1970_01 The Daily Collegian January 1970

              THE DAILY COLLEGIAN    Wednesday, January 7.
Allensworth - A new state park?
(Conflnued t*rom Page 1)
An admirer ouca wrote of CoL
Allensworth: 'He preserved
throughout his life a nobility of
character and a gentleness ot
soul which saved him to blithe
and serene living, and which
leaves him now, In the twilight of
his days, at peace with the world,
honored by the community where
he Uves, distinguished tn the
service he rendered the nation
which had enslaved him, loved by
all who know him without regard
to race or creed - a man of
deeds and Christian charity.*
He might have added that here
was a man possessed by a fierce
pride In his race and himself,
a pride which drove him to seek
an education and to teach others.
Allen Allensworth was born
Into  slavery  April   7,   1844, in
i the early 1900's at
the Presidio In San Francisco,
be waa a Lieutenant Colonel, the
highest ranking black officer at
the Ume.
Organizing the CaUfornla Colony and Home Promotion Association, Allensworth and a number of other black citizens purchased a 20 acre plot in Tulare
County about 70 mUes south of
Fresno In 1908.
The colony flourished.
Promoters   sold   some  2,000
acres were already being <
vated, with sugar beets the p
dple c
school work, including a good
piano, ls on a par with that of
any other district school In the
state of CaUfornla.*
Soon the school became the
social center of the community,
with entertainment and sabbath
services being held there. It also
served as the meeting place for
Allensworth's community groups,
which by 1919 Included the Women's Improvement Club, the Allensworth Board of Trade and the
Singleton Orchestra.
In 1914, Colonel Allensworth
died tragically. While walking to
California   <
(ting lr
ducUng routine water tests, discovered a dangerously high arsenic content In water drawn
from   Allensworth's   shallow
wells. Allensworth water waa
from 80 to 100 times the safe
level established by state standards, with the highest measurements coming from the weUs
supplying water to the school and
the immediate community.
The  weUs were  closed. Now
Allensworth's dwindling citizen- '
ry was forced to haul water from
as far as 30 miles away - anln-
convenlent  and expensive prac-
But the community sUU had Its
voice; It could still call for help.
as part of the Teacher Corps
program sponsored by U.S.c
and VISTA (Volunteers in Service
To America). Three men and a
women, all ethnic studies majors
work with some 36 students tech-'
nlcally enroUed in grades from
kindergarten through the eighth
grade. Their philosophy, how.
ever, has been to let each stu-
dent find his own level and work
from there, regardless of what
•grade" he may be in. They have
attempted to bring progressive
teaching techniques to Aliens,
worth and hope to make education
here comparable to what ls being-
offered in other communities.
ensworth- 'Once destined to become one of the
greatest Negro cities in the United States.'
I   tried   t,
n  cap-
the Henderson,
Kentucky, slave market for$960.
At the outbreak of the war, he
Joined the 44th Illinois troops as
a hospital corpsman. After the
Army was routed by Confederates
In late 1861, he was assigned to
an Army surgeon In Indiana, later
Joining the Navy In mld-1863. He
was discharged two years later a
first class petty officer.
Got the call'
were also finding profitable business as poultry producers.
In 1910 the first Allensworth
School was builtandMrs. Allensworth became president of the
school  board.   In 1912 the town
1914 the 33-square-mile Allei
worth Judicial District \
established, with Oscar Ove
me  of the original settlers,
writer   to   predict   I
it the c
svllle,
large   surrounding
1671
he was ordained a minister :
the Baptist Theological Institute.
In 1871 he served as*a delegate
to the Republican Convention
from the Third Congressional
District In Kentucky. He later be-
i
-if th,.
•apld growth of
second, larger
n 1914 and the
the community, ;
school was built
old   building   vx
library. Colonel Allenswi
nated  a  large  personal
and  other  books were recei,
lensworth w
station for the Tulare County
Public Library, with 50 new books
' itlng Into Ihe community each
e this prediction
The community's population
peaked In the Depression years
of the 1930's with a large Influx
of out-of-state immigrants ofaU
races. Soon It became a major
supplier of human resources for
the south central valley. It was a
tool f>
Farming  became  hard In the
town's water supply diminished
because of Increasing den
-'her areas. Many left to answer
e call of Industrialization in the
ties, leaving their land to be
aimed by taxes. Business fell
f and the general store closed.
Decay set In. Houses deterlor-
ed. The libr
hool remained open, but with
for eight grades and
valuation of
any  Tulare County   school dls-
In July, 1966, at a town meeting, 42 people, representing 29
of the town's 34 famiUes, signed
a petition forming the Allensworth Membership Water Com-
oany and asked financial help
from the Farm Home Administration   in   drllUng   a  new  and
a number of stop-and-
go attempts, during which the'
cost of a new water system was
estimated at various times to be
between $40,000 and $115,000,
Allensworth's bid for help was
successful.
The FHA approved a $45,000
loan to help finance a $60,000
water system. The balance was
to be supplied by members of
the water company, including labor for laying lines to their
homes from the well site.
SHU the problems of the community weren't over, foi
The other project currently
underway In Allensworth directly
Involves the Tulare County Community Action Agency.TheTCCA
in September agreed to spend
$10,000 for a free lunch program
at the Allensworth School. The
program will be followed by a
study to determine If students
show greater academic achievement with proper diets, as well
as to determine the physical
benefits. The Action Agency says
it selected Allensworth for the
program because the community
Is 100 per cent low Income families.
In June, 1969, the CaUfornla
Legislature, urged on by Senator
Dymally, began to take notice of
the historical value of AUens-
worth. The Senate Rules Committee gave legislative support to
efforts to preserve the original
townslte as a historical landmark. A short time later, the
Assembly gave its unanimous
support to a similar resolution.
Spurring the drive to save
Allensworth were-fears, as was
pointed out at the time, that
•large farming corporations are
on the verge of purchasing the
original townslte.* In a few years,
     It was warned,'all traces of this
slightly   high   level  of arsenic,    historically significant contribu-
But the final barrier was over-     tion  to the  development of our
the   Installation   of     great state wlU be lost forever.*
With the establishment of the
advisory committee to probe the
possiblUty of state park status
for Allensworth, it ls likely that
the long dormant history of this
•noble   pioneering   experiment*
won't be as long forgotten.       _/
368, Allensworth's
Allensworth has been that of education for its children. An Isolated and poor community, It has
always had trouble keeping teachers In Its school and keeping the
quality of education at a quality
level. Through the efforts of such
groups as the Tulare
County Community Action Agency, the problem ls being combat-
Survived 60 years
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Although the community never
approached the perfection of Col.
Allen A. Allensworth's dreams,
It has survived for more than 60
years. That in itself can be considered an accomplishment, particularly in view of its potential
especially    ,or rebirth.
Perhaps, in their efforts to
create a totally black way ofUv-
lng, the pioneers of southwestern
settler, William H. Wells, came
to Allensworth from North Carolina, he said, because «I am trying to prove to the white man beyond a shadow of a doubt that the
Negro ls capable of self-respect
and self-control.*
Could these not be the words
of today's black mlUtants who
praise racial pride and defy
•whltey?'
Two   project:
loteworthy.
Four graduate  students from
" ilverslty of Southern CaU-
are working In Allensworth    Tulare   County
•ned On Since 1910'
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
lalsphon. 4S7-3266.
dgfS
.     Bo6Swo/
a«..r      wEi*?,
Japanese visitors to
tour F.S.C. campus
Wednesday, January 7, 1970    THE DAILY COLLEGIAN   3
Lovdjieff to give mysticism lecture
Forty-flve coUege students and
young businessmen from the
Kyoto and Osaka areas of Japan
will tour Fresno State College
and Fresno's downtown malls today during their five-day visit
to Fresno County.
Communism
(Continued from Page 1)
Besides lecturea, documentary
films on Communism, slides,
studies of documents captured by
allies in World War H and Ave
guest speakers will be used during tire i
asked to speak.
The upper-division class which
will be offered at 12 noon Mondays and Fridays can be taken
for two or three units. Half of
the students wlU be able to take
the course as a lecture course
exclusively tor two units. The
other half may do research on
speclaUy assigned topics for
three units. The research,hopefully, will lead to the production
of a book on the topic.
The course will be open to 46
students; 28 have already signed
The course wlU have three
main topics: Communism propa-
canda, Communism subversion
and Moscow-controlled guerrilla
Two basic texts for the course
will be Volumes I andn of'Facts
on Communism,* pubUshed by the
U.S. Government Printing Office
In Washington, D.C. Other books
on actual Russian events will
also be Included.
Dr. Pronln ls a native of Eastern Poland. He came to the United States In 1948 after spending
13 months In German concentration camps. After receiving his
BA degree from the University
of CaUfornla at Berkeley and his
Ph.D. from Georgetown University, he taught at the Army Foreign Language School in Monterey
and the School of Advancedlnter-
natlonal Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.
He Joined the F.S.C. faculty In
1965 and has conducted a tele-
over KMJ-TV In Fresno and
published several books on Russian Literature. His fourth book
will be available soon, and he ls
presently working on his fifth
work, 'Russian Guerrilla Warfare, 1941-45.*
Dr. Pronln also is the current
president of the California division of the American Association
of Teachers of Slavic and East
European Languages.
The leader for the Four Brothers Academy tour ls Seijl Iwata,
cousin of Yoko Sasal, a part-time
Japanese and linguistics instructor and graduate student at F.S.C.
Carl Buxman, chairman of the
international committee of the
Klwanis Club In Reedley, whose
members also are helping with
housing arrangements, said the
purpose of the tour ls for the
Japanese and Americans to become better acquainted. He said
the visitors, in an exchange of
letters, have expressed
terest in everyday "
In the San Joaquin Valley.
Most of the students and businessmen speak fluent English,
Buxman said, but they will have
with them wireless headsets for
simultaneous translation of some
talks. Iwata ls an expert translator, he added.
They were to visit Reedley
College at 8 a.m. today and
leave for Fresno State at 10a.m.
Following a tour of the F.S.C.
campus and lunch In the F.S.C.
Cafeteria, the group will visit the
downtown malls at 2 p'.m.
No group activity has been
scheduled for Thursday. The visitors will leave Friday.
Christ S. Lovdjieff, instructor
or mysticism at ths San Francisco
State CoUege Experimental College, wlU lecture on 'The Life
and Teachings of Jlddu Krlshna-
murty* Friday, January 9, at
1 p.m. at FresnoStateCoUege.
The lecture, another in the
series offered by the F.S.C. Experimental College course in
mysticism, will be given in Science 161. It will be open to the
public without charge.
Jlddu Krlshnamurty was a famous Hindu mystic and poet born
In Southern India In 1895. He
founded the Order of the Star. In
1925. Mrs. Annie Besant and the
Fresnan will
perform of F.S.C.
Pericles Dlctlopoulos of Fresno will perform and present his
own compositions Including
works for vloUn, piano, and a
string and woodwind quartet, in
his   senior   recital Wednesday,
Theosophlcal Society of which
she wsa the leader, proclaimed
that Krlshnamurty was ths Messiah.    ■'
Krlshnamurty later dissolved
his own order, dismissed his
disciples and repudiated aU the
claims that had been made for
him. He devoted most of his remaining Ufe to writing and delivering lectures throughout the
Following the lecture, Lovdjieff, Dr. George B. Kauftman,
professor of chemistry and Instructor of the F.S.C. class In
mysticism, and members of the
class, wlU travel to the Skylake
Ranch Camp at Ahwahnee, where
they, will spend the weekend In
seminars and discussions.
Lovdjieff attended the Greeley
State CoUege of Education, the
University of Denver, Stanford
University, the American Acad-
' emy of Asian Studies and San
Francisco State College.
He haa taught tn various CaUfornla   Junior   and   senior hlrh
schools and In the San.Quentin
Prison. Lovdjieff* s work with the
Inmates of San Quentin U discussed In s section of Eldridge
Cleaver's recent book 'Soul On
Ice,* snd Lovdjieff U described
as The Christ.*
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