Staff as of 1952       (These excerpted descriptions are from 1951-1952 school yearbooks except for my personal notations)

Of course this is a list of the key staff. In addition there were teachers, one for each grade; athletic coaches, secretaries, medical personnel, additional military leaders, housemothers, cooks and kitchen staff--all the people necessary to run an institution such as CHMA.

FRANK J. BRICK, President

Meet our President, Mr. Frank J. Brick, who (in the same capacity) formerly headed California Military Academy, founded by Mr. Brick's father.

Mr. Brick's many years in guiding the destiny of Military Academies makes him particularly fitted to such a task. Not only chat, but his enthusiasm, exuberance, and never-failing sense of humor cause, what to another less gifted might seem to be an arduous endeavor, to become for him just another day's work. Troubles, be they large or small, roll off his back like water off the proverbial duck's back.

Never too busy to listen to the manifold woes of a Cadet Corps of over one hundred and fifty active, mischievous boys; iron out difficulties arising daily in so large an institution; assume the role of "peace maker" wherever such is needed, or give friendly advice to a member or members of the personnel, Mr. Brick is very popular, and well liked by one and all around the campus.

(My Notes)

Frank Brick owned the school and had purchased it as an investment that, I am sure, paid off. He told my parents that this was also a hobby, a hobby, I might add, that ran well. He was very involved in the activities of the school. Seldom did a day go by when he was not present. He obviously cared about his school and the welfare of all of us.

I ran into him in the mid 1970s while living in Palm Springs. He had retired from whatever he did and moved permanently to the Canyon Country Club section of Palm Springs.

MAJOR Duncan A. BINDER Commandant

One of the best liked members of the Faculty, Major Binder is constantly busy with his multitudinous duties. If it isn't something to do with the Military, it may be he is investigating just how things are going in one of the other Departments. Or, possibly getting one of the Athletic groups organized for a trip to one of the many other Military Schools for a game of football, baseball, or some other activity.

(My Notes)

Sometimes referred to as "The Warden" (not to his face), he was a good guy who ran the whole show very well. Not really a major but held a reserve officer's commission of some kind. He was active in leading not only the military but also athletic activities for the younger half of the school.

He was strongly supportive of his senior student officers and, on occasion, took us out on the town for dinner on Restaurant Row, Tail of the Cock, and a movie. I recall seeing "Quo Vadis" on one of these outings. He was a fair but stern disciplinarian with excellent judgment as to the age of whom he was dealing.

Major Binder was probably one of the finest snare drummers I ever encountered. During marching practice, he would often play the drums while I accompanied him on the base drum. I was the only drummer who could keep in time with his extraordinary syncopated drum beats. This was one of my great highlights at Cheviot Hills.

When I was attending USC (1955-1960), I used to see Major Binder seated near the students center section of the LA Memorial Colliseum during football games. He was an avid Trojan fan.

WILDEN P. THOMAS Headmaster

Mr. Thomas, we want to present you to the parents and friends of every Cadet of our school. Parents and friends, we proudly introduce our Headmaster, Mr. Wilden P. Thomas, who returned to us last September. He has already endeared himself to not only the Cadet Corps, but the entire Staff as well.

Mr. Thomas has had long experience in Boys' Work, and is the holder of many Degrees. Of course, to a boy, a "Degree" is more or less "Greek," but we do know it has something to do with "circles." If they are able to produce a "family circle" such as that of the Thomas', we are all for "Degrees!"

(My Notes)

As Headmaster, Mr. Thomas was responsible for the scholastic activities similar to a school principal. He was the heavy whenever school discipline needed to be meted out. This made him the least popular of the staff. One could almost draw that conclusion from his picture.

These descriptions are from the yearbooks and don't necessarily represent reality. I suspect they were written by the subjects themselves. I am not inferring that most of what is said is not true it just seems a bit "over the top" as I read it now.

Assistant
Commandants

Captains Mickey O. Blankenship on the left and Kenneth M. Claney on the right.

(My Notes)

These two men were directly responsible for everything that did not go on in the classroom and they answered directly to Major Binder. Blankenship was a short guy from Arkansas with a complex. Claney was more laid back and easy to get along with. Being part of the senior class and an officer, I had to deal directly with both on many occasions and I seldom recall a pleasant experience with Blankenship but we all learn to get along. I don't understand why Blankenship wore his combat infantryman's badge incorrectly in this picture. Claney was a 2nd Lt. in Patton's 3rd Army. A fact he proudly discussed one day when I asked him about his shoulder patch. He is buried in Arlington Cemetary, VA.

Unfortunately the leader I really respected left CHMA before we published yearbooks. I don't recall his first name but remember him only as Captain Covey. He was a marine captain and spoke sometimes of his experience hitting Tarawa and Truk. I recall he would have bouts of malaria and on those days, he could be difficult. He was by far the most strict and wore his marine uniform impeccably. This guy was incredible but he had problems leading K through 9 children and I suspect that is why he didn't last past the first two years I was a cadet. There were other memorable characters that I will mention in the Recollection section.