Evelyn Carr in 1947.
Ever driven by Carr Elementary School on 168th Street in North Torrance and wondered after whom it was named?
Evelyn Carr was born on March 5, 1915, and moved to Torrance in 1933. She ended up playing a vital role in the establishment of the Torrance Unified School District, but her achievement didn’t involve backroom deals, inside information or bureaucratic finagling. Instead, she walked the streets and talked with people.
Torrance had attempted to break from Los Angeles Unifed School District before so it could form its own school district. In order to make the break, the city had to vote to establish itself as having the charter city form of government.
As early as the 1920s, the city had expressed unhappiness over being allied with LAUSD. The first secession drive was led in the mid-1920 by local physician and civic leader Dr. J.S. Lancaster, but it never reached the ballot box.
The issue was brought to the ballot twice in the 1930s. Voters in the April 11, 1932 election turned it down decisively, 1,346 to 572. Another drive for secession resulted in a second ballot measure vote on March 16, 1937, which also was defeated soundly, 932-378.
By 1944, Carr, then a Torrance housewife with three small children, was ready to renew the fight. She helped organize the Torrance Parents Association, whose goal was to break free from LAUSD.
She held the view shared by many that Torrance was a poor stepchild to the LAUSD, always low on the list to get help, better teachers and facilities improvements, despite the fact that the burgeoning industrial city contributed more than it share of tax money to the district.
As she told the Los Angeles Times in its Dec. 15, 1944 edition, “Los Angeles has been promising us a new high school cafeteria, better shops, more classrooms and other needed improvements for 10 years. During this 10 years, Torrance has given Los Angeles enough money in taxes and its share of State support, over and above the actual cost of operation, to build a brand new school system, second to none.”
So, Mrs. Carr began walking. She took her campaign to the residents of Torrance, claiming in a July 11, 1999, interview with Daily Breeze reporter Christina La Russa to have worn out several pairs of shoes during the process.
“I must have looked so gullible. … I must have been very believable. I wasn’t sophisticated and I wasn’t a politician but I was an enthusiastic citizen.”
Carr wasn’t alone in the fight, of course. Other key supporters of the secession included Dr. Howard Wood, hotel owner James L. Lynch, steelworkers union president coincidentally named Carl Steele and fellow housewife/activists Grace Wright and Mina Shidler.
The biggest hurdle was the city charter change. It was placed on the ballot for Aug. 20, 1946. The summertime voting date was chosen to avoid the barrage of anti-secession propaganda LAUSD had used in the earlier elections held while school was in session.
The first Torrance school board, L to R: Superintendent J.H. Hull, board members Carl Steele, Grace Wright, Dr. Howard Wood, Howard Thatcher and Evelyn Carr, with assistant superintendent Emmett Ingrum at far right.
This time, the efforts of Carr and her cohorts proved successful. The measure passed by a 1,371-761 vote, clearing the way for the new district. An election to create the new board was held on March 18, 1947, with Carr, Wood, Steele and Wright winning seats on the inaugural panel.
Because of a bureaucratic rule disallowing newly formed districts from having high schools immediately, Torrance High came under the rule of the Redondo school district in 1947. It was a temporary arrangement, though; the school officialy became part of the new Torrance district in the fall of 1948.
LAUSD was not pleased with the outcome of the election. The district immediately stripped all furnishings from the schools in Torrance, leaving only the empty buildings and the land for the new Torrance district to refurbish.
Carr’s tenure on the board lasted only one term, from 1947 until 1950. She ran again in 1950, but her vote for independent-minded J.H. Hull as the district’s superintendent cost her support from the Torrance Herald, who backed former mayor Bill Tolson for the post. She lost in 1950.
Evelyn Carr at her Torrance home on July 8, 1999. Daily Breeze staff photo.
According to Carr, her husband Hartley would tell customers at his service station in downtown Torrance during the election not to vote for her because he wanted to have her at home more.
In 1954, Torrance voted to name a new school, Carr Elementary, in her honor. Carr became active at the new school, and it inspired her to become a teacher. She got her degree from California State University, Long Beach at the age of 41. Her son was a freshman at CSULB at the time.
After getting her degree, Carr taught for 11 years at Arlington Elementary in Torrance.
She died at 87 of complications from asthma at Little Company of Mary Hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002. Three weeks later, a tree was planted in her memory at Carr Elementary.
Carr Elementary School on 168th Street in North Torrance was named in Evelyn Carr’s honor. July 2013 Daily Breeze photo.
Sources:
Daily Breeze files, especially “Teaching them a lesson: More than 50 years ago, Torrance woman led fight to create city’s own school system,” by Christina La Russa, The Daily Breeze, July 11, 1999, Page A1.
“The History of Torrance Schools, 1890-2000,” by Thomas Rische, TUSD History Project, 2002.
Los Angeles Times files.
Torrance Herald files.
