A Magazine from California State University, ChicoSpring 2012 Issue

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Chico State Teachers College

Chico State Teachers College

1921–1935

Written by Marion Harmon, Anna Harris, and Casey Huff. Design by Francie Divine

Chico State Normal School became Chico State Teachers College in 1921. The college soon added a junior college curriculum and awarded a certificate after two years. In 1924, Chico State began granting baccalaureate degrees. Two years after a fire destroyed the Normal Building in 1927, a new administration building was constructed, later to be renamed Kendall Hall. During this era, the wildcat was adopted as team mascot and the alumni association was formed. As the student population increased, new bachelor’s degree programs were added.

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Teachers College Era Images 1930: Chico street scene: Main Street looking north from 5th Street. On the left is Park Plaza, and on the right is City Hall. 1935: Chico State faculty and staff in front of the administration building. 1925: In 1915, PG&E's Pacific Service magazine reported 'The near future will see the commencement of the $3,500 natatorium at the Chico State Normal School, which is to be a part of the education of every male student of the institution.' Apparently, by 1925 females were also availing themselves of the pool, constructed behind the Normal School building. 1929: Chico State administration building under construction: After fire ravaged the Normal School building in 1927, President Charles Osenbaugh went directly to Sacramento to seek funding. Four days after the fire, Annie Lund Meriam wrote in her diary: 'Mr. Osenbaugh returned today from Sacramento very optimistic.' His optimism was justified: within two years, the new building, today's Kendall Hall, was open and in use. 1927: Varsity basketball team: Basketball was first played on campus in 1896. Early sports on campus included baseball, football, lawn tennis, and croquet. From left: Steve Vugrenecz, Denzil Huffman, James Elfedahl, team captain William Metteer, Daniel Farmer, Kenneth Palmer, James Elliot, Rockwell Blondin, and Chauncy Wilson. 1925: Performing arts play: There are several women in 1920s dress, one in a maid uniform. On the stage set are paintings, a folded screen, and a bearskin rug. Dramatics were a popular form of entertainment at Chico State. Eleanor Goudie (left, '32) and her roommate lived in Bidwell Mansion, which was purchased by the state in 1924 and opened as Bidwell Hall, a dormitory for 46 women. Local historians say the students studied in the rooms but actually slept outside on the surrounding verandas. 1930: Families picnicking and swimming at the Five-Mile Dam recreation area on Big Chico Creek, which is still used for those purposes today. The pools at One-Mile and Five-Mile were so named because of their distance from the Bidwell Mansion. Sycamore Pool, the concrete swimming pool at One-Mile, was built in the 1920s. 1927: Lucille Butts, wearing the popular bob hairstyle. By the mid-1920s, this was the most common female hairdo in the Western world, and in the Chico State yearbook pages. 1923: The Block C Club for student-athletes, organized in 1923, provided social and political campus leadership for many years.
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Alum Notes

John Concannon

John

CONCANNON (BS, Business Administration, ’85) is a fourth-generation vintner at Concannon Vineyard.

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Tanja Poley

Tanja Poley

(BS, Business Administration, ’94) is the human resources manager for the News & Review, headquartered in Sacramento.

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Kathy Crusco

Kathy Crusco

(BS, Business Administration, ’87) is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Epicor Software Corporation.

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