By Ernest Kimme

My first house in Vacaville was built in 1947, on the south side of Merchant Street.

Prior to 1947, everybody in Vacaville lived on the north side of Merchant Street. Most stores were on downtown Main Street, with a few on Merchant Street, which was the highway through town. Four thousand people lived in Vacaville.

Most students went to the old school on School Street, until Vacaville High was built five years later, in 1952.

Old timers will remember classrooms with tall ceilings and high windows that could be opened to let the hot air out. Every classroom had a fan. That was the extent of our air conditioning.

“High tech” in 1947 was a slide projector — manually operated. Education was all about books and chalkboards. The very idea of personal computers was still two generations and 40 years in the future.

via Ernest Kimme: School bond proposal in the works – The Reporter.