[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 37 (Friday, March 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FOR SYBIL CROOKHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 6, 2003

  Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sybil N. Crookham. 
Mrs. Crookharn was born on an Indian reservation on November 12, 1911. 
She moved to Merced County and enrolled in Winton School. She graduated 
from Merced High School in 1930, and received her Bachelor of Arts in 
education from San Francisco State in 1934.
  Mrs. Crookham received a teaching job upon returning to Winton, 
California in 1934. However, she had to leave her job after marrying 
Mr. Paul Crookham in 1937, as the school district had a policy against 
employing married teachers. Mrs. Crookham then went to work at the 
Bloss Hospital Sunshine School to teach children suffering from 
rheumatic fever.
  In 1943, the Winton School Board revised its policy on married 
teachers, and reinstated Mrs. Crookham. Soon after, she began serving 
as a teacher-principal, and then as principal-superintendent. After 
receiving an administrative credential from Fresno State University, 
she served as the district's full-time superintendent until her 
retirement in 1974.
  Even after her retirement in 1974, Mrs. Crookham stayed very active 
in the local community. She was elected to the Merced County Board of 
Education on which she served seven terms. Mrs. Crookham was 
instrumental in the Virginia Smith Scholarship Program, and was 
involved with well over fifty organizations in Merced County. When the 
Bloss House, a historical landmark in Atwater, California, was 
threatened, Mrs. Crookham helped to found the Atwater Historical 
Society to save and preserve the home. She remained on the Historical 
Society board until 2001.
  In 1986, the first elementary school she attended was renamed ``Sybil 
N. Crookham Elementary School.'' Mrs. Crookham's main priority was to 
ensure every student in Merced County receive a quality education. She 
played a vital role in locating the tenth University of California 
campus to be built in Merced. Her friends and coworkers described Mrs. 
Crookham as a tireless worker, and a champion of the youth.
  Our community has been greatly strengthened by the efforts of Paul 
and Sybil Crookham. She never ceased to work on behalf of the children 
even after her retirement. Sybil was always called upon by community 
leaders for advice and counsel. Sybil set an example for others to 
follow. I am honored to have called Sybil Crookham my friend and am 
saddened for our community's loss. May God Bless Paul and the entire 
Crookham family.

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