El Retiro School for Girls facts for kids
El Retiro School for Girls was a special boarding school for girls in Los Angeles County, California. These girls were considered "wards" of the court system, meaning the court was responsible for their care and well-being. The school opened its doors in 1919 and closed in 1961.
Starting the School
The El Retiro School was built on land that used to be a private health center called the San Fernando Sanitarium Company. This center, from 1915 to 1916, helped people with various health issues like tiredness, stomach problems, or nervous conditions.
In 1918–19, Los Angeles County bought this property for $15,000. They wanted to create a place for "unfortunate women." Many local residents, including the Olive Growers Association and County Supervisor Jonathan S. Dodge, were against this idea.
The county's new institution finally opened in 1919. It was first called an "industrial home" for girls. Miriam Van Waters from the Los Angeles Juvenile Court helped set up the school. It was meant to be a safe place for girls who had not committed any crimes or serious offenses.
At El Retiro, girls studied regular school subjects. They also learned practical skills like typing, shorthand, and business methods. They were taught how to manage a home, cook, serve food, and do laundry. The girls even put on their own fashion show!
In 1919, some local business people in San Fernando complained about the El Retiro girls attending San Fernando High School. However, authorities from the Los Angeles City School District rejected these complaints, and there were no further issues in later years.
Big Changes and a Walkout
Before 1927, the girls at El Retiro had a lot of say in how the school was run. They had a system of self-government. Helen Watson-Pierce, an Assistant City Schools Superintendent, said the girls did all the work around the school. They took care of poultry and cows and worked in the laundry. She felt their work was like home economics classes offered elsewhere. Elizabeth Wood, head of psychology for the school district, also noted the girls' excellent behavior and school performance. Orfa Jean Shontz, a probation officer, emphasized that the girls were not considered delinquent and the school was not a correctional institution.
However, in August 1927, things changed. The school's director, Alma Holtzschuh, and several other teachers were let go. This upset more than forty girls, who decided to boycott the school. Many of them walked about eighteen miles towards juvenile hall in Downtown Los Angeles. County cars eventually picked them up and drove them the rest of the way.
The girls complained that the new superintendent, Rosemary B. Good, took away their self-government. They said she started a much stricter system and even had male guards on campus. Only about ten or eleven girls stayed behind at the school. Charles D. Lusby, who led the county's Probation Committee, later said that Holtzschuh was fired for not following orders and other problems. He also felt the girls weren't properly trained and had too much freedom without enough discipline.
After this event, a grand jury investigated the school. In November 1927, Helen Montigrifo, a well-known social worker in Los Angeles, became the new superintendent. The school was reopened with plans to run it in a way that pleased county officials, the Probation Committee, and the girls themselves.
Closing of the School
By 1956, El Retiro was described as a place for young people who had gotten into trouble with the law. School Principal Robert Sayette explained that most of the girls were "social delinquents," not criminals. This meant they were often chronic truants (skipped school a lot), runaways, or "incorrigibles" (difficult to manage).
The school could hold up to 48 girls, and in March 1956, there were 32 living there. There were no guards, but the gates were locked, and a watchman was on duty at night. Parents could visit once a month, and the girls could go home for up to two days a month. They lived in three cottages, with a county probation officer acting as a "mother" figure. The girls had access to a swimming pool, a softball field, and a gym that also served as an auditorium. Besides academic subjects, they could learn homemaking, typing, crafts, and journalism.
In 1956, the Sylmar Civic Association started a campaign to stop using the El Retiro site as a "county corrective institution." They wanted it to become a city park instead. They felt the school was a "bad influence," especially because a new junior high school was going to be built nearby.
Officials at El Retiro agreed that the school should move. Some of the buildings were over fifty years old, and the ten acres of land and overall facilities were too large for the small number of students. Voters approved a $15.8 million bond issue on November 7, 1956, to improve the county's juvenile-aid program. As a result, forty-five girls moved from El Retiro in February 1961 to a new $2.23 million Las Palmas School for Girls in the city of Commerce.
Today, the former El Retiro campus is part of the Sylmar Recreation Center, which is a public park run by the City of Los Angeles.
Girls Who Ran Away
Two girls from El Retiro, both under the court's care, made headlines when they ran away from the school without permission.
- Yvena Gorham, who was 17, was reported missing on June 14, 1920. Her mother had previously sued on her behalf, claiming Yvena suffered injuries from a "medicated" bath at juvenile hall. Yvena was later said to have gone to San Francisco with an "elderly woman."
- Cheryl Crane, the 16-year-old daughter of famous actress Lana Turner, was placed in El Retiro for "psychiatric therapy" in March 1960 after a difficult family incident in 1958. Six weeks later, she and two other girls climbed a 10-foot wall and escaped. They were eventually returned to the school after Cheryl called her father, restaurateur Steven Crane. Five weeks later, Cheryl ran away again with two different girls. They walked into Sylmar and got a ride to Beverly Hills. They were taken back into custody a few hours later after being seen near Cheryl's grandmother's home. Cheryl was released from the school in January 1961 to live with her mother and stepfather, Frederick D. May.
