Each new school has its pioneer students in the first school year. Palomar College in San Diego, from which I retired as professor emeritus after 40 years, had its beginning in 1946 with the first 100 students. Now the College has 30,000 students.
Our sister school at Fremont opened on May 1, 1860, in San Francisco with three students and a deaf teacher. In 1912, the Arizona School for the Deaf began with 19 students and a deaf teacher in Tucson. The Utah School for the Deaf started with four students in 1884. The New Mexico School for the Deaf had its humble beginning with the first five students and the first deaf teacher in 1885, as seen below.
At CSDR, we opened in the first week of February 1953 with 56 students and seven teachers in the Lower School. The students were aged between five and ten. In 2025, 72 years have elapsed, and they are now between 77 and 82. We are lucky to still have time to meet them in person and gather their stories and photographs for preservation.
Below are seven class photographs with their respective teachers. Each class photo includes individual students’ names. Some are now deceased, some are unknown, and some are still around, and brief information is provided for each if known.
To make my article task more successful, I invited three pioneer students to share with me what they know about their friends and gather information through their connections. The article contributors are Patricia Davis, ‘63, Margaret Holcomb, ‘63, and Karen Kleiman, ‘66.
Below is Pat Davis, a familiar face at CSDR. She worked for a long time as an office technician for the CTE Department. Retired in 2020, she volunteers in the campus museum twice a week.
Below is Margaret Holcomb, ‘63, from Central California. Margaret left Gallaudet in 1964 to marry and raise two sons. She was a stay-at-home single mother. She now lives alone in the small mountain town of Portola near Reno, Nevada. CSDR has been dear to her all her life, and she is still in touch with her old school friends. She has a remarkable memory of people’s names and their stories.
Below is Karen Kleiman, ‘66, of New York. Karen is among the most loyal CSDR alumni. She has been attending the alumni reunion every five years since 1983. Behind her is her Class of 1966 gift, which hangs in the Brill Administration Building. The gift is considered the greatest ever given to a school since 1956. If you have not seen the wooden masterpiece, go to the front office and appreciate the fantastic woodwork.
Karen sits the second from the left.
Charles Barnes was the first Black student admitted to CSDR. He stayed in school until 1959 when he left. His status is unknown. We would love to find him somewhere for his story. The search party is pending.
Karen Kleiman was 5 1/2 upon her admission. She remembers Lower School Principal Paxson took her to her office for additional pronunciation. She stayed in school for 13 years until her graduation in 1966. She then went to Riverside City College and earned her AA degree in business in 1968. She is retired and lives in New York. She plans to fly to California and attend the following alumni reunion in 2028.
Larry Patrick: Unknown status
Karen DuQuin stayed at CSDR for 14 years until her graduation in 1967. She soon obtained her AA degree from Golden West College. She retired from the Target Department store with decades of service and lives in Moorpark, California. Her younger brother, John, ‘76, also grew up at CSDR.
Monica Lane graduated in 1966. She worked as a teacher’s aide for a long time in the DHH program in California. She is now deceased.
Julian McCallon left CSDR in 1959. He is now deceased.
Diana Goldsberry attended CSDR until her graduation in 1967. She has two deaf sisters (Judy and Beverly) also at CSDR and resides in Lancaster, California.
Linda Briones left school unfinished in the early 1960s. She is in a convalescent home in San Bernardino with brain damage from an auto collision in the 1990s. Her younger brother, Danny, graduated in 1968.
David Meyer was transferred from the DHH class in San Bernardino to CSDR. He had a troubled past at CSDR, and he was referred to Dr McCay Vernon (famed psychologist for the deaf at CSDR) for counseling on an extended basis. In the end, David was eventually expelled. He died of a drug overdose.
Olin FitzHenry, ‘63, was an orphan. His emotional state was not stable, and that interfered with his interactions with peers. He loved to collect rocks. He walked on campus and picked up more rocks, and kept them in his dorm room. He came to the alumni reunion in 1988. He is now deceased.
David McElfresh left the DHH class in San Bernardino for the new school on Horace Street. In 1959, he transferred to Mt. Airy School for the Deaf in Philadelphia and graduated in 1963. He is now deceased.
Patricia Davis, ‘63, is retired and resides in Riverside. She had a long career in keypunch for Bank of America, then worked as a teacher’s aide and an office technician at CSDR. She now volunteers her time working in the CSDR museum.
Margaret Holcomb, ‘63, is retired and has lived at an altitude of 4,600 feet in the Sierra Mountain range in Central California near the Nevada border for 27 years. CSDR's friends are her extended family.
Maureen Moore’s status is unknown. She made a surprise visit to the Brill Building in 2000.
Susan Joiner Sutter stayed at CSDR until 1959. She died in 2024.
Shirley Brown, ‘63, attended Riverside City College and earned a degree in 1965. She lived in Washington State and attended the last alumni reunion in 2003. She died in 2024.
Rudy Villa’s last school picture appeared in the 1965 yearbook. His status is unknown.
Nancy Sanders, ‘63, resides in Fairfield, California. She is married to Patrick Bybee, one of the first 56 students.
James Donnelly’s status is unknown.
Fred Duncan’s last school picture appeared in the 1959 yearbook. His status is unknown.
Paul Vincent and his brother (Floyd) came together to the new school. Their younger brother (Clyde) came later. Paul reportedly lives with his interpreter daughter in Mt Hood, Oregon.
Nancy Price, ‘64, is deceased.
Mark Robinson made the last appearance in the 1960 yearbook. His status is unknown.
Mike Wilson enjoyed his student life at CSDR until 1962. We picked a word that he has died in a bicycle accident.
Danny Vance, ‘64 led a quiet life all the years at CSDR. He lived with his parents in Redlands. He is no longer on Earth.
Patrick Bybee, ‘64, lives in Fairfield, California. He married Nancy Sanders, ‘63, one of the pioneer students.
Judy Cullen’s status is a mystery.
Sandra Thompson, ‘64, was shy and hung out with a small circle of friends for 11 years at CSDR. She is deceased.
Floyd Vincent, who is deceased, had two deaf brothers (Paul and Clyde). He came from a well-off family in the road construction business. His family made many donations to CSDR for athletic gear, dorm furnishings and other school needs.
Gary Cruz, ‘64, was active in extracurricular activities. He lived with his parents all his life and did odd jobs. He loved to ride a motorcycle. He died in 2024.
Charles Hofer, ‘64, came from a family of 12 children. He worked in flower fields in North San Diego County. He died young from recreational drug overdose only four months after graduation in 1964.
Charles Oakes’ whereabouts are not known.
Miss Helen Toner was assigned to teach the special needs class. She was a teacher for the oral DHH class in San Bernardino before the school’s opening in February 1953.
Bobby Attwell, ‘64, had an exceptional learning need. He had a younger sister by the name of Rosie who also graduated from CSDR in 1974.
Judy Hubbs of San Bernardino stayed at CSDR until her graduation in 1962. She is deceased.
Danny Urick was the first boy accepted for admission in the Fall of 1952. He didn't stay at CSDR for long, and his status is unknown.
Juanita Vicaris’ status is unknown.
Josette Olivias, ’62, lives in Utah.
Tom Warren’s status is unknown.
Mona Wingfield was active in school life until she completed her compulsory education in 1963. She is deceased.
Aurora Chavira’s status is unknown.
Keith Baxter left CSDR around 1959. He lives in Lancaster, California.
Sandra Banks left the school sometime in the 1950s. She is deceased.
Jean Jones, ‘63, started her education in the DHH class in San Bernardino and transferred to the brand new school. She stayed at Gallaudet for a short time. She is deceased.
Robert Brennan was the first CSDR student to die in an auto and bicycle accident at March Air Force Base around 1954.
Mike Golightly was the 56th student admitted to the school. His mother found out about the school’s opening on February 2 through the newspaper in Ontario and immediately took Mike straight to CSDR for a last-minute application. His mother’s pleading broke Dr Brill’s resolve on the 55-student limit, and Mike got a lucky break for his 56th. Mike transferred to the ASDB in 1959. He graduated from Gallaudet in 1970. He retired from the Washington Post newspaper in Washington, DC, where he lives now.
Mike Hagar was active in school life with different activities at CSDR for 11 years and graduated in 1964.
Jim Miles’ profile is blank.
Mike Wilson remained at CSDR until he left in 1962.
Miss Virginia Fletcher was the first staff member to die in November 1953.
Ann Hritz was assigned to teach this class with special learning needs. Her sister, Toni Scheringer, was also among the first seven teachers. Their deaf brother likely attended the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in the 1940s.
Melinda Watson left CSDR in 1960. She currently lives in Las Vegas. She has two younger deaf siblings: Dani and Ken, ‘71.
Judy Emery’s case is unknown.
Mike Ackerman’s enrollment continued until June 1960. His life journey led into an unknown territory.
Karl Herkelrath, ‘62, moved to a new school at CSDR from the DHH class in San Bernardino. He is deceased.
John Soto disappeared without a trace.
Harry Von Meedan stayed in special education at CSDR until 1960. His fate is uncertain.
Don Fulk was moved from the DHH class in San Bernardino to CSDR in February 1953. He is now deceased.
Danny Valdez, ‘61, of San Bernardino stayed in school for eight years and completed his basic education with a vocational track for immediate employment after graduation. His life after CSDR is anyone’s guess.
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For the first time in school history, we made a concerted effort to track down each of the first 56 students 72 years after the school opened for historical documentation purposes.
Historians at the CSDF, ASDB, NMSD, and USDB don't have any pioneer students left still alive to interview for oral history now because all their first students have deceased. At CSDR, we still have surviving pioneer students in their 70s and 80s around. Indeed, they are walking history.
This is why Pat, Margaret and Karen joined forces with me to do the detective work to appreciate the earliest group of students and teachers for their historic headstart at the internationally famed school.
Kevin Struxness, ‘76, MA
Editor, CSDR Old Times
24 January 2025
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