The Meaning of Loara By John Dahlem "A CELEBRATION OF
LOARA HIGH 'S FIRST TWENTY YEARS - 1962-1982"
The meaning and/or definition of Loara has been an elusive quest of mine since Mr. O.G. Thomason hired me as a history teacher during the summer of 1969. At that time I did not know the meaning of Loara and also had difficulty pronouncing it correctly. Should I pronounce it as a Spanish term, as an English term or possibly as a contraction of two names. With some amusement, I can remember reading about Bruce Terry, Loara's great two-time state Wrestling Champion, from the mystery school, Loara High School... Loara spelled "five" different ways in the official State Wrestling Tournament program. The general pronunciation of Loara was so butchered that our wrestlers used to say they were from "Disneyland High School" in Anaheim. The search for Loara's derivation took me from the Mother Colony Room, to Terrahaute, Indiana, to Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts and back to the old west Anaheim area called Loara. Prominent Orange County historians like Leo Friis, Don Meadows, Don Sleeper and curators like Opal Kissenger and Liz Schultz have been very helpful with their individual research and suggestions as to the derivation. For those who enjoy the art of historical research, I thought I might list some of the suggested meanings of Loara:
Loara Standish is
my name
(from Katherine Morrison
McClinton's
English names have a tendency to be spelled in numerous ways. In Myles Standish's will he requested that he be buried next to his daughter Mary and "Lora". We are not sure what happened to the "a". There are several women named Lora in the Standish genealogy along with a Lorah. So it seems Loara, Lora, Lorah, and Laura are all interchangeable. The name Lora is a Latin term meaning: "She who weeps or is sorrowful." In old high German it means "famous warrior". The "famous warrior" definition is rather interesting as the mascot for Loara High School is the fighting Saxon. Another interesting similarity is found when we consult the Oxford English Dictionary and find that Loar is a root of lore which means "to learn" or the art of teaching a lesson which is Loara High School's primary pedagogical function. But, that still did not explain why a name like Loara would be used in this general area. There are no references to any early Anaheimers with a name of Loara. The quest continued and "finally" the answer was uncovered after ten years of research. Mary Alice Grimshaw,
a prominent Anaheimer, suggested in 1970 that Loara came from the name
of John William Duckworth's wife. Mr. Duckworth was the first postmaster
in Anaheim. H.E. Sally's History of California Post Offices
Actually, Mr. John
Duckworth's wife's name is Emma S. Handy, born December
Loara Street was named after the first west end post office. The Loara Elementary school (The Little Saxons) was named after the street (corner of Loara and Broadway). According to the former Anaheim Union High School District Superintendent, Paul Cook, it became a custom to name the new high schools in the Anaheim District after the nearest elementary school district which was Loara in this case. Loara High School opened its doors in 1962. So, faithful Saxon followers, the next time you hear of Loara or see the Loara exit sign heading north on the Santa Ana Freeway, be cognizant of the fact the term Loara is a contraction of Lola Duckworth and her mother's middle name Sara and together they mean "sorrowful" or "learning experience". NOW YOU KNOW !!! FACTS
BACKGROUND In September 1962, the history of Loara High School began on the campus of Magnolia High School, where the Loara students were on double session with the Sentinels until Christmas vacation. At that time the move was made to the permanent home at 1765 West Cerritos Avenue. The campus, that is bordered on the east by Euclid Avenue, was once the ranch of a Snyder family, who had 34 acres of fruit trees and sugar beets. They moved to Anaheim in 1889, selecting land that had a view of the ocean. Their Daughter Dora was a member of the first graduating class of Anaheim High School (1901). Only the tenth grade was taught that first year with 28 teachers. The second year, the eleventh grade was added, along with 34 teachers. But the third year (1964-65), a full staff of 84 teachers and 14 classified employees were in charge of the three grades. The first graduating class was that year, June 1965. Heading the administration was Orville "Tommy" Thomason, principal, and Kenneth Spencer and Elizabeth Arnold as assistant principals. Built on a modified version of the Azusa Plan (the concept of a school within a school), Loara was similar to Magnolia and Savanna. Each of the separate grades had its own section of the campus with a multi purpose room and office. Each office had a sink and steam table so that the multipurpose room could double as a cafeteria. Soon, however, the food was dispensed from a central building in the back patio and the students ate on picnic tables. The offices attached to the multipurpose rooms became working spaces for teachers. The system of units, one for each grade level, was discontinued in the fall of 1978. The old senior court room became the band office, practice & class room. The junior court was refurbished into the ASB headquarters, housing the ASB cabinet and activities director and the sophomore court acted as the detention hall until 1996 when it was turned into a Career Guidance Center and AVID (Advancement via Independent Determination) class room. Food has since been dispensed from "speed lines" cafeteria style. Because of the closure
of schools such as Trident, Fremont etc., enrollment in
JUNE 1982
Copyright ©2000 John Dahlem |