The story starts about 1925 when J.L. Paddon (John Locke-Paddon) arrived in the Aptos area to live on what is now Valencia School Road. Newspaper reports from the time indicate Valencia School District actually existed as of May 9, 1928 and that J. L. Paddon and Joseph Bella were members of it's Board of Trustees. It is not clear how trustee's became trustee's but it was either by appointment of the County Board of Supervisors or by local election. In any event, both the Bella family and the Paddon family still live on the same properties their ancestors did in 1925 when these family members were on the Board.

Noel remembers that his father was Chair of the Board at one point and was on the school board until it dissolved when Valencia Elementary began. Noel remembers when they had to fire a teacher. Since the family moved to the area in 1925 and the original Valencia Town School closed at the end of the 1928-29 school year, he was on the Board for only a short time.

The Original Valencia Town School .

Mr. Noel Paddon and his younger brother Rex were the last two students to attend the original Valencia School. The school was located above Valencia Town, next door to the Peterson residence on what is now called Valencia School House Road. The two Paddon boys, 1st and 2nd graders in 1928, walked to school from their dad's dairy and apple ranch on Valencia School House Road near Trout Gulch Road, taking shortcuts whenever possible. They walked up the two and one-half mile distance each day with their neighbors the Hill brothers, Wilford and Alfred and the three Blair brothers, Carl, Walter and Ernie.

The bell in the school's bell tower rang each morning before school started. It could be heard for miles across the hills in those days. When the Paddon boys heard the bell ring, it meant class would start in five minutes. So if they heard the bell, they ran the rest of the way to school. The original Paddon Ranch and dairy farm is still there today (May, 2003) on Valencia School House Road. You can still see the old Paddon Dairy sign and advertisements for a milking machine on the white barn if you look closely.

But all the redwood trees had been felled by 1928, cut up and harvestable lumber hauled away. Valencia Town was almost empty. Few families were left with kids to attend the school. Only about twelve kids attended in 1927. The school building was about 50 years old at that time. So by 1927, all but the Paddon boys graduated or left the area. Only Mrs. Wright and the two Paddon boys were left. So the school District closed Valencia School in 1927.

Then the stock market crashed in October, 1929 and the Great Depression followed.

No one wanted to buy the old Valencia School building and land. In 1934, the Aptos School District auctioned off the building and land. The Aptos School District wanted to sell the building and lot to the highest bidder. Mr. Charlie Bella of Aptos was the highest bidder. He bid $75.00 for the lot and school building. Mr. Bella still lives nearby and still owns the land. The H. R. Lord Wrecking Company of Santa Cruz dismantled the school in 1934 and sold the redwood lumber to the public. An unsuccessful bidder named Otto Hill was given the Valencia School organ as a consolation prize because he was an unsuccessful bidder.

The land for Aptos Elementary was surveyed in July, 1926. The deed for the school lands was signed and recorded in December, 1926. The contract to construct Aptos Elementary was signed on June 26, 1928. The School was completed in the fall and winter of 1928-29. The Notice of Completion for Aptos Elementary was recorded January 15, 1929, just a few months before the opening ceremonies for the Aptos Bridge on May 17, 1929. The lumber was gone. Agriculture, especially apple orchards were prevalent. There was an apple drier, a vinegar works and a train station in Aptos Village. Land speculators were developing lots for homes in Rio del Mar.

Noel and Rex started at Aptos School when it first opened in 1928. New desks - new school. It was unlike their old Valencia Town School. Instead of walking up Valencia School House Road to the top of the hill, they walked down towards Aptos Village to Aptos School. Noel Paddon says the Aptos School District gave them a nickel a day to compensate them. The Paddons in turn paid neighbors for rides to school. One ride was from a butcher who had a butcher shop in Aptos. He gave the two boys a ride to school in his new car on his way to and from work each day.

Mr. Paddon now lives on Valencia Road and his family still owns the ranch and dairy on Valencia School House Road. He showed my dad and I the dairy and ranch that his mother and dad owned. My dad and I drove up Valencia School House Road with him to the place where he attended 1st and 2nd grade from 1926-1928. We got out of the car and walked to where the School once stood. He showed us exactly where the original Valencia Town School building was located. An apple orchard is there now and a few oak trees that probably shaded the school and students seventy-five years ago when it was here.

Roy (George) Peterson, Molly Smith & Noel Paddon (L-R) at the original Valencia School site on 5/24/03.

Mr. Paddon's daughter, Kathie attended the same school as her dad on Aptos School Road before the school name was changed from Aptos Elementary to Valencia Elementary. She and her family live on Valencia School Road. Mr. Paddon's granddaughter Kristen Welch and grandson Todd Welch graduated from Valencia into Aptos Junior High. They are one of the very few third generation "Valencia" students.

In the interview, Mr. Paddon talks about how much he liked attending both schools, partly because school was easier than the hard farm work at home at the dairy. Partly because he seems to have loved school and learning. He told us heard the teacher talking about the "Tigris and Euphrates Rivers" and thought to himself "Wouldn't it be wonderful to learn about that?"

Noel Paddon & Molly Smith at the original Valencia School site on 5/24/03.