The Roaring '20s: More new buildings, military drill and hazing for freshmen, craps on campus

This is the fourth 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. Buildings As the school population continued to grow, district voters passed a $250,000 bond to build three new buildings. Included in the new construction were two wings added in 1926, a science building and an auditorium, both still in use today. Built as mirror images of each other, they featured an upper-level arcade curving toward the 1906 Main Building. At the same time, the old building was plastered over to fit architecturally with the new wings. The auditorium featured several gothic windows, and both buildings displayed decorative scrollwork with light touches of mauve and blue paint. The two lampposts outside the science wing, today's art building, have gargoyles circling the posts. Even the water drains of the buildings have a decorative finish, much of the work done by Gladding McBean in Lincoln. That same year, an auto mechanics building was constructed on Agard Street. This began a period in which all busses were serviced by students in the auto mechanics class. Students from the carpentry classes of Harris "Pop" Rollins took part in the construction of all three buildings. Also constructed at the time was a tile fountain on the plaza between the science and auditorium wings. Curriculum Steve Barooshian, a young Armenian immigrant and recent Stanford grad, joined the faculty in 1922. He was warned that he would be facing physically intimidating mountain-grown outlaws who were ill-mannered. But using his intelligence, a strong work ethic and perseverance, he won over students and became a legendary teacher. There were three fields of study – Classical, Scientific and Commercial. All paths were stiffly challenging with semester finals a dreaded time for students. Students who misbehaved were dealt with severely. Detention became an unwelcome punishment. Domestic economics was required for all girls in second, third and fourth years, while military drill was mandated for all boys in their first year. Activities School spirit was formalized during this decade with the formation of yell leaders. Contrary to the image of today's yell leaders, their original purpose was to put pep into student council meetings, which anyone could attend. At first only two boys, Graham Adams and Jack Henderson, served, dressed in letterman sweater, white pants and megaphones. But in 1928, Edna Clegg was appointed song leader to help out the boys. Freshmen needed to be aware of initiation during their first week on campus, as hazing was permitted by the administration. At the end of the week, the seniors sponsored the Freshman Reception, during which the newcomers were fed animal crackers and milk. Decorations included baby buggies, cribs and scooters. Music continued to be popular at the school. By 1922, there were two orchestras, a girls' octet, a senior trio, a girls' quartet, boys quartet and a saxophone trio. The orchestra played at the Eastern Star Banquet at Masonic Hall, Easter Sunrise services, and at Get Together Day, an exhibition held at the Recreation Park that allowed county residents to see the virtues and activities of the school. More than a thousand community members showed up at the yearly event. The most popular music group, however, was the 10-member All-Girls Saxophone Band in 1926. Known throughout Auburn, they performed at various functions in the community and aroused enthusiasm in the rooting section. Students replicated the fashion of the time. Boys wore three-piece suits and ties to school; girls wore long skirts, blouses with wide collars and ties. Despite the formality of dress, the game of craps was a big hit on campus as well as the occasional lighting of a firecracker. Sports Despite the success of girls sports in the previous decade, girls interscholastic competitive sports no longer existed. The State of California deemed such activity as unfeminine. Instead, girls' sports activities were reduced to staging clog and folk dances during halftimes of basketball games. Basketball was king at Placer, and its popularity resulted in a lack of interest in football. In fact, there would be no football team until 1931. School spirit included rallies, parades in downtown Auburn, and nearly 300 rooters chartered a special train to Berkeley for the Central California semifinal championship in 1923. The team reached the Central California finals the following year and were scheduled to meet Patterson for the crown. But a smallpox epidemic made it necessary to discontinue the season for the rest of the year. In March, all students needed to be vaccinated for smallpox or they would not be allowed at school. In 1925, Placer had its finest season at the time. Nearly a thousand fans showed up at the Placer gym to watch a 19-16 win over Lincoln. The team finished 18-1 that season, losing only to state-champion Stockton. Earl Crabbe continued to coach all sports, including track and field, which by 1926 had won six consecutive Cal-Nevada league championships. The captain of the 1923 track team was a senior named Ralph LeFebvre. He was a member of the 440-yard relay team that qualified for the state meet. LeFebvre returned to the school years later as a custodian, eventually becoming a certified teacher during the 1940s, and establishing himself as a legendary coach.