by James McArthur, 1951
Because the latest issue of The Alumni Newsletter had so many “in memoriam” articles, I feel now is the time to write while the McArthur clan is still with us. Five of the seven McArthur children attended Cleveland. I deliberately left off High School in the title because Junior High was also a part of Cleveland for some of us.
We grew up on the north end of Beacon Hill, a few blocks from the then-called Marine Hospital, and we all attended Beacon Hill grade school, which is now the El Centro De La Rasa. A new school was built a few blocks away after we had all left. My older sister went to Franklin while we lived off 15th Avenue South on State Street. In the spring of 1947, the family moved a few blocks to 13th Avenue South, just off Massachusetts Street. It was I, James, who, in September 1947, started the string of five McArthur children going to Cleveland. The youngest of us, Joe Allen, went to Garfield.
To get to Cleveland, we either walked about twelve blocks or took the number 3 trackless trolley down to the North Beacon Hill Junction, where a “four on the floor” stick-shift small shuttle took us down to Cleveland while on its route to Georgetown. Hitch-hiking from the Junction down 15th Avenue to Cleveland was popular as many Boeing employees drove that route.
I started in the fall of 1947 and graduated with the class of 1951. Brother John was a “mid-year” student. His graduation class was in 1953, but with the Korean War going on, he did not pick up his diploma until after his 1956 discharge from the Army. My brother Ed (Edwin) graduated in 1956, the last of us to go through the 8th grade at Beacon Hill. Then came my brother, Tom (Thomas), who graduated in 1957 and was the first of us to attend junior high in Cleveland. Lastly was my sister, Judy (Judith), in the graduating class of 1961. By then, Beacon Hill grade school had phased out grades 7 and 8, so Judy put in the most years of going to Cleveland, a total of six.
Our Cleveland education allowed each of us to have a productive life and career. None of our following generations attended Cleveland. All seven siblings are alive and retired, and four still live in the Seattle area. John is in Wenatchee. Judy is in Olympia. Joe is in Hillsboro, Oregon. We are all still in pretty good condition. We all have some aches and pains, but mentally we still know who and where we are. We all have our own memories, some fond, some otherwise, and some fading of our good old days at Cleveland.
James McArthur, 1951
Editor’s note – James “Jim” delivered the Seattle Times while attending Cleveland, going from school to work. While at CHS, he was in Torch Club, Boys Club, and a Hi-Flyer in his senior year. His ambition in his senior annual was “Aeronautical Engineer.” In 1955, James graduated from the University of Washington as an Aeronautical Engineer. He served three years in the Air Force, followed by 35 years with The Boeing Company.
“All helped by a good education and good study habits thanks to Helen Champlin at Cleveland.”
