We are attempting to put together the history of Cunha Intermediate School.  For example, I know we were a K-12 at one point, a high school, and a year round school.  But we’d like to get much more detail, including dates when buildings were added and the like.  Any ideas where we might find this information?

Stupid question: Have you checked with the district office?

Also, I’ve moved this from Unclassifieds to the School topic.

I spoke with Dr. Bayless yesterday.  He said they have all the blueprints of all the buildings at the DO so I can at least find out when each building was constructed.  That’s one piece!!

Since you work at the school, why don’t you put out a message via SchoolLoop to all the parents? There are many people on the coast who attended Cunha and whose families have been around for a while and probably can help with information.

Good luck.

Katharine Weber,

If this morning at work, you walk over to the Kelly and Church Street entrance of the original building, you will find a large brass wall plaque about a metre by 2/3 a metre with the dedication date (1939), school board members at the time, Architect and firms as well as the WPA project and officials. The WPA, Works Progress Administration, was big on documentation in the process of pouring Federal money into rural economies to work through the last depression saving local jobs and companies - contrasted to only a couple of percent of the $50 million that CUSD had spent locally. The same type of Dedication Plaque at the Church Street facing building middle entrance with the dedication date (1940). (I believe there is a similar type of local origin dedication plaque on the 1973 (?) building.)

If you look down at the floor in the same area on the first two buildings, you will see embedded in the floor a ‘teachable moment’ urging one to “Tolerate” others - an interesting choice of word as well as prophetic in that within two years those of Japanese origin would be rounded up by the Federal government, shipped off to Tanfaran and on to the Utah detention camps for most of WWII while they lost their homes and farms locally.

As part of the Charrette for Half Moon Bay, 14 July 1990, the San Mateo Chapter of The American Institute of Architects produced a lot of documentation on HMB’s Historic District including Cunha. It was turned over to the City and the Historic Society. They also identified Cunha as a key Historic example of Art Deco construction not just for the Coastside but for San Mateo County deserving official Registry Listing. At the Library you will find several mentions of Cunha in the books done on the Coastside. The Review has also done a number of articles over the years. Cunha is noted in a number of books on Art Deco construction.

You will also find Naomi Patridge a great source of information as a long time CUSD employee and all but a couple of years Coastside residence.

Although it would be nice to hear that former Superintendent Baseless is actually doing something to earn his more than a year continuing feeding at the public money trough, I have seen no evidence of accuracy in his statements.

Ken Johnson