Over the last year, a persistent question has echoed around Orange: "Who's the namesake of Jordan Elementary School in El Modena?"
Its a hot issue because there's a movement afoot to rename the school (which technically is now the Jordan Academy of Language and Computer Science) to Lorenzo Ramirez Elementary School. Ramirez was from El Modena and was among the plaintiffs in the landmark Mendez v. Westminster (1947) case, which ended school segregation in California. But people rightly want to make sure they're not just erasing one important historical memorial with another.
During its planning phase, the school (which opened in 1963) was often called Jordan Street Elementary School. It was common practice then for the Orange Unified School District to name new schools after the street on which they were located. Jordan was another example of this: A school named for a street rather than a person.
But wait! But who is the STREET named for?
Jordan Avenue was created and named in March 1923 as part of the new Hewes Park Tract (Tract 440), which was subdivided by the Hewes Realty Corp. The vice president and general manager of the corporation was D. Eyman Huff and its secretary was Huff's wife, Blanche L. Huff. The Huffs were undoubtedly the ones to name the street.
 |
| Hewes Park Tract map (Courtesy OC Survey) |
Huff was a civic leader, involved in countless community activities, from serving as president of the Orange County Fair board to serving as head of the Good Roads Committee of the Orange County Associated Chambers of Commerce.
I find no immediate significant connections between the Huffs or the corporation (or even Hewes Realty namesake David Hewes) and any person named Jordan. I also find no property owners or developers in that vicinity named Jordan around 1923.
 |
| David Eyman Huff (From the Santa Ana Register, 9-24-1923) |
Here’s where my new working theory comes in: The Huffs purchased a new Jordan luxury touring car in 1922. (See Santa Ana Register 4-8-1922, pg 11)
So, if, in fact, Jordan Avenue was named for the Huff's fancy new car, who was the car named for?
 |
| Jordan touring car ad, Sept 1922 |
Former ad executive Edward Stanlaw "Ned" Jordan (1882–1958) founded the Jordan Motor Car Company in Cleveland, Ohio in 1916. The Wisconsin native was an innovator in the art of writing advertising copy and much has been written about him. Jordan's company was successful for a time, but failed in 1931 when the "Jordan Little Custom" model flopped, debts came home to roost, Jordan faced divorce, and the Great Depression deepened. By the start of WWII Ned was at least partially back on his feet, and in the 1950s he regained minor fame for his nostalgic "Ned Jordan Speaks" column in Automotive News.
Again, any possible (and tenuous at best) connection with Ned Jordan would be based on mere CONJECTURE that the Huff's car inspired the street name. As I said, this is just my working theory at the moment. If you know more, please drop me a line.
 |
| Ned Jordan |
I'm told the Ramirez family also has a theory about how Jordan Elementary School got its name, and I understand they've got citations to back them up. I very much look forward to hearing their ideas and seeing how or if that contradicts and/or impacts my own educated guesses.
Meanwhile, based on what I have (and more importantly, HAVEN'T) found, it seems like switching the school's name to Ramirez could be a perfectly viable option.
No comments:
Post a Comment