Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by John Steenhuis, courtesy of Hillbrook School

This rustic water tower was one of the original structures at Hillbrook, a private school located on Marchmont Drive.

Picture from the Past

John S. Baggerly

Hillbrook School overcame many hardships to prosper

When the Great Depression hit the United States in the 1930s, two of Los Gatos' three private schools closed their doors. The third, Hillbrook, struggled through the hard times as well as a tragic fire and prospers to this day.

The Depression victims were Montezuma School for Boys on Bear Creek Road and Top of the Hill School, perched at the top of Kennedy Road overlooking the Santa Clara Valley and part of the ocean.

E. A. "Prof" Rogers founded Montezuma School in 1909 and emphasized statesmanship programs for his students. Dr. David Lacey Hibbs and his nurse wife founded Top of the Hill School to give sickly children a chance for outdoor living, frequent naps and studies.

Hillbrook was founded in 1936 as a day school by Mary Orem, who studied at Wheelock Kindergarten School in Boston and at Harvard School of Education. Hillbrook soon ran smack into the Great Depression and a measles epidemic. As a further blow, The Castle, its main building, burned to the ground in the 1940s.

It was during Orem's tenure as a psychologist in Chicago that she formulated her ideas for a school that would help a child develop to his or her fullest potential. Hence Hillbrook's slogan: "Do your best."

Orem and a friend, Elizabeth Blassford, who shared her ideas on education, first started a school in Nyack, N.Y., As the Depression deepened in 1934, they touched down in San Jose and started a school in Los Gatos with six children--wards of the county--some as young as 16 months old.

From a cottage on Rose Avenue, they later moved to property in the east foothills--the Col. James "Happy" Parker Ranch, located on Marchmont Avenue. It was here that Orem and Blassford were joined in their task by Nathalie Wollin and "Aunt Ann" Boge.

A story has it that the colonel, originally determined not to sell his land and mansion, melted when he saw the women and children. The Parker home, also called The Castle, provided 12 bedrooms and five baths. There was also a water tower, stables, a log cabin, a guest house and a barn, the latter eventually turned into an auditorium.

The log cabin was used as a shop and music room until it burned with The Castle in 1945. Currently, the property also holds tennis courts, an aviary and a swimming pool.

Although many local youths attend Hillbrook, students have come from around Santa Clara County, from other states and even from abroad. The children of actresses Hedy Lamarr and June Havoc and world-renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin all attended Hillbrook.

The six-time married Lamarr stayed at Hotel Lyndon in Los Gatos while visiting her children at Hillbrook.

Havoc, active on the road with her dance act when not making movies, wrote frequently to her daughter. One letter reads in part: "April, darling: here I am in New Orleans, of all places. I'm doing about five weeks of personal appearances. ... Remember when you used to sit in the wings and watch my act? Well, it's the same thing."

After longtime headmaster Robert "Robin" Clements retired a year ago, the school searched for a replacement while David Fleishacker filled in. When the new year starts, Sarah Bayne will be the head of the school.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]