THE WRINKLEDRABBITS PRESENT

Origins and Originals
The first high school classes in Mesa began in September, 1899 on the second floor of the red brick north Elementary School, later rebuilt and known as Irving School. The first Mesa Union High School district was organized on December 26, 1907 with John D. Loper as Superintendent. The Town Council had leased all of Block 20 to the University of Arizona for 99 years to use as experimental farm. This was the land bounded by Center and Macdonald, Second and Third Avenues. It didn't take long to discover that the block was not large enough, and so, on January 4, 1908, they sold it to the school district for $75. Construction began immediately on the gorgeous old building we all knew as "Old Main". The 1909 graduating class got to graduate from that original twelve room building. The school had a main floor auditorium with a swimming pool in the basement. The auditorium was used for assemblies, with folding chairs for the early comers and standing room only for the rest. Ten years later, eight more rooms were added plus a small auditorium-gymnasium. For basketball games spectators sat either in the balcony (above the freshman section) or on the stage. The gym was not wide enough for sideline bleachers. In 1936 the WPA and PWA provided funds for new construction and the New Building was constructed west of the Main Building with and arcade in between. The land for this was purchased from Harvey Bush, who lived in the big house at the end of Macdonald, for $4000 (He had housed a zoo on the spot previously, but the neighbors probably didn't notice the difference). A new gymnasium was also built south of the Main Building-the site of all our high school dances and basketball games. Also in the gym building were the agriculture shop and auto shop. And presiding over it all, Harvey L. Taylor! How many of us can go back mentally now and walk down the halls of Old Main or the New Building remembering who was in every room, taking the stairs two at a time, in wonderment and awe as a freshman, in triumph as a senior.

On October 1, 1967, a disastrous fire completely destroyed the sixty-year-old "Old Main" and the irreplaceable mementos of its sixty year reign. Classes continued to graduate from the old high school until 1972 when the new Mesa High was built.


Harvey L. Taylor

Harvey Leslie Taylor was born August 28, 1894 in Harrisville, Weber County, Utah, the first and only son of Harvey Daniel and Letty May Saunders Taylor. His father died when Harvey was 10 months old, and his mother provided life's necessities and instilled in her young son ideals of decent living and service to his fellow men. Harvey received his early education in the schools of Weber County, Utah. He graduated form the Weber Academy and the University of Utah, where he received his B.S. degree. Later, he attended Columbia University, where he earned his M.A. degree in one year. He also did graduate study at Stanford University and at State Teachers College in Greeley, Colorado. He also received an honorary Doctor of Law degree form Arizona State University. He was both a principal and teacher in the public schools of Weber and Summit Counties in Utah and taught at Weber College.

While at Weber College, Dr. Adams S. Bennion, Commissioner of the Latter-day Saint Church Schools, invited Taylor to serve as President of Gila Junior College in Thatcher, Arizona, a position he held for six years.

In 1933 the Taylors moved to Mesa, Arizona, where Dr. Taylor had accepted a position as Superintendent of Mesa Union High School. Later, upon consolidation of the Mesa, Lehi, Alma and Jordon school districts, he was appointed Superintendent of Mesa Public Schools. He held these two positions for 20 years, from 1933 to 1953.

One of his accomplishments during the time he served as Superintendent of Mesa Schools was the planning and the construction of the Mesa Junior High School, the first of it's kind in Arizona. It was Taylor's conviction that boys and girls of junior high age were less understood and more neglected individually than any other age group. Being too old for the elementary curriculum and too young for the senior high school curriculum, they were left stranded in the middle between these two age groups. He felt that a school with the right kind of curriculum and activities should be built to provide for the needs of this particular group of student's. Committees of teachers and parents worked together for several months to determine what kind of students they wanted to educate, and then committees of teachers developed a curriculum designed to fit those student's needs. A principal and faculty were employed to organize the school and develop a program of instruction and activities. School buildings were planned and constructed to provide maximum opportunity for a normal mixing of all age groups. The students were happy in their new environment, and discipline problems were few. They sensed that their needs and interest had been the dominant factors in planning their school. They appreciated this and eagerly cooperated in efforts which were made to give them what they could joyfully call their school. Taylor's philosophy was that there were no bad or lost students and he spent much of his time building relationships with and nurturing those with whom he worked. One appreciative colleague presented Taylor a hand-carved wood scroll that hung in his office for over 30 years. The words inscribed on the gift might well summarize Taylor's educational credo: "There is a destiny that makes us brothers:/ None goes his own way alone,/ That which you put into the lives of others/ Comes back into your own/".

While in Mesa, Dr. Taylor served as Vice President of the Arizona Education Association, President of the Arizona School Administration Association, President of the Arizona School Superintendents Association, and was an eight-year member of the Arizona North Central Accrediting Commission. He was also the organizer of the Arizona Association of Student Councils and Vice President of the National Association of Student Councils. He was also a member of the President's White House Conference on Children and Youth.

Not only did he serve in Mesa's educational system, but at the same time he took an active part in many local and state affairs. For 16 years he was chairman of the Mesa Parks and Playgrounds Board, and Chairman of the Arizona Children's Colony Board for Mentally Handicapped Children. He served on the Arizona Youth Council, Governor's Safety Council for both Arizona and Utah, Mesa Planning Board and Mesa's Little Theater Board. He was also in demand as speaker by many youth, church, educational and civic groups.

In January of 1953, President Ernest L. Wilkinson of Brigham Young University chose Dr. Taylor as his executive assistant. Later, Taylor was appointed Vice President of Brigham Young University and Vice Chancellor of the L.D.S. Unified Church School System. In 1964, when Wilkinson resigned as President of B.Y.U. and Chancellor of the Church School System, Taylor was made Acting Chancellor of the entire L.D.S. Church School System. President Wilkinson later returned to his post as President of B.Y.U. and Dr. Taylor became Administrator of all seminaries and institutes and church schools except B.Y.U.

During his long and distinguished career, Harvey Taylor received many honors. He received the Silver Beaver award for his active participation in the Boy Scouts of America, and also the 50-year B.S.A. Service Award. He received Mesa's first Most Valuable Citizen Award and the Mesa City recreational field was named Taylor Field in his honor. He was also awarded the Arizona State Farmer Award and the Phoenix Arizona Rotary Orchid Award for service to youth. He received the B.Y.U. Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1965, the Ricks College Distinguished Service Award of Honor to a Alumni Meritorious Service Award: State of Utah Third Juvenile District Court Distinguished Service Award to Youth, and the Honorary Master M-Men Award for distinguished service to youth.

He was an honorary member of Alpha Phi Omega (national scouting fraternity), Blue Key (national honor fraternity), B.Y.U. Circle K Club (student service organization) and Archon (national honor fraternity).

Harvey Taylor was listed in Who's Who in America since 1965; Who's Who in Western Education, Who's Who in American Education, and Sloan's History of Arizona.

His long life of church service included 30 years as a Sunday School teacher and many leadership positions.

He married Lucelle Rhees in 1916. Their children are: Dr. H. Durrell Taylor (deceased) ; Dr. Janyce L. Taylor, Molliemae Taylor Hatch (a teacher in Mesa Public Schools for 20 years), and Betty Taylor Rosenberg. Mrs. Taylor died on April 4, 1977. When Harvey Taylor retired in 1971 after 52 years of service to education, he was commissioned by the L.D.S. Church Schools. This he completed in 1972. Harvey L. Taylor passed away on November 15, 1983.


The Rabbit Trainers

Three cheers for those hardy souls who devote their lives to trying to instill both the knowledge and the values of the world as they knew it into the sometimes not so eager minds with which they were confronted.


Rabbit Rendezvous and the Hedonistic Hare
Where did you go and what did you do for fun in WW2 small Arizona town? The eternal teenage guest of those years would be hardly recognizable in today's world, but we sure had fun! Oh, those HOT Arizona Summers days! 110 degrees in the shade and no shade. Sidewalks too hot to walk on with your barefeet even if you were courageous enough to go outside during the blistering afternoons. And right in the middle of all of this, Everybody's Drug Store on the corner of Main and MacDonald. All we had to do was open the door and that cool, refreshing air wrapped its arm around us and brushed away the drops of sweat rolling off our brows as a result of both the heat and studying too hard (at least that's how we remember it-perhaps our teachers would have disagreed). There in front of us stretched that long soda fountain with its innumerable delights-ice cold cokes, root beer floats, chocolate sundays, all mixed to perfection by those bartenders of our youth, the soda jerks. A perfect interlude with friends to discuss the serious matters of the day such as who was dating who, or who would like to date who, or who do that voodoo that you do so well. And on a more serious note, who was going off to war and who would not be coming back.


Notice

Mesa High School has started a foundation to raise funds to allow underprivileged students to participate in scholastic activities which cost money, such as taking the Advanced Placement Exams, going to Academic Decathlong tournaments, attending Science Fair competitions, etc. Keep it in mind if you have a couple of extra bucks. For information write to Jack Davis, MHS Foundation, c/o Mesa High School, 1601 East Southern Ave., Mesa , AZ 85204 If you were a former student at Old Mesa High School click here so that we can put you on our wrinkledrabbit roster.