Joseph Howe - The Ward Who Slipped Through The Cracks

 

Nearing the eve of the anniversary of Joseph Howe's passing at the Preston School of Industry, I decided I wanted to know more about this young man in order to remember him this year.

You see, when I first wrote my initial book and blogs on Preston's history, there weren't a lot of records readily available for searching online. Joseph's Preston record was not accessible to me at the time either, as I couldn't find it at the State Archives when I went there to search, and his official death record literally just stated that he died at Preston of "Tuberculosis" on December 11, 1913.

Not much more was known about Joseph up until that point. So, when I included his name in my chapter of the boys who are buried at the cemetery at Preston, I only had his name, his date of birth and date of death. No photos, no information about his life. Nothing. I wanted to change that, so I decided to reinvestigate his story with fresh eyes.

Today, we will take a trip back in time to go over the life of Joseph Howe and I will show you how it appears the odds were stacked against him from the start. I want us to remember Joseph, not just as two dates and a dash on a weather beaten wooden headstone in a forgotten cemetery, but as a young man, flesh and blood who lived and breathed and walked those hallways at Preston Castle, if even for just a short time in his brief life.

Joseph Howe was actually born on October 20, 1895, not 1897, as his marker reads. According to the 1900 Census, which was taken in June, it states he was only 4 years old, which would be the right age, as he would turn 5 in October of that same year. At the time, Joseph is living with his mother, Ada Stella Wilkin Howe, his uncle, and his four sisters at his maternal grandmother's home in Red Bluff, Tehama County, California. 

I am not sure where his father, Washington Lincoln Howe was at the time but it appears the couple reunited shortly thereafter, as Ada would have four more children with her husband, making their brood a grand total of nine children. The 1910 census for Phoenix, Jackson County, Oregon, showed the entire family together with Washington as the head of household, working "odd jobs."

Unfortunately, the family appears to have been very poor, and I believe they moved back to California sometime after the 1910 census, or at least the kids and Alma did. Joseph appears to have been born with some sort of mental disability, as he was sent around July of 1911, to the "Home for the Care and Training of Feeble Minded Children."  This hospital or facility was meant to help children with mental disabilities. It was best known as the Sonoma State Hospital and later the Sonoma Developmental Center. Sadly, this place wasn't a very good hospital. This location was known for their "Eugenics" program in the early 1900's and between 1909 and 1952, a total of 5,530 males and females were involuntarily put through sterilization procedures, which according to records was more than any other state hospital in the nation.

It doesn't appear that Joseph stayed there too long, but what happened during the time he was at that facility is unknown. One can only imagine!

According to the Chico Record, the hospital in Sonoma didn't have a lot of room for their patients so they eventually released him back to his family in Chico. It was during this time period that his mother passed away, on January 16, 1912.

Ada Howe, Joseph's mother, had been ill for sometime, and according to the death notice in the local newspaper she was suffering from an incurable illness, which caused an abscess on the knee which "weakened her condition" and "made it impossible to long survive." I did a little research on this subject, and I have come to the conclusion that Ada more than likely had been suffering from Pulmonary Tuberculosis, and she developed a secondary infection, called a "cold abscess" which can develop when the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria travels through the bloodstream into the extremities. 

I believe that Joseph contracted Tuberculosis from contact in the household, as two of his other sisters ended up with the same disease and died from it as well. His older sister, Alma passed away from the illness in March of 1913, and another sister, Irma passed away in 1917 from the same disease. During this time period, Tuberculosis was a widespread health crisis, and one in seven deaths were the result of this infection, especially in poor households.  

The December 18, 1912 edition of the Chico Record stated that Joseph, who was then 16 years old, was caught with 14 year old, Ival Scalf, stealing a horse and buggy from J.L. Crawford at the corner of Salem and Second Street in Chico. This location was only one block over and four blocks northwest from where Joseph had been living at 220 W. 6th Street.

Judge John C. Gray, presiding over the juvenile court committed the boys to Preston on December 17th, just the day prior to the article's release.Constable McEldowney and probation officer J.A. Glenn brought the boys to Preston. The problem was, where was the record of his committment at Preston? 

I searched my ward index that I had compiled back in 2014, of all wards committed from the time the school opened in 1894 to 1914. I could find no trace of Joseph. I began to feel uneasy and perplexed. How could someone who we know was sent to Preston, especially since he passed away on the property and was buried in its own cemetery, just simply have no record of having been there on the juvenile record list?

I went back to the California Youth Authority records via the State Archives and again, no Joseph Howe was listed. How could this young man simply just slip through the cracks at Preston? 

Well, after diligent research and cross referencing I think I may have found the answer. I decided to double check his accomplice's committment records at Preston, Ivan Scalf, and sure enough, he was in my index under ward # 1986, sent to Preston in 1912. Just underneath his name is Joseph Herve, ward # 1987, sent to Preston the same time in 1912. It is my belief that the people who entered the records into the CYA database misspelled Joseph's last name to Herve instead of Howe. This has to be the answer for his missing record at the school.

Sadly, Joseph would only spend one year at the school before succumbing to the same Tuberculosis that took the life of his mother and sister before him. I cannot even imagine what he must have been feeling or thinking, laying there in a sick bed, suffering from such a horrific illness such as that, and knowing that he was not going to get better; That he would never be able to get up and walk out of that building and live life, a life he never had a chance to even know. Instead, he passed away from his illness there at Preston, surrounded by strangers. It is heartbreaking to imagine.

Due to the fact that his mother was gone, and I believe his father just wasn't around, Joseph's remains were buried at the Preston Cemetery out back on the property. You see, back then the cemetery wasn't originally meant to be a permanent place, but instead a spot for the unclaimed boys in the event their parents did not have the money to take them to be buried elsewhere, or to keep them safe until the families were able to disenter and reinter them some other place. In this case, Joseph Howe would remain there in that spot at the Preston cemetery with it's castle looming over the horizon into the near distance.

Although there are no photographs of Joseph in existence that I know of, I tried my best to use modern computer technology to provide a possible idea of what Joseph may have looked like, based on the likeness of his brother, whom I was able to obtain a photo of. 

First computer AI speculative sibling image based on a photograph of Joseph's brother. 

2nd AI speculative sibling image (created more as a painting rather than a photograph)
based on a photo of Joseph's brother, as a possible sibling likeness.

By using this AI program using "speculative sibling imagery" this enables us to try to imagine what he may have looked like, if he did in fact look like his brother (who shared the same mother and father). 

As you can see the two images I came up with look a little different, so we may never fully know what Joseph looked like unless someone, somewhere has a photograph of him. Until then, we must leave it up to our imaginations I suppose. I just wanted so badly to give a face to his name, so that we can remember him and so that we can honor his memory. 

This week will be 112 years since Joseph left this earth. I didn't want his story to remain untold any longer. English writer Amelia B. Edwards once wrote:

“We all die twice.... The first time is when we simply cease to be; the second, when we are forgotten.” -- Amelia B. Edwards (1863)

With that in mind, let us honor Joseph's memory by learning his story and retelling it for years to come, so that he is never forgotten again. After all, everyone deserves to have their life remembered, large or small, rich or poor. In the end, we all end up in the same place, but that doesn't mean that our story should end there.

(Copyright 2025- jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Preston: A Mixed Bag- Good? Bad? How about somewhere in between?!

I wanted to clarify a few things that were stated recently in an article in the Ledger Dispatch that just didn't hold up when examined by the facts. The interview that was published was with the curators of the most recent photograph and media exhibit being held at Preston this summer. I am unsure where the ladies who were interviewed got their research from, but I wanted to clarify a few things here so that the public would know the actual facts in order to clear up any misinformation.

First and foremost, the majority of the boys that were sent to Preston over the years while the school was open, were there because of crimes they had committed, but yes, not all the boys were criminals, especially in its inception.  Many of the boys in the early years were homeless, or their parents were unable to financially support them. Some were considered “incorrigible” but not necessarily worthy of going to jail.

Depending on the time period when the boys were sent to “the Castle,” that depended on the type of experiences one would have there. In the school’s infancy, there were a lot of hiccups you could say, and mistakes made by some of those who were in charge. The school had earned the reputation of the “Preston School of Scandal,” for a reason. There were accusations made that certain Superintendents had abused the boys. One of the more infamous stories was of Superintendent O’Brien who was accused of literally torturing some of the wards, which was published in the newspapers, and he did eventually step down from his position.  

Still, there were plenty of Superintendents that were focused on truly wanting to help the boys learn to become upstanding members of society, so that upon their release they could go out and find work and make a better life for themselves. Please believe that not all the people running Preston were ruling with an iron fist.   

In my books and here on my ongoing blog "Preston Castle History," I like to refer to Preston as a mixed bag of sorts, because along with the bad stories, there were also many good ones. There were a lot of people who worked there, some of them their entire lives, intent on helping the youth do better. There are a lot of stories of the boys who left the school to become successful members of society, too.  

To clarify a few things, the boys at Preston were not all treated as though they had committed crimes, as the staff knew very well which boys were sent there and for what reasons such as the child being an orphan, his parents couldn’t financially afford to support him, or even worse possibly vagrancy. Then there were other boys sent to Preston for continual truancy, incorrigibleness and yes, committing crimes, petty or even some serious ones. To adamantly state that the school operated under that opinion, that they believed they were all guilty, is a disservice and a disrespect to all who worked so tirelessly at that school hoping to help these boys make better lives for themselves. 

Going back to the way the wards were treated. Yes, at times there were boys who were paddled or flogged for disobedience or getting out of line, but you must remember that during that time in history those forms of corporal punishment were considered the norm. I agree at times it got out of hand, especially with Superintendent O'Brien; However, even in some of the later Preston Biennial reports they stated that they only resorted to those methods if all other methods to get through to the wards were exhausted, not that I think that was okay. One of the Superintendents who wrote in one of the the Biennial reports mentioned that he felt corporal punishment was no good and did nothing positive for the wards. So as you can see, not everyone agreed with those methods. Again, it depended on the time period. Eventually corporal punishment* as a whole was stopped.

And yes, it was Corporal Punishment, not Capital Punishment as the article states. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE! (*There were no executions at Preston!) 

There were two choices at the time, send the boys to Preston or Whittier, another reformatory at the time, or be sent to the Penitentiary such as Folsom or San Quentin, where the hardened criminals were housed. The odds were they would have left institutionalized had they been sent to the latter. So, Preston was the lesser of two evils, no doubt. 

One of the quotes in the article stated: "The injustice is, these boys were put in the middle of nowwhere, locked down in solitary confinement and unable to have freedom of movement, and they were children."

That statement couldn't be further from the truth. For one, there were no fences at Preston when they opened. It was an open campus. People from Ione wandered up there from time to time, and even later, Ione residents were able to come and take trades classes there alongside the wards. Anna Corbin's son, Harold was one of those residents who took classes there. 

Second, they were not all put in solitary confinement. There were some events in the early years noted in record where the boys said to have been kept in the basement -- these were the written experiences of the wards themselves. But as a whole the boys were free to roam the property, work on the farm, in the blacksmith shop, in the print shop, in the bakery, and all the other departments where they were able to work and learn trades. They were able to go swimming on certain days of the week, and they were able to take care of the animals on the farm. They lived in honor cottages and buildings, not the solitary lock up buildings - those were for the boys who were being punished for bad behavior. Also, the fact the boys were doing work at Preston was not for the benefit of Preston itself, although everyone benefited, even the town, but it was to teach the boys life skills so that when they were released they would be able to support themselves out in the world. 

In the article it mentioned “The general population chose to harbor rampant discrimination and extreme exclusion via racism, homophobia, classism and povertyism – operating under the opinion that if these people were innocent, they would not have been arrested.”

I am going to have to disagree on that statement – which by the way is not supported by facts. For one, the Biennial Report for the Preston School of Industry published in 1918, showed that “the occurrence of serious crimes is most frequent among the white American boys and least frequent among the colored Americans.”    

In my research for the many years that I have been doing so, I have found no records to imply that anyone was discriminated against by race at Preston-- at least not during the time periods in which I researched (during the Administration buildings years of being open).  I saw white, black and Hispanic boys alike being treated the same in the stories and records I have recovered. 

The school often based their opinions on the boys by using the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale which measured mental abilities such as judgement, reasoning and comprehension. By 1916, that test was replaced by the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, to determine their cognitive abilities based on fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, knowledge, visual-spatial processing and working memory. This was to determine their intellectual weaknesses and strengths. It was not about racism or homophobia, and it certainly wasn’t based on classism. 

In fact, one of the wealthier of the wards, Herman Huber, was sent to Preston not having committed any crime at all, but more than likely because he was disobeying his grandfather or family members. The Preston admission ledger only had the word "Delinquent" next to Herman's name. His experience there was not a good one, and he never left Preston -- alive anyway. Herman was shot and killed by a guard during a botched escape attempt, and an eye-witness reported the incident to the Governor after his release from the school.  

Yes, Preston had records where they kept track of demographics such as where the boys came from, their backgrounds, their crimes and yes, their race. However, the records show that the boys who were made to do the most “disagreeable work,” such as hard labor, were doing so for acting out and not going along with the program, not because of the color of their skin. Remember this was a reform school to teach discipline, education and a trade. The school had rules to abide by, similar to the military. From the moment you stepped foot on the grounds you were expected to follow the rules. The boys were assigned to a company, not unlike in the military. You were expected to respect and follow the rules – and if you fell short, the entire company would be punished (not physically – but privileges taken away), just like in the military. 

During the time period where they had implemented a form of self-government, the boys had a choice – act right, do what was expected of you and you would move up, if you chose to disobey and cause problems you would be demoted.  Segregation, if any, wasn’t classified by race or ethnicity, but based on their age groups and what they were sent to Preston for, as the administration learned a hard lesson when during the earlier years of the school’s operations the new boys  were “indiscriminately mixed with the older institution types, feeble-minded with normal boys, moral degenerates with innocent first offenders or dependents.”  That was a recipe for disaster.

As the years went on the more problematic boys were often sent to solitary confinement for a period of time, until they were willing to cooperate. The wards who were attending classes and keeping up on the program at Preston found themselves earning more and more credits and being given more privileges. 

“He has just as many opportunities for wrong decisions as for right ones, just as many chances to go wrong as to go right. If he goes wrong, he is not combating the social order of his mental and social superiors in civilization, which he cannot respect, but he is combating his social and mental peers whom he understands and must respect. His comfort, happiness and progress depend upon his social relations; his social relations upon his free choice of conduct in the field of self-government. This, then, is the starting point for the boy: to make him conscious that he is a free moral agent and that his every decision affects his own life and status, and at Preston he makes that start the first day he arrives.” – Preston 12^th Biennial Report, page 6. 

The ward index mentioned in the article of the first 2,500 boys at the school was actually a list that I had compiled and donated to the Preston Foundation back in 2013. I made two identical copies. One of which I still have with me. It was actually the first 2,696 wards accepted at the school from its opening in 1894 to 1914.  

According to Bruce Warner, who worked at Preston for over 40 years, starting in the early 1950s,  and was both a cook and later on security detail there, stated that at its highest population during his time at Preston in the 1950s, he was feeding 1,000 wards breakfast every morning. There were a lot of boys who came and left that school. Some had bad experiences, some had good. I have interviewed some who were there going back to the 50s, 60s and even 70s, and they all said that if you kept your head down and didn't cause problems you would be okay, but if you caused problems you would go to solitary and make things harder for yourself. 

 

The article mentioned a visit to the cemetery, which is normally off limits because it is on CalFire property and is no longer part of the Preston property. So for the public, please do not attempt to visit the cemetery!

Regarding some of the deaths mentioned, 10 year old Grant Walker, was a young white American child, who came from a very large and very poor family. His father was a stagecoach driver and married someone who had many children from a previous marriage. It is my belief that the family fell on very hard times and that Grant ended up in the system because of their inability to care for him. This was not uncommon and I have found that to be the case many times. Sadly, Grant became ill with typhoid fever, a very common disease during that time period and sadly he passed away. 

In my book, "If These Walls Could Talk: More Preston Castle History," I questioned the first two deaths reported in the Biennial Report for 1895. I have mentioned this  on my blog as well. The first two deaths that I could find in records was Adolf Antron and Grant Walker. Adolf died from pulmonary adema and Grant was said to have died from typhoid fever as mentioned above. 

The Biennial Report however mentioned the second death as "an accidental burn resulting in an intestinal ulceration." This is why I questioned Grant's death in my book, but let me be clear, the report never gave a name. This left a big question mark in my mind. Was that death by way of a chemical burn Grant, or another ward whose name was simply forgotten? One whose body had been removed by family and buried elsewhere? We will never know for certain. However, Grant's official cause of death was said to be typhoid fever, and without an autopsy report that states otherwise, we cannot say adamantly that it was anything other than that. 

The newspaper article also adamantly stated that "13 year olds don’t die of a stroke."  

To answer that, a “stroke of apoplexy,” which is what 17 year old Peter Miller died of, was something that did afflict people, young and old alike. It can be caused by a blood clot blocking the flow to the brain which is an ischemic stroke. You can also die from a stroke, caused from bleeding to the brain, types of blood clotting disorders, infections and even heart conditions. In teenagers, it can even be caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland. 

Another death, Frank Ward, who died at age 17, from “Dementia” actually died from “Dementia Paralytica” which was primarily caused from a late-stage neurosyphilis, which the person could have contracted at birth from their mother who had the disease.  

Yes, in my research I have found a few deaths that I found suspicious, not the ones mentioned in the article as those were natural causes; However, even with the research I have done, I cannot say 100% that the deaths I have suspected of possible foul play were actually homicides, nor can I make a statement that the deaths do not match the forensics. There was no forensics. The cause of death would have been determined by the coroner at the time, an upstanding man in the community whom I have researched and written about countless times. The ward's families were either unable to be located to notify them of the death, or the family was not financially in a position to retrieve the body to be buried elsewhere, and so the young deceased ward was buried on the property.  There really is nothing suspicious about that. 

Lastly, the article quoted one of the ladies stating “These are ongoing themes, people living in poverty, immigrants who didn’t have access to schooling or the ability to thrive.” -- If you were to look at the records, at least for the first 75 years of Preston's history, the majority of wards there were not all immigrants -- but primarily American Caucasian boys. Yes, over time the population of Hispanic and African-American wards increased tremendously, but to really put things in perspective, the boys and/or young men who were sent to Preston over the majority of the time it was in operation, those were boys of all races, all religions, all ethnic backgrounds and all walks of life -- You could say that Preston was actually the great equalizer.

I hope that after reading this blog you will see a more level headed perspective of the school's history. Yes, there were stories of abuse and mistreatement at different times during the school's history - I am not denying that; However, we cannot deny that the school did do a lot of good for a lot of boys who would have never stood a chance in the world without their help. Some boys that went to Preston went on to lead successful lives, and yes, some remained forever in the system, institutionalized. In reality, every boy who stepped foot on that campus had a chance to do better while there at Preston, and in the end it was up to their state of mind, their choice whether or not they would learn from their experience and do better, or use these experiences as a crutch for the rest of their life that determined where their journey would lead them as adults. 

(J'aime Rubio - Copyright 8/30/2025 - www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

 

 

 

Remembering James Wieden - Preston's Slain Agricultural Teacher

Another story that has been whispered around Amador County for many years is that of the death of 45 year old Vocational Agriculture Teacher at the Preston School of Industry, James Wieden, after a brutal attack that took place on December 2, 1965.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to interview a former staff member of Preston by the name of Bruce Warner. Originally hired in 1952 as a cook, Warner later worked his way around the school and at the time of Mr. Weiden's passing, he was working in the security unit.

"I was one of the last people to see him alive," stated Bruce Warner, former staff member. 

According to Warner, he was responsible for delivering the wards to and from the farm. That day there was a group of wards working with Mr. Wieden. When the time came to collect the boys for the evening, Mr. Wieden told him that he was going to keep William Dunlap and Robert Stalcup to work a little later, as they were going to help him on a personal project working on his small trailer. 

"The rest of the boys were returned and the staff were told about the two boys staying to work later with Jim, but the staff forgot until they did count at 9 p.m. and realized they were short two boys." 

Mr. Wieden was welding at the time of his assault, and didn't see the boys coming so-to-speak because he had his welding hood over his eyes and was working on the trailer. Dunlap had picked up a heavy steam pipe (which was thicker and heavier than regular pipe) and began to bludgeon Mr. Wieden with it, then they stole his car keys and his wallet and made their escape. 

Mr. Wieden struggled to get on his feet and actually managed to walk from the Blacksmith shop to the front of the farm headquarters (approximately 200 feet) where he then collapsed. Mr. Wieden was found that evening and immediately rushed to the hospital in Stockton. Bruce Warner mentioned that he remembered later seeing a lot of blood all over the ground.  

Newspaper Photo

The boys had stolen Mr. Wieden's car and were gone with the wind. Sadly, Mr. Wieden just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time it seems. It turns out that the two inmates, William Dunlap and Robert Stalcup, planned on making an escape by volunteering to stay after their regular vocational class and help the teacher weld the trailer hitch. They planned on taking advantage of being the only ones out there at the time besides Mr. Wieden.

James Wieden didn't actually die on the grounds of Preston. Although he was badly hurt, he was taken to the hospital where he later died of his injuries on December 5th.

After they were apprehended, Dunlap admitted to bludgeoning Wieden over the head with the metal pipe the size of a baseball bat, near the blacksmith shop. Apparently, before attempting to flee, they had decided that Wieden was in their way, so they chose to kill him. Both inmates were eventually caught in Southern California and later pled guilty to charges of second degree murder.

The newspaper headlines said "5 Years To Life" when the two were sentenced, but as you get to the end of the article the authorities stated for the paper that due to the pair being under 18 at the time of the murder, they would probably be walking free within a decade.

What is interesting is the fact there are etchings on a cell door at the old Amador County Courthouse Jail that says that "Bob Stalcup killed Wieden," and then just below it says "PSI." It makes you wonder who etched that? Was it William? They were both held in the jail awaiting their trials. I am pretty sure we will never have an answer for that one, but it makes you wonder.

 Courtesy of Jaime Macklin (Restore Amador)

Going back to the story, when reflecting on his memories of James Wieden, Bruce Warner stated: 

"He was the kindest person that worked there, he was the nicest one of all of us! He even took one or two boys home for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner each year, and his wife would make a big dinner for them and bake the boys cookies, too."  

As we discussed his memories of James Wieden, it was apparent that Bruce Warner thought very highly of him and he was still very sad and disgusted that such a heinous crime was committed against such a kind hearted and good person who only wanted to help the boys at Preston.

James Wieden, Agricultural Teacher at the Preston School of Industry in Ione, California passed away from his injuries on December 5, 1965 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California.

He was survived by his wife Edmee Wieden. Funeral Services were held at the Lodi Funeral Home, Elders S.S. Rutan and Ivan Kurtz presided over the services and burial took place at Cherokee Memorial Park in Lodi. 

The high school at the Preston School of Industry was named after James Wieden in honor of the memory of their fallen instructor.

May we never forget this loving, kind teacher. Rest In Peace, Mr. Wieden, you will never be forgotten.

(Copyright 2024 - J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

Special thanks to Bruce Warner (former Preston School of Industry employee of over 40 years)

Cadets Who Served In The Military

(Postcard)

During World War I and World War II, many of Preston's wards or cadets wanted to do their part to serve their country, or at least aid in the war effort the best they could. One such person was Percy Blanchfield.  He was paroled from Preston in January of 1916, and because he grew impatient to join in the conflict, and since the U.S. hadn't involved itself just yet, he moved to Canada. In Vancouver, B.C., he enlisted in the Canadian Infantry, 47th Battalion. Percy was originally a native of Canada, having been born in Toronto. His father worked at the post office there but later moved his family to Fairbanks, Alaska, and even later to San Francisco.

The Sacramento Union dated May 28, 1918, quotes a letter from Percy, addressed to his Parole Officer in 1917:

"I have enlisted in the Canadian army here; at first it was more for an adventure, as it did not seem possible that this enormous and useless expenditure of lives and resources could or would continue much longer. When I return I want to resume my interrupted program and prepare to matriculate at the university. While here I received a letter from  my father and also from you in which you stated you would like to hear from me so that you could include my name in your report and help me on my way toward an honorable discharge from the school. That cheered me immensely and I hope I can remain in good standing. I want you to understand that I will act in good faith with you and that is my earnest desire to prove myself worthy in every respect. I remain, your friend, Percy Blanchfield."-

Historic Photo of soldiers who fought in the Battle for Hill 70 (Canadian Govt)

Sadly, Percy would not return home from the war,  but would face his fate at the Battle of Hill 70 near Lens, France. The article in the Sacramento Union goes on to state that Percy was "instantly killed on a battlefield." According to Captain Howard of his company, Percy stood post in a "gallant manner during all the ten days fighting."

Percy Blanchfield's body remained in France, on the outskirts of Lens, where a small grave was marked by a white cross at the time. He was the first former Preston cadet to die in a war. Canadian Veterans Affairs records state that Percy Joseph Blanchfield, Military Service # 826820, died on August 27, 1917. His name, along with thousands of others who died during that battle, has now been inscribed and honored by a memorial in Pas de Calais, France.

The Ione Valley Echo states that in 1918, twenty-five boys from Preston volunteered to be recruited into the military and were brought to Fort McDowell, on Angel Island in San Francisco. Unfortunately, due to their commitments, all were rejected and sent back to Preston, though three of the twenty-five boys ran away. This set back didn't deter other wards from wanting to be involved in the war effort though.

In WWI alone, there were approximately 148 boys that were on parole from Preston who went to serve their country. In between WWI and WWII, a number of boys joined the services.  According to the "Preston School of Industry: A Centennial History," 378 boys who were former wards were serving in different branches of the military by WWII. 

Because of the strict military training and discipline instilled in each cadet while at Preston, this better prepared many of these boys for military life. I am sure there were many more young men from Preston who went to war during WWI and WWII, some who many have even sacrificed their lives to serve their country. Whatever mistakes they had made earlier on in their youth would now be forgiven and forgotten the very moment they made the decision to think of someone other than themselves. Let us never forget this chapter in Preston's history as a positive one. ----

From Chapter 14. Cadets Who Served In The Military, from the book "If These Walls Could Talk: More Preston Castle History," by J'aime Rubio.  www.jaimerubiowriter.com

Copyright © 2017 J’aime Rubio, Author ISBN-13: 978-1548569907 ISBN-10: 1548569909

Deaths at Preston Castle

When you watch a paranormal television program, or maybe even one of the films that have come out that exploit Preston Castle’s history, you will find a common theme: Ghosts. This is because of the fact that it is documented that there were some people who died on the property over the many years that the school was in operation.

So many times, when people re-tell history, the stories are told incorrectly, over embellished or just made up all together. Once these over-the-top ghost stories get started, well, it’s hard to stop it. I am not just talking about Preston Castle stuff either, this happens in all sorts of historic locations all over the world.

This bothers me because I stick to the facts, and although I do believe that there is a spirit realm and that it does in fact exist, I choose not to go there with my work unless I have to.  My primary purpose for sharing history with the world is to share an accurate telling of the past. And in turn by telling the truth, and shining a light on that truth by way of debunking the false stories and sharing the documented facts, I am honoring the very souls that have been lost to us in death. That is my gift to those who have passed on, to remember them – with respect and with accuracy. To be a voice for the voiceless, and honor the forgotten ones so they will be forgotten no more.

Here is a list and summary of some of the deaths that have occurred at Preston Castle. This list is so that those who are truly seeking the facts about the souls who have lost their lives here can have accurate information in their quest for Preston Castle’s history.

Natural Deaths At Preston

To give you a list of all the deaths at Preston would be nearly impossible. Reason being is that so many of the records of the school have been purged over the years, and what is left at the State Archives do not reflect all of the wards who have walked through those castle doors. It is a known fact that there were deaths from the time the school opened until it closed (even the newer facility).  The first death at the school that was due to illness or health related issues, was Adolf Antron who died on February 20, 1895, from Pulmonary Edema.  The next boy who died that year was Grant Walker, which I will get into a little further in this blog.  Both Adolf and Grant are buried out back behind the castle in the cemetery. (The Preston Cemetery is not accessible; it is on Cal-Fire property. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO VISIT).

According to the Preston School of Industry’s Biennial Report, dated August 1, 1896, the school’s physician, A.L. Adams report states that given the conditions the boys were in when committed to the school, they were not surprised by the high rate of “hospital inmates” as he put it. In fact, he speaks of the entire facility having been exposed to some of the worst illnesses including incipient phthisis (known today as Tuberculosis), typhoid fever, scarlet fever, epidemic influenza, tonsillitis, malarial fever and pneumonia, as well as chronic illnesses such as epilepsy, chorea, and the regular fractures, bruises, abscesses and contusions.

Another thing I would like to add is that even though there was an outbreak of the Spanish Influenza between 1918-1920, and despite the fact that half of the officers working there and a third of the wards committed there were affected by the virus, none of the infected died from the illness.

In total, there are 18 boys buried in the Preston Cemetery. Of these 18 boys, 15 are ones that are listed as dying from illnesses.

Adolf Antron (1/22/1877-2/20/1895) COD: Pulmonary Edema

Grant Walker (7/15/1886-6/17/1895) COD: Typhoid Fever (?)

William C. Williams (8/26/1879-6/6/1897) COD: Acute Meningitis

Nicholas Hamilton (1/13/1878-5/17/1898) COD: Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Frank Ward (unknown- 7/17/1898) COD: Paralytic Dementia

Woolrich Leonard Wooldridge (5/23/1880-10/17/1899) COD: Acute Cerebral Meningitis

Hugh Simms (6/4/1893-1912) COD: Tuberculosis

Roy Scoville (9/14/1895-4/29/1913) COD: Meningitis

Eddie Heath (7/19/1894-5/13/1913) COD: Myocarditis

John Miller (8/13/1898-6/13/1913) COD: Meningitis

Joseph Howe (10/20/1897-12/11/1913) COD: Tuberculosis

Peter Miller (6/28/1897-1/20/1914) COD: Stroke of Apoplexy

Benjamin Kealohi (5/13/1897-6/17/1915) COD: Acute Nephritis, Peritonitis, Appendicitis rupture.

James Lopez (4/7/1903-12/23/1919) COD: Bronchial Pneumonia

Raydell Holliday (1/31/1909-3/23/1922) COD: Influenza, Rheumatic Fever, Heart disease.

The only reason we have such detailed information for the above boys listed is because of the fact they were buried on the property. Why were they buried there? Well, the school gave a certain allotment of time for next of kin to claim the body of the deceased so they could have funeral arrangements made elsewhere, but unfortunately many times the boys either had no family to notify or their family were destitute, meaning they had no financial means to recover their child to bury him properly. In that case, the school had the cemetery available to bury their unclaimed dead there, so they could rest in peace, properly.

We know there were other illness related deaths at the school over the years, but since their families came to retrieve their remains, we do not have a complete list of all of them.

Unnatural Deaths at or around Preston Castle

When I say unnatural death, I mean that the death was either a homicide, accidental, suicide or questionable. Four of these listed are buried at the cemetery on the property. These are the deaths that I have found in my many years of researching this school. 

Wards:

Grant Walker  (died on June 17, 1895)

Going back to Grant Walker, you will notice he is listed as one of the boys who died from illness on my first list above (typhoid fever).  However, the 1896 Biennial report lists two deaths that year and one of the deaths was from accidental burns, intestinal ulceration. It is as if he ingested something toxic which burned his insides. Now, the only two deaths listed that year were Grant Walker and Adolf Antron, and Adolf's death is listed in the Biennial Report matching the description of the one with pulmonary edema. So how did Grant die? Did he have typhoid fever, or did he accidentally ingest something toxic? And if so, what did he ingest? That is a mystery to which we will never have the answers to. We can only speculate, and so, this is why I have listed him on both lists (Natural and Unnatural Deaths).

Joseph Morgan (died July 1899)
Shot after escaping the school, his wounds proved to be fatal. He was not killed on Preston property, but instead he died at Sheldon which is located near Elk Grove, California. 

Herman Huber (died October 17, 1911)
At the time that staff was ringing the dinner bell, Herman and another friend, John Kirrane, attempted to escape the school in the dark. The night watchman J.D. French went after them. Although French claimed he only meant to shoot a warning shot to to sound the alarm so that the Superintendent would know something was happening, another ward, Ernest Reed, claimed that he watched French shoot Herman in cold blood. 

Tahema Vann (died on June 6, 1914)
According to official reports, the boys from Company (I) went down to the pond to swim about twenty minutes after finishing their supper. Captain Enright told the boys that if they were not good swimmers, to stay at the shallow end of the pond. Tehama claimed that he could swim "dog fashion" just before he dove in head-first. The boys who witnesses the incident said that he came up once for air and raised his hand and arms in a panic, just before he went under and never surfaced again. Two boys, Robert Rains and Albert Rubidoux tried to dive in after him, to no avail. It wasn't until the next morning that they were able to retrieve his lifeless body that had sunk to the bottom of the pond. He is buried at the Preston Cemetery.


Frank Cardarella (died February 12, 1917)
Frank was found in his cell, dangling from a water pipe above him. He had ripped his sleeping shirt into pieces, fashioning for himself a makeshift noose in which he used to commit suicide. the day before, he had been suffering from seizures due to epilepsy. Instead of the staff sending him to the infirmary to be treated, they took him back to his cell and left him there. Such a sad ending for a young man who just needed someone to care for him. 


Sam Goins (died April 19, 1919)
After escaping the school, Sam made it all the way to the Thornton ranch, Northeast of Lodi.  He threatened to kill anyone who attempted to apprehend him. J.E. Kelly, who had gone after Sam, shot aiming at Sam's leg to stop him. But at the same moment Sam was attempting to jump over the wire fence, he tripped. As he fell, the bullet hit him in the back and this wound proved to be fatal. The staff brought him back to Preston, where he lived a short time on the way up there. He admitted to the men who apprehended him that he knew he was at fault for the incident and therefore he exonerated Kelly from being responsible for his death. 

Frank Aljers (died May 13, 1922)
Frank arrived at Preston on May 6, 1922. He had been in a motorcycle accident just prior to him being sentenced to Preston. His injuries were worse than they expected and when he arrived at Preston he went straight to the hospital at the school. He died a week later.


Ray Baker (died July 26, 1924)
While in an attempt to escape, Ray Baker attacked and tried to murder guard Thomas Dooley, by choking him. During the struggle, Dooley managed to get his pistol out and he shot Baker. The ward died 10 minutes after arriving at the hospital.

Leland Price (died December 1924)
During the middle of a Saturday night football game at Preston, a fight between wards Edgar Hough and Leland Price broke out. As a punishment the two were locked in the basement alone. The fight resumed, and at some point Price was knocked down or slipped, fracturing his skull on the concrete floor. He fell into a coma from which he never recovered. He died the following morning.

Manuel Vargas (died January 29, 1922)

On January 29, 1922, a tragic accident took place at the stables of the Preston School of Industry. Apparently, Manuel Vargas  was cleaning the stables and somehow touched the leg of one of the newer horses while in his pen, thus spooking it enough to kick back, which inflicted a fatal blow to Vargas' head. His body was originally brought to the Ione Cemetery to be prepared for transport to Los Angeles where he was sent to family to be buried.

The California Death records have his death under Gilberto Vargas, and erroneously dated his death as February 29, 1922, when in fact, he actually died on January 29, 1922. The only reason we know the exact dates are (a) the Ione Public Cemetery has a recording of that date in their ledger, and (b) the newspapers in Amador County chronicled the story in both the Ledger and the Ione Valley Echo in the early part of February.

William Reppert &  Henry Herstein (died December 4, 1928)
While digging a sewer ditch on the school property, six boys were buried alive when the trench the boys were digging in, caved in. Four of the boys were saved, but both William and Henry perished in the ground. Their bodies were recovered and Henry's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school.

Staff:

Anna Corbin (died February 23, 1950) 
The most widely talked about murder that took place at Preston, is that of Anna Corbin's death. There is no way I can summarize her murder in one short paragraph as there is so much complexity to the case. The facts of the case was that she was found in the basement store room in a half-sitting position in the corner. Rugs had been placed in an attempt to hide the body. She had been choked and bludgeoned. Her cause of death was from skull fractures due to her head hitting the concrete floor of the basement. 

To read in depth about her life and death please visit my blog here: The Life and Death of Anna Corbin. 

James Wieden (died December 5, 1965)
On December 2, 1965, Preston's agricultural teacher James "Jim" Wieden was brutally attacked by two wards on the Preston property. After assaulting Wieden, they stole his vehicle and his wallet and escaped. They were eventually caught and tried as adults. Although the "Ghost Adventures" show tried to claim that the "agricultural teacher" was murdered at Preston, history proves that he was transferred to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and passed away on December 5, 1965. 

Non-Staff/Non-Ward Death:

Fred Downs (died August 4, 1902)
During my years of researching the Preston School of Industry's various history, I've come across many interesting stories. This particular story was about a man who met his fate at the Preston Reservoir, but he wasn't a staff member, nor was he a ward. In fact, Fred Downs was just a regular guy who happened to have been on a hunting trip with his two buddies George Gorman and Ed Tibbitts when he met his fatal ending.

The group of men were coming from Sutter Creek, but decided to hunt for doves near Mount Echo, just northeast of the reservoir. Nightfall was coming, so Fred made his last kill for the night, but the dove fell into the reservoir. Seeing that it was beyond his reach, he decided to go in after it and wanted to take a little swim as well. His friends claimed that he had only got chest deep in the water, wading normally when all of a sudden he went under.

There was no sign of distress, no sound, nothing. In a panic his friend ran to the man attending the reservoir, Mr. Henderson, who arrived "within seconds". Fred's friends claimed they couldn't swim and that is why they didn't go in after him immediately, however given the amount of time between him going under and Mr. Henderson arriving it was said that it was nearly impossible for him to have drowned so fast. They pulled him out of the water, but he died on the banks of reservoir, before the doctor could reach him.

They didn't know whether he drowned, collapsed in the water from heart failure or had some sort of heat stroke, but Fred Downs died suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday, August 4th, 1902. He was well liked within the community of Sutter Creek, where he was raised. He was 34 years old, unmarried and it was said that "He was a great favorite with all who knew him, and his sudden and untimely death would be deplored by all."

Liberto Mendes  (died February 13, 1932)

This death took place in the Preston hospital after Liberto was badly injured in an explosion at the Kennedy Mine in Jackson, California. Two of his other co-workers were killed instantly, while the fourth was badly injured but survived to tell the tale. To learn more about this story please click here. 

George Robertson  (died May 15, 1901)

This death may or may not have taken place at the Preston hospital. According to records found during my research for my latest book, "Down Below: A History of Deaths at the Kennedy Mine," I discovered that although George was fatally injured on the Kennedy property, he was taken "to Ione, where he was placed in charge of local physicians. They concluded that an operation was useless, and after intense suffering he died  Wednesday morning.”--- Amador Ledger Dispatch May 17, 1901.

 

Conclusion

In ending, these are the forgotten ones of Preston's past that I strive so hard to protect and respect. I hope that those of you who are honestly seeking to learn the truth about Preston and its very complicated history, enjoy reading my research. 

(Copyright 2019 - J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)