The Citrus College board of trustees approved a notice of completion for a $2.2 million renovation of Hayden Hall on Feb. 6.
Horizons Construction Company International, Inc. completed work on the 4600 square feet historic site that just opened in a southeast corner of campus.
Hayden Hall rose in 1934 as Citrus College’s first building. Its Spanish revival white walls reflect sunlight on the minimalist and brutalist 1970s buildings that surround it.
On Oct. 3, 2017, Hayden Hall had its dedication ceremony.
“I have only been here 10 years, but I don’t recall any buildings being open at dedication,” said Bob Iverson, Director of Purchasing and Warehouse for the college.
The building is one steeped in local and state history. It was the first on the campus dedicated exclusively to the college, when the campus also housed Citrus Union High School that closed in 1958.
Some students still commuted to campus by horse in 1915 when the college was founded. It was the first community college in Los Angeles County and the fifth in the state.
Robert Iverson reported there were no unexpected delays.
Christina Garcia, director of the Citrus College foundation, said, “It is a gathering place for academics to exchange ideas. There will also be a library conference hall for Citrus faculty.”
On Feb. 13, key cards were distributed among representatives of the academic senate and the Citrus College Faculty Association.
“We flipped a coin and the academic senate got the window office,” said Justina Rivadeneyra, president of the CCFA.
History of Hayden Hall
Hayden Hall’s past and renovation mask a living history still part of the campus community.
Citrus Foundation Board member Sharon Lewis was a student of the former Citrus Union High School. She has memories of the original Hayden Hall.
“The community used come to watch movies there at night,” Lewis said. “My husband used to turn the lights on for the newsreels during the war.”
Lewis’s husband, Charles Lewis, adds, “Before television, I would guess I was 10 or 11.”
Charles’ father, Joe Lewis, was the custodian of Hayden hall for decades. He opened the building on movie nights.
Sharon Lewis’ fellow alumnae of ‘52, Tickie Moline, hangs onto her memory of the hall.
“Oh my gosh, that was a long time ago, you know. I had Earth science there in either ‘50 or ‘51,” Moline said. “Them was the good ole’ days when the school was small, but mostly surrounded by orange and lemon groves.”
Moline still recalls her fellow students working in the area’s nationally renowned Citrus industry.
“When it was frosty and cold and freezing out, the fellas used to go out in the fields to light the smudge pots so the oranges wouldn’t freeze,” Moline said. “You could tell who the fellas were that was out there smudging ‘cause they’d have black soot in their nose and stuff.”
According to college’s primary history book, “Citrus Speaks,” the building’s namesake was the first college president, Floyd Hayden. He held a preacher’s license, and the book said he was “compassionate and cared for his family and students deeply.”
Many in the college community attended an October dedication to Hayden Hall, including Floyd Hayden’s grandson.
“Some of the alumni were surprised to see his grandson with the same shock of red hair Hayden had,” said librarian Karen Mosher. Mosher is one of several librarians passionate about protecting Citrus College’s past in the library’s archive.
“It was a wonderful, wholesome time for young people,” Sharon Lewis said. “ We didn’t have a lot, but parents didn’t have to worry about us going out like now.Have you ever read the book, “Citrus Speaks?”
Black and white photos of young women in high collars and men in tuxedos fill the book’s pages.
By the 1920s principal Hayden had declared the first Friday in May a school holiday, “Fish Day,” to prevent ditching and keep up the college’s “average daily attendance,” a state funding metric.
“All of them were mostly from families that were ranchers and the like. The kids like to go up and fish,” Glenn Vaniman, principal and superintendent, was quoted in “Citrus Speaks” in 1993, “My predecessor was a Scotchman.”
Mosher surveyed the collapsing binding of a fading copy of “Citrus Speaks.”
“I wish we could get some volunteers to scan these pages online,” Mosher said.
