Richard Lee Barteaux's Educational History
Redeemer Baptist Academy
Richard's doting parents began his formal education at Redeemer Baptist, which was located at 10792 National Blvd., in West Los Angeles, CA 90064. The school was offering classes from Kindergarten through 6th grade. It appears that Betty Barteaux did not immediately place Richard in a school, as Tommy remembers, Tommy, himself started in the 3rd grade, and Richard starting in the 2nd grade.
In Los Angeles, where I also grew up, school started in Kindergarten and classes were available from that year through the 6th grade. I started, age 5, in Kindergarten at Mar Vista Elementary School at 3330 Granville Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066.
Tommy recalled that Richard, who was not in his class, was active on the play equipment provided by the school, but was inclined to efforts to encourage other children into conflict.
During this time, Richard's mother regularly invited him, Tommy, to come to their house in Cheviot Hills to swim with Richard. No other children appeared to have accepted these invitations. Richard's expressed interest in swimming, Tommy said, appeared to be focused on building up waves that could then be used to splash out of the pool. Tommy did not remember attending a birthday party for Richard.
Richard graduated the year before Tommy, who did not know to where Richard was gone on to continue his education for some time.
From Redeemer Baptist Richard moved on to Black-Fox
A Brief History
From a page only available on the WayBack Machine
Black-Foxe opened its doors in the Fall of 1928 when Charles E. Toberman, a prominent Hollywood developer and financier, was joined by Majors Earle Fox and Harry Black to found the school on the site that had formerly been occupied by Urban Military Academy. Foxe became its president and Black commandant of cadets. Both Black and Foxe had served with distinction in the First World War. Major Harry Gaver, whose title was honorary, joined them as Headmaster. It was Harry Gaver that was the intellectual force behind the founding and the rise to prominence of Black-Foxe as a first-rate college preparatory school.
From it’s earliest years Black-Foxe attracted a number of the sons of Hollywood luminaries, due in part to the fact that Earle Foxe had been a silent movie actor who continued to take an occasional part in sound films. By the end of the thirties Harry Black had gone on to other interests. Earle Foxe remained as president until 1960.
Although it was founded only a year before the beginning of the great depression, those who could afford to send their son’s to the school were minimally affected by that ongoing event. In the thirties both the football and polo teams enjoyed sterling reputations playing and, more often than not, defeating college and university freshman teams. Football players were highly recruited during that period. By the 1940s the polo team was history and the football team, sans scholarship athletes, had settled into playing in the private prep school league. From that time on it was the swimming team that took the laurels. Many future All-American swimmers swam for the BF ‘Mermen.’
During World War II many former Black-Foxe cadets and faculty members served with distinction. Five gave their lives, including the son of Headmaster Harry H. Gaver. Harry junior, who was aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, was the first Black-Foxe alumnus to die in the war.
The 1950’s at Black-Foxe, as well as elsewhere in the country, were years of stability and, except for Korea and the ongoing cold war, years of optimism. However, in 1954 Black-Foxe suffered what was undoubtedly its greatest loss when the headmaster, the firm but gentle Major Harry Gaver, died of a heart attack at age sixty-eight. English teacher Caleb deCou put it best when he said “Black-Foxe was written in the hand of Major Gaver.” In 1959 the school was sold by Charles Toberman to Raymond Rosendahl, father of Cadet Ray Rosendahl.
The turbulent sixties with their social protests and raging anti-war sentiment, especially by the young , did not bode well for a military school. In the early 1960s the name was changed from Black-Foxe Military Institute to The Black-Foxe School. Earle Foxe, the founding President had resigned and finally, in the last year, Army ROTC gave way to Air Force ROTC, the Air Force apparently being more benign than the infantry in the eyes American society of the 1960s. In 1965 Rosendahl sold the school to a non-profit group which included parents of cadets then in attendance. This group for reasons known and unknown were unable to make a success of the non-profit venture. In 1968 the mortgage holder had no choice but to foreclose, and Black-Foxe was no more.
Today, the only remaining vestige of Black-Foxe is a house on the adjacent property that used to serve as the kindergarten during the school year and a dance studio during the summer months. It was purchased in the early 1940s by Black-Foxe, and when the school folded, it was sold to a Mr. David Aguirre. He now uses it as his residence and it is also a Los Angeles historical landmark and modest museum of Black-Foxe memorabilia.
Pat O'Donnell, Class of 1949
It is likely Richard did not attempt to return to Black-Fox after the summer of 1966. Instead, he started high school at University High School, Los Angeles, where Thomas Buckley, his only friend from Redeemer Baptist, was also attending.
Tommy chummed around with Richard, and he and Adelia Dennis, who I had known from Webster Junior High School, accompanied Richard in his GTO on drives around Los Angeles. Tommy, who I had lost track of for about 50 years, and I, reconnected over the phone, sharing stories about the ghastly Richard.
Tommy shared stories about those drives in Richard's GTO after I escaped from Richard early in 1967. Accompanying them, was Adelia Dennis, who I had known first from Webster Jr. High School. Adela had come to the cabin with us once, but she could have been going to University High School by 1966.
Tommy reminded me I had persuaded him to take Adelia to the Prom. Presumably, this occurred before I escaped from Richard.
I await more ancient memories on that period of my life. I was, myself, producing piles of baby clothes, a layette which proved to have been sufficient for at least twins. This, and finishing High School in home study, were the focus of my attention.
I embroidered each garment for the baby. Then, you had to wait to find out the gender. I solved this problem by choosing Carolyn Anne and Charles Arthur for the unborn baby, this way either gender eventuality was covered.
It does not appear that Richard ever graduated from University High School. Instead, he ran off with another girl Tommy had introduced to him, Beverly Jane Saville, whose mother's born name was Roth. She was about six months older than myself, having been born in July, 1948.
What makes their runaway relationship most interesting is that Beverly was already engaged to another man, who had presented her with an engagement ring. Beverly was already living with this original fiancée, and her intended had purchased the rings to be used for their wedding, which was to take place in the near future. The two were living with the fiancé's parents in anticipation of the event.
I still cannot find any evidence the Richard and Beverly were legally married. Richard Lee Barteaux, Jr., was born 05/02/1969.
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