[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E598-E599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE 78TH CELEBRATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEEK BY ORIENTAL LODGE NO. 144 
                          AND GLEN PARK SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 21, 1998

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join many of my Bay Area 
constituents and friends of the California Masonic Grand Lodge in their 
78th celebration of Public Schools Week, and I wish to pay particular 
tribute to San Francisco's Oriental Lodge No. 144 and

[[Page E599]]

Glen Park School for their meaningful commemoration of this special 
event. As America debates various ideas and proposals to improve 
education quality and standards, we should recognize those pioneers 
who, generations ago, committed themselves to guaranteeing every child 
born in our country the right to attend school.
  For those of us from the Bay Area, this year's Public Schools Week 
has a special significance. One hundred and fifty years ago this month, 
on April 3, 1848, the first public school in California opened on 
Portsmouth Square in San Francisco. Six pupils attended classes that 
day under the tutelage of Thomas Douglas, a Yale graduate hired by the 
elected Board of Trustees for the then-reasonable sum of $1,000 per 
year. Douglas offered his students instruction in a diverse array of 
subjects which included reading, writing, spelling and defining, mental 
and practical arithmetic, English grammar and composition, mental and 
moral science, ancient and modern history, chemistry and natural 
philosophy, geometry, trigonometry, algebra, astronomy, surveying and 
navigation, and Latin and Greek.
  While these course offerings undoubtedly proved attractive to parents 
and students alike--by May, enrollment had grown sixfold to 37 
children--one practical subject not included in the program of 
instruction was geology. Instruction in this field clearly would have 
benefitted Douglas' students. Two months after the beginning of 
classes, the teacher and many of his pupils left San Francisco for the 
Sierra foothills in search of gold.
  The California Gold Rush, which began with the discovery of gold at 
Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, initially resulted in the mad dash 
of gold seekers from San Francisco, and this forced the school to 
close. Nevertheless, its legacy as the forerunner of California's 
outstanding system of public education is irrefutable.
  On April 23, 1998, Mr. Speaker, Oriental Lodge No. 144 and Glen Park 
School will observe Public Schools Week by remembering this significant 
event. The theme of the evening presentation at the school auditorium 
will be ``From Dream to Reality--From Portsmouth Square to Glen Park.'' 
The students of Grades 3, 4, and 5 will put on a multimedia 
presentation to focus attention on the development of public education 
in California amidst the tumult and upheaval of the Gold Rush. One 
class, I have learned, has even constructed a model of the first 
schoolhouse for the public to admire. The Masonic Lodge will present 
the school's distinguished principal, Marion Grady, with a new trophy 
case and a set of flags, which will be posted by the McAteer High 
School NROTC Color Guard. Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. and Anthony P. 
Wordlow, Grand Master of the California Masonic Grand Lodge, will join 
other distinguished guests at the event.
  Mr. Speaker, this week's celebration of Public Schools Week is a 
reflection of centuries of activism in support of education by the 
Masons and, especially, the California Grand Lodge. Public Schools Week 
was instituted in 1920 by then-Grand Master Charles Albert Adams in 
response to a post-World War I education crisis that involved a 
critical shortage of teachers and the closure of 1,200 schools 
throughout the state. Adams and his fellow Masons hoped to focus 
attention on the problems facing public education and, in the process, 
encourage citizens and legislators to seek solutions for these 
obstacles.
  For 78 years Adams and his successors have unquestionably succeeded. 
The California Masonic Foundation, created in 1970 to provide 
scholarships to deserving college students, has awarded over one 
million dollars to young people to help finance their educational 
needs. In the past year alone 129 grantees received $160,000 for this 
worthy purpose. The Masonic Student Assistance Program, now in its 
forth year, serves California's youth with programs that range from 
issues of substance abuse to the increasing epidemic of violence in our 
public schools.
  Local chapters, such as Oriental Lodge No. 144, have willingly and 
ably assisted community schools as well. In recent months, Bay Area 
lodges have contributed, among other noteworthy gifts, materials for a 
library program for Glen Park's first grade students and valuable 
instruments for the music program at Lincoln High School. The numerous 
Masonic contributions to public education in California are truly a 
credit to the fraternity and its outstanding members.
  Wednesday's event is a direct result of the determined and devoted 
efforts of several prominent Bay Area citizens, most notably Dr. F. 
Armand Magid, a forty-year educator, history scholar, and Masonic 
leader who has worked tirelessly in organizing this week's activities; 
Worshipful Master Neil A. Carlson of Oriental Lodge No. 144, whose 
direction and guidance have greatly aided his fraternity's numerous 
educational initiatives; and Principal Grady, whose obvious love for 
her young pupils has been shown time and time again throughout her 
career.
  In his essay, ``When Is a Man a Mason?'' the Rev. Joseph Fort Newton 
wrote: ``When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no 
hand seeks his aid without response . . . such a man has found the only 
real secret of Masonry.'' The Oriental Lodge No. 144 and its many 
dedicated members have answered this call, showing us that examples 
from our past can and should be used to highlight the importance of our 
future.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to commend the Lodge, along with Glen Park 
School, the McAteer High School NROTC Color Guard, and the numerous 
other participants in the celebration of Public School Week for their 
commitment to public education in the Bay Area.

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