Something that made me smile: A kindergarten class from Parkmead Elementary School in Walnut Creek 1971. A friend passed along a photo he received from another friend. Okay, I did attend Parkmead Elementary around this time, but, no, this is not my class.
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Crazy in Suburbia 
I remember Mr. Hambleton, and I think that that’s Mrs. Black, but I’m not sure. She was very sweet.
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Was WC segregated back then?
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Dear Anonymous,As far as I know, there no official policy of segregation. Not like San Leandro. (And if you want to know how San Leandro pursued policies of segregation, government-wise and in terms of who realtors were selling property to in the late 1960s, early 1970s, check out the one-man show, and book, “Not a Genuine Black Man,” by KGO radio host Brian Copeland. To be honest, I’ve read neither, but I’ve heard Copeland talk about his experiences growing up in San Leandro at the time, visited his website, and have been meaning to get to his show, which occasionally makes it out to the Lesher Center for the Arts in downtown Walnut Creek. For more info, visit, http://www.briancopeland.com.)Back to WC: As far as I know, there was no official policy of segregation. But maybe it’s worth finding out. As far as I know, it just kind of worked out that WC in the 1970s, when I was growing up was, for want of a better word, pretty WASP-y. Okay, there were some Catholics here and there, and maybe a couple of people with Asian and Latino last names. But, overall, it was pretty whitebread. White, middle-class, European descent but nothing TOO ethnic. As in, I don’t remember growing up with kids who had strong cultural traditions surrounding their Italian, German, Eastern European backgrounds. Thanks for your question.
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I have all my class pictures from Parkmead 1957-1963. Mom saved them all!tompinky
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