Walter Marion Smith (1884–1978)
Exeter History Tellers #6
by Dwight Miller
Walter Marion Smith (1884–1978) was nothing short of an Exeter legend. Though his early career as a teacher at Exeter Union High School was brief, his legacy was cemented during a remarkable 30-year tenure as principal (1919–1949), followed by five years as the school’s business manager. After retiring in 1954 at the age of 70, his work ethic led him to another five years with Gann Plumbing.
A glance at his 1917 World War I draft card paints an intriguing portrait of a 32-year-old man described as medium in height and build, with blue eyes and prematurely gray hair—an unusual feature for one so young. His hair, a mark of distinction even then, would become emblematic of his dignified presence. Beyond his work, Mr. Smith was a steadfast pillar of the community: a member of the Exeter Masonic Lodge for 50 years, the Exeter Kiwanis Club for 55 years, and the First Baptist Church for an astonishing 66 years. Fittingly, in 1950, Exeter Union High School District honored him by naming the high school gymnasium after him. But who was this Mr. Smith?
Born in 1884 in northwestern Missouri, the second of six children to Joseph and Ella Smith, young Walter grew up on a family farm near Memphis, MO. However, he had his sights set on education, earning a bachelor’s degree from William Jewell College, a small Baptist institution in Liberty, MO. His teaching journey began in Gallatin, MO (1909–1910), followed by a year at Okemah High School in Oklahoma. He then pursued further studies, earning a master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1912. The connection that brought him to Exeter remains uncertain, though it’s likely that his shared academic background with then-principal Hugh Owen, also a University of Chicago alumnus, played a role.
Walter arrived in Exeter in August 1912, stepping off a train from Missouri into the sweltering California heat. Clad in a formal suit and tie, he found himself before the town’s newly built high school, a stately white structure that dominated East Pine Street and Kaweah Ave. Hired to teach history and oversee athletics, he met the towering 6’3”, 250-pound principal, Hugh Owen, alongside the school board trustees. As horse-drawn carriages delivered board members Mr. S.T. Pennebaker, Mr. Harley Smith, and Mr. C.W. Walter to the meeting, they exchanged polite, formal greetings. The scene was interrupted by the arrival on the dirt streets of a smoky, noisy automobile driven by board member B.F. List, a former lumberman turned grape farmer. Mr. List’s new contraption drew a wry comment from Mr. Pennebaker: “Mr. List, it is pleasing to see that at least one person on this board is modern enough to own an auto.”
The Exeter Union High School board members of the time were a distinguished and diligent group, tirelessly devoted to the school’s growth. In those early years, they not only hired teachers and determined the curriculum but also managed every aspect of the school’s operations, from landscaping to paying the bills. Among them, S.T. Pennebaker, the first board president, served an extraordinary 36 years, a record only recently surpassed by Mark Hellwig, currently in his 39th year of school board service.
Walter Smith quickly became a beloved teacher, so much so that the students dedicated the 1915 yearbook to him. In addition to teaching history, he directed school plays, coached football, basketball, and track, and witnessed the rise of exceptional student-athletes like Frank Walter, an All-American hammer-throwing champion. Smith also played a role in recruiting Bill Springer to coach the school’s first football team, which achieved an impressive 6-1-1 record in its inaugural season and set records that will never be surpassed. Al Griggs kicked for over sixty-two points that year, earning him a place in Ripley’s Believe it or not.
During his early years at EUHS, Walter worked closely with the charismatic and talented language teacher, Amelia Zaniboni. Their collaboration on student activities blossomed into romance, much to the delight of their students, who chronicled it in the Acta, the school yearbook. Amelia, a gifted linguist and UC Berkeley graduate, had joined the faculty a year before Walter. She taught Latin, Spanish, French, and German, and played a pivotal role in naming the yearbook Acta, Latin for “deeds,” a tradition that continues to this day. The couple married after Amelia’s brief one year departure to teach in Ventura, and she returned to Exeter as Mrs. Smith in the summer of 1916.
In 1917, Walter left Exeter to become principal of Woodlake High School, only to return two years later to assume the same role at EUHS. For the next three decades, he guided the school through eras of profound change, from the tumult of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression to the challenges of World War II and the prosperity of the postwar years. His retirement in 1954 marked the end of an extraordinary career, but his influence on the school and community endured.
The Smiths lived modestly, moving from a rented house on C Street in 1920 to a larger home for their four children on Kaweah Ave and B Street by 1930. Eventually they purchased a home on Crespi Avenue. All his homes were within walking distance of the campus. While Walter remained a devout leader in the First Baptist Church, Amelia was equally dedicated to her Catholic faith and played a significant role in establishing Sacred Heart Church in Exeter. She passed away in 1977, a year before her husband.
Even in his later years, Walter Smith retained an air of quiet authority. When he visited the EUHS campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s, now in his mid-80s, he was met with profound respect from students and staff alike. Clad in his signature coat and tie, he would dine alone in the cafeteria, his mere presence evoking admiration. “That’s Mr. Smith,” they’d say. “He was the principal here for 30 years.”
Regrettably, I did not have the foresight to sit with him and hear his stories of Exeter through decades of transformation. By all accounts, he was a master storyteller, and his memories of those formative years were a treasure waiting to be unearthed. If you have stories to share about Walter or Amelia Smith, please reach out to me at dwitmiller@gmail.com or call 559-647-8026. Your anecdotes are invaluable in preserving their remarkable legacy. Thank you!