NEWHALL ELEMENTARY GOES HI TECH
Newhall, California (JFK+50) On August 30, 1920, Newhall Elementary School* here in Newhall, California began a new school year with the introduction of a "newfangled contraption"....the slide projector.
The slide projector is a direct descendant of the magic lantern developed in 1659 by Christian Huygens. Lantern slides, however, did not appear until 1849.** 35mm slide projectors came into widespread use for both family entertainment and education in the 1950s.
Eastman Kodak produced a line of slide projectors in the mid 1930s and in 1965 introduced the Carousel which uses a plastic rotary tray holding 81 slides. Kodak described its slide projectors as "revolutionary."
*Newhall Elementary School is located today at 24607 North Walnut Street in Newhall, CA. NES provides a comprehensive arts-integrated educational program parterning parents, staff & community to inspire academic success for all students.
NES opened in 1876 & is named after the namesake of the town, Henry Mayo Newhall. NES is a U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
**The television series "Wild Wild West" aired episodes in which "lantern slides" were shown at the time of the Ulysses S. Grant administration (1869-1877).
JFK+50 NOTE
35 mm slides were an important part of my history classroom until the advent of the digital age, computers & smart boards. When I began teaching high school in 1981, my principal bought me a Kodak 35mm Carousel projector. Soon "history trips" during summer vacations and field trips during the school year gave me the opportunity to expand my slide collection.
SOURCES
"Newhall Elementary School," www.newhallschooldistrict.com/
"The Time Ranger: On crooks, corpses, pumas and ponies," by John Boston, August 29, 2020, The Signal, Santa Clara Valley, www.signalscv.com/
Magic Lantern
Photo by
Andrei Niemimaki
2006
