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Harry Ells High School in Richmond, California was a major public high school in the area from 1955 to 1985. It was named for Harry Leander Ells (1854-1943), a pioneering resident who served as Richmond's postmaster, a member of its first school board, and an assemblyman representing Contra Costa County [1].

Ells originally opened as a Middle School in 1944. It was changed to a high school in 1955 and graduated its first class in 1958. In 1967 it became Richmond High School South Campus while Richmond High School was re-built. In 1970, it was re-opened at the same time as the new John F. Kennedy HighSchool, some 5 miles away, which took part of its student base, its Eagle mascot and red-and-white school colors. The new Harry Ells was opened with new school colors of purple and white plus a new mascot, the Falcons. After 15 more years as a separate high school, it closed forever in 1985. The site was converted to LoVonya Dejean Middle School in the mid 2000s.

After graduating its first class in 1958, Ells rapidly achieved prominence on several fronts. For example, its marching band played at the opening ceremonies at the 1960 Winter Olympics, held in Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, CA [2]; the Ells basketball team won the prestigious Northern California Tournament of Champions in 1964 and placed three players on the All-Tournament Team [3], and debate and forensics teams excelled in regional and state competitions throughout the decade of the 1960s.

In its short history, Ells produced prominent graduates in science, the professions, public service and the arts. Patricia McKinley, a member of the Class of 1967, was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the Bay Municipal Court at the age of 33, making her the youngest and the first African-American woman ever appointed to that position, and three years later she was named presiding judge. [4] Eleanor (Alpert) Palk, Class of 1959, served more than three decades as judge and Commissioner of the Orange County Superior Court. In the entertainment field, Ells is represented by Carl Franklin, Class of 1967, an award-winning actor, writer and director of motion pictures and television productions ("Devil in a Blue Dress," TV's "Good Times") and actor Paul Michael Chan, Class of 1968 (TNT's "The Closer" and "Major Crimes"). Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood Winery and nicknamed "The Godfather of Zin" [5] grew up in Point Richmond, CA and graduated from Ells in 1965.

Harry Ells High School also graduated many famous athletes. Bob Gaillard ('58) went on to become head basketball coach at the University of San Francisco and took teams deep into NCAA tournaments. Ron Theobald ('61) played baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. Willie McGee ('76) played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Travis Williams ('63) starred at Arizona State University and went on to play pro football for the Green Bay Packers, and 1978 graduate Andre Patterson continues a long career as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League. Professional baseball players Cleo Smith ('72) and Ed Miller ('75) also graduated from Harry Ells as did female hurdler Dede Cooper ('75).

1. "Who Was Harry Ells?" (http://www.ells60.org/harryells.htm) 2. "Disney Finishes 2d to Mother Nature," San Francisco Call-Bulletin, February 19, 1960 3. John E. Spalding, "The Tournament of Champions(1947-75) plus The Northern California CIF Regional (1976-80)", p. 16 4. Announcement of The Honorable Patricia Ann McGinley Memorial Luncheon from the Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern California, August 16, 2013 5. "Joel" (http://ravenswoodwinery.com/Joel#joel) Also see: List of closed secondary schools in California (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_closed_secondary_schools_in_California)