Museum Takes a Look at High School Legends

History and legends come hand-in-hand as Colton High School (CHS) parents, students, and members of the Colton Area Museum (CAM) Association learned that their school is not an exception to this rule. The group gathered at CAM in the Learning Center on Saturday, March 8th, for a talk about the legends and folklore surrounding the historic CHS. The talk, “Colton Union High School: Fabulous Fairy Tales, Folktales, Fables and Folklore” was given by guest speaker Victor R. Schiro, who is the assistant principal of CHS, formerly known as Colton Union High School, and has been with the school since 1994. Schiro spoke about the late principal of the school and World War I veteran, Donald H. McIntosh, who Schiro says is one of his biggest inspirations. "I wish I had met him. He always took charge. He didn't say he was going to do something. He demonstrated it with his actions." Schiro then changed the mood to tell the guests the spooky story that appeared in the newspaper in 1987. "The story goes that a lady was knocking on several doors in a neighborhood, trying to find somebody who would let her use their telephone to contact her mother. Finally, after knocking on several doors, a man welcomed her into his home and let her use his phone." But the tale turned grizzly as the man murdered her and her baby in cold blood. Although the murderer was convicted of the crime, it is said that the neighborhood was haunted by the spirit of the lady and her baby. This caused neighbors to move away, not being able to handle living in a haunted neighborhood. Eventually, the government bought the abandoned neighborhood and Colton High School, and a school auditorium was built in its place. To this day, it is said the Whitmer Auditorium is haunted, and that when its empty, you can hear the spirits of the young lady and her baby crying, or screaming. At the end of the article, the author Clara Shae said that the story was written in the spirit of Halloween. "But if this is true," Schiro said in a warning voice, "then what is it I hear in the auditorium when its empty?" Not ending the tone of mystery, Schiro touched on another story about the school, this time about the underground tunnels that were found beneath it's surface. "Where they bomb shelters?" Schiro asked the intrigued crowd. The tunnels are thought to have been built during the 40s, which was after the buildings themselves were built. "The main buildings' basements were probably connected together later by the tunnels," Schiro explained. "Sometimes stories make sense, sometimes they don't, I am just giving you a different version of what happened. You have heard these stories before maybe, but not this way." Schiro spoke on the importance on keeping stories and history alive. "I am from a community that doesn't care much about their history and folklore. The community here supports it. That's what keeps me doing what I do," Schiro said. Scott J. Klemm took this opportunity to talk about his book, "100 Years of Crimson & Gold Pride: Colton High School 1895-1996" which was put together with the help of students. Armando Castro said he enjoyed listening to Schiro, and Genevieve Martinez agreed saying, "You could just listen to him for hours." Both are Colton High School Alumni, Castro graduating in 1967, and Martinez in 1961. Carrie Hetrick, mother of a Colton High alumni that is now at North Arizona University, says that it's important for schools to keep folklore alive. "Every school this old is going to have some fun stories!" she said. Donald Hines, a charter member of CAM, who was born in Colton, says that oral history, as well as physical objects are important to preserve and to bond with as a community. President of the CAM Association board Mike Murphy agreed, mentioning that there is a lot of oral history that hasn't been reached yet sharing, "Juan Caldera is a long time Colton resident, that built a ball park, a swimming pool, and other forms of entertainment for residents of south Colton, at a time when we were segregated racially. We have been trying to get a hold of him for months!" Dr. Luis S. Gonzales, known as Dr. G, says that May 3rd will be the first Colton Area Museum Day, an event which the association is working on establishing as annual.