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Carlson (Avon) Papers
0022
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Table of contents
Title: Avon Carlson Papers
Creator:
Carlson, Avon
Identifier/Call Number: 0022
Contributing Institution:
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.92 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1937-2002
Date (bulk): 1937-1955
Abstract: Avon Carlson was the first student body president of the Cal Poly Voorhis campus, which opened in 1938. The collection includes
correspondence, photographs, and clippings documenting Carlson's time as a student at the Voorhis campus.
Advance notice required for access.
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository
and the copyright holder.
[Box/folder# or item name], Avon Carlson Papers, Collection no. 0022, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives,
University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred to Special Collections and Archives by Ron Simons of University Advancement in 2008.
The Voorhis School for Boys was founded by Charles B. Voorhis and his son, Horace Jeremiah "Jerry" Voorhis, in San Dimas,
California in 1928 as a residential school for underprivileged boys. The elder Voorhis was a former automotive executive and
the younger a recent Yale graduate who had spent his early career working at a Chicago orphanage. Jerry Voorhis served as
the school's headmaster until 1936, when he left to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Charles Voorhis took over
his son's duties for the next two years before deciding to retire and close the school.
Voorhis wanted the property to continue to serve as an educational institution and donated it to the state, which in turn
repurposed the campus as the southern branch of California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The Voorhis campus
offered a curriculum focused on agricultural education and was open only to male students. The last class at the Voorhis School
for Boys graduated in June, 1938 and the first college students at the Voorhis campus began their studies in September of
that same year.
Avon Carlson, born January 12, 1919 in Arlington, California, was elected the first student body president of the Voorhis
campus. Carlson had prior experience in student leadership, serving not only as student body president of Riverside Poly High
School, but also as the 10th president of the Future Farmers of America. Students at the Voorhis campus were expected to spend
their last year or two at San Luis Obispo, where they would be awarded their bachelor's degree. Carlson left the Voorhis campus
in due time and married his wife Florence in March of 1941. Carlson was then drafted into the army and served in Japan during
the post-World War II occupation.
Following his military service, Carlson returned to Cal Poly and earned his bachelor of arts at the San Luis Obispo campus.
Carlson would then embark on an extensive career in education during which he taught at Anaheim High School, served as an
administrator for the Anaheim Union High School District, and later served as principal at several of the district schools.
Carlson retired in 1979 and would remain an active member of his community until he passed away on January 26, 2008.
The majority of the collection documents Avon Carlson's time as a student at the Voorhis campus. The collection includes correspondence
between Carlson and notable figures such as Charles Voorhis, H. Jerry Voorhis, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo President Julian
McPhee; programs for services at the Voorhis campus chapel; an advertisement card for the annual campus open house known
as the Poly Vue; photographs of the Voorhis campus during the late 1930s and of Carlson's class reunion in 2002; and the gavel
awarded to Carlson when he was elected
the first student body president.
The collection is organized into the following series: 1. Papers; 2. Photographs; 3. Realia.
The collection was arranged and described by Josh Rose under the supervision of Alexis Adkins in 2017.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg-Voorhis -- History
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Carlson, Avon