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GARCES MARKS A MILESTONE

Prominent School Celebrates

Sixty Years of Catholic Education

By

 Lisa Kimble

       It has been sixty years since Garces Memorial High School - affectionately dubbed ‘the little school on the hill’- opened its doors for business with just 150 eager customers. Back then the cost of mailing a letter was just 3 cents, Harry Truman was President, the Yankees would beat the Dodgers in the first televised World Series, and Dominican nuns and Christian brothers ruled the roost with steel will and iron fists.

       Today, the sprawling mission-style campus in Northeast Bakersfield bears little resemblance to the sparse La Cresta property where a legacy took root, but the tradition planted on that September day in 1947 thrives and has vaulted the parochial high school to preeminence in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond. “Garces has a very long tradition of providing quality, Catholic education for the community,” says Principal Robert Garcia. “I firmly believe that this school is a very significant part of adding to the ‘quality of life’ for Bakersfield families.” 

          That sentiment is shared by the many people whose lives have been shaped by the Garces experience at the college preparatory school. “Garces was a great experience for me as a student, as a parent, and hopefully in the future as a grandparent,” says Deborah Leary, a 1967 graduate and former long time school board member. Leary, widely regarded as one of Garces’ most passionate cheerleaders and advocates for Catholic education, will be singing the school’s praises loudly this week as she again chairs the annual Fall BBQ. 

            The annual event Thursday, October 4 on the school campus, which has traditionally kicked off the school year, takes on special significance with the year-long 60^th anniversary celebration underway. The treasured tradition has historically been a time for generations of Garces Alumni, current and former parents, faculty members, friends and the community to return to the campus for an evening of good food and company and renew old friendships. Planning the adult-only casual party has become a labor of love for Leary and her husband Gary who is part of the renown grill team. “Jimmie Icardo and a group of other Garces dads started the BBQ in the 1960s to supplement the school’s athletic budget,” Leary says. It grew into what is now considered one of the premier fall social events in town. “The success of our event has been the model for other bbq-style events in town and we take great pride in that,” she adds. Icardo’s son Gary and grandson Adam, also Garces graduates, continue the tradition started by the local farmer.

          The school’s rich athletic and academic success story actually began in 1910 in the basement of St. Francis Church which was then located on Truxtun Avenue. The Sisters of Mercy founded St. Francis School and the parish made plans to add a high school. By 1942, instruction went up through the eleventh grade. The following year the Dominican Sisters’ Congregation of St. Thomas Aquinas took over as administrators, and in 1947 ground was broken for a new 32-acre central Catholic high school.

          On September 10th of that year, GarcesMemorialHigh School opened as a co-educational, inter-parochial high school, 171 years after its namesake, Franciscan missionary Padre Francisco Garces, dreamed of establishing a mission in the area. “The mission of Garces Memorial High School is to develop our students spiritually, intellectually, and socially,” says school president John Fanucchi, a 1968 graduate and former coach of the school’s celebrated football team.  “Through offering an educational experience which emphasizes and promotes spiritual growth, academic excellence and community service, Garces has proudly served our community for the past sixty years.  Fanucchi firmly believes the community’s unselfish support is responsible for the school’s prosperity and growth.  

             But in the early 70s, that growth was nearly stunted. The Christian Brothers, facing a stunning drop in the number of men joining their order, were no longer able to provide staff for the school. The cost of filling the positions with hired teachers threatened the closure of the parochial school.  But in true Garces fashion, a committee of concerned parents and members of the local Catholic community rallied behind ‘the little school on the hill’, forming a board of education to deal with the issues of finances and staffing. “When I was here in the 70s the spirit, enthusiasm and commitment to Garces was amazing,” says Principal Robert Garcia.  “I went away to teach in other Catholic schools and the friendships that were developed here at Garces were phenomenal.” 

             That lesson of survival is an integral part of the institution that now enjoys 60 years of excellence in Catholic education.   Nor is it lost on today’s students, many of whom are second and third generation Garces undergrads who are keenly aware of the mantle of tradition they have inherited. “We are all united,” says junior Victoria Cody, who shares a birthday with her alma mater’s opening day. “I think being at Garces is a great experience because the school makes every aspect so special.”

             Tickets for the Garces Fall BBQ are $23 and are available at the school located at 2800 Loma Linda Drive.

        Lisa Kimble is a writer for Bakersfield Life magazine, a local journalist, and proud member of the Garces class of 1977.