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Thomas Kelly International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme is an IB school in the San Juan Unified School District in Carmichael, California, United States of America. Thomas Kelly serves students from Transitional Kindergarten through the fifth grade.

History of Thomas Kelly's school name The Kelly family came from Ireland to their ranch on the San Juan Grant in 1874. The first Thomas Kelly died in 1886, and his son, Thomas Kelly, took over the operation and development of the farm. Mr. Kelly, along with his wife, mother, and two children, moved to the Bay Area for about ten years and then returned to "The Ranch" to resume farming.

From Information gathered from Mr. O'Kelly's great, great grandson who lived on Winding Way and was a doctor at Kaiser the information was gathered on April 9, 1985 Thomas Francis Kelly I (O'Kelly) was born near Dublin, Ireland in 1832. He served an apprenticeship - then attained journeyman status and finally Master Blacksmith -which required the capability of laying the keel of a ship - a level comparable to engineer.

With the great demand for passage to America he became "master" of a vessel bound for California. His sister, and family - the Thomas O'Tooles, were emigrating on the same ship, so Thomas O'Kelly's bride-to-be (Margaret Mooney) traveled with the O'Tooles. The women and children were to debark at the Atlantic coast of Isthmus of Panama and travel overland while the ship took the dangerous route around the Horn, which occasioned innumerable shipwrecks where ship and all onboard were "lost at sea." The overland trip was arduous - some sections by burrow back - and some by dugout canoe. In portage cases, there was frequently extortion, "guides" demanding gold, personal possessions, such as jewelry but the trip had to proceed in order to meet the ship at the Pacific Coast, Port of Isthmus, Cristobal to continue on to San Francisco. The families he united, remained a short time in the San Francisco until passage was secured on river paddle wheeler up the Sacramento River to Sacramento.

Thomas O'Kelly after his marriage to Margaret Mooney in November 1859, in St. Rose's church Sacramento (Site 7th & D Streets, now a State Monument) established a family home in the first two-story brick house in Sacramento at 7th & N streets. In the devastating floods of 1860-61 teh family was able to row over housetops in their rowboat from a door on second story. The elevation of Sacramento was 25 feet above sea level! Some time after this widespread disaster, Thomas O'Kelly purchased 1/3 of a section of land on The San Juan from Governor of California, Manuel Micheltorena Manuel Micheltorena This land was in what later came to be known as Fair Oaks - elevation 195 []

So we came to the Kelly "Ranch" on its incipiency 1874. (See Muldrow -History of San Juan Grant). Thomas O'Kelly I died in 1886 at age 54. His only son, Thomas F. Kelly II born 1868 took over operation of developing the farm which was now the sole property of his widowed mother "Grant." The two Kelly daughters were sent to Madam Perry's "Boarding School for Select Young Ladies." The younger sister Mary Jane was educated also in fine tailoring and took lessons in oil painting, two fields in which she did very well. The elder sister studied music in St. Joseph's Covenant and subsequently, Louisa taught piano in the San Juan and Sylvan districts.

The Family dwelling, built in 1888-89 burned to the ground in 1917. Louisa was a gifted musician and as a child and young lady was invited as a guest to the Gallatin Mansion, now the historic Governor's Mansion at 7th and I streets. The big item at such parties, was being called for in an impressive carriage and being served ice cream. The younger sister mentioned this latter marvel with a touch of envy, even when they were in their eighties, as ice cream in Sacramento in those days was an almost unheard of luxury.

The earliest stage in developing "the ranch" was clearing the land of the heavy stand of native live oak and blue oak trees. This was a profitable pursuit as there was a great and growing demand for cordwood by Sacramento residents, and an increasing demand for live oak and charcoal to fire the blacksmith forges of the rapidly expanding Southern Pacific Railroad. In later years, charcoal was occasionally encountered in the digging of the four foot deep holes for the cedar fence posts on which the barbed wire fences were stretched and stapled. Large, heavy wood wagons left the ranch at 5:00 a.m. to make the round trip to Sacramento in day light. There was a six-mile house and a 12-mile house on route to refresh the men and horses. Site of the 12-mile house was at the junction of what is now Manzanita and Auburn Blvd. Mules were much in demand for this heavy hauling - and the Kelly ranch had several teams.

There were usually about 5 "hands" as the farm laborers were called. They lived in a six-bunk bunkhouse located at a considerable distance from the family home adjacent to the two very large barns. The bunkhouse was of excellent construction; redwood board and bottom with hand split cedar shake roof. There was a spring not far from where the first family home was built in 1875. This spring supplied drinking water - and a limited amount for stock., from early winter to late spring the spring "dried up" in early summer, at which time livestock was driven to the American River, two miles away, for watering. After a few years a well was dug close to the family home. (As was custom, a "water witch" determined the well location) and a good source of underground water at the 70' depth was struck. With approximately 15' of water standing deep enough to permit drawing of water by pulley and bucket. Later a windmill with a 40 foot wooden tower was erected and water delivered via pipe to a 5000 gallon redwood tank on second story of the adjacent tank house. The first story of the tank house was constructed with double widths of tongue and grove redwood walls 15" apart. The space between was filled with charcoal. This formed an excellent cold-storage vault; windows and door were opened at night for cold air and shut before sun-up. The louvered shutters at the windows and doors were kept closed during heat of the day. This was effective all during the summer months.

After the plowing, a horse drawn spike tooth harrow leveled the furrows and produced a good tilt of the soil and so readied the land for sowing. The seed grain was broadcast by the sower from a bin-like sack suspended from the neck and shoulders. Using his hands alternately as he walked, he broadcast the seed evenly over a wide swathe. Harvesting, at first, was hard, so they cut the grain after curing for a day or two. The "mowed" grain was raked by hand into windrows and these later consolidated into hay cocks to finish curing. The hay cocks were then pitchforked up into large hay rack wagons for storage in the high mid-section of the barn, to be forked down into the horses mangers which lined one or both sides of this high mid-section of the barn.

Later came the production of grain: wheat, barley, and oats. Harvesting was by binder - the grain being stacked in shocks, which after drying was put through a stationary thrashing machine and into gunny sacks. What about 115-120 lbs. to the sack, barley about 85-90 lbs. to the sack, and oats about 80 lbs. to the sack. Grain buyers came out to the ranches from Sacramento having hired a horse and buggy from a livery stabled. Often the seed grain was sold as "redeaned" having been put through a hand powered fanning mill or "wild oats kicker."

As the grain growing expanded, farm machinery was greatly improved; gang plowing followed by disking. Tractors replaced horses and mules. Harvesting eventually was done by combines, drawn by 24-28 horses and/ or mules. Mules were much in demand for general hauling as well as for working the land. The sale of mules became an excellent source of farm profits - individual jacks selling for as high as $500; matched teams going for as high as $1800. A figure higher than the early Fords or tractors and more dependable.

In the late 1890's a ten acre vineyard of wine grapes was set out and then 10 acres of French prunes was planted as well as a family orchard of apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, several varieties of plums and six olive trees. The olives were for pickling as well as exchanging for olive oil at the commercially profitable "San Juan Olive" plant in Fair Oaks. Olive pits a by-product, made an excellent fuel for cooking stoves. The vineyard was a dependable income. Italian wine makers from Sacramento, bought the crop on the vines when grapes were in the early stage of development. The contract included all picking, harvesting and hauling of grapes by buyers. These wine makers decided an optimal degree of ripeness and/or sugar content and arrived with pickers with lug boxes and truck for hauling. As the pickers started pick they made 20 gallons of red wine from the first picking and crushing which they drank during its stages of fermentation, as they harvested.

Mary Louise, Thomas Kelly's wife and mother of Mary, Frank and Ann, was essentially a "city person" and had an extraordinary attachment to an older sister. She promoted the family moving to become a partner with James Warrack, husband of her sister, in "Wholesale Clothiers," and so lent financial backup. The Kelly family remained in the Bay area business association until 1915; at this time there was a general collapse of the San Francisco economy.

The unspoiled hills before the freeway and the Golden Gate Bridge, remember standing on the wharf in Sausalito and at night seeing the fire following the 1906 earthquake. The glowing flames of buildings across the Bay in San Francisco because because brilliantly aflame and then collapsed. Many refugees were able to get across the Bay to safety in Marin County, losing all but the clothing they were wearing. The women of Sausalito mobilized a local distribution line in the square where ferry boats landed, passed out sandwiches and milk and some took refugees into their homes.

The Fair Oaks 10 acre Thomas Kelly ranch was leased first to Charles Peck and family and later to Finlay McMillan, whose wife Louise Katy McMillan, had inherited the middle share of the original 210 acres. After the 1915 World's Fair in San Francisco, business was on a down track, so the Thomas Kelly family returned to the "ranch" to resume farming in the now full-bearing orchard and vineyard and the run-down fences, and to some extent, the home and farm buildings.

In later years, double cropping was introduced on some of the higher yield soil areas - milo maize (sorghum) was sown in rows after the grain/hay harvest. The Sorghum was used for poultry food at home and sold to feed stores, mostly through sales to Shuey Fong, a Chinese merchant who had something of a monopoly on that commodity. There were also turkeys for the holiday season and eggs for home use and sale to Sacramento retail grocery stores. Each year after the grain harvest, Basque sheepherders from the lower San Joaquin Valley drove their flocks down from the winter pastures into the Sacramento Valley ranches to graze.

This diversified, dry farming, guaranteed an adequate annual income and spread the labor force throughout the year. During the winter months, the "hands" were occupied with cleaning, oiling, and keeping the many farm implements in good repair.

Fencing progressed, several strands of barbed wire could be stapled to oak trees left standing on the fence line. Jobs on the farm were milking the family cow, maintaining the family vegetable garden, and keeping the horse and buggy in good condition. The horse and buggy were used for all business or social travel.

Swine (pigs) were raised. They did very well foraging on the grain and hay stubble - augmented by the fall of acorns The pork produced was in great demand by the butcher shops and meat markets of Sacramento. Also, salt pork was a staple food for the ranch hands (as well as for the family) along with smoked bacon and ham. Grub-staking miners in route to the gold fields also added to the steady growing demand of these food products.

There are many memories in the Kelly family. A few are of the flock of sheep kept down in the present Nature Area, the coyotes and other wild life that roamed the fields and woods. Winding Way as a one lane street and a farm that extended over the areas where now is Del Campo, Thomas Kelly, Moraga and Jan Drives.

A memory of Thomas Kelly's great grandson is of a tree hit by lighting that fell onto a horse. The horse died on the spot. It needed to be buried, but how? Simple - dynamite blasted a hole in the ground, the horse was buried, the hole filled in. That horse burial ground is what is now Del Camp High School's Football Field!



His wife, Mary Kelly, was a Carmichael teacher who taught eighth grade in the Arcade School District for 22 years. Gladys Dyer and Mary Kelly were veteran teachers in the Arcade School District. Mrs. Dyer taught the four lower grades, and Mrs. Kelly taught the four upper grades. They taught poetry, music, sewing, and the customary three "Rs." Mrs. Dyer was principal of Arcade School from 1923 to 1940 and retired in 1954. Mrs. Kelly retired in 1945. Mary Kelly's husband, Thomas Kelly, for whom a school was to be named, died in 1925. The Arcade School District built an elementary school in 1949 and dedicated it in honor of these two women, naming it Dyer-Kelly



The Thomas Kelly School was opened by the Arden-Carmichael District in 1960.

Principals during the history of Thomas Kelly
 * Virginia Adams 1960 -1978
 * Don Zumbiel 1978 - 1980
 * Jim Ontjes 1980 - 1992
 * Jim Chuchas 1992 - 1994
 * Kathy Poloni 1994 - 1999
 * Dennis Pedersen 1999 - 2003
 * Deanna Terry 2003-2010
 * Melissa Bassanelli 2010-2014
 * Josh Costa 2014 - Present