By Laurel Davidson
Brentwood Elementary/Science Magnet School held a gala 100th Birthday celebration on Oct 22.
More than 75 former teachers, parents and students met at the Brentwood Youth House on Gretna Green Way, where they viewed memorabilia, played old-fashioned games including jacks and Old Maid, and demonstrated their Hula Hoop skills.
Among the attendees was renowned author, populist historian, and television commentator David Wallechinsky, who talked about his time at the school from Kindergarten through 6th grade. Wallechinsky wrote “The Book of Lists,” and “What Really Happened to the Class of 65?”
Brentwood Elementary has come a long way since 1916 when it began as a two-teacher, ungraded school called Westgate School, named after Westgate Road, which passed by one side of the school. On the other side was a cow path. Today that cow path is San Vicente Boulevard.
In those early years, many students rode their horses to school and there was a shed behind the school-house to shelter their “transportation.”
The centennial celebrations were made possible thanks to a committee of former teachers and parents headed by Laurel Davidson and Lynnette Lipp. Others who helped make the event possible were Jackie Raymond, Ann Samson, Heather Arlt, Ladonna Freeman, and Margie Popovac.
