Now & Then: A very special teacher,
Pearl Murrow was one of those special teachers who inspired respect and admiration. She also must have been a clever teacher, based on a family story way back in the 1920s when she taught seventh grade at Sonora Elementary School.
George Creary was principal then, and he was not liked by many of the older boys who received regular ruler punishment (a big beefy ruler) that always took place in front of the whole class!
One day, Murrow got wind of a plan by a bunch of boys to beat up Creary after school. So, during the last period of the day, she read the boys a list of honors Creary had won as a fighter in the
Army during World War I (which was not really true, he served at home in the California National Guard); that he was able to keep the Sonora Ku Klux Klan group at bay (only half true — there really was such a group); and that he had a great “throwing arm” as a second baseman for the Sonora Ball Team (mostly true). And, that he could not refrain from swearing when mad (absolutely true).
The designated spot to gang up on Creary was next to his car. Peacefully whistling a Louie Armstrong melody, he slowly drove away. Thanks to Murrow, no one came to match the powers of the principal.
Interestingly, the July 15, 1985, Lodi NewsSentinel published an interview with Creary, who was 87 at the time. According to the interview: “His stay at Sonora was cut short, again by a prejudice against Roman Catholics. The secretary to the school was also the secretary for the Ku Klux Klan group there. Well, you can imagine, he notes.
“Creary earned respect as a teacher, and his drum corps won awards, but anti-catholic feelings reached a point where he felt antagonism from all sides.
“The assistant superintendent of schools up there came to me and said, ‘George, you’re doing a terrific job with the kids, but you can’t win here.’ ” He soon left for a teaching position in Alameda County.
Creary did mention in the interview that he never could keep a job and that he had taught at a lot of schools. Sounds like he had problems wherever he taught.