by Susan Couso
In the 1930’s, Lassen High School was the center of a huge controversy which tore the school and the community into two battling armies, both bent on gaining control and ‘having their way’.
Most everyone is used to the idea that high schools are a pit of hormone fueled dissension, outrageous behavior, bullying, and petty disagreements.
Teenagers are usually expected to suffer in this way and learn to deal with life.
But in the 1930’s, the problems at Lassen High School swirled amongst, not simply the students, but the administrators, teachers and the board of trustees.
It all began with the hiring of Isaac Vaughn Funderburgh as the new Superintendent and Principal on August 1st, 1934. Funderburgh had a long career in education, taking control of a new school, only to have trouble with the established employees, then resigning his position before he was dismissed.
He began his career at Laverne College, near Los Angeles, in 1920, and by 1921 was appointed acting president of the school. By 1923, things had soured, and Funderburgh moved on to Fresno, where he taught and became Superintendent of Schools at Kingsburg High School.
In 1932, he became District Superintendent and Principal, but by 1933, things were going wrong again, and he announced that he would not run again for his position. Funderburgh had placed a distant third in the election that year, and the newly elected board of trustees stated that he, “should retire from public office.”
Funderburgh resurface in Roseville and secured a contract there for the 1933-34 school year, paying $3,000 for the year. But old habits die hard, and when faced with conflict, Funderburgh was ready to move on.
In May of 1934, the first act of the newly elected Roseville Union High School Board of Trustees was to vote Funderburgh out in a meeting marked by frequent verbal clashes.
Funderburgh had been given a $50 per month raise by the old board, but the new trustees took the raise away.
By July of 1934, he had secured a job offer from the Lassen Union High School and Junior College Board of Trustees. The Roseville board, hearing that he had been offered a position in Susanville, eagerly agreed not to hold him to his contract, which had not yet expired.
So, in 1934, Funderburgh made a good impression on the Lassen Board of Trustees, was hired to replace Robert M. Fulton, and arrived in Susanville to remake the high school into his vision of something wonderful. Funderburgh was highly educated for the time, and seemed to feel that he knew best. But before Funderburgh could even begin to enact his proposals, trouble began.
Funderburgh had been appointed by the Board of Trustees immediately preceding the election. When the newly elected board convened, trustee Aubrey Bieber accused Arthur J. Mathews, secretary, of altering the minutes, and asked that the contract for Funderburgh be thrown out. This accusation was denied, and the contract was retained.
Thus, the great Lassen High School War of 1934-37 began.
There was a group of dedicated local teachers and staff at the high school who were enormously proud of their school and its accomplishment, and who resented Funderburgh’s intrusions. This group had been the major voice in school policies for some time, and they were not about to be ‘browbeaten’ by this newcomer to the area.
So, they got together and decided to protest his actions. This group included janitor George Odette, janitor Albert Chittock, teacher and coach Med Arnold (Isaac Roop’s grandson), Robert M. Fulton, the previous principal and now mathematics teacher, Maynard R. Buckles, former vice principal and now math teacher, A.J. Berg, music teacher, Florence Scott, bookkeeping teacher, Mary Hardy, junior college history teacher, Minnie Roseberry, home economics teacher, and E. A. Hansen, history teacher, among others.
As they planned their measures to overcome Funderburgh’s oppression, they enlisted the janitors to surveil his activity.
The group made accusations against Funderburgh which mainly involved his associations with female school staff.
The two janitors involved, Odette and Chittock, claimed to have witnessed some of the events. They stated that Funderburgh, in March, April and May, was in the high school building with women. The lights were off, and he was caressing them, “Making love ardently and persistently to teachers of the opposite sex.”
He was also accused of driving away from the high school with a woman and out into the country with his car’s lights off.
Minnie Roseberry claimed that he had held her arm “way up” and placed his hand on her back “down rather low”. She also charged that he attempted to force his attentions upon her while she walked with him on a dark street near the school.
There were a few women named, but the most prominent of these was Frances Dundas, P.E. teacher, who had the curse of being a very attractive young woman.
Dundas had resigned her job at Lassen and moved to Upland before the accusations were made about Funderburgh’s alleged deeds. Dundas denied it ever happened. She denied all accusations of “loving and hugging” on the school’s stage, of being alone with Funderburgh in the gymnasium, or of caressing him in the school office.
She was accused of “doing a cakewalk” with him, to which she replied, “I do not know how to do a cakewalk.” Clearly, if something nefarious did occur between Dundas and Funderburgh, she was not telling.
These accusations were brought to the Board of Trustees, and in their usual manner, sides were taken, denials rang out, and shouts filled the air. It was awful.
Because of the discord, Carlyle W. Corson, clerk of the board, submitted his resignation. Corson was a U.S. Forest Service employee, and his employer wanted him to resign so that the Forest Service would not appear to be involved in the chaos.
There were some Funderburgh supporters on the board, like Arthur J. Mathews, but the majority ruled.
On November 3, 1936, the board voted to give Funderburgh a notice of intent to dismiss the accused at the expiration of 30 days for, “immoral and unprofessional conduct.”
Charges were made that Funderburgh “has used the prestige of his office to force improper and unwelcome attentions on women employees of the school.”
Funderburgh had the option of demanding a court hearing before the end of the thirty-day period, and with six days to go, Funderburgh filed for a hearing. In his rebuttal to the board, he stated that the teachers, Med Arnold, Mary Hardy, Maynard Buckles, Minnie Roseberry, and Robert Fulton, were disloyal, unprofessional and incompetent. He accused the janitors, Odette and Chittock of being disloyal and grossly incompetent also.
Funderburgh insisted that the charges were ‘trumped up’ and that they were in retaliation for a few changes that he had made when he first arrived at the school. He accused Roseberry of making up charges against him because he had accused her of being drunk.
On December 6th, the board voted to send the case to the Superior Court. They hired local attorney, Hardin Barry, to represent them in this twisted case of ‘he said, she said’.
Funderburgh insisted that he was innocent and attempted to have the case thrown out because his name was listed in the complaint, but not the names of those women with whom he was supposed to have made improper advances to. But the court date was set for February 17th.
Next Week – Part Two of our Story!
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