Remember When?

by Larry Downing

In 1945 my family relocated from Salinas to San Luis Obispo. We soon became members of the SLO Adventist church located on NE corner of Santa Rosa Street and Buchon, across the street from what is now Mitchell Park. The building was converted to an apartment. (It was easier, so it seems, to convert a building than it was to convert people.)
The sanctuary was small, I’d guess it held 65 to 75 people. The rostrum, as it was called, was on the North wall. A small room on the NE side of the rostrum served as a children’s division. A small room that ran the length of the south wall served as another children’s division and would later house the elementary school. The two small restrooms were on the outside on the North end of the building. (This is how I remember the building. No guarantee it was exactly as stated, but who is around to set the record straight?)
My first school experience began with Kindergarten followed by grades 1 & 2 at the old Hawthorne School. Sometime before my third grade the church members decided to start an Adventist elementary school. Mrs. Smith, an elderly woman, probably in her mid 50s, was the first teacher. She had the responsibility for grades 1-8. That first school year left an indelible impression upon those of us in the student body. Opportunity may be available at a later time to extend the story of SLO SDA elementary education: a study in student anarchy.