Citrus Avenue Runs Through It

Image via the Redlands High School wikipedia page

My alma mater is found in Redlands, California. When I graduated high school in 2003, there were about 4,000 students attending school each day and around 800 kids in my graduating class. There are so many fantastic memories for me there, as well as some cruddy ones. I know pretty much no one there now, maybe a few teachers and some of my classmates who now work there in some capacity. So now I can visit when I am in town and enjoy the view; the campus is sprawling, unlike many indoor schools where I am in Utah now.

In fact, the campus is so big that there is a street that runs right through the middle of it. The worst imaginable schedule for any RHS student was to have to cross the street during every nine-minute passing period. That dreaded street crossing added time to your travels that could have been used to head to the student store or chat up your friends. We didn't have access to lockers (thanks, drugs and guns!), so that was not a time suck. The mighty stoplight was the one hindrance to a perfect passing period. Otherwise, the street was just a normal part of the students' high school lives.

If history is your thing, you may want to know why this campus oddity exists. The North part of the campus (which would be directly behind you in the photo) was the original school built in 1891. The South part of campus was built later, which is why the street separates them. You can tell from the buildings which ones are relatively new; I loved that there was an elevator in one of the only two-story buildings at the school. How high tech! North campus was all bricked out and heavy on the
"function over form." I had most of my classes on South campus, which worked for a future-lovin' gal like me.

When I took my husband Caleb to my hometown for the first time, I drove on Citrus Avenue to show him my high school. He was flabbergasted, first by its size and then by its dividing street. He grew up in Oklahoma, where he attended an indoor high school. The thought of walking under open skies to get from class to class was odd to him. But, the reality of having to wait for cars to drive by in order to get to your next class was beyond weird.

All five Chatfield girls graduated from Redlands High School. It's the school at which my dad did his student teaching. And it's the school that my kids will graduate from, if I play my cards exactly right. That's not to say I have any school pride, but I just definitely love my hometown.

Did you have a street that ran through your school?

Or are you a graduate of an indoor high school?