Bakersfield Life

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Names behind our schools

When you show up in the morning to drop your children off at Theodore Roosevelt Middle School and Ronald Reagan Elementary School, you automatically know the prestige behind the person the school is named after. These were national leaders who gave to our country and have schools named after them from coast to coast. As a community, we look at these familiar names and immediately identify with the great leaders.

But what about other schools? Many children attend schools that are also named after people, but these people are not as well known. Giving back to a community is a heartwarming individual act and a person has done well when that community takes the time to honor that person with a lasting presence. That has happened in Bakersfield on many occasions as many of those who worked to build the community are given the opportunity to live on through our local schools.

But who are these people? What did they do for Bakersfield? Why do we remember them? Although there are more than the ones listed here, this is a glimpse at those who gave and continue to leave a legacy in Bakersfield by having a school named after them.

William B. Bimat Elementary School
529 Students   •   Northwest Bakersfield   •   Opened in 2001

William B. Bimat spent his career in Bakersfield at North High. His positions included a teacher, activities director, counselor, vice principal and ultimately principal in 1989. Bimat lost his battle with cancer in 1994. Dan Weirather is the current principal at Bimat School. Weirather acknowledges the impact that Bimat has on the school today. “Though Mr. Bimat is no longer with us, our school has the honor of having Mr. Bimat’s mother, Dorothy Bimat, attend several of our school events throughout the year. Recently, I had the privilege of having Dorothy by my side as the students made their way around the school track, raising money for cancer research,” said Weirather. He went on to say that Bimat truly cared about kids and what went on at local schools. Bimat’s motto was “no excuses” when it came to providing children with education. His legacy will live on at William B. Bimat Elementary School.

Earl Warren Junior High
722 Students   •   Southwest Bakersfield    •   Opened 1994

Earl Warren was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Bakersfield where he attended elementary school through high school. Warren went on to study law at University of California, Berkeley. In 1938, Warren was elected to the position of Attorney General for the state of California. He then became governor of California in 1942. Finally, President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Warren as a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1953. Warren died in Washington D.C. in 1974. Along with the school being named after Warren, he has received other recognitions for his achievements by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Garces Memorial High School
748 Students   •   Northeast Bakersfield   •   Opened 1947

The school dates back to the earliest days of Catholic education in Bakersfield. It all started on September 10, 1947 when Garces Memorial opened its doors to 150 students.
The name Garces comes from Padre Francisco Garces. Father Garces was a Franciscan missionary who traveled through the area in search of a shorter route from Mexico to the mission in San Francisco.
Father Garces was the first European to cross the Kern River and enter what is now known as Bakersfield. In 1776, when Garces made this journey, he was entering a bare land that now holds the school. The Garces community realizes the contributions that Father Garces made on the school. Lou Anne Durratt, director of alumni relations, said that if not for Father Garces, the location of Garces High School might be somewhere else and not on the beautiful hill where it sits today.

Leo B. Hart Elementary School
722 Students   •   Southwest Bakersfield   •   Opened 1988

Leo B. Hart is a former Shafter resident, but made a strong impact on the world. In May 1940, Hart leased a 10-acre site of land from the federal government for $10. On this land he conceived and developed Arvin Federal Emergency School, better known as Weedpatch School in those days. The school was primarily built with donations of both labor and materials, a great deal of it coming from the children and their parents.
He was considered one of the greatest humanitarians of his time. Hart built emergency schoolrooms for migrants in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl. The book, “Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp” pays tribute to Hart and the dedication he showed toward students. Leo B. Hart Elementary was dedicated in 1988.

Chipman Junior High School
748 Students   •   Northeast Bakersfield   •   Opened 1947

Bernice Harrell Chipman has deep roots in Bakersfield and most notably contributed to The Bakersfield Californian with a weekly article. She was born in 1887 to publisher of The Bakersfield Californian, Alfred Harrell, and his wife Virginia. Bernice Chipman made her home in San Francisco, but still kept strong ties with her hometown and especially the newspaper. She took a very active role in the paper until her death in 1977. She demonstrated leadership as well as editorial to the paper and her loyalty is well respected today. While living in San Francisco, Chipman served on the boards of groups serving the city’s needs through Family Welfare Agency and the League of Women Voters. She left a lasting impression at Pioneer Village by helping in the creation of a replica of the Havilah Courier. 


Walter Stiern Middle School
1,400 Students    •    East Bakersfield    •    Opened in 1993

Walter W. Stiern graduated from Washington State University with a degree in veterinary medicine. After moving back to Bakersfield, he opened a veterinary practice. Stiern quickly became an active member of the agricultural community in Bakersfield. In 1957, Stiern went on to become a California state senator. His main policies included education, health and agricultural issues. Along with Walter Stiern Middle School, the library at CSU Bakersfield is also named after Stiern due to the fact that he played a large part in forming the state school. Stiern died in February 1988, but his strong values in education will continue on in the school.


Dr. Juliet Thorner Elementary School
790 Students   •    Northeast Bakersfield   •    Opened in 1990

Dr. Juliet Thorner was a native of Indianapolis, but became a member of the Bakersfield community when she opened a practice in pediatrics in 1939. She was most known for working in hyperkenetics, helping emotionally and physically impaired children. In the 1940s, she made a strong impact by leading sex education classes for students and parents of Kern County as well as teaching both children and adults of the danger of child abuse. Dr. Thorner retired from her private practice in 1975 and died in 1988 at the age of 77. For giving of herself and assisting the community of Bakersfield, it was only right for a school to be named in her honor. This decision was made with support from the Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic Board, the district’s teacher’s union, the Junior League of Bakersfield and the Theta Chapter, Alpha Delta Kappa.

Amy B. Seibert Elementary School
700 Students   •   South Bakersfield    •   Opened in 1963

Born in 1889, Amy B. Seibert began her career in education as early as she could. She started work with Panama School in 1908 and watched the district grow from a few students to more than 1,000 in 1963.
Seibert was a lifelong friend of school children as a librarian, teacher and a member of the Panama Union School District for more than half a century. Her devotion was rewarded by a reception in 1959, when she retired after serving 21 years as librarian for the Panama branch.
Her final honor came in the decision of school officals and patrons to name, in her honor, the next school to be built in the district. Seibert lived long enough to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of this school in December 1962. Seibert died the next year, two weeks after her 74th birthday.

Sing Lum Elementary School
748 Students   •   Southwest Bakersfield   •   Opened in 1984

Sing Lum was one who did not care about his age to make a difference in the world of sports. At the age of 65, he became a competitive runner and set national and international records by the time he was 70. 
A 1924 graduate of Bakersfield High School, Lum helped organize the Panama Union School District and was on the first school board in 1944.
Lum retired from farming in the Wasco area in 1970 and went back to school to obtain his real estate license. He started selling for ERA Goodin and even took his MLS booklet to the track meets.
Lum, who died at the age of 90 in 1994, wasn’t reluctant to talk about his achievements. He said proudly that his 13 grandchildren “think the world of me.”